Wicked City (1987) User Reviews

Sleazy Japanese Futuristic Sci-fi Horror Anime

[robertrutledge · 6/10 · 16 January 2022]

This film is one of the more interesting Japanese animated films I've seen recently, though not necessarily in either a good or bad way. The setting and overall tone is very much along in line with the likes of Ghost in the Shell or Akira. It takes place in a dark, dystopian Japan far into the future.

The film follows a secret agent of sorts. He is recruited for a mission pertaining to a peace accord in Tokyo between Earth and a different realm. He is partnered with a humanoid female agent from the different realm. Their job is to safely escort an important ambassador (who turns out to be a perverted old man) to the peace accord so that the two realms can negotiate a treaty. However, there are beings from the other realm not too keen on making peace who set out to prevent the old man from making it to the accord. Adventure ensues.

This movie contains mild amounts of nudity and violence, so it is NSFW by all accounts, although nothing too outrageous is shown. Despite the dark atmosphere, it manages not to take itself too seriously. The perverted old man, while a cliché in Japanese anime and manga, is a likable enough character.

However, both the male and female leads are rather boring characters. Their inevitable romance feels cliché and forced. There really is no build-up for their relationship. The whole Romeo-and-Juliet "forbidden love" component here kind of falls flat. It has been done way too many times and comes off as uninspired and unoriginal.

That all being said, this movie does have some pretty badass animation, which is its saving grace. If you are watching this movie for a great storyline, you will more than likely walk away disappointed. If you are into dark, gory Japanese manga and animation, this may be right up your alley. I wouldn't write this film off, but I wouldn't necessarily want to watch it again. It wasn't particularly memorable either.

I want that gun!

[Reaper Man · 8/10 · 30 August 2000]

I wouldn't profess to be an anime "fan". I certainly watch it, and own a few British released videos, but I don't go to conventions or run down to Forbidden Planet every week looking for the latest import. The reason? Cultural differences mean a lot of high-end anime is perhaps confusing and a little boring for us westerners (see Akira and Ghost in the Shell). But not Wicked City. Just like Ninja Scroll, this dispenses with theological and spiritual issues in favour of gore, guns and shagging. Written and directed by the same guy, this is similar to Ninja Scroll, with the same superhuman themes and forbidden love interest. And I love it. Call me shallow, but I've been brought up on a diet of in-yer-face culture, and the Japanese prevalence to dwell on life and self-worth don't interest me in the slightest, at least not when I watch videos. Wicked City has the meanest gun IN THE WORLD, an amusing old man (a trademark of the director I fear) and people in smart black suits. O.K, the final battle is classically confusing, but not a day goes by when I don't yell "Fu**ing monsters!" at the top of my voice. An utterly enjoyable romp, and one that's always a pleasure to watch on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Anime with action, gore, and sex to the hilt...

[jbae · 8/10 · 3 November 1998]

Kawajiri outdid himself in this "retold" story of Demon City Shinjuku. Personally I am not clear on which came first, but I was exposed to Supernatural Beast City first. And let me tell you, exposed it the word for this film. It is a film filled with government agents, otherworldly beings, incredible gore, and incredible sex. If any anime other than Urotsukidoji deserves being called "Hentai" it's this film. If you are one with a strong stomach for violence and mayhem, watch this film. I personally enjoyed watching this thoroughly but I would not make it a date feature... unless you really wanted to scare her away. Note: last I checked, only the dubbed version was available through Orion - no subbed version was ever marketed here in the U.S.

Story as good as the eye candy.

[Kage-2 · 15 December 1998]

Wicked City is one of my favorite anime movies of all time, and here's why: if this movie didn't have a solid plot, it'd be hentai. As it is, it's borderline hentai. But what makes it so radically different is that the adult content is weaved in with the plot - there's only one scene of sex that has no pertinence to the story. This movie was ingeniously done. Solid story, great eye candy.

I was expecting a film more in the lines of Demon City, however very different.

[Aaron1375 · 7/10 · 2 June 2009]

Other than having City in the titles there really is not all that comparable to the two films. I have to say I enjoyed that film more as it was action packed and had very nice visuals. This one though does get points for the excessive violence and nudity as that film was devoid of nudity and the violence never did get all that bad in that film. This movie has two agents from two different companies as it were assigned to protect this strange old man. The catch, well one agent is human, and the other is some sort of being from another dimension. One could probably call her a demon and all the other crazy people in the movie. The old man the two are assigned to protect provides the humor in the film as he is one horny old dude, and while the action is not quite as fast paced as Demon City what there is of it is usually violent and bloody. As I stated there is sex and nudity in this film, but it comes in really small scenes not really long enough to make much of an impact thus I would not really call this movie a Hentai film, which is usually an anime film that has so much sex in it, that it is almost a porn flick and this one certainly does not contain that much sex. The story needs a longer runtime to it as it kind of goes by to quickly with little explanation in areas that need more explaining as I am sure not still what the other people are supposed to be. However, it entertains in a fun way, just not as fun as Demon City.

Very Weird and Very Japanese

[cgearheart · 7/10 · 13 September 2022]

Wicked City is a strange Japanese film that follows many of the same tropes of a standard issue biopunk anime. However, it's warped, graphic and unapologetically sexual, almost crossing the line into hentai territory. Many of the characters are contrived and stereotypical anime archetypes and the story is hardly memorable but the film itself has enough clever animation and action to make it watchable.

It was definitely a good time killer, especially since I knew nothing about it beforehand. If you've seen Akira and want something in that vain, you'll find this digestible. If you don't like things like that, stay far away.

B-

Excellent anime & storyline!

[fluna1030 · 9/10 · 21 October 2005]

This was my 1st. full-length anime motion picture I have ever seen, & ranks as one of my favorites! Taking place in the future, our hero, Taki who by day is an electrical salesman, & by night, a "Black Guard", is asked by his superiors to guard without failure a known senior negotiator, Mr. Guiseppe Mayart & to make sure he is at a treaty signing, & will be working with a partner, a "Black Guard" from the "Black World"....a female named "Makie". Together, they experience various situations from other renegade members of the Black World that try to thwart the treaty signing. What Taki & Makie don't know is that their pairing up from both worlds to protect Mr. Mayart has more that one objective, which makes sense later. What I liked about Wicked City is not just the storyline, but the anime itself. What I mean here is that this feature was "hand done" & not by computer, which is why it looks different from other anime features. NOTE: Unless your kids are of age, this anime is by all means not for the young ones. Aside from the "adult" parts, Wicked City is Excellent anime entertainment, which I am sure you'll enjoy!

PS.: Happy Birthday, IMDb! & May you have many more!

Wicked City

[phubbs · 7/10 · 11 December 2019]

Or 'Supernatural Beast City' as it's known in Japan was another creation by Hideyuki Kikuchi (of 'Vampire Hunter D' fame). This anime is based on Kikuchi's six novel series called 'Black Guard'. Funnily enough this anime movie was also directed by 'Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust' director Yoshiaki Kawajiri and animated by Japanese animation studio Madhouse. The team works, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

So what's it all about? Well I kinda think of this as an early adult version of 'Men In Black' (possibly a strong influence of said movie). Basically towards the end of the 20th-century humans coexist with another dimension that is inhabited by supernatural demons called 'Black World'. This other dimension is only known to the select few, it's a top-secret kept from the general public and is policed by a secret organisation of special agents (on both sides) called Black Watch.

The two worlds coexist via a peace treaty which is due to be renewed between the two sides. Unfortunately a militant group of demon radicals from Black World want to stop the treaty for their own nefarious purposes. So on the human side, agent Renzaburõ Taki, and on the demon side, agent Makie, are both assigned to protect the treaty signatory in Tokyo.

Now to say this movie has a sexual element combined with an element of body horror would be an understatement. This was one of the first anime movies I remember seeing as a young teen purely for one thing, the first sex scene between the protagonist and a Black World radical in human form. Sounds normal, allow me to explain. For starters this sex scene is pretty in-depth all things considered, certainly an eye-opener for newbies to the genre. Anywho the real shocker comes from the girl who transforms into a spider-like humanoid with spider-like limbs (no hands) and a tooth laden v*gina...yup. But wait, I'm not done. Not only that, but she walks on all fours like some kind of quadrupedal posessed horror movie nightmare and she shoots webbing out from said tooth laden vagina...yeah. She then proceeds to try and bite off Taki's junk with her v*gina (for flips sake!).

So there's that character. Throughout the movie there are various other Black World demons we come across which also serve up some rather gruesome visuals. Two radicals again attack Taki at the airport. One appears to have tentacles growing from his torso. He gets his head shot off which then proceeds to grow smaller tentacles and walk on its own in a spider-like fashion. Yes I too immediately thought of 'John Carpenter's The Thing'. The other radical seemed to have a huge tooth laden maw in his chest. Later on we see the treaty signatory almost absorbed into another female radical body in yet another sex sequence. Another female radical with mind control powers and a huge v*gina-like opening in her chest (talk about subtext!). And the main antagonist of the story turns out to be your typical tentacle sprouting demon with a rock-like humanoid skin which he/it eventually sheds to reveal a more terrifying toothy monster.

Remember when I mentioned a sexual element? Yep well get ready because there is also two (yes two) full-blown animated r*pe sequences in here too. Firstly Makie is captured by a huge slimy snake-like slug demon which coils around her (she's also naked), and then proceeds to literally fudge her mouth with its rather phallic-looking tongue...ahem! Then later on poor old Makie is captured, restrained and strung up by the wrists, and then thoroughly g*ng-r*ped by two Black World radicals. It does tend to come across as if the character of Makie is more of a fetish implement than anything. I know about the Japanese and their love of tentacles, schoolgirl uniforms and whatnot.

I think one thing that does stand out to me is the fact that no one is ever around in this movie. Tokyo is often empty. Narita airport was empty. Every battle never seems to raise any alarm from anyone or alert any police no matter where it takes place. One action sequence takes place inside a long tunnel for cars yet there are no other cars to be seen, no other humans, no traffic nothing. I know its a minor silly gripe but it did stand to me. The same can be said about the often seen 'frozen face' thing with anime movies. By that I mean the fact that you get loads (and I mean loads) of close-up shots of characters faces that are almost frozen, no movement.

I should also point out another often seen trope in anime movies, and that's the wise old man character. In many anime movies I've seen there is often an aged wise old man character (sometimes a bad guy) who is usually very small, sometimes fat but usually skinny, ugly, troll-like almost, and usually the comedic relief. Often these characters also tend to look more cartoony in appearance than the other main characters. In 'Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust' there was the Dungeon Master-like character who led the Barbarois. In 'Ninja Scroll' there was the character of Dakuan. And here in 'Wicked City' there is the treaty signatory Giuseppe Mayart. A Yoda-like character who, like Dakuan from 'Ninja Scroll', harbours secret powers and skills.

Anyway whilst the overall plot is very simple I did find the ending somewhat baffling. Taki and Makie both face off against Shadow the villain but are finding it tough going. Even the wise old Mayart is having trouble. But low and behold Makie is able to land the final blow because...she is pregnant? Yep by this point Makie is expecting a (half-human) child with Taki and that has increased her powers (remember she is a demon from the Black World). Not sure why but there you go. Apparently this was the crafty plan all along by both parties of Black Watch and all overseen by undercover Black World agent Mayart. Taki and Makie are perfect for each other. To create the perfect half-human half-demon...person...who will ensure everlasting peace between the two dimensions, somehow. So I guess its a John Connor scenario?

This is definitely one of the more surreal anime movies I've seen, but it wasn't unpleasant (apart from the spider-woman). If anything the movie draws you in with morbid curiosity to see what crops up next. The sexual undercurrent throughout is both disturbing and again engaging I can't deny. Watching a huge wet slimy slippery snake-like creature have its wicked way with the highly attractive female lead is something you can't look away from even though you know it's not supposed to be good (I think, can't tell with these anime/manga franchises as we all know the original lure way back was the animated sex and violence).

Again the animation is top banana. Slick and smooth as butter with, I think, the odd touch of CGI? Yes the story is cliched, the main characters aren't too original, and many of the Black World demons are, by today's standards, a bit derivative (obviously so in some cases). But the sheer explicitness of the movie is admittedly a draw. This is one of those animes that does live up to the adult rating hype that you might recall from back in the day. Oh and yes it does have yet another one of those crappy Japanese songs over the end credits that sounds like a karaoke recording.

7/10

Wickedly cool animated feature!

[TalesfromTheCryptfan · 9/10 · 9 April 2009]

In a world where humans which we live in and a dimension called The Black World roamed by shape-shifting beings whom have been living secretly among us for many years. There has been a peace treaty assigned between the two worlds yet a Black World gang called The Radicals want to stop that treaty from ever happening as their target is a wise ancient yet sex crazed 200 year old peace keeper Giuseppei Mayart who is the one to make the treaty is protected by two top agents named Taki who is your basic human agent and Makie who is a sexy black world agent with unique claws as the treaty must be protected.

Nasty, bizarre and exciting Japanese animated horror fantasy from Yoshiaki Kawajiri who later gave us the classics "Ninja Scroll" and "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust". It's a highly overlooked but very cool erotic anime movie with sex, gore and action including a nice sounding plot that goes together with them, the animation is also very nice here and Makie is one gorgeous toon girl.

This is one sexy and bloody H.P. Lovecraft-esquire piece of animation from Japan not to be missed and definitely not for the kids.

Also recommended: "From Beyond", "Re-Animator", "Hellboy 1 & 2", "Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend", "The Professional: Golgo 13", "Akira", "Ghost in The Shell 1 & 2", "Men in Black", "Videodrome", "Scanners", "The Thing", "Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky", "Ichi The Killer", "Versus", "The Mist", "Lifeforce", "From dusk Till Dawn", "Vampire Hunter D", "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust", "Kite", "Perfect Blue", "Watchmen" and "Sin City".

Memorable as an example of shocking rape fetishism

[phlbrq58 · 7/10 · 25 June 2020]

When one sees talent and artistry in the service of repulsive imagery, confusion results. Not the humor of Waters. Not the intellectual rigor of Von Trier. But its in that bag complicated by being anime. I bought the vhs at fleamarket, watched it, showered and got rid of it.

Really Disturbing, Content Warning

[FalsePortayals · 1/10 · 30 September 2023]

Borderline-hentai sexploitation film with horrible graphic depictions of sexual violence and tentacles everywhere. Those scenes in the film (which seem to be casually peppered throughout for no discernable reason) revoke all other elements of the film that could've made it good.

I was drawn in to watch by the intriguing 80s cyberpunk anime art style, but that is definitely not enough to save this one. It could have been good if it weren't for the constant misogynist comments and voyeuristic r*pe scenes which happened several times throughout the film. Really disturbing, don't recommend. Save yourself the horror and skip this one. Zero stars.

Great over the top 80's anime.

[lord-blade · 8/10 · 12 November 2020]

If you're a fan of classics like Ninja Scroll or Akira, you'll likely get a kick out of Wicked City. It's your typical extreme 80's anime. Twisted story, great action, tons of nudity and sex, and some memorable characters. The art style still holds up wonderfully.

Not the worst, not the best

[bluefilm_ · 5/10 · 25 February 2023]

Wicked City is a film I was drawn into first and foremost by one thing-- the art style. I'd definitely say the art in the film is it's number one draw, and boy is it gorgeous. It's solid 80s anime artwork, and the detailing and characters are drawn in such a lovely way, I have nothing bad to say about it there. The scenes utilize really lovely color schemes and interesting shots.

The overall plot of the movie is definitely fair. Just going over the basic synopsis, it's fine, nothing spectacular. I can't compare it to things at the time, as I personally don't think I have the scope to, but it's decent enough with a twist I didn't expect.

However, the plot is also where it falls apart in my opinion. It's strange to see so many reviews praising its sex scenes when half are fine, the other half are just more on the bad exploitative scale for me. I don't personally enjoy rape scenes, and I feel they went on way too long. I compare it to something like Perfect Blue which had one, but that left an impact I think on the film and even though I wouldn't call it enjoyable by any means, it definitely didn't feel like a fetish-- which the ones in this did. Credit where credit is due, they didn't do any sex shaming in the movie, which was surprising because with all the misogynistic comments I expected it. Speaking of, I can sort of excuse some of the misogynistic comments in the sense of a lower rating of the movie, just because of the time it was made, but it still didn't add to the movie in a modern-day watch.

Overall, I think it's fine enough if you're looking for a movie with really nice art and you're fine with the content warnings and the dated nature of it. It's not one I'd revisit, but I'm at least not feeling at a loss for watching it either.

A demon watcher type guy who keeps demons in check teams up with a demon

[mr_2mali1 · 8/10 · 23 September 2005]

And the best part is the gun was before Men in Black and the Noisy cricket!!!! Eat that America!!!!! This is an awesome anime full of a rich plot, action,nudity, and an awesome gun!!!! Personally it had a little bit to much nudity and sexual situations for me but that gun made up for it. Seriously, it is a great anime worthy of being added to any anime collection. It kinda reminded me of BioHunter + The X-Files + Some other stuff. I got this DVD at a pawn shop for a few bucks maybe $5 but even at $20 it would be a bargain. This gun in the movie had to be fired backed against a wall because of the force of the blast, and even then it would crack a concrete wall.

Unenjoyable but not unforgivable

[Paulie_Thalidomide · 15 April 2003]

'Wicked City' isn't the worst film that I have ever seen. It just wasn't enjoyable. For its director, Yoshiaka Kawajiri to now be considered a "visionary" anime director with his film 'Program' in the recent 'Animatrix' anthology, he can't be a total loss, his other films since 1989 maybe a lot better than 'Wicked City'.

But to the film. 'Wicked City' sees Taki, a member of the secret organization the Black Guards assigned to protect Dr. Mayart whose job it is to oversee the renewal of a treaty between Earth and the Demon World. As the mainstream movie-dom cliche tends to go, Taki who works alone is immediately paired with Mackie, a seductive Black Guard who hails from the mysterious Demon World. Together, Mackie and Taki protect Dr. Mayart from Demon World extremists (of course) out to stop the treaty from taking place.

In my experience, there are two types of anime. Really good anime and really bad anime. Unfortunately, 'Wicked City' falls into the latter category. In amongst the obligatory gratuitous violence which people have come to expect from action movies, the film has lingering scenes of gang rape and segments of the fights look like something out of a tentacle hentai movie which almost made me throw up.

'Wicked City' is not redeemed by what becomes the standard two-heroes-protecting-witness/diplomat storyline. Dr. Mayart, who is like Yoda with nymphomania is extremely dislikable, and the eye-rollingly bad sexual tension between Taki and Mackie seems only to be there to fill in time between cardboard sex scenes between the pair. The treaty sub-plot doesn't gel at least for me. Why is it that only people from the Demon World want to overthrow the treaty? So much for the political intrigue.

I don't get disgusted by a simple action film, but I do get disgusted by an overly simple action film that reeks of mysoginy and pervertedness. It was for those reasons that 'Wicked City' was so unenjoyable. I'll be able to forgive Yoshiaka Kawajiri for 'Wicked City' if his latest film 'Program' exceeds 'Wicked City' in quality. O *'s out of 5 from me.

Not a whole lot of words can describe the experience (but I'll try anyway)

[dee.reid · 10/10 · 27 August 2006]

Hey, you!

Now, what are you doing watching "Wicked City," the Anime' from director Yoshiaki Kawajiri, one of the most notorious names in the genre? (You're watching "Wicked City" because it was one of the first and most successful, not to mention controversial, Anime' flicks to land in the United States.)

I first saw a preview for "Wicked City" on the VHS for "Vampire Hunter D" (1985) and damn it, the thing didn't even mention the name of the movie, just some really cool action scenes. It took me somewhere between two nights of rigorous searching on the Internet, here at IMDb, Amazon.com and abroad, but alas somewhere after about 32 hours, I finally found its name, and the next day went to the store to pick it up.

First things first, "Wicked City" is not for the faint of heart, much less anyone under the age of 17. An outstanding hybrid of stylish eroticism, science fiction, horror, romance and detective-noir, this film is certainly not to be messed with. It has its fair share of graphic violence, plentiful sexuality and nudity, and awesome "morphing" sequences that might make Rob Bottin cringe with envy. (And believe me, his work on 1982's "The Thing" is a pretty tough act to follow, in any medium.)

Based on the novel written by Hideyuki Kikuchi, "Wicked City" is set at the end of the 20th century and Taki Renzaburo, an electronics salesman by day and "Black Guard" by night, is assigned to protect an ambassador from the "Black World," Guiseppe Mayart, a perverted, horny old gnome, until the man can sign a peace treaty the night after. Every 500 hundred years, a peace treaty between Earth and the Black World is renewed. Taki is given a partner, a beautiful Black Guard from the other side named Makie.

However, there is something unique about this treaty, and a band of shape-shifting mutants from the Black World, called "Radicals," are determined to kill Mayart and prevent the signing of the treaty. As fate would have it, the pairing of Taki and Makie is eventually revealed to have much greater significance than just protecting Mayart, and this is later given a proper time and place to make itself known.

Urban Vision will definitely have a tough time convincing me they can do better than this. I've never seen animation that is this daredevil in its skill, action, violence, shape-shifting scenes and other disturbing imagery, and sexual provocations. Yes, there is a lot of sex in this picture (just like Kawajiri's later 1993 epic "Ninja Scroll"), but the sex, like nearly everything else in "Wicked City," has an underlying subtext. Perhaps it's just to frighten the male viewers (Taki's near-fatal sexual encounter with a shape-changing female who I call "Spider-Woman" left me repulsed with fear and disgust, especially with her Venus flytrap you-know-what that allows for easy male castration). In "Wicked City," sex has pleasurable purposes, as well as a means of romantic expression and as a weapon, such as oral sodomy or rape. But more seriously, though, Taki and Makie eventually do fall in love, in a beautiful and surreal sequence, which shows that sexuality's importance isn't for T + A, but for procreation, the birth of a new beginning for both worlds.

"Wicked City" is Anime' at some of its most subversive and intelligent. While still certainly not for children, it is a daring exercise in the superiority of Japanese animation over American animated features. It goes places American animation can't (or won't). I always use this when defending the superiority of Anime' over American animated features.

10/10

Boring and forgettable anime sleaze

[Groverdox · 5/10 · 16 March 2017]

"Wicked City" is a tedious anime film, vaunted for its heavy sex and violence but not worth watching for either.

The "story" is something about a demon world that co-exists, unnoticed, with humans. If this had been made in the 21st century, or even a bit before, it would be about a teenage boy who has a chance encounter with a demon that forcing him to cross over to the other side, and then cope with life in that world. You can also do the same thing with sexy girls and huge stomping robots - that, my friends, is 99% of anime and manga.

Anyway, anime had a short-lived fascination with the typical dull hero type in the '80s and early '90s, and "Wicked City" has an example of that in its bland protagonist. The situation is not helped in the English dub where he has the most generic voice imaginable.

So, to get to the only reasons anyone has heard of this anime: how much sex and violence does it have?

It's really not that violent. If you're used to '80s/'90s anime OVAs and films, you've seen material a million times worse than this: there's very little in the way of blood and guts.

And the sex? Well, it does deliver in that regard, but in a world with so many free hentai streaming services, why waste your time? It's not particularly erotic or interesting.

Boarderline hentai

[machngunjoe · 8/10 · 4 August 2008]

Wicked City is not the greatest of films but I am a fan of the director and have this film for my collection, but make no mistake about it, it is borderline hentai If this movie didn't have a solid plot, it'd be hentai. As it is, it's borderline hentai. But what makes it so radically different is that the adult content is weaved in with the plot - there's only one scene of sex that has no pertinence to the story. This movie almost has a film noir feel about it: the crummy solid detective and the female lead at odds with each other. But this movie is surely an adult film and shouldn't be watched by someone under the age of 17, or who is offended by extreme sexual content as there is a partial-rape scene. Other than that the movie is filled with slap-stick comedy and lots of action, a good watch for shock-value entertainment.

Once titillating, now abhorrent

[strife82 · 3/10 · 16 November 2010]

In my youth, I sought out extreme forms of entertainment. That lead me to the wonderful world of extreme metal music, grim and violent video games, and, of course, adult-oriented films, primarily animation. Throughout high school I'd known many folks who were up to their buttocks in anime and, against some sort of better judgment, I went along. This was one of the first anime films I'd seen and I was pretty stunned by its overt frankness. When you're a sophomore, this sort of this is exciting beyond belief, and for the most part some of that can transfer over to your adult life. Sure, the imagery and action is top notch in its darkness and violent tendencies, truly pushing the envelope in terms of eye candy. There's no doubting that plentiful effort was put in to make this a gritty, Gothic-style noir film. But the biggest beast of all is its unnecessary sexual nature...again, high schoolers back in my day would have truly gone over with animated depictions of doing the dirty deed, but the older you get, the more the acts end up bothering and disgusting you. It did for me, anyway. I can't even watch this film now as a result; each act of misogynistic perversion just unnerves rather than excites, most of which don't even seem to be part of the overall story and just thrown in for shock value or to tongue at the teats of voyeurism (the repeated gang-raping of Makie, for one, makes my skin crawl). So, in short, this was at one time viewing pleasure, but now it enrages me and I can no longer look it in the eye. Maturity taking its course, I suppose...

an awesome anime movie of the 80s

[phanthinga · 9/10 · 23 January 2017]

Wicked City is a solo anime movie of director Yoshiaki Kawajiri before he get to mainstream with Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D:Bloodlust unlike his most famous stuff Wicked City is a very adult anime with raw,gritty and gory nature.It has some of the most impressive animation i ever see at the time and the use of the color red and blue in this brilliant.The plot of the anime is a mix of many genre like body horror,sci-fi and fantasy with a touch of adult themes and some time soft core porn.I can see it has been influence by a lot of American movie like:The Thing,Alien and The Blob if you can look pass all that i guaranteed you will have a bloody good time with this movie and find more gem from the early day of anime

Wicked Good Fun!

[predator_silver77 · 9/10 · 16 December 2008]

The Plot: There is earth, our familiar world, and then there is the Black World, a parallel dimension that very few people are aware of. For centuries, a pact between the two worlds has been observed to maintain peace, and terms must be negotiated and renewed soon to continue the relative harmony. This time around, there is a militant faction that will stop at nothing to prevent the signing of a new treaty for inter-dimensional peace. Two agents of the elite organization known as the Black Guards-defenders of the balance between the two worlds-are charged with insuring the success of the treaty. Director Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll) blends stylish eroticism, graphic horror and pulse-pounding action as these two race to consummate the peace treaty in time.

My Spiel: Wicked City was a mind blowing shape shifting animation of greatness the first time I saw it. I couldn't believe what I was watching. Wicked City has a certain style just like (NINJA SCROLL) But with this it was bringing the city element to life. As well as shape shifting monsters from the Black World to life. WC contains tons of blood shed and violence, and quite a bit of nudity and sexual scenes, but don't let that disturb you this is a well crafted anime from the story to the point it is trying to get across. I just remember after watching this the first time I thought nothing can beat that, then I saw Ninja Scroll which was even better. But Wicked City is a great double movie feature with Ninja Scroll I have to say those are 2 of my top 10 favorite Animes because of the impact that hit me after watching them one after another.

Wicked City (1987) Review: 9/10

Pointless Smut With a Plot Twist to Match

[emp_88 · 1/10 · 3 February 2024]

There's a lot of sex, half of which is just fetishized rape. It can be used as driving plot points, fine, but you can feel the drool from the writers and animators who made sure you could see the victim being assaulted from every angle imaginable. I found it ironic that out of at least a dozen sexual encounters, the only one that DIDN'T end with someone being injured or almost murdered was also the SHORTEST scene. Not just sex scene-- the shortest scene in the entire movie was of two people making love without killing or raping each other.

Where the fetishization comes in is with the main female protagonist, Makie. Her character is graphically sexually assaulted on not one, not two, but FOUR separate occasions. And I guess they told the voice actor she was in a porn, because those are the vocal sounds she decided to make while being violated, and at one point, tortured. It's not much better for the men, but at least they put up a fight and sounded distressed.

The plot was one of the most inane things I've seen in a long time, let alone in a sci-fi anime film. Taki is sent to protect a two-hundred-year-old diplomat, Giuseppe, alongside his partner from the Dark World, Makie. The movie mainly takes place over the course of one night. Upon arrival, Giuseppe immediately gropes Makie and constantly tries to coerce her into bed with him. He sucks.

At the end, it's revealed that Taki wasn't sent to protect Giuseppe, but Giuseppe was sent to protect Taki and Makie. Apparently, their DNA is a perfect match for a human and Dark Worldian to make a baby as a symbol of a unified future. Their plan was to essentially breed them without their knowledge. This makes no sense.

If Giuseppe is supposed to be protecting Taki and Makie, he does a poor job at it to say the best.

1. When they first get attacked in a hotel, instead of saving Makie from being sexually assaulted from an ex-lover, he literally hides in the bathroom and lets it happen.

2. After the hotel, it turns out not only did he hide, he ran away. He flat out abandons the two people he was sent to protect. And where does he go to? A brothel. Where the prostitute tries to kill him.

3. Once Giuseppe recovers in a specialized hospital, he learns that Makie was captured by the Dark World and is being gang raped as punishment for her betrayal of their kind. When Taki decides to rescue her, Giuseppe tells him NOT TO. The same guy who is supposed to be keeping these two people safe is actively insisting Makie be left alone where she will inevitably be put to death after being tortured in every orifice available (yes, literally).

4. Taki saves Makie, and is then promptly fired for "going against orders." Makie is also fired for some reason... Giuseppe allows this to happen, and then hides in his car so he can sneak away with them. They get attacked again, and Giuseppe FINALLY fights to defend them. After which, he reveals the plan that he and the ENTIRE GOVERNMENT agreed upon. The same government that fired Taki and Makie and told them to get lost, and go away where no one would be nearby to protect them. It's pointless, it's stupid, but it's at least mind numbing enough that I was void of anger by the end of everything.

There was one part of the movie where I laughed out loud, and it was not a funny scene. Giuseppe goes tete-a-tete with the main villain, tossing in a couple of epic lines about their past, and how it's all coming to an end. Five seconds later, Giuseppe is defeated. It happens so fast that even the villain makes a comment about it. Then Taki comes running out, and it takes another ten seconds before he is also restrained and down. But of course, Giuseppe somehow survives, and Makie (who was twiddling her thumbs this whole time) finally joins them and helps out.

This movie is a time vampire. But if you're in need of a good laugh, look up the climactic fight scene. That part alone was worth the pain.

Solid if slightly confusing anime

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 9/10 · 29 August 2017]

Working for a special corporation, a special hunter finds that a group of demons are attempting to upset the balance between an agreement held with several supernatural entities and must fight alongside a fellow agent from the supernatural world to restore the balance between societies.

Frankly, this one was a rather thrilling anime. One of the more engaging aspects of the film is the exceptionally enjoyable storyline that manages to bring together plenty of unique concepts to the forefront. The idea of a treaty engaged between different members of supernatural factions is quite a fun ride, and the film gets a lot of play out of the idea that the treaty coming to an end means that a series of big battles must be engaged to restore balance. That this leads into a non-stop series of big action scenes between the two sides is quite a lot of fun, giving this one a breathless pace which is due to the great encounters with the terrifying demons and creatures, from the spider-woman surprise following their sexual encounter or the battle with the creatures at the airport which is enhanced nicely by the terrifying creatures he has to fight off. That carries along nicely with the later frenzied encounters where the shapeshifting creatures in the mansion or the creature that attempts to tentacle-rape her out on the highway where it seemingly throws every kind of deformed and tentacle-shaped being in their arsenal. Due to the rampant attacks from the creatures in another dimension with far greater powers than ordinary mortals due to the strong storyline, there's plenty of fun thrills to be had with the anime format which allows for the supernatural demons and creatures to be placed in far more terrifying detail as they truly look otherworldly and terrifying that makes the action that much more fun. The action here is given a strong stylistic charge with the way the scenes come off here, making this one look all that much greater with the neon color-scheme running wild in the film so that the battle in the spa with the demon nurse or the encounter with the spider woman in the tunnel are rather excited yet the highly romantic sequences look great as well. Graced with tons of nudity and a truly hilarious side-character for some comic relief, this one ends up with a lot to really like about it over a minor flaw. The overall feel of the film is that it just seems to throw elements together that have a vein hope of making sense but in the end, it really just has too many strands going for it. Things just seem to happen here and it never explains why people have their powers, what the overall goals are for each side or what the plot-twist is supposed to mean as hardly anything here happens for a reason. Beyond this, the film is quite a lot of fun.

Rated Unrated/R: Extreme Graphic Violence, Full Nudity, Graphic Language and strong sex scenes.

Plot holes, poor story and characters, borderline hentai, and uninspired.

[lucaproietti-41964 · 2/10 · 12 July 2017]

tl;dr: Plot holes, poor story and characters, borderline hentai, uninspired. May be not worth your time, unless you do not care for what is above. Do not watch it, or do it skipping through it.

This movie is plenty of plot holes and obscure twists and situations, and rough character design. The storyline is pretty simple and you can predict the ending pretty soon (I saw it coming at around minute eight). Unexplained events, super powers, and total absence of lore or further development of the opposition dark-real worlds.

The City in the "Wicked City" is missing, and that is bad. We mostly see interiors; just a couple of times we can appreciate the skyline.

Cliques are abundant. The old depraved man, the lady killer big guy who falls in love, and so on, but they are static and superficially drawn.

Violence and gore moments are uninspired. The horror,I argue, is all about the poorly written story and characters.

The atmosphere and the sceneries are interesting, even though the color palette revolves too much, I think, on the red vs blue dichotomy. Monsters design is intriguing (the spider lady web and the two forms of the main antagonist).

The soundtrack and sound design is basic and uninspired, below ordinary. The direction, anonymous.

Ah, of course, plenty of nudity, which is not a bad thing if it is contextualized and coherent story-wise (I would watch an hentai instead). For example, the first sex scene that involves the male protagonist and a demon girl is not necessary. Even though the shape shifting of the girl is pretty cool, it does not add much to the story: they have sex and she says "we will meet later". Fine, they do. The guy is almost dying, hit by the lady but... the demon is struck by a lighting bolt from the sky. End. Also, rape vs romantic sex dichotomy (standard) and tentacles (unjustified: it is not tentacle hentai).

This is an underrated anime gem that is an absolutely must see

[kevin_robbins · 9/10 · 10 May 2022]

Wicked City (1987) is a movie I recently rewatched on Tubi. The storyline follows a world at threat of being invaded and taken over by demons. A police officer and demon will work together to prevent that from happening.

This movie is directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Vampire Hunter D) and contains the voices of Yûsaku Yara (Ninja Scroll), Toshiko Fujita (Fist of the Northstar), Takeshi Aono (Ninja Scroll) and Ichirô Nagai (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind).

The animation may be a little dated but the storyline, concept and action scenes are awesome. The demons are very well done as are the various creatures our heroes do battle with. There's a spa scene in this that's absolutely insane and very well done. While the animation is dated the overall universe is excellent and very creative.

This is an underrated anime gem that is an absolutely must see. I would score this a 8.5-9/10 and strongly recommend it.