Comics / Manga

Detroit Metal City: Volume 3

By Leroy Douresseaux
December 14, 2009 - 08:34

Detroit Metal City Volume 3 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “M” for “Mature”

Soichi Negishi is a sweet-natured, well-mannered boy.  He loves Swedish pop music, shopping in trendy places, and doing whatever’s fashionable, but he also has a double life.  Soichi is Lord Johannes Krauser II, the front man and guitarist for the indie death metal band, Detroit Metal City.  A power trio, DMC is growing in popularity every day, but Negishi wishes he could simply play his acoustic guitar and sing happy songs.  Still, there is no denying that as a death metal god, Negishi is a natural.

As Detroit Metal City, Vol. 3 begins, Soichi’s record company Boss forces him to go out on a date with a visiting American, Kenny Ill Dark, daughter of death metal luminary, Jack Ill Dark.  Soichi must also be in costume as Lord Johannes Krauser II.  Little does Soichi know that Kenny plans on testing Krauser to discover if he is the real deal as a death metal god.

Soichi’s troubles never end.  He is a virgin, which the Boss finds an unacceptable status for a death metal god, so she sets a hoard of horny groupies on Soichi.  But Soichi is determined to save his cherry for the love of life, Yuri Aikawa, who coincidentally has just reunited with her ex-boyfriend.  With so many trying situations plaguing him, will Soichi be ready for the death metal festival, Satanic Emperor.

THE LOWDOWN:  As outrageous as a film like The Hangover, but even more ballsy in its use of scatological humor, Detroit Metal City depicts subculture insanity through the eyes of an almost-innocent, and thus far, the subculture is winning.  I’ve previously referenced MTV’s now-defunct, Headbanger’s Ball, and the film, This is Spinal Tap, when writing about DMC, but this manga is also an heir of the X-rated Underground Comix of R. Crumb and S. Clay Wilson.

What manga-ka Kiminori Wakasugi has created is too good to be segregated in the manga category.  Many entertainers and artists often like to describe their work as un-politically correct.  Compared to what Wakasugi has wrought with DMC, their work is safe and white bread, and their humor and satire is not nearly as deadly as this death metal broadsword.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Capturing all things both awesome and ridiculous about the metal scene, Detroit Metal City is for all music lovers who read comic books.

A-

 

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12