Surprisingly incoherent and boring

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

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.

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. Humanity is threatened with enslavement by creatures who can appear human but who are terrifyingly inhuman when they reveal their true form. 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. Genuinely scary stuff.

$20.... I spent $20 on this movie. I had never seen this movie before I bought it. There was no where to rent it in town. 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! But it doesn't! I hate this movie! It's funny, that's all it is. The characters swear on an almost constant basis, that's the humor of this movie. The main characters barley evolve. The ending 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. There is almost no violence. Almost none. I consider something violent when there's blood and lots of it. This should've been put on Nick Jr as a joke. 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. Heed my warning: Avoid.

*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". Sorry, but I thought it was worthless. 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.