Detroit Metal City

Detroit Metal City (デトロイト・メタル・シティ) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kiminori Wakasugi. It was serialized in Hakusensha's manga magazine Young Animal from September 2005 to April 2010, with its chapters collected in ten volumes. The manga was licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media. The series takes its name from the song "Detroit Rock City" by the American band Kiss.

The manga was adapted into a twelve-episode (of thirteen minutes long and divided into two six-minute sections) original video animation (OVA) released in August 2008; a live action film adaptation also premiered in Japan in August 2008.

Plot

Soichi Negishi is a shy young musician who dreams of a career in pop. Dreams do not pay the bills, so he has ended up as the lead singer and guitarist of a blackened death metal band, "Detroit Metal City". In his stage costume, he adopts the persona of "Johannes Krauser II", a terrorist demon from hell said to have raped and killed his parents. The songs of DMC often encourage their audience to engage in similar immoral and illegal behavior, or tell stories of Krauser's criminal exploits in a parody of the genre.

Negishi despises DMC and all that it stands for, but he cannot walk away from his role as the band's psychotic frontman. Under his meager exterior, Negishi is a rageaholic and also is very skilled at guitar playing. Furthermore, he feels obligation to the rest of the band and his label and is always roped back in by the manager of the band's label. The Krauser persona also functions as an outlet to vent his frustration over his failing personal career, which has not advanced beyond playing his original pop songs in the streets and earning the harsh disapproval of bystanders.

Negishi is envious of the popularity DMC and his Krauser persona have achieved in contrast to the music he actually wants to play being ridiculed; his Krauser persona begins to emerge more often, which leads to Krauser's popularity growing. The series explores the futile attempts of Negishi to break this vicious circle, escape his DMC persona, and become a successful pop musician.

Characters

• Soichi Negishi (根岸 崇一) / Johannes Krauser II (ヨハネ・クラウザーII世)
• A calm and peaceful musician from Inukai, Ōita, he is a fan of Swedish pop and Shibuya-kei who is the exact opposite of his alter-ego "Johannes Krauser II", leader of the Visual death metal band DMC (short for Detroit Metal City). Ashamed of his true job, Negishi must cope with DMC's rising fame while keeping it a secret from friends and family. Even though Negishi despises Krauser so much, he can never resist the temptation of invoking his demonic ego every time he feels irritated or in trouble. While performing as Krauser, Negishi proves to be a very skilled guitarist, able to play just with his teeth.
• Yuri Aikawa (相川 由利)
• Negishi's friend from his college times and his main love interest. She loves Negishi's calm nature and songs, but dislikes DMC's music and its vocalist Krauser, unaware that they are the same person.
• Terumichi Nishida (西田 照道)/Camus (カミュ)
• Curry-loving, overweight, and taciturn. An otaku, he is a fan of anime. Nishida is "Camus" (カミュ), DMC's drummer. Perhaps the most dedicated in the group; not even fire or snakes will stop his drumming.
• Masayuki Wada (和田 真幸)/Alexander Jagi (アレキサンダー・ジャギ)
• Wada plays the part of "Alexander Jagi", DMC's bassist and a ladies' man from Saitama. He would like to leave DMC to perform in a visual kei band, but like the rest of the band, he is reluctant to go on his own path, mostly in fear of their manager.
• Death Records President (デスレコーズ社長)
• A foul-mouthed, sex-crazy blonde woman who creates odd schemes to promote the band, most of them to Negishi's despair.
• Keisuke Nashimoto (梨元 圭介)
• A masochistic middle-aged man hired to perform during DMC's concerts as the "Capitalist Pig" (資本主義の豚), whose role is to let himself be abused by Krauser. He works part-time at a convenience store.
• Jack ill Dark (ジャック・イル・ダーク)
• Also known as "The Emperor", he is a legendary Death Metal guitarist from the United States who chose to crush DMC during his farewell concert in Japan. But after inadvertently bringing out Negishi's anger, he ends up being upstaged by Krauser, and thus passes down to him his trademark instrument, a legendary guitar covered in blood, and his title as "Emperor".

Media

Reception

The manga has had over 3 million copies in circulation. It topped the Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2007 list of best manga for male readers.[56]

Further reading

External links