Detroit Metal City Live and in the devil's flesh! Posted 8/21/2009 By Joseph Luster

Kiminori Wakasugi's Detroit Metal City might have one of the best adaptation track records of all time. While I don't necessarily think the anime captures the excellence of the manga perfectly, it comes pretty darn close, which is more than can be said for most. With that in mind, expectations were fairly high, but still tempered to a certain degree, for Toshio Lee's live-action take on the series. There was a very noticeable fan contingency at the New York premiere, so this wasn't a group that would just be appreciating the film on its own merits; DMC needed to rock harder than Johannes Krauser II's most mind-blowing, finger-shredding solo.

 

Amazingly, it does just that, fully capturing the spirit of its source material like a bug in a bottle. Toshio Lee comes from a TV drama background, and while this—his second feature after 2004's Backdrop of My Papa—inevitably has an inkling of that style ingrained, it's just as hilarious and out of control as it needs to be.

 

The story follows Soichi Negishi, a trendy, effeminate post-college guy that moved from his quaint family farm to Tokyo so he could pursue a career in fashionably cute pop music. His dream is everything to him, making his current reality all the more crushing. Somehow, his musical path lead him to the most unlikely occupation of all: donning ridiculous makeup and screaming on stage as foul frontman of the metal group Detroit Metal City, Johannes Krauser II.

 

Everything the band does clashes with Negishi's innocent sensibilities, but he becomes a different man once he's on stage, and a lot of the comedy comes from the blending and wire-crossing of his two personalities as he attempts to win the heart of former classmate, Yuri Aikawa. Such cruel fate! He just wants to strum his acoustic guitar and sing about shopping and eating cute deserts and love and can't a guy catch a break?

 

Apparently not, but you'll be rooting for him all the way regardless. Kenichi Matsuyama—who previously got all sweet-toothed in the role of Death Note's prime detective, L, and has had an explosive acting career prior to and beyond that—is the very picture of Soichi Negishi. He commands the role with frightening authenticity, from the voice to the mannerisms, awkwardly running around town like some kind of fey woodland creature taking its first steps. This becomes all the more impressive once his Krauser makeup goes on, revealing a completely different beast altogether. He howls and, yes, even performs his famous "10 rapes in one second" vocal feat like a man possessed.

 

Very few moments fall flat throughout the 103 minute running time, which is kind of surprising considering the gag-like format of the manga and anime. The various situations are tied together well enough to warrant its distinction as a feature film, while staying very close to the source. Maybe this would have come off as a more amateur piece of filmmaking without Matsuyama in the lead, as if someone was dryly copying what was already on page and screen, but Toshio Lee really does bring some interesting flair to the table on top of everything else.

 

I would be remiss not to mention the appearance of Gene Simmons as US metal legend Jack IL Dark. The finale of the film focuses on an inevitable showdown between Dark, sitting on the edge of retirement, and DMC, who have gradually taken Japan by storm. Simmons mercifully keeps the dialogue to a minimum, relying on his laughably sinister presence in Dark's theatrical getup to deliver the goods. Simmons may not be exactly what I think of when brutal black metal comes to mind, but he works in the context of the movie. Getting caught up on genre distinctions is kind of missing the point anyway.

 

This is one of those instances in which it's perfectly acceptable to recommend Detroit Metal City to established fans and non-fans alike. I'd be shocked if the former didn't dig the movie, because it really is spot on, while also working as a great introduction to the story and characters for anyone that has no idea what the hell DMC is in the first place. Even if it would be cliché and eye-rolling for me to say "Go to DMC" in the last sentence of my review, I just did, so follow that sage advice if it happens to be playing in a city near you.

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