Detriot Metal City

… or DMC depending on who you ask.

This is one for the all the metalheads who don’t take themselves too seriously. Like a cross between Alice Cooper and Tenacious D, DMC rips into itself in a knowing way and holds little back.

Moving into the city to try and achieve his dream as an indie-pop artist, Soichi is a good boy who loves his mother, gentle melodies and being a super-hip musician. He does find success with his music, but only as the lead guitarist and vocalist in DMC, the heaviest death metal band around that is taking the industry by storm. The lyrics are vile and most bodily fluids are readily shared on stage for his adoring fans. You’d think he’d be happy to be making his way in the world, but Soichi resents his role as Lord Krauser II and does whatever he can to avoid performing while hiding his dual identity from his friends and family.

DMC is a situational comedy mixed with heavy metal. To be perfectly honest, I don’t really like Soichi as himself. He is a pathetic and limp do-gooder who will swallow all of his pride to keep up appearances. He does have a breaking point though, at which he seeks revenge as Krauser. Spitting down someone’s throat or dry humping people in public (affectionately referred to as ‘rape’) is the kind of low-brow thing to expect. It’s as offensive as it is ridiculous. I love it, but would understand if the constant torrents of swearing and filth put the majority of readers off.

It starts out as somewhat of a satire, but gradually turns into a familiar pattern of Soichi tries to be nice, gets burned, and then kicks ass as Krauser. It’s very funny, especially in the first few volumes, but would advise reading in shorter bursts as opposed to reading the whole thing in one sitting. It’s difficult to laugh at the same joke more than once, so it’s impressive that DMC is able to retell its joke so many times. The final few volumes develop a longer narrative, so the series is able to round itself out properly rather than outstaying its welcome.

This is a stupid and likably earnest manga that beats death metal into the otherwise gentle and inhibited societies such as ours. Satsugai!