Anime Film Review: Wicked City

Very Average Joe
Jun 6
3 min read

English Title: Wicked City

Japanese Title: 妖獣都市 [lit. demon/monster city]

Director(s): Kawajiri Yoshiaki

Screenwriter(s): Osada Norio

Studio: Madhouse

Released: 1987

Runtime: 1h 22m

Starring: Yara Yuusaku, Fujita Toshiko, Nagai Ichiro, Yokoo Mari, Aono Takeshi

Based on the first of the Wicked City novel series by Kikuchi Hideyuki, this is a noir action-fantasy thriller set in late 20th-century Tokyo. I have not read the novel so this brief review is of the film only.

Taki Renzaburou is a young man and as a bit of a womanizer, he is invited home by a woman he met at a bar. Later that night, the woman reveals herself to be a spider demon, something hinted at by the kanji “you” (妖) in the title. Unable to finish him off, she escapes and it is clear to Taki that the attack is no mere coincidence given the timing.

This is a world where humans and so-called demons try to co-exist. Every few hundred years, a treaty is signed and one is about to be signed that extremist demon elements are against.

Taki officially works in the sales department of a company but he is actually a member of the “Black Guard”, somewhat like an enforcement agent for humans. He is tasked with protecting Giuseppe Mayart, an old man who is important to the peace process. Taki is partnered with Makie, a beautiful demon woman who is a Black Guard for the other side. Mayart is an old pervert who is more interested in visiting clubs than the treaty and the plot follows Taki and Makie as the two try to protect their VIP…

Like quite a few anime films from the late 1980s, it aims for an adult audience and tries to be edgy. The tone is definitely noir: Taki is handsome and a womanizer, he is an enforcement agent (a variation of the detective) and his partner is a beautiful woman. He even has a revolver that is more like a hand cannon.

There is no shortage of sex, sexual imagery and violence. Unfortunately, there are times when this is done for the sake of it because that’s just the style. Whilst it is not quite a psychological horror, there is that influence. It would be better if this aspect is stronger.

Makie, despite being highly capable, just happens to get in enough trouble that requires rescuing by Taki, thus an excuse for more sex and violence. He is a bit of a “romantic”, which is fine in itself, but it is obvious that is just more of that noir trope and plotting. To be fair, she does save or help him at least once.

The pacing is decent. True to the genre, it is not fast but it is not too slow. Either way, at a short runtime of 1h 22m, it wisely avoids being a drag.

The music is a mix of 80s synths commonly heard in action-thrillers as well as woodwinds typical of noir. Visually, it looks great. The details and the rendering, especially of the environment, are nicely done and this was before the use of CG.

On balance, it is a moderately intriguing premise. The dark tone is consistent and true to the genre. There is enough action although it can use more suspense and it can be more thrilling. The pacing is steady, although the plotting and the sex and violence are too cheesy. Despite the weaknesses, one can still see how this is considered a classic.

As a sidebar, one can also see Kawajiri using a similar style and approach in Ninja Scroll (1993) which, fortunately, is a much more mature work. The characters are fuller, and the sex and violence are more measured and fitting to the storytelling.