The end of a legacy has come, so how does it feel overall?
Creative Staff
Story: Kiminori Wakasugi
Art: Kiminori Wakasugi
Translation/Adaptation: Annus Itchii
What They Say
By all appearances, Soichi Negishi is a sweet, well-mannered boy who likes Swedish pop music, trendy boutiques, and all things fashionable. But at the same time he’s also Krauser II, front man for Detroit Metal City, an indie death metal band whose popularity increases by the day. Once the DMC makeup goes on and Soichi takes the stage, his natural talent as a death metal god can’t help but flourish. Is this the band he’s truly destined to be in?
The Mega Brutal Final Volume!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Coming from a very strong start, Detroit Metal City has had its moments where it floundered and wasn’t able to maintain what made the series great at the beginning. Now the story comes to a close with the tenth and final volume. Continuing the story arc started in the previous volume; Negishi has decided to quit DMC and subsequently the band breaks up and Boss collapses into a coma, meanwhile God is rising through the ranks in metal in the quest for supremacy. The interesting part about God was that he is exactly like Negishi. He wants to be a model (despite being ugly as sin) and hates being the front-man for a death metal band even though he is exceptionally good at it.
The final volume is essentially split into two parts: the first follows Negishi after he has moved to France to try and ‘make it’ with his music and the other is the ultimate showdown between Krauser and God. The first part flounders like all the other segments throughout the series that focused more on Negishi as himself than on his DMC adventures. It isn’t that there aren’t funny moments, it isn’t that there isn’t good character growth for Negishi as he learns more about himself by being in a foreign land; it’s that this is the same crap that has been happening for 10 volumes now. GET OVER YOURSELF DUDE! Seeing Negishi time and time again try to run from what he is actually good at, seeing that he really enjoy being Krauser and leading DMC, just removes all empathy from the reader the 100th time it happens.
The second half has God successfully taken the Legendary Guitar for himself and presenting a final challenge to all metal bands to a final bout for metal supremacy. Here’s where the volume picks up and gets good. Sure we may have seen some of the antics before but it’s the absolutely over the top ridiculousness of everything that continues to entertain. This final showdown is no exception as God proves that he can withstand anything. Krauser continues to up the ante time and time again and God ups the ante right alongside him. It is entertaining in its toilet humor, in its craziness, in its extremely bold mannerisms.
But it’s the end of the series that matters right? Well, *SPOILER ALERT* Negishi finally seems to come to terms with his identity as Krauser. He understands that this is his music. But as soon as the show is over he goes back to wanting to quit. The final chapter is practically a fluff piece where he attempts to reveal his identity as Krauser to Aikawa. There are some pretty funny things happening where he tries to bait Aikawa into not liking him first and then her reaction when he shows up as Krauser is pretty on the mark with her character. But the series doesn’t feel like it actually ends. He doesn’t really accept his life in DMC, he never resolves anything with Aikawa (whether it be in the positive or the negative) and the character of God leaves all of his storylines unfinished. That’s right, the series just stops. While the way in which it stops is not alien and can be considered a good ending, the series has just gone on for so long with its two or three jokes and the constant teasing and battle between Negishi struggling with his fate that I think we deserved more. Leaving plot threads hanging, hell, just dismissing them all together, and ending the series on a note that could’ve happened volumes ago. It’s the kind of ending that after each main arc in the series it could’ve stopped. It might’ve been more appropriate if it did. But Wakasugi added so much to the world of DMC and constantly built upon everything, rose the stakes higher and higher, that this ending just feels unsatisfying.
In Summary
Now that the series is over, how do I feel about DMC as a whole. Well, it is worth your time if you read the first volume and enjoyed everything about it. The vulgarity of the humor, the craziness of the settings and events, and the comedic parts with Negishi trying to be normal stays throughout the series right up to the final pages. I got tired of some parts of the series about halfway through but the parts that made me laugh always did so stupendously; so I stuck with it. The parts that are spot on hilarious in the final volume are worth the journey and at only 10 volumes it isn’t that big of a commitment to be worried about investing in. I am just disappointed that it all leads to nothing. That there is no real resolution, no finality in anything that has happened for 10 books. Would I herald it as a masterpiece? No. Would I recommend it to people would enjoy things like this? Yes. Would I recommend it to people who enjoy this type of thing but NEED to have a good ending or else they will hate everything that has come before? God no! People should enjoy DMC for what it provides for as long as they enjoy it. I applaud Viz for releasing the whole thing and hope they will take some chances on similar styled series.
It is a funny farewell that left a sour taste in my mouth, but a funny farewell nonetheless.
Content Grade: B-
Art Grade: B
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Readers Rating: [ratings]
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: September 13th, 2011
MSRP: $14.99
