Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
AshUnow
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Roman Sampson
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
Ginger
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
John Doe
This was a good movie directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri and has a lot of action. It also has nice character designs and music. I give 'Demon City Shinjuku' a 6/10
dee.reid
1988's "Demon City Shinjuku" is a movie that I had extremely high hopes for, but got let down instead. That is not to say that the movie is really bad, it's just disappointing. The OVA (original video animation) is directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, that much-feared Anime' (Japanese animation) film director behind "Wicked City" (1987), "Ninja Scroll" (1993), and "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust" (2000). The story is from the Manga (Japanese comic book) series by Hideyuku Kikuchi, who was also behind the original novels for "Wicked City" and "Vampire Hunter D.""Demon City Shinjuku" reunites both Kikuchi and Kawajiri for the first time since "Wicked City."Just to get this out of the way, this is an adult Anime', but it comes nowhere near the lines crossed by "Wicked City" and "Ninja Scroll." You know what I mean: the frequent and explicit sex scenes/nudity and extreme violence. "Demon City Shinjuku" is fairly bloody, but is hardly super-graphic in nature. What would probably earn this movie an "R"-rating if it were live-action or received a theatrical distribution in the United States would be its decidedly coarse language (this review is based on the English-dubbed version) and frank presentation of demons, black magic, and the ghostly netherworld. (It's also interesting to note that some of the characters in the English-dubbed version have British, Mexican and German accents, rather than just standard American English.)The OVA is set in the near future, where Levih Rah, the demonic overlord of Tokyo's Shinjuku district, is trying to bring about a literal Hell on Earth by attempting to open up a gateway that would allow his benefactors in the demonic underworld to roam free in our dimension. The story is set 10 years after Levih Rah defeated the heroic swordsman Genichirou Iyazoi in a duel, which ultimately led to Levih Rah taking over Shinjuku, which eventually became a crime-ridden, demon-roaming necropolis ("city of the dead" in Greek).Now 10 years later, Levih Rah and his demonic forces are once again attempting to bring about the apocalypse, but this time standing in his way is Genechirou's teenage son Kyoya, who also possesses extraordinary sword-fighting skills in addition to the power of Nempo, a form of internal energy that is analogous to the concept of chi in Asian philosophy but is presented here as being something much closer to The Force from the "Star Wars" movies. Kyoya is aided in his travels by the beautiful Sayaka Rama, daughter of the World Federation President; Chibi, a young Shinjuku street hustler; and the enigmatic mystic Mephisto."Demon City Shinjuku" is a vastly uneven and oddly paced feature but is nonetheless entertaining. To me, that's what really counts, despite the obvious failings of Kawajiri's abilities as a director. Where the film redeems itself, I believe, are in its creature designs and story. The creatures in this OVA are pretty cool-looking and terrifying, and it's interesting to note that shape-shifting is very often a recurring theme in Japanese depictions of other-worldly creatures. The story is also very cool and engaging but what draws it back occasionally are flat characters and a disappointing climax that really lets you down considering everything that led up to it.This OVA is not a failure, but it's an interesting feature to watch nonetheless. Even though it was directed by Anime' master Yoshiaki Kawajiri, I would not consider it essential viewing in his catalog of otherwise impressive and stunning Anime' features ("Ninja Scroll" remains my personal favorite of the director). I would recommend only watching if you are a hardcore Kawajiri or Hideyuku Kikuchi fan.7/10
Timothy McKann
When I first watched this movie on the Action Channel, I gotta say that this is one of the most popular anime films since Darkside Blues,and Vampire Hunter D. The film was so cool, I had to see it again,and I did. But after buying the DVD at BestBuy,it turned out to be the best since it was aired on the Action Channel.My favorite characters in the movie are Kyoya,and Mephisto, they are pretty cool. And I do like the fighting scenes, they are intense. And of course. the most scariest thing in the movie are the monsters. So in closing to this film,if you plan to see this film. A word of advice, Please be very careful, it could mess with your head.
Lionsden99
While Demon's City plot may be straight forward it is well worth your time to watch it. Actions scenes are cool enough and the animation is exceptional for being created in 1988. Some minor annoyances I noticed were do to dubbing the voice actors. One character is portrayed with a Texan accent, one of the main characters has a very distinct British voice while another character who is a small Japanese boy speaks with an adults Mexican accent. These in no way would make you turn the film off in the middle, but it makes you wonder if they could have been a little closer with the voice acting to original Japanese Version. Very interesting in the long run though.