#deep analysis

2. The show gives us all that eye contact. Conrad is written to be a man with little words, so the way the show portrays him is perfect in that he may not say how he feels all the time, but he says it with his eyes and actions every time.

3. We see Conrad WANT to be with Belly, and make it obvious his motives for not being with her without ever saying it. In the books we get Conrad's perspective a lot more clearly but very sparingly, so in the show I appreciate how much they can demonstrate his want to just make everyone happy. He tells Belly he didn’t mean what he said bc he knows Jere also loves Belly, and though Conrad motives are described as selfish by other characters, his motives are ALWAYS and ONLY selfless. Only in book 3 do we finally see him act selfishly, and that's only when he finds out Jere doesn't deserve Belly. It's nice how the show can make that clear without having to outright say it.

4. Conrad is the only one who knows about Susannah's cancer in the show in s1. I think this detail is crucial and makes so much more sense for characters. Jeremiah is described as a manchild throughout the books, and he barely ever handles things in an emotionally mature way. (Granted he's a CHILD in the first two books so it makes sense) Jere usually makes things about himself, so when in book 1 it reveals he knew about Susannah's cancer too, it makes no sense. Conrad shutting down and becoming quietly angry and resentful is very Conrad, he didn't want to make anyone else deal with the burden. But considering Jere's personality throughout the books, if Jere knew too, he would have acted irrationally and probably lashed out. Being quiet about it isn't very Jere of him. This detail change also highlighted who Conrad is. He keeps his sorrows to himself, bc he doesn't want anyone else to be burdened with them, something be does throughout the books.

5. The show demonstrates how much Conrad always cared for Belly. In the book we see memories that show us how much Conrad always protected Belly, or always defended her. He always was the one who let her tag along or stopped Steven and Jere when they started antagonizing her. He always enjoyed her company. The show did this so well by just showing us little scenes, little ways that made it clear that he always loved Belly for who she was.

6. Conrad makes it clear he loves Belly for who she is early in s1. When Belly is doing the deb ball, he hates it bc he thinks it's not who Belly is (and it isn't). This was so important to me, bc it showed how much Conrad really truly loved her for who she was, and when seeing people try to change her or treat her differently suddenly bc now she's considered "pretty", it makes him so mad bc she was always beautiful to him. She never needed to change.

7. The way Belly looks at Conrad, and vice versa. In the books Belly says how much she really does love both of them, but that she loved Jeremiah in a way that was a best friend she could spend forever with, and Conrad was this all consuming love that she never could get over. No matter how much she loved both of them, Conrad was someone who was the SUN to her. She would ALWAYS brighten when he came into the room. She would always love him, no matter how many years they spend apart. Conrad says that he feels the same way in book 3. The show shows us this by LITERALLY just their looks. Belly looks at Jere like he's her best friend, but she looks at Conrad like he's the love of her life.

8. The looks Jere gives them. The way he just shows up to ruin their moment. The way he would always angrily pull them apart or get jealous. He's the same way in the book, and the way they portray it mirrors perfectly how I read it. Like no matter how hard he tried, he knew, deep down, he'd never be Conrad. This also is another demonstration of the differences between Jere and Con. Conrad saw how much Jere loved her, and he buried his feelings down and let Jere have her. Jeremiah saw how much Conrad loved her, how she was the one person who made him SMILE, how she was the one person who brought out the old Conrad, and he did everything he could to pull them apart.

9. Jeremiah's evident jealousy of Conrad. In the books, Jeremiah states that he wished he could just beat Conrad at something for once, be better at something, having something Conrad couldnt have. Conrad was their dads favorite, and Jere and Con both knew. This made Jere always jealous of him, and never feeling like enough. The show barely has to even say that and the viewers already can tell. Jere would do ANYTHING to just win, to beat Conrad for once. I love that the show makes this clear, and even make his jealousy turn into resentment, because it also quietly echoes why Jeremiah never let Conrad and Belly be happy together. Even though I'm sure he could tell that Belly loved Con more, he didn't want Conrad to get another thing Jere wanted: Belly.

10. Compatibility. In the books, Conrad takes care of Belly, he understands Belly, they understand each other in a way that only makes sense to them. Belly takes care of him too, and even when he does stupid a** sh*t, she always to some degree understands. She's happy and positive, and he's serious and unwavering. They balance each other out in a way that just works. In the show, this is portrayed perfectly. Jeremiah's big personality makes Belly forced to be the serious one, she's forced to be the logical thinker and the planner, because Jere doesn't think ANYTHING through. Belly forgets to eat and Conrad is making her meals and feeding her at every chance he gets, meanwhile Jere just buys food and offers her some if she's hungry. Jeremiah isn't bad for her, he pushes her to get out of her comfort zone and Belly pushes him to be responsible and make wise choices, but their personalities also don't harmonize in a way that helps build each other up like Bonrad does. The show demonstrates this just by the little things, bc that's what Conrad notices. Jeremiah is all about big elaborate gestures, and Conrad is about the small things like making her food, giving her his sweat shirt when shes cold, asking her if she wants her favorite muffin, knowing her fave stuffed animal was the polar bear not the giraffe bc he SAW how she looked at it - and that's who Belly is. She isn't big gestures and elaborate weddings or flashy deb balls, she likes simple, she cares about the small moments, the details, just like him.

The film is set in an alternate history: post-World War II Japan is occupied not by the U.S., but by Germany. As a result, the country becomes a semi-authoritarian police state. Resistance movements (“Sekta”) emerge among the people, while the government establishes paramilitary forces to suppress them. The red-eyed, heavily armored units known as the Kerberos Panzer Cops become the symbol of this oppressive power.

At the core of Jin-Roh is the way the state legitimizes its violence. Everything carried out under the guise of security is, in fact, a tool to control the populace. The wolf metaphor represents the state soldier hunting the people rather than protecting them. In this process, the individual is completely crushed; the protagonist, Fuse, obeys orders without question, losing his humanity in the process. The erasure of the individual under a totalitarian regime is one of the film’s most palpable themes.

The recurring Little Red Riding Hood tale throughout the film also forms part of this framework. The story represents the ideology propagated by the political power to placate the populace. At the same time, it symbolizes the transformation of the individual into a wolf — a tool serving the system at the expense of their own humanity.

In the world of Jin-Roh, everyone betrays someone. The government betrays the resistance, the resistance betrays its own members, and the individual even betrays their own feelings… This cycle of betrayal illustrates the impossibility of trust under an authoritarian system.