Suikoden Demon Century Anime Review

Quick Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2006-08-24 (updated 2012-07-29)
• 3 stars out of 5 (?)

Suikoden Demon Century has all the earmarks of generic cheesy action: Motley crew of good guys get together and kick bad guy butt. Except motley doesn't even come close--this contingent of good guys has to be one of the strangest this side of the Tendo Dojo. From the transvestite martial artist Miyuki who is constantly hitting on our hero to the priest and nun who run the local orphanage... no, make that commando priest and ninja nun--the cast makes up for the total lack of backstory or substance mainly on the "you've got to be kidding" factor. Miyuki and Takateru actually have a funny, awkward relationship that makes for some fun by itself, but mainly what Suikoden has to offer is heaps of crazed action--everything from sword fights to four guys versus an entire army. It's all surprisingly good looking, though again somewhat ironically the nifty character animation--particularly Miyuki's distinctive design and expressive face--are the most memorable parts. The English dub is cheesy and isn't afraid to flaunt it, making for some goofy bad-movie fun.

Suikoden Demon Century is a short, action-packed nugget of so-bad-its-good anime for those with the right taste or some friends over for late-night anime watching.

Read the full-length review...

Full Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2006-08-24 (updated 2012-07-29)
• 3 stars out of 5 (?)

Expecting the classic Chinese story of 108 warriors, or perhaps an adaptation of the series of RPG/strategy games? Nope, this is Suikoden Demon Century--pay attention to that extra "Demon Century" in the title--something entirely different.

It has all the earmarks of generic cheesy action: Motley crew of good guys get together and kick bad guy butt. Except motley doesn't even come close--this cohort is one of the strangest this side of the Tendo Dojo. That leads to a short, action-packed nugget of anime that's so bad it's good for those with the right taste or some friends over for late-night heckling.

Protagonist Takateru is entirely generic, and his backstory sounds like a bad joke: "A kid walks into a bar looking for his sister..." But have a look at the rest of the cast: The secondary hero is Miyuki, a transvestite piano player from the bar who has a crush on Takateru... and is also some kind of martial artist. Then there's a former commando (now selling his skills for drinks) and a cop looking to bypass the law (and avoid the bad guys' literal arsenal of military hardware), who also happens to be the brother of the commando.

Not enough yet? How about the nun and priest from the local orphanage: The company wants their land, and they're not selling. Sounds like a Disney movie, except you'd better make that a commando priest and a ninja nun. I kid not.

Oh, and there's a weird Buddhist monk that tells the group that they're really the reincarnations of the warriors of good who won a battle 500 years ago with a demon... that's now running the corporation.

Got all that straight?

As if the heroes weren't wacky enough, there's the list of villains: A few sleazy gang members, a fat businessman, a psychotic killer swordsman who enjoys cutting people into small pieces, a demon, two samurai who took speech classes from Beavis et al, a small army... no, make that large army, and the bad guys' whiney lawyer. Again, I kid not. It's like a laundry list of wacky anime cliches and bad '80s action movie cliches all in one big basket full of explosives.

You've gotta wonder why the evil, demon-run, army-equipped corporation is starting their bid for world domination with the scrap-heap that used to be Tokyo, but then I guess Tokyo is by definition where all demon invasions must start. Maybe it's in the demon corporate charter somewhere.

How they manage to cram that much crazy into 45 minutes of anime consists basically of a complete lack of background or personality and a whole lotta mayhem. Serious mayhem. There is a little teeny bit of drama, but it's mostly just an excuse to blow more stuff up.

The high point, somewhat ironically, is the interaction between our hero and Miyuki, who keeps hitting on him; the two have a fun dynamic, and Miyuki in particular has a great look, funky personality, and marvelously expressive face. The rest of the cast basically gets by purely on the "you've got to be kidding" factor, which is worth some laughs all by itself.

The bad guys are sort of the same; the MTV-educated Samurai and the simpering lawyer are amusing minor villains, and the murderous bad guy is quite the opposite--not quite Silence of the Lambs psychotic, but pretty unnerving.

The only real down side is that there isn't more of it; being that it's based on the first of a lengthy series of novels, it has the feel of being set-up for a longer series. Thankfully, it does end on a final-enough note to be satisfying.

Artistically, Suikoden is surprisingly well done. The animation is very smooth, and the fight scenes (both those involving fists and plenty of heavy weapons) look great. The character designs are the most eye-catching, though--sharp, attractive features, distinctive, unusual looks, and very nicely drawn. I enjoyed the visuals entirely on the strength of the two main characters and their impressively expressive faces.

I can't speak for the original Japanese, but the English dub is loads of fun. The acting isn't much to write home about (not that there's much drama to speak of anyway), but the writing and delivery have that "this is silly and we know it" attitude that makes the whole thing way more fun than it should have been. To cite a few examples: The hero keeps muttering amusing comments to himself, the commando sings "I'm Too Sexy" in the shower, and the aforementioned doofus samurai henchmen and their banter, not to mention the awkward interaction between Miyuki and Takateru. Not high art, but lots of fun in that late-night-action-movie-on-a-cable-channel-with-a-high-number kind of way.

Overall, Suikoden Demon Century has a downright strange cast of characters, a generally odd if not particularly interesting storyline, top-notch art and animation, and fantastic character designs. The best part, at least in the dub, is probably the intentionally silly dialogue and acting. Not a masterpiece, but lots of fun if you're in the right good-bad-movie mood.

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Nearly unique in its blend of action, serious, and really wacky. Probably the most similar would be the unhinged samurai dramedy Samurai Champloo, and perhaps its kin Cowboy Bebop. In the fantasy department, something about Rune Soldier Louie strikes me as similar, though it doesn't have much in common.