Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Chuy_diazz
Journey through Madhouse, Chapter 22: I did enjoy it, but the problem is that it’s not a movie suitable for watching at the office or with your family.
There is a lot of nudity and a couple of sex scenes. It’s not about being alarmist or treating sex as a taboo subject; it’s simply a matter of your own comfort. I think the production team wanted to go for an alternative, edgy, or experimental vibe here. It’s a *Romeo and Juliet*-style romance—two people from opposing sides who end up falling in love. The only difference is that both this Romeo and Juliet have to act as bodyguards for a character who is incredibly annoying. Don't get me wrong: despite that comparison, the film leans more toward political themes than romance.
The character design is more serious. It moves away from designs…
Read at the sourcefh1478
Can Wicked Love Exist?
Wicked City is an anime about an interspecies fascination, that the world want to stop, and how one man punches holes like a bullet.
This is a style over substance kind of anime, but damn if it isn't that kind of style I love, the dark blue tones, the character that looks pretty masculant and the women who look like porcelain dolls. It's an aesthetic that don't exist anymore.
The dialogue is masculine and trying to be cool too much, but damn if it didn't work for me, and if you think about the plot too much, then it will stop making sense.
It's not a deep anime, It's full of rape and body horror, but for me, It's one of those charming gems that will never be made in today's
Read at the source7gatsu
Oh boy! Yoshiaki Kawajiri + 1980s city horror noir = absolute masterpiece. At least in my book. Yōjū Toshi, the 1987 OVA, has it all: extreme violence, occultism, demons and monsters, a moody blue-tinted cityscape, erotism, oneiric storytelling, and dark, uncompromising themes. And every bit of it is conveyed through the lens of one of the finest anime directors of that era.
Critics often knock the story and pacing, but that’s just modern sensibilities clashing with a fragmented, 80s-style narrative. Like most productions of the decade, Yōjū Toshi demands that you go with the flow. Treat it as a leap of faith, and the rewards are immense: stunning visuals, an oppressive, immersive atmosphere, fluid animation, and a musical experience that perfectly complements the madness on screen.
Kawa…
Read at the source4Fro
A decent plot paired with equal execution, Wicked City takes you on a wild journey with wild characters for the sole purpose of resolving a conflict between two enemies.
Aside from the 3 main characters Taki, Makie, and Mayart, the former of whom brings a light to this otherwise dark world, the supporting cast isn't as fleshed out as you would want them to be. The motives for all parties involved don't feel impactful, rather superficial almost. This ties into an affliction Wicked City suffers badly from, which is lack of execution.
Throughout the film, Makie makes her presence felt as one of the lead characters to headline the film, yet at the same time, she almost feels like an object who keeps the film churning based on her predicaments. One of the more severe predicaments that came…
Read at the sourceBensonas
I'll shall get this over with quick, I'm not sure Wicked City is a good movie. It's a movie for sure, and it has a story, animation and music, but is any of it any good?
Well, story wise no. It's not. Nothing really happens to be honest. when anything does actually happen, it does t really last either giving zero weight to the moments. There are many better animes from the 80s that have way more interesting story lines. There is a twist at the end. Suprise suprise, I didn't really care about it. It's also very highly sexualised, to an extent whereby I am convinced it was completely pointless. Finally on the story, the film is called Wicked City, yet we know very little and see very little of this Wicked City. It's just 3 people, sometimes 2, in 1 of 3 places. So story wise, it's getting a…
Read at the sourceSorasake
Bizarre, just... Bizarre
I watched Wicked City (known as "Poderes Eróticos" in my country) when I was 14 years old (yeah, don’t judge me). I was addicted to old-school anime — Akira, Genocyber, that kind of stuff — and I remember that besides being amazed by the animation, I was also deeply traumatized. I couldn’t sleep for like three days. I couldn’t even take a shower with my eyes closed.
There’s a certain scene involving a woman that… let’s just say she’s not what she seems. That moment seriously messed with my head in ways I can’t even explain. Then again, the whole anime is bizarre… and I guess that’s the point… I think ;-;
It’s one of the few straight anime I actually like. I still hold it in high regard to this day, but I admit that might just be nostalgia — I watched it at a…
Read at the sourceRyanSpring
Starting out with my old anime disclaimer, this movie is nearly 38 years old at the time of this writing and the only fair and proper way to rate anything is in its own time. Nevertheless, I'll give it my best shot from a damn near 2025 lens.
Unlike other old anime I've reviewed, in this case the age of the program really isn't much of a factor in my overall takeaway. 38 year old graphics obviously couldn't pass for something that came out yesterday, but they actually hold up very well all things considered, and this must have looked AMAZING at the time. For 1987, the visuals are nothing short of fantastic.
Likewise, one of the common complaints about this anime from my skimming of other reviews is its graphic violence, gore and graphically sexual content. Not only do I not share those c…
Read at the sourceladyeofc
TW: SA
The true tragedy of Wicked City is that, for the most part, I really like it. It’s not perfect, but it’s a slick action thriller dripping with gothic lighting and horrifying monsters. Sharp steel-like edges protrude out of bodies, tentacles writhe, and ambiguous white goo gets everywhere. Our leads are also perfectly competent. Taki, our protagonist, is an experienced man with a weakness for women (this thankfully comes through in mild flirting). Makie, his new partner, is stunning. Cool, icy but not heartless, with red nails that extended like needles from hell. She, like him, is a confident cynic, determined to complete her duty. She, like him, has a hinted soft spot, a yearning she has filed away. They’re cute and a good team.
Unfortunately, Makie is also where the film loses m…
Read at the sourceHalcyon13
Sexually-charged supernatural erotica, less horror than it is an exploitation of the female body for no apparent reason besides lust. Rather inconsistent in that regard, more explicit in nonconsensual scenes compared to the rest. It makes the claim of visual metaphors in association with spiritual drivel supposedly forming a bond representing peace between two races. Taki and Makie are part of a secret service protecting an emissary needed to finalize a centennial non-aggression treaty, disguising other elaborate conspiracies of unknown nature. Such events pave the way for sadomasochistic escapades of gratuitous gore and sex, usually with demonic women. At one point, it's unashamedly tentacle pornography, not quite meshing against the backdrop of blue and red neo-noir. In the case of color…
Read at the sourcealleyesonmy
Wicked City is a stylish, well animated film that will have most viewers questioning what exactly fuels their love for anime as a whole. Regardless of if they liked the film or not. Mainly because it's an experience, so out there that it's really hard to pin down specifically what it's trying to be.
The films focus on psychological horror elements, and it's full embrace of sexual themes in conjunction with the horror aspects create a really interesting film that some will find excessive. And others will find fascinating.
The animation on display is smooth and appealing, with every creative choice feeling deliberate and calculated. With the colour choices for scenes specifically serving to set the mood.
While some might feel disgust toward a film like this. I am personally fascinated…
Read at the sourceAdriannitro
OK, this is my second review and it may not be very professional but it is my most honest opinion minutes after watching this movie...
A long time ago i've heard about Wicked City because a lot of anime youtube channels like banzai pop and watchmojo and they represented it as a ultra insane degenerate movie, i think if i watched the movie in 2016 or 2017, it'll blow my mind too much to the point at being traumatized for life because my inexperiece in anime...but the don't count that i've already seen a lot of hentai manga and anime before watching this movie (i just don't put this stuff on MAL) and....it's not to scary, in fact: it's a "meh" i guess.
STORY: A super gigachad 80's testosterone sigma Dick Deckard male hero named taki renzaburo is a bodyguard in a world where demons and humans…
Read at the sourcepinemoth
Ok listen, it has great animation, good character and monster design, good voice acting, a killer soundtrack and a pretty good story (the end of the story was uhhh weird and definitely made for a certain audience) but I rated it low cause it is just rape porn!!! Omfg if only it was an actual series that wasn't just fucking rape hentai man. I watched it with a friend and we loved the story and REALLY liked the animation and soundtrack but omfg it was almost all porn and rape...
Spoilers up ahead from here.
I guess we should've known from the first scene being a sex scene/set up for one but we gave it a benefit of a doubt cause some movies have this and it was rather tame and there was a sick fucking scene with gore and shit and loved it. The story is a really cool plot between two worl…
Read at the sourceLordMoe
"Wicked City" is a gnarly body horror animated film. It's got it all: action, violence, horror, gore, monsters, sex, comedy, and romance. The body horror is really well done; with animation you can pull off the wildest things, and Wicked City does just that. I loved the monster designs and the art in general. The art and animation does not feel polished, I will say, but this gives the film a gritty look you just don't get anymore, especially in today's flash driven anime market. Much of the film preys on sexual imagery, creating something horrific out of something we desire. Unfortunately this fascination with sex comes with its drawbacks. There is definitely a heavy focus on sexual violence, some of it at times comes across as fetishization. These moments could have been suggested rather…
Read at the sourceOhKeil
DISGUSTING. Flat characters. Lost plot. Confusing ending.
It started out interesting but whatever story it had became insignificant and dare I say non-existent. This movie is just a big monster hentai with a vagina spider and some tentacle thing. No exaggeration, every couple of minutes someone is being screwed with or without consent and that makes up at LEAST 70% of the movie. Lastly, the scene progression at the very end is just wrong, there’s no explanation as to how they got to where they were, how they got there, and why there were screwing when they got there despite everything that happened in the prior scene.
Read at the sourcetarunnihariya
This movie is just a weird hentai with occasional bits of story sprinkled here and there, and calling this a story is a stretch. It has good art design and somewhat decent animation. I can see some inspiration from John Carpenter's The Thing in body horror, but it was nowhere near as effective. I can't believe this is the same guy who made Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust--so disappointing. Well, everyone has to start somewhere, and Kawajiri began here, I guess. So, don't watch it unless you are into this kind of stuff (and by "stuff," I mean demon/monster hentai).
Read at the sourcepond-scum
Listen. The best thing I can say for this movie is that the Art is really beautiful. The light, the spare scenery, simple animation, the limited blue/red palette, really nice. It oozes style.
Here's the thing. Its a trash movie. I love trash movies, but there was nothing I could find no matter how hard I tried that redeemed it. I tend to deal with bad or "underdeveloped" storylines especially at the expense of art or just a good original idea, or some interesting execution of it, but nah. I think the shitty dialogue and kind of ridiculous macho overtones are sort of fun as the movie starts, but just get boring as the movie goes on. The corny sounds... Part of me thinks it stands at the very least as an extremely 80s film, just like absolutely steeped in it, and if that's an era you really…
Read at the sourcestmwg01
I got enjoyment out of Wicked City because at the core, I like the characters and the story and I like the premise, but it ultimately fails to deliver anything remarkable. Yet for all its faults, Wicked City is really enjoyable, especially the more I digest the film.
The story line to Wicked City is interesting, but lacks the depth to make it anything more than good. We have two worlds looking to renew a peace treaty and two lovers caught in the middle. Unfortunately, that's where it takes it's nose dive. While the world and premise are interesting, we never have a world or story line that feels properly fleshed out.
First, the world has an interesting premise, but much of the film seems to expect you to just take what they're offering at face value. While none of it seems too far fetch…
Read at the sourceAbsolute_Spider
Super violent, super sexy, and super tasteless, it's not hard to see why Wicked City is both loved and hated as a classic of 80s exploitation anime. It's story is dumb and cliched, but told with enough gorgeous animation and style to make it a pretty fun ride, that is, if you can stomach the content contained within.
The only real sore spot for me personally is the character of Giuseppe Mayart, who epitomizes everything I find annoying about the "Dirty Old Man" trope.
As far as this being a Kawajiri film, I don't like it quite as much as either Nina Scroll or Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, but I really liked the dark urban atmosphere and can certainly see myself returning to it at some point down the road.
Read at the sourceGhost-Hardware
The animation, action scenes and English dub are all good (very good at times) with a cool noir atmosphere throughout. Unfortunately, the story and characters are very weak and uninteresting. None of the characters are given enough backstory or development and the OVA feels weirdly unfinished. Its like its intending to lead into something bigger that never happens, so its not wrapped up in a satisfying manner.
This probably would have worked better as a series instead of one film; at least then there would have been more opportunity for things like character development and a more fleshed out storyline. Worth a watch for the art and action scenes alone in my opinion, those hold up very well.
Read at the sourceitsperception
Pack just came in the mail this weekend & I just watched for the first time last night. Loved every bit of this. Art was A1. Music was Great. Definitely do not regret copping. I'm a big fan of older anime and as far as artstyle goes this did not disappoint. super dope. This was more well written than DCS but that movie was still gas lol I would definitely recommend this movie to the homies and anyone else that fucks with old school films. Don't know what else to say to make this review long enough to be able to post lol but if you haven't seen this go ahead and do that.
Read at the source
