Graham Greene The delightfully titled Chôjin densetsu; Urotsukidōji - also known as Legend of the Overfiend (1988) but more accurately translated as 'The Legend of the Ultra God and The Wandering Kid' - is a near infamous series of short-form Japanese anime, edited down and compiled Shogun Assassin (1980) style, into one of the most controversial films ever released within the wider context of Japanese animation. In fact, you could even say that it to some extent defined expectations of what Anime meant to a lot of people in the western world, who expected every single piece of Japanese animation since to be filled with the same kind of explicit sex, gratuitous violence and images of rampaging demons. Although there are a number of notable films that fall under this particular description - for example, many of the films of Yoshiaki Kawajiri, such as Wicked City (1987), Hell City Shinjuku (1988) and Ninja Scroll (1995) - there are still many different sub-categories of Anime than this particular film's controversial reputation might not suggest.Regardless, what I like about this film (and the broader aspects of the series as a whole) is the sense of imagination, the scope of the world that is created, and the depiction of characters and scenarios that couldn't possible exist, even within the confines of our wildest dreams or indeed, our very worst nightmares. Yes, some elements are pure sleaze, but you could make the same accusation against Pasolini's Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975), which is one of the finest works of political satire and pure cinematic art ever created. Obviously, Legend of the Overfiend lacks any such lofty pretentious, essentially offering us a reoccurrence of that central Japanese image of the giant monster destroying Tokyo, with all kinds of episodic sub-plots and sidelines involving the war between three different worlds, a bullied schoolboy extracting revenge and a tender teen lover-story between two of the central characters. Naturally, the film also finds the time to revel in the depictions of lurid sleaze, mystical prophesising and the occasional burst of grandiose destruction; but there is still a recognisable intelligence here, and a sense of imagination that is deeper and richer than what many potential viewers might expect.If you wanted to read (perhaps) too much into it, then you can also see the film as something of a critique of modern society and the general negativity and selfishness of human behaviour in general. Does this mean that we can also read the more outré supernatural elements as a potential metaphor; creating something of a wicked satire and parody on the infernal horrors of over-sexed adolescence and the woe's of teenage-angst? Probably not; but it is worth noting the film begins with the narrator discussing "ignorant humans" in an opening voice-over that clues us in on the three different worlds and the legend of the overfiend itself, while the ending - without giving too much away - suggests that to find peace and harmony we must destroy everything that went before and rebuild it completely from the ground up. These notions can be looked at in more detail, or they can be treated as superfluous information secondary to the violence, fantasy and action. Regardless, these elements alone show that Legend of the Overfiend is a film far more interesting than its reputation as a work of over-the-top, sexually explicit exploitation would suggest.The original Japanese release is the version to see, if you can find it. The story, although edited down from three single episodes, is easier to understand and the dialog manages to convey the story, as well as giving us a vague insight into the characters. The US dubbed version is often heavily censored to the point of incomprehensibility, whilst the American dialog is laughably bad ("hey, that's quite the boner you've got there... let me help you with that) and delivered so flat as to make even the most innocent of lines seem like the most childish of double-entendres. Because of this, the first third of the film seems almost like Porky's (1982) by-way of early Cronenberg - think Shivers (1977) in particular - as teen-film clichés and a nod to De Palma's Carrie (1976) are juxtaposed against elements of tentacle-rape and purely indulgent hentai. Beside these more controversial talking points, we get some exciting scenes of action, an interesting flashback to the great Kantō earthquake of 1923 and something of an ironic twist towards the end.

Rectangular_businessman I 'm not very much into anime ,but I like some of them .Some are good ,actually . Some people don't like them because they think that are just a grotesque combination of sex and violence . And "Legend of the Over-fiend " goes in the last category ,a grotesque combination of sex and violence without a real plot ,just sequences of ultra -violence and graphic sex and rape . There is no merit or any value on it .Just sex and violence . This movie is just stupid . I only recommend it for the fans of erotic anime and the sadomasochists . It's hard to me think that somebody could actually find this thing funny . If they were making porn ,at least they should have asked themselves if they were enjoying what they were doing . Zero stars .

DVD_Connoisseur "Urotsukidoji - Legend of the Overfiend" is quite groundbreaking in its delivery of content. As an animated manga production, the film is a mix of teen angst, humour, horror and sexual scenes. At times, the film is visually breathtaking - although I found the standard of animation occasionally slipped, unlike the always-consistent "Akira".The plot of "Urotsukidoji" is difficult to explain in brief but the basic premise is that Demons have started to invade the Earth causing havoc in the form of depraved attacks. Two characters from the Beast World have come to try and put things right by finding The Overfiend. Hopefully, by locating The Overfiend, peace may be found. Failure will mean the end of the Earth....The "Urotsukidoji" ("Wandering Kid") series are love-'em or hate-'em affairs. They contain excessive sex and violence (and usually violent sex) and may offend viewers. Certainly, these animated movies are a far cry from political correctness! The style of manga featured in this production is known as Hentai - this loosely translated is cartoon pornography. As a result, there are a number of sexual scenes which appear in the film and most of the characters involved meet a sticky end (and not the usual kind!).To see the film in its uncut glory, you need to catch the now deleted "Urotsukidoji: Perfect Collection" DVD set. This contains the first movie in its complete form and with subtitles rather than horrible dubbing. Contained within the 2 disc set is also the rather good sequel, the tastefully named "Legend of the Demon Womb".If you like your horror adventurous, bloody and taboo-breaking, "Urotsukidoji" is the animated feature for you!

etg1701 If ever there were a case where the use of the admittedly repugnant term "degenerate art" is justified, this is probably it. Guaranteed to put anyone's faith in freedom of expression to the test, this movie has it all: demons, violence, rape, and of course tentacles. You know you're in for something truly terrifying when even the heavily censored version released in the US is rated NC-17 is banned outright in several nations. To be fair, underneath the endless sex scenes and gruesome violence, there is an interesting, though hardly sublime, plot, apparently a hentai/horror take on the Nietzschean übermensch.Those with weak stomachs will definitely want to give this one a pass. Those with strong stomachs will want to bring a vomit bowl before starting. Even de Sade would feel a little sick in places...