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Amazon.com The premise of Wicked City has been used in a number of other anime features, including Legend of the Overfiend: Earth is linked to a parallel world of demons, whose inhabitants can cross the barrier separating the planets. Dashing Taki Renzaburo, a secret agent assigned to handle invaders from the "Black World," finds himself partnered with Makie, a gorgeous Black World woman. Their assignment: to protect Giuseppe Mayart, a bigwig coming to Tokyo to sign a 500-year peace treaty between the worlds. Mayart, who typifies the sniggering, diminutive lechers who often turn up in anime, hardly seems to warrant all this bother. Protecting him draws Taki and Makie into a series of exceedingly violent encounters with "radicals" from the Black World who oppose the treaty, including their shape-shifting, unkillable leader and a spider-woman with fanged genitalia. Blood and gore fly amid scenes of rape, torture, shootings, slashings, and exploding bodies. Yoshiaki Kawajiri directs skillfully, although the simian Mayart never blends into the realistic world of the film. Wicked City was a landmark work when it was released in 1987, and it retains a cult following. But many subsequent features--notably Mamoru Oshii's darkly brilliant Ghost in the Shell--have eclipsed it. Not rated; suitable for ages 18 and up for nudity, sexual situations, profanity, rape, violence, grotesque imagery, and violence against women. --Charles Solomon From the Back Cover From the back cover: When Desire Turns Deadly, There's No Place to Hide... For centuries, a secret peace treaty has existed between Earth and the Black World, a parallel dimension populated by shape-changers possessing awesome supernatural powers. But now, that pact is up for renewal and a militant faction from the Black World plans to do everything in their power to stop the treaty from being signed. The fate of the world now rests in the ability of a pair of special agents, one human, the other a shape-changer from the distaff dimension, to make sure things go according to plan. In WICKED CITY, director, Yoshiaki Kawajiri blends stylish eroticism, graphic horror and pulse-pounding action in such a way that it is easy to forget that it's only a cartoon. Not Rated: Contains violence, nudity and sexual situations. Parental discretion advised.
Traditionally, amine' has been most popular as a sophisticated form of animation that was obviously foreign in design and both flamboyant and uninhibited in subject matter and delivery. Over the past several years, the genre has continued to evolve and mature, and "Wicked City" stands at the forefront of that evolution.The animation is near CG in quality. Although the graphic violence and highly sensual nature of the film makes Wicked City more adult than standard anime', this production is unusual in that it presents characters the viewer can connect with on both an intellectual and emotional level. In short, rather than the usual comic book style caricatures inherent in most Western animation, "Wicked City" provides a hero and heroine who are almost human, possessing developed personalities and believable individual traits. In fact, by the end of the film, both Take and Makiye (pronounced Mak-e-a) are closer to live action science fiction characters than anime' characters.The story line is classic anime'; the traditional battle between good and evil. The protagonists have the responsibility to ensure the safety of the critical delegate who can ensure the success of treaty negotiations between Earth and the Dark World. Subversive "radicals" are out to do anything they can to stop them. However, "Wicked City" moves well beyond routine action lines, developing into a clever sci-fi/drama, drawing the viewer into a strangely believable, surrealistic world of tomorrow. The ending is both oddly credible and very satisfying.For those who want something a cut above the ordinary, this one works. Don't miss it!