For centuries, only a select few on Earth have known about the Black World, an alternate dimension that homes a race of humanlike people with inhuman powers. As contact between both worlds became more and more frequent, the leaders on both sides always sought to insure peace by negotiating treaties of non-aggression and protection. Now, though, the last treaty is on the verge of expiration and the leaders of Earth and the Black World again must come together to negotiate a lasting peace. However, all sides are not content. Black World radicals who consider humans inferior see, in Earth, the opportunity to conquer and enslave mankind. It is these radicals who seek to stop the treaty at all cost, and it is because of these radicals that the Black Guard was created.

Taki Renziboro is your typical corporate salesman of electronic goods in present-day Tokyo. Single, handsome, healthy and generally well-off...but not well-off due to the trafficking of microchips and computer hardware. Taki Renziburo lives a double life. He has been a member of the Black Guard, secretly trained to protect human and Black World dignitaries from Black World radicals. He prides himself on working alone. With the prospect of a 500 year renewal of the Earth/Black World peace treaty, though, Taki is assigned the task of protecting the mediator of the upcoming negotiations, a mysterious and centuries old man named Guiseppe Miyart, who conducted the negotiations of the last treaty. With Miyart's presence being of paramount importance to the negotiations, it is decided that Taki should be also assigned a partner, a beautiful Black World woman named Makiae.

Miyart wants only to hit the strip, leading Makiae and Taki into many dangerous situations. No matter how hard, Makiae and Taki try to outwit their enemies, though, the Black World radicals are always one step ahead and, finally, Miyart's strange behavior succeeds in getting him dangerously wounded. When Makiae is captured while helping Taki take Miyart to safety, Taki is suddenly torn between two instincts: to do his job and protect Miyart, or to abandon Miyart and attempt to rescue his new love. Chaos reigns as the Black World radicals suddenly seem less intent on killing Miyart then on preventing a reunion of the Taki and Makiae, who they see as a traitor.

Now to my review. I bought Wicked City on a whim, and without viewing it, unleashed this bit of beautiful evil on unsuspecting Sailor Moon fans.
Wicked City's realistic animation definitely make this a visual success.
The story is certainly not original, but Wicked City is more successful at it then other anime titles (like the A.D. Vision release Kimera). Also, the cast of this story is nothing new, with perhaps the exception of the perverted midgit demon guy. Anyway, Wicked City's story is still fairly successful and worth checking out.
The dubbing in Wicked City isn't bad, as far as dubbing goes.
I really enjoyed the visuals and the main aspects of the story, once I got past the gratuitous and violent sexual matter. Personally, I could have done without some of the violent sex content in a story that could have been just as good without having to see it all. I'm finding it a little difficult to rate. If you're going by American standards, this is definatly 18 and older. However, it's a proven fact that teenagers are horny and have strong stomachs.(look at what they're eating!) If you're into all that, plus fantasy style fighting, you'll probably be ok with this film. Just don't watch it with your parents.

Horror/Thriller HI-FI Stereo, Running Time: 90 Minutes. Contains Violence, Nudity and Strong Sexual Situations. Parental Discretion Advised.

Director Yoshiaki Kawajiri / Producers Yoshio Masumizu & Koohei Kuri / ScreenPlay Kisei Choo / Original Novel Hideyuki Kikuchi / ADR Dialogue by Greg Snegoff / Music Osamu Shooji / Film Editor Harutoshi Ogata / Director of Photography Kinichi Ishikawa / English Language Version produced and Directed by Carl Macek.

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