Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend

Publisher
Manga Entertainment
Director
Hideki Takayama
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Film
Running time
108 mins
Year
1989

Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend VHS

By John Huxley
23rd May 04

This is an infamous one, most defiantly infamous. Sex, violence and, well, sex AND violence. This is what Urotsukidoji sets out to do; this is a film that intends to shock and disgust the viewer - and you will be. Right from the word go the scene is set for the rest of the movie - the film's young hero Nagumo masturbates at the sight of the school's cheerleader team undressing, before witnessing the innocent Akemi raped and tortured by a Makai beast. The shocking nature of this scene is repeated almost constantly throughout the film, and only gets worse as the violence level increases, making even the most hardened of horror fans squirm in their seats.

As I mentioned, the Makai are a raping bunch of monsters, who like nothing more than to take advantage of human girls. Legend has it that the human world and the Makai world (more of an alternate reality than separate world) will be united along with the Jyujinkai - the man-beasts who have extraordinary power yet fail to abuse it as the Makai do. One of the Jyujinkai, Amano, has been searching for the legendary Chojin, the overfiend who will unite these three worlds and create the 'Land of Eternity', but has so far failed to locate him. He has narrowed the search down to just a few, but the time of the Chojin grows nearer and he must locate him in order to discover his true nature before the overfiend gains control of all three worlds. One of those in question is Nagumo, an unpopular school kid whom Amano has been following closely. The plot, to be honest, isn't the title's strongest point, nor is it entirely clear to the viewer. The characters, however, are fun to watch and Amano's sister and his strange pet-thing add a little light humor into the mix. The animation quality is excellent, with smooth movements and well-drawn characters, monsters and backgrounds.

Urotsukidoji was originally an OVA series released in much smaller parts, and edited together for the American/European version. If each OVA was roughly an hour in length, I'm sure the censors decided enough was enough and removed lengthy chunks from Urotsukidoji, although this is understandable, as it's already the most violent, sickening film I've ever seen without more on top. There were morale issues hanging over Urotsukidoji's head from day one in Japan, so it's only natural that even more of a fuss was created in the west. In particular many people argue that it glamorizes rape and graphically portrays it as an enjoyable act. I'm not going to enter into this argument, but I will say that I like this film not for it's rape scenes, but the whole themes and topics covered. I don't find the rape scenes erotic, and I think that anyone who does needs a little head treatment. I enjoy the action, the story and the general mayhem that is Urotsukidoji. A classic for sure, and one that set the disgust-o-meter to new heights.

8/10

-- John Huxley 23rd May 04

Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend Images