Demon City is a Japanese action thriller directed by Seiji Tanaka, released on Netflix on February 27, 2025. The film is an adaptation of Masamichi Kawabe’s manga “Oni Goroshi” and stars Toma Ikuta as Shuhei Sakata, a hitman seeking vengeance after a brutal betrayal.
Shuhei Sakata, a seasoned assassin, plans to retire from his violent career to spend more time with his wife, Aoi, and daughter, Ryo. He accepts one final assignment to eliminate the Kono-gumi Yakuza gang, believing this will secure his family’s future. After successfully completing the mission, Sakata returns home, anticipating a peaceful life. However, his employers, the enigmatic Kimen-gumi organization, betray him. Members of Kimen-gumi, wearing traditional demon masks, invade his home, murdering Aoi and Ryo, and leaving Sakata gravely injured with a gunshot to the head. Authorities misinterpret the crime scene as a murder-suicide attempt, leading to Sakata’s incarceration in a prison hospital in a near-vegetative state.
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Miraculously, Sakata survives the massacre but is left in a state of near-catatonia, eventually waking after a 12-year coma as a man physically weakened and bound to a wheelchair. In the interim, Shinjo City has undergone a transformation under the leadership of a new mayor, Ryu Sunohara, whose rise to power is intertwined with the criminal underworld. Sakata’s longtime friend, Fujita, appears to care for him but as events unfold, it becomes clear that this friend has betrayed him by feeding information to the very gang that once nearly destroyed his life.
Haunted by the memories of his lost family, Sakata embarks on a relentless quest for vengeance. Despite his physical limitations, his indomitable will drives him to reclaim control of Shinjo City by systematically taking on the masked criminals. His battles are marked by long, continuous-shot fight scenes in which he takes on scores of thugs, each encounter a brutal reminder of his personal loss. As he fights, fragments of his past return, along with the bitter sting of betrayal.
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During his rampage, Sakata discovers an earth-shattering truth: contrary to what he was led to believe on that terrible night, his daughter Ryo is still alive. Determined to set things right, he sets out to locate her. With the help of an old colleague, Takigawa Yoshifumi, he tracks down clues that eventually lead him to a heavily guarded complex in a part of the city now under the iron-fisted control of the criminal organization.
Sakata’s rescue mission culminates at the Mahoroba Resort a symbol of the city’s corrupted new era, where the criminal gang now consolidates its power. As he battles through layers of heavily armed guards and masked assassins, Sakata endures severe physical damage (losing limbs and even suffering an eye injury) but remains undeterred. In a series of fierce, bloody encounters, he confronts high-ranking members of the gang and finally faces the mastermind behind the organization. In the ensuing chaos, his daughter Ryo, initially wary and unrecognizing of her estranged father, eventually comes to his aid with her bow and arrow, helping to turn the tide of the battle.
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Just when it seems that Sakata might finally bring his family’s oppressors to justice, further betrayals and revelations upend the climax. Sakata learns that the man posing as the city’s new mayor isn’t who he appears to be in a twist, the figure is revealed to be the mayor’s twin brother, Jin, who has assumed his brother’s identity to secure power. In the final moments, after a brutal confrontation in which Sakata, despite suffering grievous injuries, manages to kill his adversaries, his daughter’s mixed feelings of relief and betrayal come to the fore. In a poignant final scene, Ryo embraces her dying father as he succumbs to his wounds, leaving the future of Shinjo City and the legacy of his relentless quest for vengeance shrouded in ambiguity.
Demon City is noted for its intense action sequences and Toma Ikuta’s compelling performance, effectively conveying his character’s pain and determination with minimal dialogue. However, it may seem that while the film delivers on action, it follows a predictable revenge narrative without significant innovation in the genre.
Overall, “Demon City” offers a emotional portrayal of a man’s unyielding pursuit of vengeance amidst a backdrop of crime and corruption, staying true to the themes of its manga origin.
