Demon City Shinjuku

The name Hideyuki Kikuchi is a name that I hold in high esteem. As the creator of Vampire Hunter D and Wicked City, his works, along with the works of Shōji Kawamori (Macross), helped set the stage for Anime’s popularity in the West. Hideyuki Kikuchi created worlds in which the living world interacts with the spiritual world, often to the detriment of humanity. His original novels have been adapted by fellow collaborator Yoshiaki Kawajiri and are often hyperviolent or hypersexual and, in the case of Wicked City, straddled the fence between anime and hentai.

While fans remember Vampire Hunter D and Wicked City, few fans seem to remember Demon City Shinjuku. Released in 1988, Demon City Shinjuku is an anime adaptation of a novel by Hideyuki Kikuchi. Makai City Shinjuku, also known as Monster City or Hell City Shinjuku, is the first novel entry comprising a series of seven books. It is also the only novel of the series to be adapted into an anime.

Under the direction of Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who directed Wicked City, Goku: Midnight Eye, and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Demon City Shinjuku follows a familiar plot trope found in both anime and martial arts films. The story generally goes as follows: a great teacher or grand master has two pupils. One pupil goes rogue and either seeks revenge against the other student, teacher, or both or just wants to destroy the world. In some cases, like the film “Shaolin versus Llama,” the antagonist was never noble. Western animation is also not immune to this trope as “Night of the Ninja,” the thirty-fifth episode from Batman: The Animated Series, features a ninja that wanted revenge against Bruce Wayne. Named Kyodai Ken, he and Wayne were rivals and were both students of the same dojo before Kyodai was kicked out.

Its of little consequence then when Makai City Shinjuku opens that were are greeted with a struggle of contenders. Our hero Genichirou Izayoi is locked in a battle against Levi Ra. The two, like Anikan and Obi-wan, were almost brothers. Except there's always that brother who craves more power and is motivated to do anything to get it. There is a girl involved in some cases, but not here, just unlimited power!! If that means selling your soul to the Devil, so be it. The result is the defeat of the hero and the destruction of Shinjuku.

As a history lesson, Shinjuku is a special ward within Tokyo and is associated with Shinjuku Station, the busiest rail hub in the world. It is no surprise that Shinjuku features prominently in numerous anime. For example, Tokyo Ghoul, Shinjuku, is home to Uta’s HySy ArtMask Studio. Uta is the creator of Kaneki’s first mask. Additionally, Shinjuku features prominently I'm the Liden Films animated Midnight Occult Civil Servants. So apparently, there's plenty of spiritual activity, and these Demons want to come to the surface. Levi-Rah intends to make that dream a reality.

Ten years have passed since the fight between Genichirou and Levi Ra, Shinjuku City is a literal Hell hole, and beasts of all kinds have slowly entered the city. The event dubbed the “Devil Shake” leaves few inhabitants. Those who remain exist in a literal prison. Genichirou is gone but has left behind a son and a powerful force known as Nempo. With limited training, Kyoya Izayoi is tasked with defeating Levi Ra and preventing the Demon King from coming to Earth. He’s excited, right? Wrong.

Kyoya is content living out his days as a Doja instructor, eating ramen and flirting with the local waitress. Unfortunately, destiny and fortune are two fates from which he can no longer hide. The stakes are high, so when Agni Rai appears as an apparition, he does what all anime protagonists do; he humbly submits and carries the mantle.

Actually, he attacks an older man floating in the sky! An action that off rip seems dumb and highlights the immature nature of our hero. It also shows how inept his abilities are. Credit Master Rai for being patient as this bad comedy is occurring, but the Master has more pressing matters. While Kyoko flails about, he tells him that his father was once a pupil of his and a student of Nempo. Nempo is a powerful kai ability bordering on the miraculous. Levi Ra and Genichirou were once his students, with the former turning evil. In three days, Levi Ra will bring forth his master, who has possessed him with extraordinary powers. The result is the destruction of humanity on Earth.

In the eighties, a man needed a brave, beautiful face to motivate him into doing what is noble. We find that person in Sayaka Rama, the daughter of the Federation president. She decides to take on Ra herself. The two go into Shinjuku to bring an end to the madness!

Yoshiaki Kawajiri was a massive fan of John Carpenter, so it's no surprise that we see influences from Carpenter’s films, including Escape from New York. The dark and gritty textures and layers are all reminiscent of the once great city of Manhattan, now a Maximum Security Prison in the film. The additional characters of Mephisto and Chibi are counterparts of the film's characters, Brain and Cabbie. Like Carpenter’s films don’t expect much character development. Characters are type cast to fulfill their roles in anime. This is not a negative for me as I found the character types to be familiar and enjoyable.

Much of the enjoyment can be credited to Madhouse Studios, which handled the animation, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who also dealt with the character designs and directing duties. Those familiar with his work will notice commonalities between Wicked City and Monster City. His character designs exude sensuality, fear, anger, beauty, etc., and Demon City Shinjuku characters are easily distinguishable.

Notable is also the voice acting which is on par for this type of anime. Hideyuki Hori and Hiromi Tsuru lend their voice acting skills two the anime, and I found myself rooting for both protagonists. From the start, I recognized Hiromi Tsuru as the voice of Bulma from DBZ though Sayaka is not as headstrong. Another note is the smooth-voiced Hiromi Tsuru, who voices the mysterious Mephisto. You’ll recognize him as the Narrator from Wicked City. Lastly, Kiyoshi Kobayashi (Levi Ra) is a villain; all I can say is Hell yeah!

Makai City Shinjuku is an enjoyable trek into a typical anime trope, making the Earth the Demon world. It features the beautiful heroine, the smart-ass kid, and the reluctant hero who is out for revenge. These are familiar themes. It also dabbles in human suffering with hints of Eastern philosophy. It's not over the top regarding its sensuality and compared to Wicked City, that may be a minus for some fans. Still, at two hours, I found the film enjoyable though the ending was a bit cheesy if not rushed. Give it a watch.