Detroit Metal City (Detroit Metal City: The Animated Series)

Dominating the world of indie music, Detroit Metal City (DMC) is a popular death metal band known for its captivatingly dark and crude style. Its extravagant lead singer, Johannes Krauser II, is especially infamous as a demonic being who has risen from the fiery pits of hell itself in order to bring the world to its knees and lord over all mortals—or at least that's what he's publicized to be.

Unbeknownst to his many worshippers, Krauser II is just the alter ego of an average college graduate named Souichi Negishi. Although he is soft-spoken, peace-loving, and would rather listen to Swedish pop all day, he must participate in DMC's garish concerts in order to make ends meet. Detroit Metal City chronicles Negishi's hilarious misadventures as he attempts to juggle his hectic band life, a seemingly budding romance, and dealing with his incredibly obsessive and dedicated fans.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Detroit Metal City's name originated from the song Detroit Rock City by the band KISS.

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Detroit Metal City
Summary:	Detroit Metal City: Birth of the Metal Devil

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Negishi, Souichi

Main

Ueda, Yuuji
Japanese

Death Records Manager

Supporting

Kobayashi, Ai
Japanese

Krauser-tan

Supporting

Ise, Mariya
Japanese

Nishida, Terumichi

Supporting

Yasumura, Makoto
Japanese

Nashimoto, Keisuke

Supporting

Matsuyama, Takashi
Japanese

Wada, Masayuki

Supporting

Nakano, Yuto
Japanese

Saji, Hideki

Supporting

Nagashima, Shuugo
Japanese

ILL Dark, Jack

Supporting

Takeuchi, Riki
Japanese

DMC Fan

Supporting

Aikawa, Yuri

Supporting

Nagasawa, Masami
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Takahashi, Atsushi

Producer

Nagahama, Hiroshi

Director

Tanaka, Kazuya

Sound Director

Kishio, Daisuke

Theme Song Performance

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Opening Theme

"Satsugai" by Detroit Metal City / Soichi Negishi (Yuuji Ueda)

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Ending Theme

"Amai Koibito (甘い恋人)" by Hideki Kaji

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Reviews

Dec 15, 2008

Beatnik

Recommended

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 public humiliation involving a young man dressed like an 80's prog-rock-gone-wrong band member furiously thrusting his groin against a piece of government property in order to placate his ...

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Jun 13, 2009

KingOfRoll

Recommended

Alright, so this here is my first review on MAL. I'll try to make it a good one. As you can see, I'll be reveiwing Detroit Metal City.

I'd like to apologize in advance for how long this will be...

Let me say first off that if you think you will be offended by off - color humor and swearing, run away in panic now, as this show is not for you. It is filled with swearing, rape jokes, drug references and other implied naughtiness. It is not serious, of course - it is comedy and there is no nudity and little violence to be found here.

The ... story follows Souichi Negishi, a boy who, having recently graduated music college with the intent on forming a fashionable pop band, somehow finds himself as Johannes Krauser II, the demonic lead guitarist and vocalist for death metal group Detroit Metal City. The show is episodic in nature, so much so that they will often fit two short stories about the titular band into a single 15 minute episode. Don't expect too much in the way of an over - arching plot; it's almost a slice of life show in that respect. Despite being a comedy, the creators actually bring some interesting themes to light, such as conflicting split personalities, although they don't really develop them.

The characters are all good, though nothing to write home about. They seem to be almost charicateurs, in that they are fairly normal people, but exaggerated to the point of comedy. The only character who recieves any development even remotely is Negishi, as he does grow somewhat, his two personalities almost mixing together during the course of the show. Of course, it's to be expected when you can watch the entire series in about two and a half hours. That is my main problem with the series - it could have been much longer, as it does feel a little short. On the other hand, Negishi is actually fairly complex from the beginning, as he has some definite elements of schizophrenia, which provide some hilarious scenes as his two personalities show themselves in the wrong places.

The art is...interesting. The characters are somewhat flat and cartoonish most of the time, though there is the occasional scene where the animation is nothing short of stunning. The frame tends to change in size from shot to shot, presumably to create some kind of effect. You may find it irritating at first, but you'll quickly stop noticing it as you get caught up in the humor and the music.

This, of course is the series' main strength. How could it not be, as this is a show about music. There is a fairly high range of music, including pop, punk, freestyle rap and death metal. The songs are all original, unless I am much mistaken. Please don't expect too much in terms of song lyrics, though, as this is a comedy and all of the styles are exaggerated - the metal songs are filled with so many gruesome and offensive themes that it just becomes ridiculous and funny rather than brutal (as was the intention), while the pop songs are cheerful and cute to offset this.

I am a fan of death metal, and can safely say that this is not actually death metal. It's actually pretty good, but the creators likely wanted to appeal to a broader audience, so there is no growling or shrieking to be heard in the metal songs. DMC's music, I would say sounds more like evil KISS, which is suitable given that the name of the band is taken from a song by KISS (Detroit Rock City).

It would have been nice to see a few more references to other musicians. They do mention Sid Vicious, but no one else gets a nod. I also found it strange that they didn't mention Sweden or Norway, the respective homes of death and black metal. They also mention 'the violent American death metal scene'. Aside from Florida, there really isn't a death metal scene in the US at all. Ah well.

Actually, this show reminds me of an American cartoon, Metalocalypse. It's similar, as it's about a super - popular death metal band with rabidly idiotic fans, though of course the band members are all idiots. I'd suggest you give it a look if you enjoyed DMC (or the other way around). Just be warned that it is very, very bloody.

My only real grievance with this show is how short it is - it is only 12 episodes, each of which are only 15 minutes long, The series does feel far to short, and you'll probably wish there were more.

Please feel free to give any feedback!

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Nov 11, 2008

YoungVagabond

Recommended

"Detroit Metal City" is the most consistently funny anime ever made. It's not just a couple of episodes that hit the mark; all twelve are hilarious, unexpected, and brilliantly written.

Based on the manga which I also wrote a review for, the anime version is probably the most faithful translation imaginable. Every scene, word, and expression is exactly the same as in the comic, and in this case, that turned out to be an excellent decision.

DMC is based on the theme of dual personalities. Negi Souichi is a kind-hearted, simple 23 year old, a virgin with an ugly bowl-shaped haircut. He ... hails from a farm, talks to his mother every day, and dreams of uniting the world with fashionable pop songs about love and French desserts.

At night, he dresses up as the fearsome Krauser-san II of the band DMC, a KISS and Gwar-inspired death metal frontman who sings about rape, murdering one's parents, and on stage, beats up an elderly Japanese man wearing women's lingerie known as "The Pig of Capitalism".

He is considered a true demon by his crazed fans, who would love nothing more than to be raped and killed by their idol, and eventually comes to be known as the emperor of metal, thanks to his many legendary deeds, such as raping the Tokyo Tower, and his destruction of any rivals to his throne, whether they be punk, rap, or fellow metal bands.

At first, it seems like Negi is simply forced to go along with this because of the tyrannical President of DMC's record label, a frightening death metal chick who beats up Negi and everyone else standing in her way, and constantly talks about performances "making me wet".

However, as the series progresses, one realizes that Krauser is very much a part of Negi himself. All of his anger and frustration at not being recognized for his pop music, as well as his annoyance with various people and circumstances in his life fuel his angry, violent death metal acts. Often, the very people he is close to and respects as Negi are the ones he destroys and humiliates as Krauser.

The writing and stories throughout the series are nothing short of brilliant. While the joke could quickly wear thin, here the episodes keep thinking of creative, exciting situations and obstacles for DMC and Negi to be up against, and he never fails to resolve it with something absurd and over-the-top, which a normal, rational Negi would be outraged by.

The other characters are also interesting and funny, if a bit one-dimensional. There is Negi's considerate, sweet love interest Yuri Aikawa, who works for a fashionable music magazine, and is frequently tormented by Krauser-san. There is Jyagi-Sama, the bass guitarist for the band, an outgoing, kind partier who is popular with the ladies. He hopes of making a lot of money from the band, but just doesn't understand the essence of metal quite like Negi.

Then, there is Camus-San, who, to go along with the stereotype of drummers as being bizarre weirdos, is a short, fat, ugly, bespectacled man, whose entire speech consists of offensive, perverted one or two word sentences, mostly spoken to attractive women. He frequently seems to think he's in a brothel, telling an innocent girl either "anal" or "next!".

As mentioned before, there is DMC's frightening record label president, as well as a hilarious male DMC super-fan who makes a living doing shows for little kids, and has an inferiority complex about not being raped by Krauser. Frankly, every repeat character in the series is funny, and their inclusion in the story is very much in context.

The songs used throughout the work, while too light to truly be considered death metal, are catchy, and have enough death grunts, heavy bass, and riffing to get the point across. The art feels and looks exactly like the comic; occasionally, it almost feels like I'm watching a really fast Powerpoint slide.

Overall, an instant classic of a series, highly recommended for everyone. Even better than Metalocalypse.

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Detroit Metal City

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Characters & Voice Actors

Negishi, Souichi

Death Records Manager

Krauser-tan

Nishida, Terumichi

Nashimoto, Keisuke

Wada, Masayuki

Saji, Hideki

ILL Dark, Jack

DMC Fan

Aikawa, Yuri

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Detroit Metal City

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Related Anime

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

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