Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend is easily one of the most sick, disgusting and twisted bits of animation that I've probably ever seen......and I mean that as a compliment. Whether or not you'll be able to make it through the whole thing depends on your tolerance for every extreme imaginable. Never before, either animated or live action, have I ever witnessed such a perverted orgy of horror, gore, sci-fi and explicit pornographic sex like this. I can't say that my girlfriend and I were entertained, but we also couldn't turn away.

Urotsukidoji is a Japanese animated NC-17 feature that was originally released as a 3 episode (or "ova") series in 1987. Around that time, the now legendary film Akira had revolutionized anime and set a new standard for all mainstream anime features to come.

Well, it's safe to say that Urotsukidoji made about as much of an impression on the anime community as far as the potential dark side of anime was concerned. Its perverted mix of grotesque violence & gore, pornographic sexual content and a misogynistic undercurrent shocked almost everyone upon its initial release. While it could be argued that it might have single-handedly spawned the whole era of animated porn that has clogged the Japanese animated scene since then (like the revolting porn series La Blue Girl), Urotsukidoji (at least IMO) is much more than just simple animated pornography. In fact, there's nothing erotic about it at all.

For quite a few years, at least in the U.S., the only way to see it was in a severely edited theatrical version. While rated NC-17, it cut out a good portion of some of the more sexually explicit scenes and combined the 3 episodes into a feature length release. That is the one that I had seen quite awhile ago, and I shuddered to think about how much more excessive the uncut 3-episode series was. I got my chance to see them recently and I'll be completely honest, I don't think that I've ever seen anything this depraved.

The basic plot involves a being called The Overfiend that is awakened every 3000 years. The setting is Tokyo and there are three dimensions or realms that exist: the human realm, the demon realm and the beast realm (the beasts are sort of a cross between humans and demons but they lean a bit more towards the human side.) Two beasts are trying to find the person that they think will end up being the Overfiend. They initially sets their sights on a young basketball player who ends up not being the one. Meanwhile, a nerdy (and sexually frustrated) boy is trying to garner the attention of a nubile girl who he is obsessed with and it is quickly shown that he might be the Overfiend after all, unbeknownst to the two beasts looking for it. The demon realm is against the awakening of the Overfiend since they think that all he'll do is cause the end of the world.
The Overfiend ends up appearing and basically begins to destroy everything, since it turns out that its true motive is basically to wipe the slate clean and start the world over.

Okay, I'll admit that that was probably a jumbled explanation of the movie's plot. But it really is quite complex and dense at times. Also, there are quite a few shockingly explicit and violent moments that are sure to have your jaw on the floor and I don't won't to spoil any of the "fun".

Other than the insane amounts of gore and violence, what earned Urotsukidoji its notorious reputation was the inclusion of numerous pornographic sex scenes. What is most interesting is that most of them are just flat out disturbing instead of erotic. Reason being that most involve some young girl getting raped by some sort of demon with multiple tentacled penises. There is one scene in particular where a demon forces a nurse to perform oral sex on him before raping her and causing her to explode from the force of his orgasm. Another scene early in the film has a young girl being brutally raped by multiple penis shaped tenticles that proceed to cover her in a pink sticky liquid near the end of the scene. Add to the fact that every scene of penetration is drawn in explicit detail, and it's even more warped.

There also seems to be a preoccupation in terms of the animators with showing women either graphically split in half or torn to pieces after engaging in some pornographic sexual activity. Read into that what you will.

If that sounds very sick, believe me it is. There were quite a few occasions where my girlfriend said that she couldn't believe that we were actually watching something like this. There are some sex scenes that start out as nothing but animated porn, but they usually end up with a girl getting split in half or disembowled. The movie doesn't exactly endorse this behavior, but at times it will seirously make you wonder if the makers of this didn't harbor some kind of animosity towards females.

But, the plot is actually quite well thought out and boasts some truly surprising twists, turns and revelations. Most of the extreme sex takes place during the first half, and the film actually manages to take a shift towards a much more serious tone during the final stretch. I actually found myself caring for the characters somewhat and wondering how everything was going to turn out. The animation, while a bit crude by today's standards, is also quite good.

The only recomendation I can make is this: if you want to check it out but feel uneasy about the porno scenes, check out the NC-17 U.S. theatrical cut. While it's a bit incoherent in a couple of places due to the large cuts, it seems to come across to most people as a lot more tolerable. It's also a little more widely available than the 3-episode series. But if you really want to experience one of the most perverted and sick things that you're likely to ever see, find it in it's uncut original form.

I feel just a tiny bit guilty recommending this, but I have an extremely high tolerance for about anything. To me, Urotsukidoji isn't animated porn, but more erotic horror. But at the same time, there's nothing erotic about it. I probably sound like I'm contradicting myself, since someone could argue how something with pornographic sexual content in it could not be true porn. Trust me, whenever anyone sees this infamous cult classic, they'll see exactly what I'm talking about. The NC-17 version is available on DVD, but to the best of my knowledge, the only way to see it uncut is to get it on VHS. Update: Since I originally wrote this review you can now get the entire uncut series on DVD uncensored. Check on Ebay or Amazon.com to get the best price.

While I can't give it 5 stars due to some of the questionable violence towards women, Urotsukidoji is truly a dark landmark of Japanese animation and will likely never be topped for sheer audacity.

Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend is not rated and contains pervasive pornographic sexual content, explicit nudity, brutal rape, extreme graphic violence, gore and language.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age