Stylish animation distinguishes DARKSIDE BLUES, a Japanese animated tale of rebels confonting a power-hungry corporation in a dystopian near-future setting that recalls such similarly-themed anime features as AKIRA (1988) and DEMON CITY SHINJUKU (1993).
From an orbiting platform 36,000 kilometers above the earth, the Persona Century Corporation, run by the corrupt and sadistic Hozuki family, rules most of the earth. When one of their number, a boy kept confined in an alternate dimension since childhood and given supernatural powers, escapes to
Earth, assassins are sent to locate him.
The boy turns up in Kabuki Town, a free zone in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, where he allies with a motley crew of street toughs known as the Messiah Delinquents, including Mai (voice of Kotono Mitsuishi) and Kenzou (voice of Akio Ootsuka). The boy calls himself "Darkside," after the fact that
Kabuki Town is called "the dark side of Tokyo." When a fugitive AP (Anti-Persona) rebel, Tatsuya, flees to Kabuki, the gang offers him aid and shelter. Kenzou launches a jerrybuilt missile at the Persona Satellite, prompting retaliation by Persona assassins, including a laser attack on AP
headquarters in the Himalayas.
Eventually, Darkside is confronted by an "enhanced" teenaged boy sent by Persona, Enji (voice of Akira Natsuki), and defeats him in a duel. Darkside then helps the Kabuki gang fight off an attack led by the Hozuki brother-and-sister team, Gren (voice of Hideyuki Hori) and Tamaki (voice of Maki
Kachisa). With Darkside's help, the Persona group is defeated, although Tatsuya is killed in the final confrontation.
The latest Japanese animation to depict an oppressive futurescape, DARKSIDE BLUES strays from the harsh street reality of AKIRA and the horror trappings of DEMON CITY SHINJUKU to portray a more dreamlike future with battles between "enhanced" beings fought against abstract backdrops in a psychic
netherworld. The emphasis is on mood and atmosphere as the creators bestow a rhythmic, mystical flow on the proceedings while boasting more realistic character design than is typical for futuristic anime. The production design adds a bright, sunny cast to the settings, from the old buildings where
the characters live to Persona's orbiting satellite to the crowded, rundown streets of Kabuki Town, surrounded by bombed-out, half-destroyed office towers. The characters are costumed in an intriguing mix of archaic clothing styles, with Darkside himself adorned in late Victorian dress as he rides
over Tokyo in a flying, horse-drawn carriage.
Based on a popular comic book, DARKSIDE BLUES offers only a portion of the original storyline. However, the attention given to the mood and visual style occasionally diverts the filmmakers from exploiting the suspense inherent in the plot line. (Violence, nudity.) leave a comment