Teito taisen (1989)

Teito taisen: Directed by Takashige Ichise. With Masaya Katô, Takeshi Kusaka, Brian Matt-Uhl, Kaho Minami. The year is 1945. After the horrific fire-bombings of the Pacific War levels Japan to the ground, the government decides to consult spiritual psychics to aid them in winning the war. Unfortunately, the resentment and agony of the souls of the fire-bombing victims culminate together to revive the evil Onmyoji, Yasunori Kato. Only a young, psychically imbued apprentice of the priests will dare fight against the evil magic user. However, can this lone man possibly contend with Kato’s overwhelming power?

“For those very few of you who have seen u0026quot;Tokyo: The Last Megalopolisu0026quot; (or the more renowned anime version u0026quot;Doomed Megalopolisu0026quot;) and enjoyed it, you might be interested in seeking out this continuation of the story. Apparently IMDb got things mixed up here, and theyu0026#39;re displaying the u0026quot;Tokyo: The Last Megalopolisu0026quot; cover in the section for u0026quot;Teito Taisenu0026quot; (u0026quot;Tokyo: The Last Waru0026quot;), which is the official sequel to the aforementioned movie. Somebody needs to fix this quick! Right now, Iu0026#39;m reviewing u0026quot;Tokyo: The Last Waru0026quot;, not u0026quot;Last Megalopolisu0026quot;. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAlright, I admit that this film has not been subtitled, and I donu0026#39;t understand Japanese. So how do I know whatu0026#39;s going on in here? Repeated viewings and lots of translated summaries. However, even if you donu0026#39;t know Japanese, this film has just enough action and scenery to make it worthwhile.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story starts out at the end of World War II. Tokyo lies in ruins due to repeated fire-bombings from the American army. However, one surviving magic-user brings together a new group of mystics. His plan is to u0026quot;turn defeat into victoryu0026quot; by using spiritual psychic powers to assassinate the evil world leaders from a distance (I know Hitleru0026#39;s involved). Unfortunately, the surge of spiritual energy along with the repeated horror of all those who endured the nightmare of the fire-bombings, rouses up all the souls of the dead, whose resentment and anger come together and revive…Yasunori Kato. Now itu0026#39;s up to a young apprentice of the psychic magic user to stop Kato before the evil sorcerer ruins their plans for victory. Kato also seems intent on torturing and gaining revenge on Yukiko (his u0026quot;daughteru0026quot; from the previous story), whose all grown-up now and works as a nurse in a hospital.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt should be noted that this is the only film that Iu0026#39;ve seen that Takagise Ichise (the producer of u0026quot;Ringuu0026quot;, u0026quot;Ju-Onu0026quot;, and u0026quot;Dark Wateru0026quot;) directed, and it definitely shows in the style. u0026quot;Tokyo: The Last Megalopolisu0026quot; was going for an exotic fantasy atmosphere, while this movie aims to be more of a dark and gory horror movie. The silly creatures that Kato summoned in the original film have been completely dumped here. The only magic he really uses in this movie is throwing stuff around with psychic energy like Darth Vader. He even acts differently, coming off more like a slow-moving and leering u0026quot;Terminatoru0026quot; rather than the more dynamic way he was portrayed in the original. Strangely enough, the sets arenu0026#39;t as varied as they were in u0026quot;Last Megalopolisu0026quot; either. Everythingu0026#39;s dark and brooding, putting a greater emphasis on the grim historical setting. The beginning of the film felt like a docudrama or just some historical war movie. Itu0026#39;s not until Kato arrives that the film begins to explore itu0026#39;s fantasy roots more.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI liked this movie. The story is easily more comprehensible than its predecessors, the characters are better defined, and the production just feels more taut this time around. But I can only enjoy it as a standalone production. When viewed as a sequel to u0026quot;Last Megalopolisu0026quot;, itu0026#39;s an incredible disappointment. u0026quot;Tokyo: The Last Megalopolisu0026quot; was a very unique production in that it was a genre bender of a film: an epic that was equal parts fantasy, horror and historical fiction. This film feels more like some commercial horror film in a historical setting. It didnu0026#39;t even try to follow up the promises of its predecessor (for example, many plot threads left hanging at the end of that film are not resolved here). From an entertainment perspective, itu0026#39;s decent, but not in the same way.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTwo years later, Rintaro would take the story of u0026quot;Last Megalopolisu0026quot; and the dark atmosphere of this film and make the anime u0026quot;Doomed Megalopolisu0026quot;. Ironically, since the atmosphere between the latter production and u0026quot;Last Waru0026quot; is more consistent, u0026quot;Last Waru0026quot; serves as a better sequel to the anime than u0026quot;Last Megalopolisu0026quot;.”