Makaitoshi Shinjuku
Tags: violence

Plot synopsis:
The movie begins with a battle between former friends, the evil Rebi Ra (also pronounced Levi Ra) versus the short-lived hero Genichirou. Rebi Ra has allowed himself to be possessed in order to gain the incredible powers of evil and plans to summon demons to conquer the world. Defeating Genichirou and destroying Shinjuku, a part of Tokyo, with a devastating earthquake, the area becomes a demon-haunted wilderness. The novel doesn't have a fight scene between Genichirou and Rebi Ra. It opens with a quiet time in Shinjuku and then in a sudden change the Demon Quake hits only Shinjuku.
Ten years later, the World President, put in place to uphold world peace, is attacked by Rebi Ra with cursed plants indirectly to keep his old master, Aguni Rai, as the protector of the president, occupied. However, Rebi Ra did not know that Genichirou had a son who inherited his powers and more. After an emotional plea from the president's daughter, Sayaka Rama, the unlikely hero Kyoya Izayoi follows her deep into the heart of the evil city, finding new allies and terrifying enemies along the way. In the novel Aguni Rai asks the Information Bureau Japan Section Chief to look for Kyoya as the only one who could stop Rebi Ra. The Section Chief tests Kyoya with a commando cyborg and then relates to Kyoya that the president is in a life-threatening curse and only has three days to defeat Rebi Ra before the president is killed as the ritual sacrifice to bring the Demon Realm to Earth, which he failed to do years prior, causing the Demon Quake. During the course of explanation Aguni Rai uses a doppelganger to communicate to Kyoya from New York in hopes of convincing him to save the world. Sayaka soon enters and pleads with him to do so as well. Kyoya finally decides to help because of Sayaka's pleas.

Review: Kawajiri's earlier works..Still not a master but enroute!.
Not Bad. Actually better than a lot of anime's out there.
Demons trying to take over tokyo thus the world.
Father tries to stop the villain but fails, 10 years later comes the prodigal son and wham-bam blah blah & so on....Good action, english dubbing is Ok. Needed a little bit more insight on the storyline and the characters lacked some depth.
If you follow Kawajiri's work you can c glimpses of his genious.
But fans who r looking for Kawajiri's mastery wont find a lot of it in this one..
good plot, no character development.
The son of a Nempo master must stop a sorcerer from raising hell.
This is a Bruce Willis meets anime type of film.
There isn't much character development at all.
What's good about the film is that although the plot line is common in anime, it still entertains.
See this if you're fond of lots of action and could care less about emotion..
This anime kicked butt.
Lots and lots of action and a good story.
Great demons and interesting super-powers.
Just a great movie.
If you like anime you'll like this..
Classic Horror Anime.
I watched this a long time ago in the days of VHS and I loved it because it told a great story and the characters were interesting.
And this is among the favourites of Yosiaki Kawajiri's works I seen.Also the music was nothing short of great even fantastic in places.The animation was top notch as well as the fights and character development in this good piece of old school anime.Also we had a fearsome antagonist in Levi Rah and a brief explanation of what made him become what he became which always suits any kind of anime or manga.Also I liked the English dub and Brad Lavelle did a great job in voicing the main character Kyoya Izayoi and Bob Sessions was great in voicing the main villain Levi Rah.So this is an enjoyable anime made in the late 1980's..
Fast paced anime action at its best..
This is one of my favorite anime movies I have seen.
It is very fast paced with really cool action scenes, likable characters dubbed good, and good villains as well.
Only one dude can save the world from the demons...his father tried to previously, but failed.
My favorite character had to be Mephisto.
You wonder if he is on the side of good, or perhaps evil.
Through it all the dude fights his way through the demons till he has the final confrontation with the man responsible for his dad's death.
The final conflict is one for the ages and the ending to this one won't leave you saying "what just happened?"..
One of the best horror anime ever..
Yoshiaki Kawajiri has made his reputation for eye-popping fright visuals and this is his masterpiece of terror.
Shinjuku, in Tokyo's business district, has become a portal through which shape-shifting denizens of the demon realm are seeking to invade earth.
But a plucky girl and jaded street samurai are on hand to foil their plans.
What follows is a fast moving, action nightmare highlighted by nightmarish visions of seemingly ordinary people and objects morphing into their terrifying demon forms.
The Main Reason Being That This Is A Low Budget, Direct To DVD Movie From The Early Days Of Kawajiri When His Peak Was Wicked City, Its Hard Enough Finding "Ninja Scroll" In Australia.Now I've Stopped That Onto What I Thought, I Saw The English Dub, The Plot Overall Was Good But DON'T See The English Dub, A Kid Has A Mexican Accent In That Dub Which Ruined My Suspension Of Disbelief That This Could Happen To Tokyo(I Suspend My Disbelief As Far As A Movie Is Willing To Bend And This Is Anime For God Sakes, You Could Suspend Your Disbelief That A Whole 8 Minute Fight Occurs Entirely In Mid Air.) The Original Voices Were SO MUCH BETTER!
I Thought That This Was One Of Kawajiri's Lesser Works, He Has Done Better With Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust, Wicked City, Highlander: Search For Vengeance & Ninja Scroll.
However I Thought It Had A Good Story Considering The Runtime Of 77 Minutes.Overall If You Want Kawajiri In The Masters Chair Then Watch "Wicked City" Followed By "Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust" However If You Want A Film To Keep You Entertained About A Prodigal Son Taking Down A Demon World In 77 Minutes Then Go Ahead.
I Liked It..
Had high hopes, got let down a little bit by this one.
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.
Another classic from the crew who brought you Ninja Scroll.
*note: this review is based on the subtitled version*For an anime thats duration is a little under an hour, "Demon City: Shinjuku" is definately up there with some of my all-time favorites.
Since it was created by some of the same dudes who made the HUGE hit "Ninja Scroll", "Demon City" is very often compared to it, and is therefore, looked down upon for being nothing like "Scroll" (just look at some of the other comments on this film made by other IMDB users).
That's probably why I love it so much.I HATED "Ninja Scroll".
So really, I had no real big expectations, other than the fact that it *could* be a bomb, being released on U.S. MANGA, who are known for some really mish-mash anime releases.
However, "Demon City" blew me away with it's clean animation, in-depth storyline, amazing character design, and an ending that's just cheesy enough to still be cool.The best thing about "Demon City: Skinjuku" is it's evil side.
The demons, the big bad guy, and the cursed city of Shinjuku itself, all well though out and beautifully designed.
Each battle scene is very different from the next, my favorite being the one in which our heroine confronts a wall of fire conceived from the pain, hatred, and sorrow of the dead.My only complaint about "Demon City: Shinjuku" is the ending.
It's a good cheese, so it's not what the ending IS that bothers me, but just how abrupt it ends.
Our hero saves the day, kisses the girl, roll credits.Using my grading system that seems to p*ss so many off, I'd give "Demon City: Shinjuku" a B+.
I love it.
I don't really know why, because it's quite different from what I usually enjoy in anime titles, but I love it nonetheless..
Like Wicked City but Better.
As has been said before, this film is just plain awesome.
The animation is top quality and unlike Demon City's counterpart Wicked City, this film can be enjoyed by pretty much any anime fan.
Wicked city and Demon City's storylines have many parallels minus the sex.
Like Wicked City one of the demons is even an arachnid/humanoid type of creature for example.
This title has a great storyline, lots of action, and interesting characters.
I don't think I can really say anything that hasn't been said in other reviews on the net so I'll leave it at that.
One neat thing,  watch for scenes from the opening battle on the television screen in the movie Johnny Mnemonic.
Demon City Shinjuku is just so weird, you have to love it.
Sure, it's not the best anime out there, but it's not bad at all either.
The character designs are appealing, the story solid, the English dub is awful, however, and the animation is good.
It's directed by Kawajiri Yoshiaki, director of Ninja Scroll and the X TV series.
In all, it's cool.
now this is an anime!
its not the best demon busting i've seen, but it gets the job done.
the action sequences are nice, but what really makes this movie fall from being great is the lousy ending!!!!
why couldn't the ending be as good as the kick ass beginning??
if you like demons and ninja skill, see this..
Killer and Cool.
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.
the most scariest thing in the movie are the monsters.
Star Wars in Tokyo.
Demon City Shinjuku is a not particularly interesting entry in the anime genre, with a derivative story.
Modeled closely on the Star Wars paradigm, it follows the adventures of a young hero, teamed with a female sidekick / princess type and a holographic spiritual mentor, who must defeat an evil man with supernatural powers.
Just remove the bizarre demons and punks out of a poor man's Akira, and add in space battles, and you have a George Lucas feature.Aside from the unoriginal plot, the film suffers from being quite juvenile.
It's not just that the violence and nudity are kept to a largely PG-13 level.
The film's overall tone is juvenile, without any of the intelligent plotting of Akira or the philosophical themes of Ghost in the Shell.
Moreover, the animation comes across as that of a rather grimy Saturday morning cartoon, with none of the beauty of artists such as Hayao Miyazaki.Ultimately, one cannot escape the conclusion that this was a bargain basement anime thrown onto the American market to cash in on the success of better features like those named above.
The only good I can see to this feature is that it would make a reasonably good introduction to more adult anime to teens who are growing out of the Dragonball Z stage..
Not a bad piece of anime,.
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..
could we add a little more suck to this movie please?
I spent $20 on this movie.
I had never seen this movie before I bought it.
I saw a commerical on TV for the best of Japanese anime.
I like stories about demons, I like anime.
Wow this movie should rock!
I hate this movie!
The characters swear on an almost constant basis, that's the humor of this movie.
The main characters barley evolve.
The ending really sucks.
The ending really sucks.
I would've been happier with a guy dancing around in a dinosaur outfit than the ending they put in this piece of crap.
I consider something violent when there's blood and lots of it.
Even the preschoolers could've created something more interesting than this.
So why don't I give it one point?
Well that's easy, and there's two reasons for that: 1 point for the swearing.
1 point for the wooden sword.
Unless you're in the mood for something to complain about don't watch this anticipating anything.
The characters are dull with the exception of the colorful language, the action is tolerable but still not very good, and the ending is the most disgraceful thing since boy bands.
Visually Entertaining.
This is really cool looking anime, with a pretty thin plot, as previously mentioned.If charater development is important, skip this one.If you like great visuals with lots of action, you will enjoy this.A simple sushi-western,  Clint Eastwood kind of story about a lone warrior saving the girl.Excellent animation and some very cool fight scenes.
If you like a vusially stunning film, but don't mind a thin plot, this is for you..
There's Good Bad Anime...Then There's Bad Bad Anime.
Yoshiaki Kawajiri has some fun, if questionable, popcorn flicks under his name.
Demon City Shinjuku (where did the name Hell City Shinjuku, US come from?) is not one of them.
DCS is everything bad about the violent anime of the era, and nothing good.
Worst of all, it has little to laugh at, or guilty-pleasure action.The hero is the stock, young, masculine, Japanese every-man.
The villain is evil with no character behind him.
The love interest is simply there, and lacks any real reason for affection.
Their pasts are empty, their presents are uninteresting, and their futures lack change.
Its just as pandering as the shallow moe anime of today, only for a different audience of a different time.The animation and action scenes are alright, but without any likable context to ground them, I wasn't amused.
You can see this kind of stuff in many other crappy forgotten demon anime.
The one saving grace is a fight with a seductive demoness on a pool table.
It was the stylized, over-the-top bad I like from Kawajiri.
But its a lone, short scene.
You've also got a final battle that's easily won through deus ex machina, like they couldn't come up or afford an actual fight.
That ruins the film even for the most tolerant retro-nerd side of me.There are hundreds of anime out there.
While I can't say I hate DCS, there isn't a good reason to see it..
just a good old 80s anime at it best.
For some viewer whom expect to see a raw and gritty with ultra violent like Yoshiaki Kawajiri early work Wicked City will be pretty disappointed because this movie is not like it at all.This is a chessy and over the top anime in a good way with a very simple plot you may see in other anime but the good thing is it not taken it self too seriously.It has good character development,typical 80s animation good in it own right.The only minus thing for me is the last part the ending is pretty rough and i wish they made the anime a bit more longer to satisfied the audience with an epic battle.At an anime it while dated but if you grew up watching this movie it may give you a nostalgic felling