The lone warrior archetype is a recurrent figure in Japanese mythology and folklore— broken, violent persons spending their life in darkness, trying to turn a new page and redeem themselves, only to have fate plunge them into the same dark depths—it makes for an intriguing setup. Through the years, numerous literary and media formats have experimented with this setup with different combinations of visual and narrative style, and in that regard, Seiji Tanaka’s Japanese action thriller, Demon City, which follows the said form, has nothing exceptional to offer. You can identify the inspirations taken from classic Japanese revenge sagas and the John Wick series of movies—but the depth you’d expect from such a narrative treatment is strangely missing—which turns the movie itself into a brilliantly choreographed action sequence montage. The movie definitely had the potential to be a much more stylish, gritty, pulp-noir spectacle—which I think the makers tried to attempt as well, but in all probability, budgetary constraints and weakness of script let them down in the end.
Spoilers Ahead
Who Killed Sakata’s Family?
Shuhei Sakata, a bona fide killer, is the proverbial demon of coastal Shinjo City. The beginning of the movie showcases the assassin’s murderous rampage, as he absolutely annihilates a yakuza gang, Kono-Gumi, within a night, before joining his contractor/friend, Akira Fujita. Painting the world red by treading a violent path so far in his life, Sakata has now decided to settle for a life of peace with his wife Aoi and their daughter Ryo. Little does he know that Fujita has sold him out to Kimen-Gumi, a Japanese yokai mask-wearing yakuza group, who wanted Sakata to wipe out Kono-gumi so they could take over their coastal territory. At home, Sakata finds his family being held hostage by members of Kimen-Gumi who want to get rid of the loose end, and under the command of the leader, Aoi gets shot to death. Sakata begs for his daughter’s life and asks Ryo to run away, only to have the gang leader shoot her as well. Aggrieved, Sakata swears vengeance upon the killers of his wife and daughter before one of the mask-wearing members puts him out of his misery by putting a bullet in his head. The crime is staged in a way that media reports Shuhei Sakata has taken his own life after murdering his family.
Sakata miraculously survives the seemingly fatal shot, but the brain injury leaves him in a vegetative state for the next twelve years. The present mayor of the city, Sunohara, is the leader of Kimen-Gumi, who has assumed complete control over the city in the last decade by installing his loyal underlings in several positions of authority. Possibly taking out political competitors by using assassins like Sakata allowed him to take the city’s high seat. Sakata’s annihilation of Kono-Gumi helped Sunohara to take control of the coastal area, where Mahoraba, a luxurious resort complex with a legal casino, has been built by funneling in the black money accumulated by the gang through the drug trade and human trafficking. Sunohara has the city under his vice grip and crushes any possibility of his dark deeds getting exposed, as seen in the way his lackeys murder an investigative journalist, Kamiyama, who was getting too close to the truth.
How Did Sakata Learn About Ryo’s Survival?
As Sakata gets discharged from the hospital where he was admitted for twelve years, Fujita, who blames himself for whatever happened to Sakata and his family, decides to tend to him. However, on one occasion, a barely responsive Sakata gets stabbed by one of the members of Kono-Gumi and gets admitted to a local hospital, where he once again pops up on the radar of the members of Kimen-Gumi. A police officer, Shinozuka, pays a visit to Sakata to finish him off for good this time—and Sakata instantly recognizes him from the mask, as Shinozuka was present at his house on the fateful night. The maddening desire to take revenge for his family possesses Sakata and breathes new life into him, and he murders Shinozuka and one of his lackeys.
Fujita flees with Sakata and later helps him to infiltrate Shinjo City’s waste disposal plant, which is a front for the drug operations and human trafficking ring controlled by Kimen-Gumi. Sakata goes through a gauntlet of adversaries, and as Fujita gets injured while taking on the crooks, he confesses his crime to Sakata. Without wasting a breath, Sakata kills him and gets a hold of another underboss in a yokai mask, Ikkaku, the owner of the disposal plant. It should be mentioned that Ikkaku had the plant demolished by detonating charges to stop Sakata, but like an emissary from hell, Sakata continued to prove himself unstoppable. As Sakata brutalizes Ikkaku to learn the identity of the leader who is responsible for the death of his wife and daughter, Sunohara calls Ikkaku and speaks with Sakata, revealing that Ryo is still alive and being raised as a regular teenager under their protection. Sunohara warns Sakata to stop his rampage if he wants to see his daughter alive and safe. This revelation is quite heavy and shocking to Sakata, to say the least, but the narrative doesn’t afford much time to process his reaction. The next thing we know, Sakata gets hold of one of his former informants, Yoshifumi, whose life Sakata had saved a long time ago. From Yoshifumi, Sakata learns the possible connection Shinjo Security might have with the Kimen-Gumi, as the former security contractor of local public areas was murdered by the masked members of Kimen-Gumi, following which Shinjo Security rose to prominence.
The unnamed chief of Shinjo Security, a perverted man, was grooming Ryo and waiting for her to come of age to fulfill his dastardly carnal desires. As Sakata begins his bloodbath against Shinjo Security and almost kills the chief, he comes across Ryo—who, much to his shock and dismay, is unable to recognize her father. Ryo shoots Sakata with an arrow to protect the chief, whom she now mistakenly considers her father, and a devastated Sakata reels in from the pain of being unable to reconnect with his daughter after being rescued by Yoshifumi.
Did Sakata Finally Get His Revenge?
Sunohara asks Sakata to present himself at Mahoraba and surrender in exchange for Ryo’s safety, and Sakata, like a demon-possessed killing machine, eliminates hordes of Sunohara’s lackeys to reach him. Sakata seemingly kills the chief of Shinjo Security, even though he pops up once again at the end to deliver a fatal blow to Sakata before himself getting killed. One of the oni mask-wearing members of Kimen-Gumi, who acted as Sunohara’s personal bodyguard, is revealed to be his twin brother, Jin, whom Sakata manages to kill as well. In a final showdown, Sakata sustains heavy injuries while battling Sunohara one-on-one but eventually turns out to be triumphant. Sunohara wanted a glimpse of the demon of Shinjo, and Sakata’s frenzied quest for revenge allowed him a sight. Under the extremely tense situation she has been put in, Ryo perfectly remembers Sakata as her father, as the memories of that fateful night come flooding into her mind. However, Sakata’s injuries cause him to finally collapse into the arms of his daughter, and before drawing his final breath, he asks for her forgiveness for not being able to save her mother, Aoi. Sakata passes away in peace, knowing that his daughter is alive, and he was able to make amends with her, and also knowing that he was able to complete his revenge by killing every member of Kimen-Gumi. Ryo’s life is forever changed as her world falls apart after learning the truth about the entirety of the situation.
Who Took the Position of Sunohara?
However, a year later, Mayor Sunohara is revealed to be alive and well, but his facial scar gives away his true identity to the audience. Jin, Sunohara’s twin brother, had survived Sakata’s bloody assault, and now he was posing as his elder brother. However, as Jin engages in his brother’s practice of yokai dance in a secluded temple yard, Ryo appears in front of him and shoots him to death using her arrows.
Will Ryo Lead In A Sequel?
The demon of vengeance has been passed from Sakata to his daughter, and I don’t think that this is the only time when she had to draw her bow to take a life. In the final moments of Demon City, Ryo is seen driving her father’s vintage muscle car – which, taken along with her recent actions, are indicative enough that she will follow her father’s footsteps. Even though Sunohara and his gang have perished, taking a life Ryo has become entrapped in the dark, bloody cycle of violence, from which an escape to normal life is impossible. The cycle of violence thus continues through generations, which is Sakata’s tragic failure as a parent. There is a strong possibility that if a sequel of Demon City is made in future, Ryo will assume the lead role – carrying the dark legacy of her father.
