Demon City is another action movie I’ll add to my one-man team genre. Directed by Seiji Tanaka, one and only other film he worked on was Melancholic (2018) which received widely positive reviews. It is the live action adaptation of Masamichi Kawabe’s manga “Oni Goroshi”. Hopefully we’ll also get an anime adaptation of the manga, which I think will translate better.

If John Wick got pissed off when his dog got killed, this one had more reason to go all out on his enemies. Imagine doing an impossible job just to get out of that way of living, only to get stabbed in the back. A group of masked men invades his home, beats him down and everything happened in front of him, his wife got shot in the head, his 6 year old daughter got shot at the back while running away, then he got shot in the head as well, but miraculously survived and now exacting his revenge on them.

The political side of things in Demon City wasn’t really relevant to be honest, aside from the gang killing his family, which also wasn’t necessary since they only needed to kill Sakata (played by Toma Ikuta), could’ve done it with a sniper to be honest. Well, we all need to see what drives someone’s revenge.

Comparison to John Wick and Kill Bill

I honestly can’t help but compare this to John Wick and Kill Bill. One man army. Losing someone he loves. All out revenge. Badass motherfvcker. The action scenes were phenomenal, though some of it were unrealistic. Imagine going to a building full of gang members with guns, and you bring a machete. Its like Star Wars’ with Storm Trooper’s laughable aim. Regardless, Demon City was an enjoyable watch.

Many people would say “that’s just impossible, how is he still alive?” Well, its based off of a manga… So yeah, don’t try this at home. Demon City also reminds me of Ballerina (2023), almost the same concept, exacting revenge of a loved one who got killed.

The masks the villain’s wear had no reason to them, at least nothing was revealed, I was hoping that it might be related to their mental condition or what weapon they specialize in or something.

The twist at the end was great, with the daughter finishing what her father started, that was a cool moment.

Conclusion

A bloody enjoyable action movie (literally) with tons of fight scenes carried out with amazing choreography.