Welcome to Astral Animations, where we'll examine the imports of Japanese animation currently available in the United States.
This review does not represent the opinions of the general public. It reflects my personal thoughts and opinions on the movie.
That said, on to the review!
A freak earthquake--strangely confined to the Shinjuku area of Tokyo--unleashed untold horrors on the region, horrors which, like the earthquake, for the most part limited its presence only to Shinjuku. Only three people knew that the earthquake was actually merely the side effect of something greater than nature itself: a battle between good and evil which, unfortunately, evil won. Agni Lai had the great sadness of watching his two greatest pupils, Izayoi Genichirou and Levih Rah, square off against each other in a battle to the death with nothing less than the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Genichirou lost that battle, allowing Rah's inhuman masters to attain a foothold into the human world. Fortunately for the human race, however, Rah requested--and was granted--ten years to properly prepare the world for the arrival of the demons.
Now, those ten years are nearly up. The world's "modern messiah," as the media dub him, has arrived in Tokyo, only to be attacked by some strange, demonic plant. Only Master Lai has the power and skill to keep him alive, but by doing so he prevents himself from challenging Levih Rah. His only hope--the world's only hope--is Izayoi Kyoya, the son of Genichirou who has inherited his power and natural skill at nempo. But Kyoya has only what training he has managed to acquire on his own, nothing of the same caliber as his father pursued. And yet, it must be enough, because there is no one else in the world who might have even a ghost of a chance of succeeding.
Though he initially refuses the assignment, Kyoya reluctantly involves himself when a young woman--none other than that modern messiah's daughter--goes into Shinjuku to face Rah herself. With no choice ahead of him but to assist her--it helps that she's really pretty--Kyoya goes with her into the heart of Demon City, always aiming to prevent Levih Rah from opening the demon void above the city and plunging the entire world into madness and chaos. Before they can stop Rah, however, they need to reach him, and that won't be easy. Quite aside from the human predators that lurk along the outskirts of Shinjuku, there are the strange, inhuman foes with tastes ranging from flesh and blood to bones and their marrow. Can a young, inexperienced nenpo devotee and a teenage girl with a large and generous heart stop the forces of evil from conquering the mortal world?
I could go on and on about how much I enjoy this anime. In all honesty, it is probably one of my favorites. Demon City Shinjuku involves everything a fantasy/sci-fi/horror fan like me could possibly want: monstrous demons, mysterious strangers, enchanted (so-to-speak) swords, tremendous battles, and the list goes on. But don't think that this anime is all about fighting and destruction.
One of the more interesting points in the entire feature is Mephisto. I have absolutely no idea who or what he is. He says he's just a man, but he does such strange things and his voice is so devoid of emotion that it's obvious he isn't "just a man." Still, perhaps it's this ambiguity that makes him such an interesting part of the anime. Of course, it might also be the way he handles himself with a rather leggy (and arm-y) woman, which is to say "quietly" and "forcefully" throughout their time together. Well, at least until she exploded. But that's another story.
A word of advice to you: although the American dubbed offering is less expensive than the subtitled version, I strongly urge you to get the subtitled version instead of the dubbed...for this one, anyway. I have no problem watching anime with English dubbed into it. I just wish the voices sounded more appropriate to the character. For example, the anime opens up (after an initial battle scene between Genichirou and Rah) with Kyoya sitting inside a noodle shop when the waitress/cook returns from some sort of errand. That's fine, I'll buy that waitresses and/or cooks often have "troubles" with their errands. However, hearing her rebuff Kyoya with a distinct Southern inflection made the whole thing jar. Also, the English dubbed version if filled with a considerable amount of swearing. If that's your thing, then go for it. But if it isn't, I'd suggest buying the subtitled version instead.
You should be able to purchase Demon City Shinjuku on DVD or VHS cassette at any video store. Otherwise, you can contact U.S. Manga or The Right Stuf International to find out how to order it.
Interested in buying this video? You can! Just follow the link to order the DVD version or the VHS English subtitled and VHS English dubbed versions. You can also visit the Stellar Video Store for other titles.
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