The movie was directed by Kawajiri Yoshiaki, who is known for his roles as a director, writer, and storyboard artist. Some of his other classic works include Wicked City, Vampire Hunter D, and Ninja Scroll. These movies, along with Demon City Shinjuku do a great job of highlighting Kawajiri’s flaws, and his skillsets.
Namely, while his movies do sometimes have a plot, they’re not always fully flushed out. However, when it comes to character development and action scenes, Kawajiri excels. He was one of the co-founders of Studio Madhouse, and it was one of the main reasons Madhouse was known for its darker anime for a while.
Kawajiri has played a major role in much more recent and popular anime including Trigun Stampede, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Bestars, and Jujutsu Kaisen as a storyboard artist, and he brings his best skills to the table. When you go to watch Demon City Shinjuku, it’s easy to see his influences in these new anime.
