Doomed Megalopolis...

Doomed Megalopolis was among the last of the Streamline titles to be released in the U.S. before the company ceased operations and represents an early entry in the horror anime genre...

Anime

Episode 1
The Hauting of Tokyo
Tokyo is under siege as occult forces lay claim to the burial site of TAIRA NO MASAKADO, a founder of the centuries-oid city. Driven by a lust for power, the necromancer KATO hopes to free the soul of this ancient warrior and in so doing gain ultimate control of this budding metropolis as it boldly moves into the 20th Century. Standing in the way of KATO's quest for power are an aging priest, an innocent virgin and a group of untested heroes. But, they soon learn that the sadistic KATO is not an easy enemy to defeat. DOOMED MEGALOPOLIS is a brilliant example of mature-themed animation produced under the supervision of master film artist RIN TARO. An intensely erotic and blood-curdling masterpiece of horror and suspense.

Episode 2
The Fall of Tokyo
Realizing that he cannot resurrect the spirit of MASAKADO through traditional occult means, the powerful necromancer, KATO, subjects an innocent victim to the ultimate physical debasement as he psychically forces his seed into her unwilling body. Kato seeks power and will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. Standing against him is a group of honorable men from varied walks of life who have come together to keep the unspeakable from happening. These men, driven to the brink of madness by Kato's evil, must do all that they can to keep the balance between good and evil in check. The final conflict results in a massive earthquake which rips Tokyo apart. Set in the early 1920's, this second installment of the mind-boggling mini-series by the master animator, RIN TARO, is filled with powerful images and a sophisticated storyline which transforms this story into an epic saga of horror and black magic.

Episode 3
The Gods of Tokyo
Following the devastating earthquake of 1923, plans are made to rebuild Tokyo into a modern metropolis. A key element of this plan is the building of a subway system. Kato schemes to use this subterranean construction to awaken a supernatural dragon which lies beneath Tokyo. Through the resulting mayhem, Kato hopes to gain control of the soul of Tokyo's guardian spirit, the ancient warrior MASAKADO. The project is plagued by a series of hideous murders. Anxious to discover the cause of these presumably supernatural deaths, PROF. TERADA calls upon a psychic, KURODA, for help. Together they face Kato's forces. Meanwhile, Masakado has begun to fight back. KEIKO, a Shinto priestess, puts up a spiritual barrier to keep Kato from sacrificing a young girl to the dragon. But as Keiko soon learns, Kato's power is not so easily defeated. This third installment of animator RIN TARO's masterful cinematic adaptation of HIROSHI ARAMATA's classic horror novel climaxes in dynamic psychic duels and outrageous supernatural battles.

Episode 4
The Battle for Tokyo
The evil KATO, constantly defeated in his attempts to gain supernatural control over Tokyo, is bent upon revenge. MASAKADO, the city's guardian spirit, and KEIKO, the temple maiden who serves as Masakado's agent, have proven, time and again, that they can defend the burgeoning metropolis against the powerful necromancer. Not willing to give up the fight, Kato sets into motion a sequence of events which, if unchecked, will leave the Earth in ruins. Astronomers throughout the world are baffled when the Moon starts moving toward the Earth. Keiko knows that Kato is responsible for the impending cataclysm, through his association with the accursed TATSUMIYA family. Thus the final battle lines are drawn. The ensuing battle is of such cosmic proportions, that both the temple maiden and the sorcerer become the personification of deities - she the Goddess of Mercy and he the Spirit of the Dead. This is the spellbinding conclusion to director RIN TARO's powerful animated adaptation of the well known fantasy novel by HIROSHI ARAMATA.

Live-Action

Tokyo - The Last Megalopolis
By Fire, Flood and Earthquake, the Old World Shall Be Destroyed, and a City Will Be Built on the Bones of the Dead! In the depths of the earth, an ancient evil stirs as a madman prepares to feed it a city! The total devastation of Tokyo and creature designs by H.R.Giger (ALIEN, SPECIES) highlight a grim tale of ambition. supernatural horror and undying evil that surpasses the boundaries of physical existence. A thousand years ago, Masakado was executed for crimes against humanity, but his malevolent spirit refused to die. It is the attraction of this dark soul that renders Tokyo the most haunted city in the world. When a prophet, a physicist and a businessman unite for the purpose of protecting Tokyo from spiritual invasion. they find their way blocked by the rogue psychic, Kato. Through Yukari, a young female medium, Kato intends to revive Masakado and use his evil energy as a weapon to destroy the city, One by one, Kato gathers the strands of fate that will cause the ultimate destruction of TOKYO-THE LAST MEGALOPOLIS! 

According to Wikipedia:

Supervising director Rintaro had previously read Teito Monogatari upon its initial publication and was greatly attracted to it. In directing the animated adaptation, he felt that his biggest challenge would be distinguishing it from the recent popular live action adaptations Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis and Tokyo: The Last War. He eventually decided that he would use the freedom given to him by animation to exploit the supernatural elements of the story, presenting them in a far more illustrious fashion than was possible with the live action films.

Actor Kyusaku Shimada was recruited to provide the voice of Yasunori Kato based on the popularity of his performance in the previous adaptations. This was his first time doing voice-over work for an animated production.

Regarding the English-dubbed VHS version, according to Wikipedia:

The English North American version distributed by Streamline Entertainment and produced by Carl Macek. In order to simplify the story for a Western audience, many changes were made to the dialogue, especially the deletion of Japanese-specific cultural references. Some examples include:

• The word oni was changed to devil.
• The word onmyoji was changed to priest.
• Shikigami were referred to as "spirit cards".
• The dialogue of Yasumasa Hirai's letter to Koda Rohan in Episode 2 is vastly changed and simplified from its original version. References to Nanda, En no Gyōja, Abe no Seimei, Mt. Koya, Kūkai, Tsuchimikado Family, Ryujin Village, and Shugendo were removed. The implication that Kato is a descendant of the Ainu was also deleted.
• Gakutensoku is referred to as the "Turbined Divinity".
• Kannon is never mentioned by name and only referred to as "The Goddess of Mercy".

Doomed Megalopolis is a classic 90s anime that tells a tale of good versus evil set in Tokyo. The story shifts in time from the present to the past and incorporates some historical events into its narrative. There is some bloodshed and some adult situations which are quite tame by modern standards, but, there are no actual naughty bits. Originally released by Streamline as one of their low cost entries in the burgeoning U.S. anime industry and marketed toward a more adult demographic, Streamline actually went out of the anime distribution business during the release of Doomed Megalopolis and some of the latter episodes in the series became quite scarce in their initial run. Like most Streamline titles, Doomed Megalopolis was released only as an English dub. But, even in its dubbed form, Doomed Megalopolis still managed to shine.

Doomed Megalopolis is an epic tale of ancient evil reawakened that reminds me a bit of The Omen. Great visuals and story. If you like horror, then this is certainly one title to track down. There is a live-action re-telling of the story, but, in my humble opinion, it's not as good. I picked this title up on an impulse. Kato's face on the cover box with the pentagram was certainly an image that grabbed me and said "Buy Me"! So, I did. But, seeing Kato sitting there lying on the heap of anime to be watched, didn't inspire me to actually watch this series right away. It sat there for some months before I decided to sit down and watch it. It's a good thing that I didn't wait too long... Streamline went belly up and some of the later episodes in the series became hard to get. I used to have all four parts on dubbed VHS. I gave Doomed Megalopolis a 5 out of 5.