My hands are itching to write a review about this film since I watched this film last May and my head is about to explode if I didn’t write a review about this flick before doing my requirements before our exam prelims starts.
Anyways, this film is a live-action adaptation of Young Animal’s Detroit Metal City manga, which was adapted into a 12-episode OVA, and I made a review about this a couple of weeks ago. Did this film capture the spirit of the manga/anime? You will about to find out.
The film opens with Shoichi Negishi (played by Kenichi Matsuyama) bidding farewell to his mother. He is heading to Tokyo for college and begin his career as a trendy Swedish pop musician. While in college, he met Yuri Aikawa (played by Rosa Kato) who later became his love interest and later, a younger student who admired him as a performer in which he shares to the both of them his motto, “No music, no dream.”
Until one day, he saw an audition poster with his motto printed on it. He enters the audition bringing his sample tape and ends up into this. Johannes Krauser II, the terrorist straight from hell, Detroit Metal City’s front man. To make matters worst, he is forced to play the part! He is working with Wada (played Yoshihiko Hosoda), who plays as Alexander Jagi, the band’s bassist and dreams that someday, he will appear in Music Station (Music Station is show in which they feature performers and they will do a live performance on TV.). Finally, Nishida (played by Ryuji Akiyama) who plays as Camus, the drummer the only one seem passionate in being a member of DMC.
Who is all behind this? The President of Death Records (played by Yasuko Matsuyuki) who is a big fan of Jack ill Dark (played by Gene Simmons), who is referred by all as the Emperor and he is heading to Japan for his farewell concert.
The film’s plot is this. The reason why Jack is going to Japan is to challenge DMC. Why DMC? They are slowly rising from their indie fame and beating down every band that tries to beat them. While their fame is slowly rising, Negishi had quite a hard time in adjusting in his dual life that later ended up in him leaving the band.
Will the showdown between Krauser and Jack happen? Who will win in this showdown? That I don’t want to spoil.
On to the review, the movie has the same spirit that DMC has with added elements such as the film’s, “No music, no dream” theme. But like all film adaptations, there are some major disappointments. Even it has the same spirit, the film more focuses on Shoichi’s dream not on him trying to adjust on his situation as DMC’s lead vocals and guitarist which was the OVA’s magic since that a group of people trying to fulfill his or her dream as a the greatest musician/band ever has been quite clichéd.
Because of this, the film gained a heart for those not fans of the manga or the OVA. Aside from that, the film doesn’t focus more on Shoichi, making the film not similar to the OVA. Aside from Wada having more screen time, we have more focus on the obsessive DMC followers. The film’s central plot also focused on them, their dream is to see Krauser defeat Jack on-stage that it breaks their heart that Krauser decided to “return to hell.” It is those parts of the film that you’ll love. It felt like they are mourning for the lost of an icon in the music industry. The film’s central theme also focused on their President whose dream is too see her creation succeed her idol, Jack ill Dark.
One of the things that I love about this film is that they retained some notable elements found in the series and turn it into one of the best scenes in the film. One of my favorites is that when Krauser is on a press-con and his alter ego, Shoichi is having a date with Aikawa. Some of the notable elements retained are Krauser’s teeth guitaring scenes, the foul language and the infamous 10 rape words utter in a second.
For the minor disappointments, the Capitalist Pig didn’t make an appearance and Fake Krauser. To those who don’t know these guys, the Capitalist Pig is a character in DMC concerts in which Krauser likes to abuse while the Fake Krauser is Negishi’s replacement when he decides to leave DMC on one occasion but due to his ego, he returned… which leads to this next disappointment, his ego being missing in action in this film.
To be honest, Negishi’s ego is one of the elements that keep the series running. However, in the film, it didn’t make a major appearance. Well I can blame the screenwriters for this fact.
In the series, they didn’t make a good conclusion on Negishi and Aikawa’s personal relationship. But in the film, we have a really good conclusion on how they ended up. I liked the last bits of the film in which after Aikawa learned that Negishi is Krauser, even if she hated the band, she decides to go to the concert and support the guy he loves.
On to the climax on the film, the scene in which his obsessed fans learned that Krauser appeared on the train going to the venue, they decided to follow Krauser and run with him along with an army of fans behind Krauser’s back. Its one of the scenes of the movie that made me want to stand in my seat and scream, “RUN KRAUSER, RUN!”
On the main event, this is how the anime should have ended! Krauser making a dramatic entrance while Gene Simmons I mean, Jack ill Dark is performing on-stage! I love the fact that it is not a F*** showdown like that of the anime, but instead we have Jack playing the guitars and Krauser trying to overpower him via vocals. Its one of the sweetest moments in the film, which ended up with Jack making the stage explode. And who can never forget the last few minutes of the film in which Jack officially hands Karth guitar with everyone seeing it? Its one of the most beautiful passing of the torch scenes which ended up with Negishi doing the performance of his life, singing Amai Koibito while wearing his Krauser outfit with fans commenting this is a punishment song from hell!
As for the acting, the acting was good. I was surprised that Kenichi was able to pull both characters!
Like any film adaptations, they need to compress 156 minutes of the OVA into 90 minutes without removing the spirit and the fun factor of the series and in my opinion, they did a good job, heck, they had Krauser-tan appeared in the film! Overall, Detroit Metal City’s live-action film did a good job in entertaining the viewers while giving us a moral lesson, “No music, no dream.”