Dark Knight and American Psycho actor Christian Bale has been an avid anime fan and he has exclusively expressed it. Not only that he has also voiced in two anime films showcasing his love for anime. However, his love for anime is only limited to the works of Hayao Miyazaki, the director and founding member of Studio Ghibli.
With films like Spirited Away, which have even captured the affection and attention of actors like Bale, Miyazaki is considered one of the most accomplished filmmakers in the history of animation. Miyazaki has received widespread recognition on a global scale as an accomplished filmmaker and creator of Japanese animated feature films.
However, there is one film that The Dark Knight actor loves that is not a part of the Miyazaki or Studio Ghibli franchise. The name of the film is Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, and it is from an extreme action political genre that Miyazaki would never explore looking at his work over the years in the anime industry.
Christian Bale and His Love For Anime Films
It may come as a surprise to many, but The American Psycho actor enjoys anime in general and Studio Ghibli films in particular. One of Studio Ghibli’s greatest films to date, Spirited Away, is the film that first sparked Bale’s passion for the studio and its works. He was so enamored with the movie that the actor begged to have a voice part in one of their upcoming projects.
Since then he has voiced characters in films like Howl’s Moving Castle and the recently released The Boy and the Heron. Christian Bale portrayed the part of Shoichi Maki, the owner of an air munitions factory, in The Boy and the Heron and provided the voice of Wizard Howl, one of the main characters in Howl’s Moving Castle.
However, according to ScreenRant, another anime film that the actor has been a fan for is the political anime film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, one of the best anime films of all time. However, it is miles away from anything Hayao Miyazaki would create or even try to explore as the genre of this film is completely different from what Miyazaki has worked on.
Staunch Miyazaki Fan Christian Bale Also Loves Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
Bale has been a big fan of Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, which is also one of the best anime films of its time. Japanese action political thriller anime film Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, written and directed by Mamoru Oshii, was released in 1999.
The story takes place in an alternate history of the saga, where Nazi Germany won World War II and occupied Japan, giving rise to an authoritarian postwar Japan. The movie centers on Kazuki Fuse, a member of Kerberos, who saw a young terrorist girl he was ordered to kill commit suicide by suicide bombing. Later in life, Fuse meets Kei Amemiya, who purports to be the girl’s sister.
The film chronicles the relationship between Fuse and Kei amidst an aggressive interservice conflict. It is the third movie in the Kerberos Saga and is based on the first chapter of volume 1 of Oshii’s manga Kerberos Panzer Cop.
