Detroit Metal City is certainly… entertaining … and a complete riot to boot! :)
I’ve just started watching it and oh my goodness what an enjoyable change of pace. This edgy, crude, gag anime will have you bursting out in fits of laughter as it tells the story of Negishi Soichi, a shy, gentle young man who dreams of joining a trendy pop band and who loves the soothing sounds of Swedish pop, but who instead dons the mantle of crazed Death Metal vocalist, Johannes Krauser II, who sings about rape, murder and just anarchy in general!
Their band, Detroit Metal City, is fast becoming the biggest name on the indie scene, but with each passing performance, Soichi becomes more and more disgusted with what he is doing. The only problem however is this: Krauser thinks they are doing just fine. All the world needs is a little more violence and depravity, isn’t it?
And this pretty much sets the scene for most of these 13 minute long episodes – Negishi struggling to maintain control over his split personalities, often with particularly hilarious results as the two become more and more intertwined!
There is a lot of swearing and a lot of crude moments, so sensitive viewers stay away, but if you can handle this kind of stuff and generally find it quite amusing (surely you must then too have loved the infamous Ping Pong Club!) then you are going to love Detroit Metal City!
Aurally, Detroit Metal City comes out strong, with a brilliant death metal (and Swedish pop) score and some particularly excellent voice acting. Visually however it comes out more of a mixed package to be honest. Studio 4C handles the art chores and they go for a sketchy, slightly messy style with some interesting looking people and some even more interesting panel layouts, often cropping their images to present something that can only be described as rather visually unique. However, the style of animation suits the gag nature of the show perfectly, so I’m not really complaining here.
All in all, if you are looking for something a little different, enjoy things a little cruder than most and maybe like your Death Metal just that little bit too much, you should certainly take a look at this series. The episodes are short, self-contained and generally hilariously funny – just don’t piss off the company president though!
Related link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Metal_City