Martial Arts Fans Should Be Excited For This Netflix’s Thrilling Japanese Action Movie

Fans are always on the lookout for new action movies that could be good enough to be compared with the likes of John Wick. Streaming services like Netflix also throw in a fair share of action projects each year to create their own massive action franchise. While some recent projects failed to stick with the audience, there were a few, like Extraction, that created a respectable space for themselves in the industry. And, well, it looks like the streaming giant wants to replicate the same results with its upcoming Demon City movie.

The upcoming Japanese live-action film is based on the Oni Goroshi manga series by Masamichi Kawabe. The manga debuted with its first chapter in 2020, and so far, the mangaka has released more than 150 chapters collected in over 15 volumes. The story is about an assassin who goes on a rampage to kill everyone responsible or closely associated with his wife and child’s murder. Of course, we’ve seen a lot of violent movies over the years, but Oni Goroshi brings its own unique touch to fight choreography, making it very similar to John Wick and Kill Bill.

Related

The Terrifier Franchise is Wise to End With the 4th Movie

Art the Clown might go down as a great slasher villain if the franchise ends with a bang.

Netflix’s Demon City Could Be A Perfect Treat For John Wick Fans

It Is Sort Of A Merger Of John Wick and Kill Bill

Netflix released the first spectacular trailer for Demon City earlier this month, and, as expected, it got the attention of several fans, especially those who are always craving some crazed martial arts fun. The upcoming film is directed by Seiji Tanaka and sees Toma Ikuta in the lead role. It’s yet to be seen how faithful Netflix’s live-action adaptation will stay to Masamichi Kawabe’s original work; however, the trailer makes it clear that it is as bloody and violent as the manga series.

The movie is about Shuhei Sakata, a legendary Hitman who was fortunate enough to create a small family life for himself, even for a little while. Shuhei was about to give up on the killing stuff, but before he could get off that wagon, the Kimen-gum organization murdered his wife and daughter. They pin all the blame on Sakata and shoot him in the head as well. However, instead of dying, Sakata goes into a coma for twelve long years. After waking up from the coma, Sakata goes on a killing spree with the aim of hunting down every member of the Kimen-gum organization.

The revenge plot centered around a hitman makes Demon City very similar to John Wick. However, instead of losing a dog, Sakata witnesses the murder of his wife and daughter, so it’s obvious why he is more ruthless and unforgiving than our beloved John. Also, the bad guys in Demon City aren’t sophisticated or feature structured mannerisms like the villains in John Wick. They wear Demon masks and act the same by committing atrocities and having fun by killing and torturing innocents.

Interestingly, the gory and violent action choreography in Demon City’s trailer also reminds us of Kill Bill. Like Beatrix “the Bride” Kiddo, Shuhei Sakata is motivated by revenge and goes through an entire evil organization to avenge his loved ones. And while Shuhei doesn’t use a sword as his primary weapon like Beatrix, he does carry a hatchet in some fights. In a way, Demon City feels like a perfect merger of John Wick and Kill Bill, and we just hope that it lives up to everyone’s expectations and does justice to the source material.

Demon City Could Have Been Better As A TV Series

But A Series Of Movies Could Also Work If The Story Is Not Rushed

Generally, we see a manga being adapted into an anime series before getting a live-action adaptation. That’s the route we are accustomed to seeing. However, Netflix is making a bold move by directly bringing us the live-action version of Oni Goroshi — that too a movie instead of a TV series. The manga has more than 150 chapters and is still ongoing, so it has more than enough source material to bring us a full-fledged TV series. The creators could have given more depth to the characters while adding some original elements if it was a TV series.

Related

Another John Wick Spin-Off Movie Might Have Found The Perfect Director

A John Wick veteran is eager to direct the Caine spin-off.

All being said, the trailer for Demon City does look exhilarating, and it got the attention of several martial arts fans. Everyone who has watched the trailer is certainly excited about the Netflix adaptation. If the movie really delivers on the action and doesn’t mess up the story by rushing the narrative or skipping crucial character development, we can totally see this turning into a movie franchise — it could be a Japanese version of John Wick. The story is too complicated to be told in a single movie, so it’s clear that the creators are planning multiple films around it. However, it’s yet to be seen if the movie has enough potential to become a franchise or if it will be buried under the rugs.

Demon City will stream exclusively on Netflix starting February 27, 2025.

Demon City

Release Date

February 27, 2025

Runtime

106 Minutes

Director

Seiji Tanaka

Writers

Seiji Tanaka