Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (Collector’s Edition Blu-ray & DVD) Unboxing

Anime Limited brings back another anime classic to the UK, this time on Blu-ray! The stock has arrived early (and just in time because MCM London is close by) so here’s an early unboxing.

Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade is a 1999 feature-length anime film directed by Hiroyuki Okiura and animated by studio Production I.G. Mamoru Oshii, known for Ghost in the Shell, wrote the script for the film and is also based on his manga Kerberos Panzer Cop.

When you look back at anime films from the 90s, Jin-Roh is often mentioned as one of many fans’ most beloved and memorable. It’s a film that I also managed to watch back when I started getting into anime and I really enjoyed it.

Jin-Roh was licensed by Bandai Entertainment in the United States and eventually brought over to the UK by Studio Canal, who at the time was known as Optimum Releasing and Optimum Asia. Over-time the film was rescued by Discotek Media in the United States and over here it only recently got rescued by Anime Limited back in 2018. Jin-Roh and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust were two unique cases where both were released on DVD by Optimum Asia and then given Blu-ray releases by Anime Limited using Discotek’s authoring. Anime Limited packaging and Discotek authoring are the best of both worlds.

This release by Anime Limited contains the film on both Blu-ray and DVD in a special collector’s edition packaging and digipack. The discs are locked to B and 2 NTSC using the same transfers as the Discotek Media release. The white subtitles are unlockable during playback on both Blu-ray and DVD discs.

You can order the film on Amazon UK in both the collector’s combo pack and the standard DVD. Standard Blu-ray will follow suit later in 2020.

Blu-ray Specs:

Languages: English, Japanese
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese DTS-HD MA 5.1, Japanese LPCM 2.0
Video: 1080p High Definition Native format with 16:9 ratio
Region: B
Subtitles: English
Locked Subtitles: No
Discs: 1

DVD Specs:

Languages: English, Japanese
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: 480p Standard Definition in NTSC format with 16:9 ratio
Region: 2
Subtitles: English
Locked Subtitles: No
Discs: 1

Plot Synopsis (via Anime Limited):

In an imagined alternate history of 1950s Japan, Kazuki Fuse works as a member of a special police unit in the midst of riots and social disorder that plague the totalitarian society he serves. Bearing witness to the horrific suicide of a young girl in the midst of a police operation, Fuse is haunted by what he’s seen – a mental burden which sees him sent for re-evaluation by the police force for his inaction in the line of duty.

As he struggles to come to terms with the horrors he’s witnessed, Fuse meets the sister of the girl whose life he saw snuffed out before him, bringing about an unlikely friendship that leaves him questioning not only what is right, but also the reality he sees before him. However, nothing here is quite what it seems, and he finds himself thrust into the midst of danger and conspiracy at every turn as events brought about by powerful forces spiral out of control around him.

Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:

Theatrical Trailer
TV Spots (Coming in June, Theatre Shinjuku, Now Playing)
US Release Trailer
“Speculate About Jin-Roh” Interviews (Japanese interviews with Mamoru Oshii (Original Story and Screenplay), Hiroyuki Okiura (Director), Hajime Mizoguchi (Music) and Hiromasa Ogura (Art Director))
English Credits

DVD On-Disc Extra Features:

Theatrical Trailer
“Speculate About Jin-Roh” Interviews (Japanese interviews with Mamoru Oshii (Original Story and Screenplay), Hiroyuki Okiura (Director), Hajime Mizoguchi (Music) and Hiromasa Ogura (Art Director))
English Credits