Many people associate Mamoru Oshii with the landmark Ghost in the Shell or his pioneering OVA work on 1983’s Dallos, but his deepest creative obsession is the Kerberos Saga — a sprawling project he’s explored in manga, anime and live-action cinema. Its most curious centerpiece, The Red Spectacles, stumbled at its 1987 debut; however, Oshii personally supervised a 4K restoration that has already screened again in Japan and is slated for a theatrical re-release in New York by Small Sensations on Nov. 21. A physical edition seems likely to follow.
The Red Spectacles was Oshii’s first live-action entry in the Kerberos universe and his initial foray directing outside animation. The shoot was, by his own account, chaotic and improvised, producing a film that failed to find an audience and largely disappeared into obscurity — surfacing only for determined collectors and online hunters. The recent restoration was made possible by an extraordinary crowdfunding campaign that raised ¥59,336,002 (roughly $377,769) from 2,953 backers, placing it among the most successful crowdfunded film restorations to date.
The Kerberos Saga imagines an alternate postwar Japan in which Nazi Germany prevailed, later experienced denazification and ultimately occupied Japan under an authoritarian regime. At the centre of the narrative is the Special Armed Garrison — “Kerberos” — a heavily armed counterterror unit based in Tokyo. They clash with insurgents, rival security forces and state institutions. The saga’s aesthetic blends dieselpunk grit with militarized spectacle, most famously embodied by the Wehrmacht-inspired “Protect Gears” — powered suits designed by Yutaka Izubuchi and worn by Kerberos operatives.
Photo: Small SensationsThe Red Spectacles follows Kōichi Todome, a former detective who abandons Japan after his unit is disbanded and an uprising collapses. Years later he returns to fulfill a promise to his comrades, only to find Tokyo transformed: familiar streets twisted into a hostile, dreamlike cityscape that increasingly defies reality.
The anime Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (available to stream on Crunchyroll) captures this bleak civic atmosphere with remarkable clarity, exploring the experience of soldiers and officers within an authoritarian system. Its depiction of civilian uprisings and the militarization of law enforcement resonates uncomfortably with contemporary unrest, underscoring why revisiting these works feels timely.
Oshii has described the original production as an anxious, seat-of-the-pants endeavor that left him uncertain and reliant on the cast and crew’s commitment rather than confidence in the process. That instability shaped early impressions of the film and influenced how audiences received it at the time.
Photo: Small SensationsAfter the premiere, producer Shigeharu Shiba — who risked his company and personally carried multiple production duties — was reportedly the only person to embrace Oshii in the darkened theater and offer a wordless, heartfelt show of support. According to Oshii, that quiet approval was the encouragement he needed during a difficult moment.
Oshii has since dedicated the restored edition to Shiba and to the cast and crew who have passed, treating the project as a tribute to their contributions. Although most of the picture was shot on black-and-white negatives, the finished release is presented as a full-color print except for the film’s opening and closing sequences, a look achieved through the combined efforts of lighting engineer Yoshimi Hosaka and a “prime lens only” camera approach by Yosuke Mamia.
“This 4K restoration didn’t merely withstand degradation — it revealed the film’s true potential.”
With the new 4K transfer, long-time admirers of Ghost in the Shell and Oshii’s broader work can reassess this once-lost entry for themselves. The Red Spectacles is scheduled to premiere in North America on Nov. 21 at the Metrograph theater in New York City. Learn more at Metrograph.
Source: Polygon
