Review of Detroit Metal City
As an ex-metalhead, I'd adore such a show back in high school. DMC is a shining example of over the top, violent and vulgar humor. Plain and simple, it's on your face! Show doesn't even care about making some character development or creating an interesting plot, which is understandable because it's pretty short. Just 12 episodes and each episode consists of 10 to 12 minutes. The protagonist is as bland as you can get. He's a shy and naive guy who wants to be a pop singer. However, he has a secret life that he despises, which is being an underground death metal god. Ourguy is a frontman in a metal band called DMC and his stage name is Krauser. Krauser is more than just a name though, it's a persona. Unlike his original personality, he becomes the personification of chaos who's against everything humanity holds dear. His songwriting revolves around two themes, rape and murder. Yeah, this show doesn't shy away from making jokes about these concepts. Be aware of that.
Even though how Souchi, the main character, hates his career, he cannot abandon this life because Krauser is much more than a stage show. He's the mere display of his inner anger and frustration. Whenever things don't go his way, Krauser comes out of nowhere like an alter ego and literally fuck shit up! It's one of the funniest aspects of this show, how hilarious and random it is.
Also, what I love about the anime is the fans of the band. They remind me of those nutjob Slayer(my favorite thrash metal band) fans that literally carve the name of the band to their arms and backs. These die-hard fans glorify and praise every demented act of Krauser, also explain and analyze it. Krauser frantically humps something, or anything, even the fucking Tokyo Tower, fans are there by his side and astounded by what he does. They shout "Krauser-san!" at the top of their lungs all the time and it's such a comedy gold. Both Krauser and his fans are such a funny, exaggerated and ironically accurate representations of some of the extreme metal bands in real life. These metal bands desperately try to become so extreme, just for the sake of it and they end up being hilarious. I'm looking at you, most of the black metal bands. By the way, I love metal music and metalheads are wholesome people. Just to clarify.
There are some memorable characters such as the drummer, punk girl band, rapper guy and so on. However, my favorite is manager of the band. She's an aggressive sex maniac that loves violence and death. She literally gets wet when Krauser unleashes his full potential but not like having a crush on him, just with a kick-ass pleasure. The way she says "fuck" gets me every time.
After all this praise, why it's not a 10/10 show? Because it's way too short and not that impactful. Rather than a main course, it feels like a sweet snack. It's good but doesn't leave you a lasting impression. And I think that was the intention of the creators of this show. They just wanted to make this anime as a love letter to the metal music and the fanbase. Nothing more than that. I respect that.
Still, it does what it does best. Which is fucking shit up! Stay strong fellow metalheads!