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Its finally coming true.

This was already covered by the Japanese many years ago - ever see Roujin Z? By the director of Akira, it's a mechanical assistance suit for the elderly that, among other things, replaces many of the functions of nursing homes.

Roujin Z

So, we are one step closer to Roujin Z it seems....

Seriously though, I've seen on TV before how elderly people in Japan were given little animatronic bears to keep them company. Perhaps for those suffering from dementia it could be an aid, but mostly I found it sad. Imagine being cooped up in a home for the elderly with just a machine that is barely on the level of "Eliza" to keep you company, every day the same as last. No wonder some long for death.

When my parents are getting old, I will make sure I have enough free time to visit them and spend time with them regularly.

This anime grapples somewhat with the issue of the tension between the elderly needing complete care and automation being cheaper but impersonal. It made me think about the moral and social dimensions of the issue -- especially as, after all, even an elderly feeble senile person augmented by being hooked up to an internet connected AI nursebot is part of Vinge's singularity and could perhaps outthink and outcompete a normal unaugmented person. See: Roujin Z From that page: Roujin Z Plot Synopsis: "In the very near future in Japan, the number of elderly people is steadily rising, and it is becoming more and more difficult to care for them. This is of concern to the student nurse Haruko. You see, there is a government experiment with the goal of completely automated care of the elderly going on, and it just so happens that the test subject for the project is going to be Haruko's patient. The project, a bed that can do anything from bathe a patient to have a conversation with him, is a miracle of modern automation. Things get a little weird when the old man starts calling for help--using the bed's built in Internet connection. Well, Haruko and friends have no choice but to help the old man escape, but they're having a number of problems with that process. After a couple of failed attempts, the bed (yes, the bed) decides to take matters into it's own hands. You see, the bed starts thinking that it's the old man's dead wife, and doesnt like the way he's being treated. Yes, you read that right. To make matters worse, the bed was also a secret military experiment, and has capabilities to match. So we've got an automated elder care bed that thinks it's an old man's wife running away from the Ministry of Health and the military and wreaking havoc in the process, all the while carrying around an out of it old guy and being chased by some overzealous nursing students who are in turn being monitored by a crew of elderly hackers. Then things start getting really weird..."

... because we know what's going to happen...

Haven't they seen Roujin Z?!?!? Have the Japanese forgot their future history so quickly?! My gods, next thing you know the Japanese military will be putting Third Generation computers in them and all HELL is going to break loose! Have they gone mad?!

>Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Or the entire Big O anime series playing now on the cartoon network.

Roujin Z anyone? Better think twice before giving this to the senile elderly.

Why don't we just make the bed itself a robot?

Oh wait that's already been tried.

or Urotsukidoji

Though I'd note that they must have reviewed a different version of that particular title than the one I've seen. The review states it isn't hentai, but for most people it's at least close enough (well, unless you're the kind of person that gets off on it maybe). Of course, it also tends to be fairly well labeled as being an adult anime, but I've seen stupid people do enough stupid things.

I saw a 40s-ish guy in the South Park movie with six or seven kids ranging in age from 8 to 12

It could have been worse... they could have rented Ninja Scroll.

I think it's true with anime, too -- the growing popularity over the past few years has made a number of anime pop up which, honestly, aren't all that worthy, to reference the Miyazaki quote.

Actually, it reminded me of an anime I saw years ago, Roujin Z, about automated beds that were supposed to provide medical care for the elderly. They run amuck, hilarity ensues, etc.

Holy mecha Batman, wasn't there an anime written about this ? I can never tell when the Japanese are serious, when they are making a publicity stunt, or when they go all out and implement something totally crazy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go see if the trains to Central Dogma are still running in my Geofront...

or the future Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Wakamaru, a home caretaker for the elderly ... None of these people have seen Roujin Z, have they?

Interesting, this very post kept getting hammered by lame lameness filter, but paste into a new reply, and bingo!

Too much repetition? I am wondering if the filter of meaninglessness is doing its thing.

a small pair of sidecutters will always be useful

Did you mean a pair of diagonal cutters? Get something else, there are probably already a lot of dykes in the res hall... Have you considered sex toys?

This poster's name was secretly replaced by Folgers Crystal Meth

I knew about anime two or three years ago, but didn't have access to any of the series or movies. I have now, and I LOVE anime :)

If you wanna know about what's hot and what's not, then check out some of these sites:

http://www.animeworld.com/
http://www.animecritic.com/
http://www.abcb.com/

None of these sites has a number of reviews that's even close to the number of anime series/movies/films/whatever that exists today ... and none of them has reviews of fansubs, as far as I remember.

I don't know much about what you can get on DVD these days. Most of what I watch is downloaded from hotline servers anyway ;)

My List of Great Anime:
Neon Genesis Evangelion - Come on!! THis on is the best!! =)
Gundam Wing - one of the many gundam series... not bad.
Record of Lodoss War - The best from Anime and Dragonlance. Haven't seen it yet, but my brother tells me it's the best he's ever seen!!!
Oh! My Goddess - A real love story. Five episodes. I really liked it! ...but that's just me.
Gun Smith Cats - Nice cars, nice guns, great action, cute girls, unoriginal plot ... but who cares ;).

Oh, and btw. Akira and Ghost in the Shell are both classics everyone should see one day. I still haven't seen them, but I will soon.