Demon City Shinjuku (Japan 1993)

Rating: ***

Supernatural nastiness exudes from the "Demon City" which is where our hero must go to fight the supreme bad guy and save the Earth from being overrun by demons. It's essentially "Wicked City" (1992), but without the erotica and gore. It also has a totally cheezy pop soundtrack. The animation and art direction are excellent and the vibrant hues are absolutely gorgeous. The atmosphere is dark and moody and the film is simply beautiful to watch. The weakest element is actually the main character, who is an arrogant and annoying high school student. He's also completely uninteresting. It's the female lead who manages to steal the show, and she is one of the prettiest anime girls I've ever seen. Simply breathtaking.

Notes On The DVD Release: For some reason, US Manga Corps decided to change the name of the villain from "Levi Rah" to "Rebi Ra." This is a huge visual stumbling block when you're reading the subtitles, since the pronuciation is clearly "levi." Also, "rebi" looks weird and sounds awkward when you say it out loud. It reminds me of when another studio changed Lupin III's name to "Rupan" due to copyright and licensing issues.