This anime drops you into a story that feels like it's working on the second act. This lead me to wonder if Demon City was a sequel. Is this related to Wicked City? It certainly looks very similar. Turns out the two are unrelated, in story, however they share the same director, and writer.
The flaws within are many: this takes what should be a simple story of good versus evil, and drops the ball at every turn. There are huge pacing issues, I was so bored during any moments of exposition. We only have two important characters, yet they are never fleshed out, and I was unclear on their motivation. In short, we have people I don't know, on a quest I don't understand.
This all sounds bad, but the movie does have some good qualities: mainly the aesthetics. I love the look and tone of anime from the '80s, and '90s. So, it looks amazing. Another plus is how it blends so many genre elements: horror, action, fantasy, kind of gritty noir/sci-fi. Fans of classic anime will know immediately what I am talking about. That era was all about jamming in all the best parts of nerd genres.
So, yeah, the action moments are good. We get demons, and violence. Not nearly enough nudity for me.
Would I ever watch this again? No. Do I regret watching it once? Also, no. The movie is a visual feast, problem is, that's all it is.
I'd recommend this to hardcore anime fans only.
Shout by De-monBlockedParent2024-05-14T07:00:46Z
It is considered a classic of 80s anime and you can understand why. The aesthetics of the time have something that has been lost in current animation, it is dark, gore, a lot of demonic fantasy. It just lacks some nudity to compare to Ninja Scroll or Vampire Hunter D.
But it is also inferior to the aforementioned films. The story is very simple and the characters, including the protagonist, are not very well developed. It's worth it if you like this style of anime but it's quickly forgotten.