Wicked City

"For centuries a treaty has existed between the human world and the realm of the demons."

1987 1h 22m JA

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 300

AnimationFantasyHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A peace treaty between the Earth and the Black World, a parallel universe of demons, is coming to an end. Two cops, Taki, a human male, and Maki, a female demon, are assigned to protect a diplomat who will help secure another treaty. A radical group of demons from the Black World are out to assassinate the diplomat and prevent the treaty; only the bond that forms between the two cops can save the Earth from destruction.

“For centuries a treaty has existed between the human world and the realm of the demons.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Yusaku Yara
Renzaburo Taki (voice)
Toshiko Fujita
Makie (voice)
Ichiro Nagai
Guiseppe Maiyart (voice)
Takeshi Aono
Mr. Shadow (voice)
Mari Yokoo
Spider Woman (voice)
Tamio Ohki
Hotel owner (voice)
Koji Totani
Jin (voice)
Yasuo Muramatsu
Company President (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Writers: Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Norio Osada
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

82 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, shot by Kinichi Ishikawa. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Osamu Shooji. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Yusaku Yara and Toshiko Fujita and Ichiro Nagai carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "For centuries a treaty has existed between the human world and the realm of the demons.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0098692 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Yoshiaki Kawajiri directs. Kinichi Ishikawa behind the camera. Osamu Shooji scores. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

182 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
239 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, shot by Kinichi Ishikawa. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Osamu Shooji. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Yusaku Yara and Toshiko Fujita and Ichiro Nagai carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "For centuries a treaty has existed between the human world and the realm of the demons.".
7IMDB entry: tt0098692 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 21 themes, including "sadism", "affectation", "based on manga", "tentacle".
9Released under 17 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Kinichi Ishikawa
Original score: Osamu Shooji
Production design: Kazuo Oga
Runtime: 82 min · 1h 22m
Status: Released
Original language: JA
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Wicked City (1987)

Also by

Yoshiaki Kawajiri

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

GenerationofSwine2023-01-12
★ 10/10
There is enough back story to have made this into a cool quasi MIB supernatural series. Instead what we got was a movie with a perverted little Yoda style sensi that was enjoyable enough to watch. The problem was it all came and went too fast and it felt rushed and unfortunately in a way that leaves you wanting to explore that odd little universe more.

Production companies