“Walk right side, good. Walk left side, good. Walk middle, *quiiik*, just like grape.” – Mr. Miyagi

All the characters resemble an apple with a worm inside: it may look ok to eat, once you take a bite you wish you hadn’t.  From the happy-go-lucky, plain-jane protagonist, to the momma’s-boy bad guy who’s wardrobe would make Elton John jealous, each character is contrived and flawed in a way that their very existence depreciates the plot. As refreshing as it is having a protagonist without the weight of the world on his shoulders, he has no depth and a bland personality. The most interesting aspect of him is his girlfriend, who is revealed to be a corpse demon, or in other words, a zombie. Necrophilia aside, there’s little to justify him as a character.

Other characters include a helpless love interest, an asshole with a cursing habit, an archer who was manufactured with the same brand of bland as our protagonist, and a wrestler who can cook a tasty bento box. Honestly, the show should have been about the wrestler and his endeavors to battle other chefs in order to make the best meal ever.

Adding to the mess is the inconsistency of how the characters look. Some characters designs are downright offensive to behold, while others seem to have got lost on their way to Yotsuba&. Preferably, character designs should have some connecting look about them, while still being distinguishable to allow the story to flow from character to character. Since Tokyo Majin lacks the knowledge to do this subtly, going from one set of characters to another is comparable to a train wreck on a boat.



Would you have guessed that both screen shots came from the same show?

Another area the show lacks in is the plot. Based the Japan-only video game franchise, the show has been compared to the likes of the Shin Megami Tensei Persona series, unfortunately it’s nowhere near as good. While both share the motif of high school kids fighting demons, Tokyo Majin’s story moves at the breathtaking pace of .05 important events an episode, making the series feel like it would have been a better show if it was nowhere near as long. Several episodes feel unnecessary, able to do other things while it was on, things such as:

-        Holding conversations on Twitter

-        Read a manga

-        Take out the trash

-        Write a review

-        Leave the room for an extended period of time

Despite all this, I was still able to understand exactly what was going on.

But there is a 16-watt light bulb at the end of the tunnel that is Tokyo Majin. The show does have a pretty decent musical score that holds the attention during the fights. However, since the characters talk over the music and the fights don’t last long these aspects are unfortunately overshadowed. Taking a look at the DVD case, a quote is brandished on the back:

“Resembles the fluid action of Cowboy Bebop” – SciFi.com

That’s only half true. While the animation is solid enough, there are much better titles more worthy of that praise.  

All things considered, Tokyo Majin is a crushed grape in the middle of the road. While it’s not painful to watch, there are better shows to spend time on. Since the games this anime is based on never made their way here, you have to wonder who this anime’s stateside target audience is. Fans of the typical highschoolers-killing-demons scenario might enjoy the show, but in a market flooded with the mediocre, Tokyo Majin has very little ground to stand.

Overall: D+
Review by: Josh Dunham
Director: Shinji Ishihara
Animation Production: AIC Spirits
Distributed by: Funimation