A Fusion of the Unholy

It is surprising that a number of Japanese have a penchant for Nazi and German militaria of the Second World War. Like many throughout the world with a unhealthy fascination for Nazi uniforms, badges, regalia, and so forth, in the case of the Japanese, this has been reflected in their popular culture, from toys to anime to manga. (There are many examples, I will name them in future.) And that, of course, brings us to this series of seemingly very well-envisioned and well-made science fiction toys with overtones of Nazi stormtroopers.

These toys are based on Jin Roh (Wolf Brigade), a science fiction anime. Quoting the site:

"A remarkable collaboration between two generations of filmmakers, JIN-ROH marries a hard-hearted script by Mamoru Oshii–the internationally acclaimed maker of GHOST IN THE SHELL–with the vérité direction of Hiroyuki Okiura, assistant to Oshii on GHOST.

An ominous new child of its pedigree, JIN-ROH goes to places beyond GHOST IN THE SHELL. Its protagonist is not another Major Kusanagi, GHOST’s cold and unsatisfied government cyborg looking to ascend to virtual angelhood. Like Kusanagi, JIN-ROH's Constable Kazuki Fuse (said "foo-seh") is a special-forces operative who kills in the name of the law. Like Kusanagi, he doubts the worth of his humanity. But unlike Kusanagi, Fuse is yet a man of flesh and blood, and he still remains human enough to feel cold–to be frightened–and to seek, with quiet desperation, to be absolved.

JIN-ROH's setting is Tokyo–not the Tokyo of the future, but of an alternate past. In the bizarre, ironic tradition of Philip K. Dick’s THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, JIN-ROH presents a Japan that lost a different Second World War–not to America, but to Nazi Germany. Now, more than ten years after the defeat, the occupation troops have left, but their legacy is JIN-ROH’s twilight-zone city where the domestic terrorism of "The Sect" plays out in everyday bombings and street battles against the counterterrorist Capital Police–and their elite armored, helmeted, and red-goggled Special Unit."

Ooooh... I am gagging already...

"The movie JIN-ROH is about those in society who are predators among prey. But these "beasts" never bother to change their shape; like Red Riding Hood’s wolf, they merely drape themselves with human clothes that do not even disguise the eyes, teeth and claws of a killer. Society rightly fears them."

Yeah yeah yeah, a self-important but pedestrian movie with little to recommend. However, that's besides the point, crap movie or otherwise. The toys! Yes, the toys. The anime gave rise to these magnificient toys. The intricate designs of the armoured stormtroopers, the elaborate stylings of German Second World War uniforms and equipment coalesced into a surreal fusion of an alternate future and a horrific past. Just look at them. Look at the no-nonsense, purposeful postures.

These images are from a review of these toys written by Kelvin, a friend who is an authority on toys. Kelvin's words:

I would hesitate to even call those figures real toys because they were only slightly removed from the kits, having the most basic of 12" figure bodies, and non-articulated hands that could barely hold the included MG-34 or MG-42 machine guns (assembly required). Later, Medicom also released the much improved Jin-Roh version, although the base figure was still very limited in poseability, and the armor was permanently attached to the figure.

Kelvin has done an amazing job capturing these images and his arrangements are superb. The MG34 or MG42 are well-modelled. Look at the details of the weapon. The unholy Nazi imagery! The juxtaposition of Nazi imagery upon an imaginery nightmarish Japanese future. It's amazing. Surrealistic, bleak, powerful.

This is the power of symbols and pop culture.

Image source: Courtesy of Kelvin with his kind permission.

Addendum

There are a lot lot more of these powerful images in Kelvin's review. I urge that you give the review a look.