{"product_id":"roujin-z-老人z-1991-original-japanese-b1-theatrical-promotional-poster-katsuhiro-otomo-rare-b1-oversize-original-japanese-theatrical-release-campaign-1991-c-72-8-103-cm-28-7-40-6-in","title":"“ROUJIN Z \/ 老人Z” (1991), ORIGINAL JAPANESE B1 THEATRICAL PROMOTIONAL POSTER, KATSUHIRO OTOMO, Rare B1 Oversize, Original Japanese Theatrical Release Campaign (1991), c. 72.8 × 103 cm \/ 28.7 × 40.6 in","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"261\" data-end=\"481\"\u003eThis is an \u003cstrong data-start=\"272\" data-end=\"326\"\u003eoriginal Japanese B1 theatrical promotional poster\u003c\/strong\u003e printed for the 1991 release campaign of \u003cem data-start=\"368\" data-end=\"378\"\u003eRoujin Z\u003c\/em\u003e \/ 老人Z, the cult Japanese animated science-fiction satire conceived and written by \u003cstrong data-start=\"461\" data-end=\"480\"\u003eKatsuhiro Otomo\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"483\" data-end=\"766\"\u003eAn exceptional oversized Japanese poster for one of the most distinctive anime features of the early 1990s. This is the \u003cstrong data-start=\"627\" data-end=\"645\"\u003erare B1 format\u003c\/strong\u003e, measuring approximately \u003cstrong data-start=\"671\" data-end=\"688\"\u003e72.8 × 103 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e, and is substantially larger than the standard Japanese B2 theatrical poster.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"768\" data-end=\"1226\"\u003eThe design is one of the strongest promotional images produced for the film. An elderly patient emerges from the enormous teal \u003cstrong data-start=\"895\" data-end=\"922\"\u003eZ-001 robotic care unit\u003c\/strong\u003e, surrounded by cables, mechanical limbs, glowing internal lights, and the compressed architecture of a clinical corridor. The image is strange, satirical, and immediately memorable: a perfect visual summary of the film’s central tension between human vulnerability, technology, bureaucracy, and control.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1228\" data-end=\"1283\"\u003eThe lower white band carries the English campaign copy:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1285\" data-end=\"1340\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1285\" data-end=\"1340\"\u003e“The best staff ever gathered. A clash of talents…”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1342\" data-end=\"1675\"\u003eBeneath this appears the bold brush-style Japanese title \u003cstrong data-start=\"1399\" data-end=\"1406\"\u003e老人Z\u003c\/strong\u003e. The upper-right margin includes the printed notation \u003cstrong data-start=\"1461\" data-end=\"1506\"\u003e“Not for sale \/ For promotional use only”\u003c\/strong\u003e and the important artwork credit \u003cstrong data-start=\"1540\" data-end=\"1573\"\u003eIllustration: Katsuhiro Otomo\u003c\/strong\u003e, confirming this as an original promotional display poster rather than a commercial decorative print.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1677\" data-end=\"2212\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1677\" data-end=\"1830\"\u003eThis particular example is exceptional: unused cinema dead-stock, sourced from the remaining inventory of a cinema in Shinjuku.\u003c\/strong\u003e Because it was never displayed, the presentation is especially clean, crisp, and refined, with strong “gallery wall” impact. For a large-format early-1990s anime promotional poster with a clean white title band, sharp image area, and direct Otomo illustration credit, this level of preservation is increasingly difficult to find. It presents as a true \u003cstrong data-start=\"2183\" data-end=\"2211\"\u003ecollector-grade survivor\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2214\" data-end=\"2232\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2214\" data-end=\"2232\"\u003eAbout the film\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2234\" data-end=\"2390\"\u003eReleased in Japan in \u003cstrong data-start=\"2255\" data-end=\"2263\"\u003e1991\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cem data-start=\"2265\" data-end=\"2275\"\u003eRoujin Z\u003c\/em\u003e is a sharp and darkly comic animated feature directed by \u003cstrong data-start=\"2333\" data-end=\"2354\"\u003eHiroyuki Kitakubo\u003c\/strong\u003e and written by \u003cstrong data-start=\"2370\" data-end=\"2389\"\u003eKatsuhiro Otomo\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2392\" data-end=\"2721\"\u003eThe film centres on the \u003cstrong data-start=\"2416\" data-end=\"2425\"\u003eZ-001\u003c\/strong\u003e, an experimental automated nursing bed designed for Japan’s ageing society. What begins as a technological solution for eldercare soon escalates into a surreal and increasingly chaotic chain of events involving medical bureaucracy, student volunteers, military technology, and runaway machinery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2723\" data-end=\"3148\"\u003eThe creative team is central to the film’s collector significance. \u003cstrong data-start=\"2790\" data-end=\"2809\"\u003eKatsuhiro Otomo\u003c\/strong\u003e provided the original concept, screenplay, and mechanical design; \u003cstrong data-start=\"2876\" data-end=\"2894\"\u003eHisashi Eguchi\u003c\/strong\u003e handled character design; and \u003cstrong data-start=\"2925\" data-end=\"2946\"\u003eHiroyuki Kitakubo\u003c\/strong\u003e directed the film. The production also connects to a remarkable generation of Japanese animation talent, making \u003cem data-start=\"3059\" data-end=\"3069\"\u003eRoujin Z\u003c\/em\u003e an important post-\u003cem data-start=\"3088\" data-end=\"3095\"\u003eAkira\u003c\/em\u003e work within the broader history of theatrical anime.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3150\" data-end=\"3338\"\u003eThe film’s themes remain strikingly contemporary: automation, ageing, institutional care, technological overreach, and the uneasy relationship between human need and mechanical efficiency.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3340\" data-end=\"3356\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"3340\" data-end=\"3356\"\u003eDesign notes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3358\" data-end=\"3438\"\u003eThis poster is a superb example of early-1990s Japanese anime theatrical design.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3440\" data-end=\"3678\"\u003eRather than relying on a crowded character montage, the composition presents a single charged scenario: an elderly man, a futuristic care machine, and a confined institutional corridor. The result is clean, unsettling, and highly graphic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3680\" data-end=\"3982\"\u003eThe teal mechanical form of the Z-001 dominates the image, while the human figure emerging from the machine gives the poster its emotional and satirical force. The large white lower band provides a striking contrast to the dense machinery above, allowing the title \u003cstrong data-start=\"3945\" data-end=\"3952\"\u003e老人Z\u003c\/strong\u003e to read with unusual clarity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3984\" data-end=\"4182\"\u003eThe printed \u003cstrong data-start=\"3996\" data-end=\"4035\"\u003eKatsuhiro Otomo illustration credit\u003c\/strong\u003e is especially important for collectors, as it connects the poster directly to one of the most influential figures in Japanese manga and animation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4184\" data-end=\"4425\"\u003eThe \u003cstrong data-start=\"4188\" data-end=\"4233\"\u003e“Not for sale \/ For promotional use only”\u003c\/strong\u003e notation, production credits, copyright details, and release-era design all reinforce its status as an \u003cstrong data-start=\"4337\" data-end=\"4377\"\u003eoriginal Japanese promotional poster\u003c\/strong\u003e, not a later reproduction or merchandise print.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4427\" data-end=\"4453\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4427\" data-end=\"4453\"\u003eThe Japanese B1 format\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4455\" data-end=\"4590\"\u003eThe Japanese B1 format measures approximately \u003cstrong data-start=\"4501\" data-end=\"4518\"\u003e72.8 × 103 cm\u003c\/strong\u003e, making it substantially larger than the standard B2 theatrical poster.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4592\" data-end=\"4861\"\u003eB1 posters were used for larger, higher-impact cinema and promotional displays, and survive in much smaller numbers than standard Japanese theatrical paper. Their size made them more vulnerable to handling wear, storage impressions, edge damage, and disposal after use.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4863\" data-end=\"5204\"\u003eFor \u003cem data-start=\"4867\" data-end=\"4877\"\u003eRoujin Z\u003c\/em\u003e, the combination of \u003cstrong data-start=\"4898\" data-end=\"5067\"\u003eoriginal 1991 release-era status, rare B1 format, direct Katsuhiro Otomo illustration credit, cult anime importance, and unused Shinjuku cinema dead-stock provenance\u003c\/strong\u003e makes this an especially strong example for collectors of Japanese animation, Otomo-related material, and early-1990s theatrical design.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5206\" data-end=\"5226\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"5206\" data-end=\"5226\"\u003eCondition report\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5228\" data-end=\"5336\"\u003eThis poster is in \u003cstrong data-start=\"5246\" data-end=\"5287\"\u003eExcellent \/ Near Mint Minus condition\u003c\/strong\u003e overall and presents beautifully from the front.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5338\" data-end=\"5530\"\u003eAs unused cinema dead-stock, it retains rich colour, sharp printed detail, clean image areas, and an excellent white lower title band. The overall presentation is crisp and highly displayable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"5826\" data-end=\"6079\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"5826\" data-end=\"5843\"\u003eAuthenticity:\u003c\/strong\u003e Original 1991 Japanese B1 theatrical promotional poster — not a reproduction or modern reprint.\u003cbr data-start=\"6020\" data-end=\"6023\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"6023\" data-end=\"6041\"\u003eDocumentation:\u003c\/strong\u003e Certificate of Authenticity included.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"6185\" data-end=\"6213\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eIt is over \u003cstrong data-start=\"6196\" data-end=\"6212\"\u003e34 years old\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Japan Poster Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56886602727802,"sku":null,"price":525.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0424\/8859\/4591\/files\/man-looking-at-an-art-gallery-wall_35.jpg?v=1778713747","url":"https:\/\/japanposter.co.uk\/products\/roujin-z-%e8%80%81%e4%ba%baz-1991-original-japanese-b1-theatrical-promotional-poster-katsuhiro-otomo-rare-b1-oversize-original-japanese-theatrical-release-campaign-1991-c-72-8-103-cm-28-7-40-6-in","provider":"Japan Poster Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}