Film ● Review: Demon City

Very Average Joe
Apr 25
3 min read

English Title: Demon City

Japanese Title: Demon City 鬼ゴロシ

Director(s): Tanaka Seiji

Screenwriter(s): Tanaka Seiji

Studio: Amuse

Released: 2025

Runtime: 1h 47m

Starring: Ikuta Toma, Suruga Taro, Touma Ami

My Verdict: Ex-assassin goes on a revenge hack-fest. Mostly looks fine. Pacing is not bad but overall not particularly captivating.

● Based on the ongoing manga Oni Goroshi (鬼ゴロシ) by Kawabe Masamichi, the premise is another “highly skilled ex-assassin going after his enemies after they kill his family”. I have not read the manga so this review is purely of the film.

● Set in Shinjo, a fictional port city, the opening shows Sakata Shuhei (Ikuta Toma) driving a matte-grey muscle car and almost singlehandedly wiping out a large group of gangsters with a heavy cleaver. It is to be his last mission as he has a family. Later that night, a group of men wearing oni masks visit his house, killing his wife and young daughter. He doesn’t die even though he takes a bullet to the head.

● Twelve years later, he is released from the prison hospital still in a vegetative state. Soon enough, he wakes up and what follows is basically a “gauntlet run”. Somehow he hasn’t aged much and his muscles haven’t atrophied… it’s that type of film.

● The source being manga and having no need to make a big deal out of it, the film wisely displays somewhat unique hairstyles of the masked villains so the audience knows at least who one of them is. And they reveal themselves later anyway so there is little pretending of having some big reveal or twist.

● As Sakata goes about killing his enemies and their underlings, he conveniently doesn’t get injured which is fine because he is supposed to be that good. But then he does get injured in the final act. Whilst that is expected, the impact on him is inconsistent to the point that it is jarring. Either it doesn’t or it does, or it does gradually, and it is neither of those.

● Visually, it takes a darker tone with a nice palette. There is the effective use of saturated colors and is stronger than it comes across. This is an accomplishment because the colors are there and it is colorful in its own way but never does it take away the dark tone. It also, wisely, avoids duplicating the neon of the John Wick films although there is an obvious influence given the premise.

● The visual tone matches the interior set designs as close to perfect as one can hope, which is obviously also a compliment to the lighting.

● The film editing is mostly fine. However, there are a few key moments during the fight scenes in which the cut is a beat or two too early such that some action detail is missed and/or the flow of the action doesn’t quite match.

● The violence is stylized. It is gritty with plenty of splatter.

● The music is inconsistent and at times has that B-grade quality common in J-dramas. In this case, it begins with some pseudo-death metal. Later, some of it becomes a little thrash with cheesy pseudo-power metal lead guitar that is comical. Dispersed throughout are also the conventional and functional orchestral compositions that work quite well.

● The pacing is mostly quick and measured, quieting down a little in the second act as Sakata figures out where his next targets are. As already mentioned, the film as a whole is a gauntlet run.

● It is somewhat of a gauntlet run for each of his targets as well. As such, it is a little repetitive.

● Although the film is never boring, it lacks the plot and character complexities to be captivating. Although the simplicity is appreciated and a feature-length film has limited time, it needs more character (background) and plot. Unlike John Wick, the film lacks worldbuilding and a mythology which is a disappointment when “demons” are referenced in the use of masks and dialogue.