Ryoujoku no Machi: Kyouen no Ceremony

*Warning: This is a hentai title review. It features graphic language.

Out of all the low budget hentai titles out there, City of Sin is what you’d call a hidden gem. Its narrative, unconventional for an H title, and the great quality of its soundtrack make it an interesting, underappreciated title.

STORY: 7/10
City of Sin depicts the harsh reality of a medieval era kingdom overthrown by an army of brutal, immoral men. This theme is suitable for a more mature audience and a certain amount of emotional detachment might be needed to fully appreciate it. Be warned that all of the women in this movie are treated ... cruelly and raped. This dark content, however, artfully illustrates the theme, and never does the violence feel gratuitous or presented merely for shock value. The story also features a few mild twists throughout the movie and never was I bored with the events presented.

The first scene, a shot of the evil king’s castle under a stormy sky, immediately draws you in and sets the tone. The story follows Princess Beatrice as she is forced to marry a neighboring king to stop the war. The immoral, intimidating, fat king, whose ultimate goal is to generate an army of strong soldiers, orders his men to rape every woman in the kingdom for procreation, because being without child in his country is against the law. There is a good amount of dark humor in the dialogs and scenes although some of us might believe it clashes with the brutal nature of the plot. I felt that the story progressed a little too fast and that character development wasn’t given proper time, but this ultimately added to the feeling of urgency and danger Princess Beatrice must have went through trying to adapt to her new reality.

ART: 5/10
City of Sin’s biggest flaw is its unbalanced quality.

For a 2001 release, character art is below average and feels sketchy, yet the shading is at times fairly good and the uncensored, although not entirely realistic genitals are drawn with more detail than many other H titles. Background art is sometimes quite detailed and shows realistic textures, and sometimes much simpler and forgettable.

The animation quality is rich, featuring different facial expressions and movements, but the amount and fluidity of the frames in motion is only average.

SOUND: 8/10
One of the most remarkable features of City of Sin is its soundtrack, which is definitely among the best ones I’ve heard in a hentai title. The very first short theme you hear sounds like it came out of a Batman flick, ominous brass setting the mood. Fanfares and powerful sound effects are heard during key moments, a few ambient, vocal themes nicely fit the different settings and other tracks portray the characters’ feelings during given scenes. Even the ending theme features beautiful movements and is fully orchestrated.

Both the Japanese and English dubs are fine. The English version features a few better-written lines and at least one cheesy, hilarious voice, while the Japanese dub is more serious and better fits the characters’ emotions. Take your pick.

CHARACTER: 5/10
The female characters look a lot alike and have normal-sized breasts. Their bodies are slim and tight but a few shots also feature nice curves. The three noble women have blond hair that varies in length and shade.

Princess Beatrice, the main character, is most notable for her wide variety of facial expressions during sex. The ones she makes in the second half of the movie can be quite sexy.

Queen Vanessa is a little taller and has slightly bigger breasts than Beatrice, and Princess Kathleen is a little shorter and thinner, but otherwise look a lot like her.

Beatrice also has two female servants, a dark-skinned redhead, Faye, and a black-haired girl, Adele. Other random women and masked soldiers take part in sex scenes as well and have no distinctive features or lines of dialog.

ENJOYMENT: 6/10
Sex sounds effects are a little unrealistic at times but are usually subtle. Despite being forced into sex most of the times, some of the female characters eventually unveil their lewd nature and take pleasure. Many scenes include a lot of secondary characters, either naked or lightly dressed, listening to their king atop the castle walls or having an orgy.

If any of you can relate to the evil king, you might enjoy the fantasy of being an almighty ruler who can do as he pleases with his country and his people. Most scenes include rape and group sex. Personally I did not enjoy the scenes much in terms of H material because of their mediocre quality, but I appreciated how well they fitted in the theme and plot.

There are 7 sex scenes and they feature:
1: (2 servants) vaginal penetration, spit roast, cum inside, facial.
2: (crowd) orgy, vaginal penetration, blowjob, spit roast, facial, piss, age difference (older men).
3: (Beatrice, 2 servants) exhibitionism, piercing (no blood), blowjob, first time (a bit of blood), vaginal penetration, lifted position, doggie, cum inside.
4: (Beatrice) pussy licking, doggie, cum inside.
5: (Beatrice + crowd) spit roast, facial, cum inside, handjob, cum on lower body, throat fuck.
6: (Beatrice, Vanessa, Kathleen) blowjob, threesome, breasts grab, vaginal penetration, penis licking, lifted pussy licking, cum inside, lifted position.
7: (crowd) orgy, blowjob, pussy licking, vaginal penetration, spit roast, handjob (shown during scene 6).

Most memorable moment: It is impossible to talk about any of the dark humor scenes without spoiling them, so take my word for it: some of these scenes are truly worth it.

OVERALL: 7/10
Funny fact, City of Sin is, in tone and plot, reminiscent of the well-known and highly acclaimed Berserk series, and its plot could very well fit in its universe. I’m not saying that Berserk lovers should all watch and enjoy City of Sin, but those who know Kentaro Miura’s work will notice the similarities. It is a dark, edgy, mature title definitely not for everyone. Despite its unbalanced quality it stands as one of the more unique and interesting hentai titles out there.

Final words:
“This is a message from God: Get on all fours!”
Hilarious.