10 Wonderfully Quirky And Eccentric Animated Movies

8. Roujin Z

Katsuhiro Otomo is perhaps best known in the West for his epic manga and anime Akira, a film which it could be argued single-handedly introduced Japanese animation to Western audiences. A landmark movie in many respects, Akira fused cyberpunk with existential musings while delivering some of the most fluid animation yet seen set again intricately detailed cityscapes. With Roujin Z, Otomo opted for an entirely different tone, delivering a quirky, off-beat comedy in which the tensions between man and technology - predominant in much of his work - is played for laughs. Dying widower Kiyuro Takazawa is selected as the test subject for the Z-001, a high tech hospital bed powered by a nuclear reactor with a host of features and gadgets to ensure the patient's every needs are met. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell Takazawa that the machine is actually an experimental military project. Fast-paced with a witty script featuring some biting social commentary about the way Japanese society views the elderly and the infirm, Roujin Z is a welcome departure from the standard science fiction anime which tends to dominate the market in the West, and further proof that Otomo's characterisation is every bit as rich and detailed as the incredible mechanical designs filling the screen.