Pyramid Review – Demon City Shinjuku

Originally Published in Pyramid Magazine – September 15th, 2000 In 1988 the anime feature film Makai Toshi Shinjuku was released in Japan. Based on a novel by Hideyuki Kikuchi (the Japanese SF/Horror author), Shinjuku told the story of Kyoya, a young student of the mystic combat art of Nempo. Ten years before the film begins, Kyoya’s father (a Nempo master himself) attempted to prevent Levih Rah (a Nempo master who had turned to evil) from summoning demonic powers to conquer the Earth. He died in the attempt, but not before he disrupted Levih Rah’s spell. Instead of conquering all of humanity in a single blow, Rah is only able to summon his demonic horde to a localized area: the Shinjuku district of downtown Tokyo. A massive earthquake wreaks devastation across dozens of city blocks, and Rah begins to prepare for the day when his dreams of conquest will reach true fruition. Now, a decade later, Kyoya must venture into this modern city of the damned, and finish what his father started……