Demon City Netflix Movie Review: the live-action adaptation Seiji Tanaka made from the famous manga of the same name by Masamichi Kawabe. From February 27, 2025, on Netflix.
In the rich and varied list of more or less famous manga that has gone from paper to screen over the years, Oni Goroshi by Masamichi Kawabe certainly could not be missing, whose live-action adaptation directed by Seiji Tanaka landed on Netflix last February 27, 2025, with the title Onigoroshi – Demon City.
Needless to say how feverish the wait for the feature film could be by the many fans of the subject, insiders, or simple enthusiasts who had already elected it to cult status at the time of publication. Waiting mixed with curiosity towards the film that soon transformed into a placement in the top ten of the most viewed titles on the Stars and Stripes platform in the week of release.
Too bad that the enthusiasm is destined to wane as soon as discontent begins to spread, including ours, for the unsatisfactory result achieved by a film that leaves, in addition to disappointment, also a bitter taste in the mouth for what could have been and was not if you think about the enormous potential available: from the complexity of the matrix to the presence behind the camera of the Japanese filmmaker and director of photography Kohei Kato, in addition to the original music composed by the legendary guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei, famous for his contribution to the soundtrack of Kill Bill.
In Demon City movie, Toma Ikuta takes on the role of a former hitman seeking revenge
The manga and its adaptation tell the story of Shuhei Sakata (played by Toma Ikuta), a legendary hitman who has just completed his latest assignment on behalf of Fujita, exterminating a branch of Shinjo's Yakuza. Ready to start a new life with his wife Aoi and daughter Ryo, his dream of peace is brutally shattered when a masked clan known as the Kimen-gumi breaks into his home, proclaiming their dominion over the city and massacring his family.
Mortally wounded, the man miraculously survives, awakening after twelve years in a coma with only one goal: to destroy those who took everything from him. His crusade will lead him to confront an even more shocking truth that will call into question not only his past but also his future.
Demon City movie mixes revenge and yakuza-movie in a real bloodbath
What starts out as the most classic of revenge movies with a protagonist who, due to his characteristics, destiny and powers, seems like a vigilante halfway between Eric Draven from The Crow and Frank Castle from The Punisher who reaps victims in the streets, buildings and palaces of a Shinjo that was most likely intended to be, in the mind of the creator, the Japanese version of Gotham City, gradually takes on the appearance of a hyper-kinetic, ultra-violent and blood-soaked yakuza-movie in the style of Takashi Miike.
From this crazy mayonnaise of references that are seamlessly mixed with the narrative, dramatic and visual elements of the matrix, a film has taken shape on the screen that, despite itself and us, while embracing its comic book nature, does not go beyond the enjoyable martial action that offers an adrenaline-filled show thanks to effective and visually impactful scenes and choreography: one above all that of the sequence shot in the skyscraper's stairwell that recalls the one seen in The Protector by Prachya Pinkaew.
In this sense, Onigoroshi - Demon City is an absolutely enjoyable product, full of noteworthy action sequences that in terms of technical performance are worth the viewing and the monthly price of the subscription, such as the break-in into the boss's villa with machete blows in the incipit, the one against all in the waste disposal factory and the bloody final showdown that recalls that of City of Violence by Ryoo Seung-wan.
The manga's balance between drama and action is lost in the transposition to make room for high-impact martial arts scenes and choreography.
In short, what Tanaka, a director of undeniable talent whose Melancholic we remember with great pleasure (winner of the White Mulberry Award at the Far East Film Festival in Udine, among others), offers is a work for those who are simply looking for cheap entertainment and a not particularly demanding plot that follows a linear and schematic horizontal line, with the protagonist of the moment, yet another retired assassin who returns to violence for a just cause, who eliminates increasingly stronger opponents until he reaches the top.
In short, a rather overused narrative clich̩ that serves the author to drag the spectators of the moment into the usual vortex of violence, revenge and dark secrets. Those like us who were looking for a greater balance between drama and action could be disappointed, especially if we think back to everything that in the matrix represented its intrinsic strength. Balance that is missing in Onigoroshi РDemon City.
At the same time, the creator of the manga had been able, through his tables, to give the reader the psychological complexity of the character of Sakata and the corrupt and sick universe that surrounded him, but also to intertwine the action with existential themes, exploring human desperation and resilience in a brutal but deeply emotional narration.
In this sense, the source did not limit itself to telling a story of revenge but offered a reflection on the cyclical nature of violence and the price of personal justice. In this, the adaptation was not able, despite the presence of Kawabe during the rewriting phase, to remain faithful to the original. And this is its greatest limitation.
Either those who were charged were not able to translate it, or the chosen format was not suitable to accommodate the universe of Oni Goroshi. Perhaps animation instead of live-action, perhaps spread over a serial project, would have given greater guarantees. Who knows, maybe in the future, if they wanted to give the manga a second audiovisual chance, they would decide to opt for the aforementioned solution. In the meantime, we have to accept it and be satisfied.
Demon City: conclusion
Seiji Tanaka brings to the screen a disappointing live-action adaptation of the cult manga of the same name by Masamichi Kawabe. The Japanese filmmaker does not exploit the enormous narrative potential made available, in which drama and action were based on a perfect balance and where existential themes such as desperation and human resilience were explored in even greater depth.
All this in a brutal but deeply emotional narration. This is lost in favor of the action component and cheap playful entertainment, delivering to the viewer an adrenaline-filled and technically first-rate, but emotionally flat martial and ballistic spectacle. It remains a cross between revenge and yakuza movie for those who are satisfied with well-made action scenes but as an end in themselves.