DEMON CITY SHINJUKU
By: Steve BiodrowskiDate: Tuesday, September 05, 2000
Last week, we reviewed director Yoshiaki Kawajiri's anime masterpiece Wicked City(1989), which had been re-released on video, so this week seemed like a good time to take a look at a similarly titled follow-up, Demon City Shinjuku (1993), available on tape and DVD from Central Park Media, on which Kawajiri credit as 'Character Design and Director.' This is another piece of action-packed anime, filled with imaginative battle scenes and a wonderfully creepy sense of a modern city infested with supernatural evilelements that should not disappoint fans of Wicked City.
What will surprise viewers of the older film is the relatively restrained approach on view here. This film falls safely into PG territory (it now carries an MPAA rating of PG-13, which seems more the result of the underlying scariness than from overt violence). In fact, the film at one point plays almost like a joke on audiences either eagerly expecting or dreadfully anticipating the all-too-typical violence-against-women so often seen in animefantastique. In an early scene, the otherwise brave but in this case foolish heroine follows a shady-looking character down a dark alley, only to find herself on the verge of being assaulted. Her attacker, however, manages only to pull her dress down a little below her shoulders (leaving her bra intact) before the hero arrives to save the day. The set up has led us to expect so much worse (the sort of thing we would have seen in Wicked City or Urotsukidoji) that we breathe a sigh of relief. It's as if Kawajiri were having a little laugh at our expenseespecially at the expense of those who cringe from the adult aspects of anime. 'See,' the director seems to be saying, 'I can deliver a squeaky-clean adventure story suitable for the family, without all that other stuff that sends of the sensitive among you into fits of revulsion.'
The film begins with a fanciful aerial battle between two super-powered swordsmen above the Shinjuku district of Tokyo (also the setting for a climactic battle in the Urotsukidoji saga). After the evil Levih Rah dispatches his opponent, he begins to set in motion the process that will unleash the forces of evil upon the world at largea process that will take ten years, during which time Shinjuku will remain a realm of almost impenetrable darkness. A decade later, that power has extended far enough to threaten the life of a politician important to the future of world peace. His daughter, Sayaka, begs the help of Kyoya, a young swordsman who just happens to be the son of the unfortunate loser in the opening battle. Like his father, he's not merely an agile warrior; he also channels a metaphysical, cosmic-type of power (which sounds suspiciously like the Force). Kyoya is reluctant to join Sayaka, but eventually he agrees to accompany her into the Demon City, which has long ago been abandoned by the authorities, who were unable to oppose Rah's power. There, they go on a 'Heart of Darkness' type quest for Rah, encountering various threats and a few ambiguous allies, including the amusingly named Mephisto, who apparently thinks the Evil in Shinjuku is not much worse than the evil in the world at large, where wars extract a toll on human life beyond anything that occurs in this particular district.
It's a pretty straightforward narrative (search until you find the bad guy, then fight him), but it's handled with undeniable style. The background exposition is more than a little reminiscent of Star Wars, but that's not enough to seriously diminish the entertainment value, which rests mostly on the visuals. The depiction of a modern metropolis gone almost literally to hell is exquisitely handled, and the atmosphere makes almost every scene interesting even as the story follows its familiar path. The characterizations fall into recognizable types (the brave girl, the young man who must live up to his father), but they are nevertheless engaging. In fact, the whole thing wins you over to such an extent that it can pull out the most cornball contrivances and make you love them.
To whit: in the climactic battle, Kyoya's wooden sword is destroyed (I know, wood doesn't sound very threatening, but it's powered by that cosmic force he channels). It looks as if the battle is hopeless, and the very ground is rent asunder, swallowing him into its depths. Well, what do you think he finds at the bottom of that chasm? His father's sword, the one we saw lost in the opening battlenow imbedded in a stone like Excalibur itself. I don't think I'm giving away too much by saying that, with dad's sword in hand, Kyoya goes from being merely good to being damn near undefeatable as he then proceeds to whup ass all over Levih Rah. Yeah, it's predictablebut it's so good you may be surprised to hear yourself cheering out loud with wild enthusiasm.
The bottom line: Demon City Shinjuku is no match for its companion piece Wicked City, but then, how could it be? It hasn't got quite the same combo of action and hard-boiled aesthetics, and the attempt to remain within the PG boundary lessens the dramatic impact. Nevertheless, the film is still filled with surprises, bursts of exciting action, spooky scares, and even moments of sentimental beauty. If you like watching anime, and don't want to be embarrassed if your kids want to watch too, then you should make an effort to pick up a copy of Demon City Shinjuku
The film is available from Central Park Media in VHS and DVD formats. The videotape is available in two versions, one dubbed and one subtitled; the disc features both versions. The tapes cost $17.99; the disc costs $25.49. I should admit that my review is based on neither of these: I bought the now out-of-print subtitled laserdisc in a red tag discount bin for $7.99, but I can honestly say that I would not have been disappointed had I paid the full DVD price. Since the laserdisc was also released by Central Park Media, it is safe to assume that the same high image quality will be evident on the DVD. In fact, I can't think of much room for improvement, except that you won't have to flip the disc between sides A and B(the DVD does offer a character gallery and previews of other Central Park releases).
DEMON CITY SHINJUKU (1993, home video release 1998). Directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. Available on VHS and DVD. DVD with Japanese and English Dolby 2.0 and English subtitles.
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