Ranked #55

Detroit Metal City

Detroit Metal City has to be the guiltiest pleasure anyone can ever have. It's a dirty romp that takes you down the heavier, darker side of rock music with all the works: sex, drugs, fame and... satire? And here's what makes DMC a great anime.

DMC is an excellent comedy. The story follows a young, mild mannered man named Negishi who has a heart of gold that's full of songs that you'd probably find on Sesame Street. It also follows the devious escapades of a villainous creature from the darkness, the make-up clad death metal rocker called Krauser II, who is the lead singer of an up-and-coming underground band 'Detroit Metal City'. I won't say how the two are related, but you sure will be interested in both their stories. DMC creates an utterly satirical story that is both wonderfully unique and totally entertaining.

The art may be a source of complaint from viewers. It has that trademark "indie" look that Studio 4°C is famous for. The characters are ugly. If you're looking for good-looking people with pretty eyes and nice hair and amazing bodies, you won't find it here. Everyone looks pretty much like we normally do. The animation may be immediately pegged as bad, but attention must be carefully paid: it's the anime's style.

Small details such as the wind blowing a character's hair were animated, however when the characters move around sometimes, it looks as though they're simply hopping across the screen. It is pretty obvious which detail a viewer is going to notice: the "bad" one. However, it isn't subsequently bad, it was purposefully "bad". It is the style. Not a lot of people may go for it. A clever aspect of the anime is the manga-like panelling it uses to narrate the scenes. The camera work and angles makes it feel as though we are witnessing manic energy contained in carefully spliced segments, which we are in fact doing.

And this is where the anime also shines other than its brilliant comedy: the music. DMC has various genres of music: death metal, pop, punk and freestyle rap being some of them. It is clear that attention was paid to the sound of this anime, as the songs are actually very good. Of course, the lyrics are all silly, but the music is great. I am not a fan of death metal, but I am no stranger to it, and I can safely say that the metal compositions in DMC were much better than some of the real death metal songs out there. And the pop songs were actually sweet and bubbly; it's surprising that they aren't theme songs for some josei anime.

Such a dialogue-driven anime comes equipped with some amazing voice acting. Negishi has the perfect voice; wimpy, nervous and quiet. Krauser sounds as though he's been gargling with nails (and no doubt he'd probably tell his maniacal fans that he uses broken glass and acid as mouthwash) as anyone who spends their nights singing death metal. And Aikawa has a sweet, lovely voice that sounds has to cry over all the terrors she has to face.

Negishi and Krauser II are the two most prominent characters we see in the anime, Negishi being our protagonist. He actually is quite a developed character, as through the course of the series, he changes and grows, however for better or worse is to be determined. The point is, there is character development. Other background characters are equally entertaining even if they are stagnant. There is Krauser who is such an interesting medley of silly and evil. There's Negishi's love interest, who is surprisingly not swooning over him, Krauser, or any other man in the series. In fact, poor Aikawa is very strong when faced with what you can only call sexual and psychological harassment by Krauser (and sometimes Negishi).

One of my favourites has to be the Death Records Manager--a foul-mouthed, base, corrupt woman who smokes and drinks as though she's on shore leave. And of course, there are the DMC super-fans, groups of people or individuals whose common sense seems shot to pieces when it comes to their favourite band and the music they obsessively love. The best part is the fact that their behaviour is all too real--people like this actually do exist.

DMC is magnificent. It is a superb comedy that satirises music and crazy fans and the showy side of music. It had me laughing from start to finish.

However, a word of warning: this is DEFINITELY not for everyone. For more conservative viewers, I suggest you stay clear away from Detroit Metal City. The humour is crude, it is very politically incorrect, it is violent, it gallivants down debauchery avenue, and if that sort of thing is not your style of comedy, then you will not be enjoying this anime. Also, if you are a death metal fan, you may find it to be offensive, but I must say, it is all in jest and whoever made this series is definitely a fan of the genre because they know the ins and outs of the music, the fanbase and the musicians.

Another thing this anime has going for it, a double-edged sword if you may, is the length. It won't even take you three hours to sit through the entire series; its brevity makes all the jokes never get tired and it keeps a pretty quick, energised pace. Sadly, the shortness also means that it ends faster, and trust me, if you like this series, you'd definitely want more.

If you have a broad mind, are looking for a great laugh and some decent music, and some very smart satire then Detroit Metal City is just what the Krauser ordered you to watch. read more

It’s about a reserved young lad, Negishi, moving to the city of debauchery that is Tokyo and fronting a death metal band, as Krauser II, even though he would rather be at home drinking green tea and listening to laid back indie pop.

It’s tear-inducingly hilarious.

DMC's humour is similar to Cromartie High School in its lunacy, albeit more traditional in narrative-stakes, and it’s also more unrelenting and risqué with its filthy potty mouth and explicit scenarios usually involving casual public simulated rape. Rape isn’t funny, but when it involves a young man dressed like an 80's prog rock gone wrong band member who looks a bit like a tranny furiously thrusting his groin against a piece of government property in order to placate his maniacal fans, well, it’s pretty damn funny then.

DMC's cast of deranged characters, animated by the ever-brilliant Studio 4c, liven up every scene they're in, thanks to each episode's short length. There are no typical anime-style long pans or random shots of furniture or scenery wasting our time. Instead we get scenes crammed with Negishi getting mistreated, usually by DMC's violently blunt dominatrix manager, although if we're extra lucky we'll also get a scene where DMC drummer Nishida opens his mouth, or the DMC S&M mascot Pig of Capitalism frolics on stage.

One of the masterstrokes of this show, perhaps the main stroke of genius and source of such mirth, is the voice acting. Particularly the pacing. The dialogue is sublime in its breezy and hushed volume; actors regularly speak in normal conversational tones, and cut each other off with off-the-cuff remarks about nonsensical things and then scenes cut away immediately without giving anyone time to breath. The ultimate affect is hilarity, as you might see in Brit comedy skit shows and such.

Detroit Metal City's secret weapon are the maniacal fans mentioned earlier. Their commentary on the main band's hijinks are comedy gold, their crazy antics all in the name of their beloved musical heroes creates most of the show's best scenes, although having said that we shouldn’t ignore the main frontman of DMC himself, whether its Negishi or Krauser we're watching, his two identities continually spiral further and further into increasingly awkward and humiliating situations, that usually involve simulated rape and assault.

If any criticism could be thrown at DMC, it would be that the show doesn’t seriously explore the concept of losing your sense of identity when you're fronting such a ridiculous band, but then any focus on such an admittedly good topic as that would have robbed the show of precious laughs and scenes of humiliating sexual harrasment so in the end comedy wins over gravitas. read more