NAME:
Mephisto

SERIES: Demon City Shinjuku/Hell City Shinjuku

SERIES DESCRIPTION: Levi Rah, a wicked sorcerer, after making a pact with the Devil or the minions of Hell, gains ultimate power in exchange for the separation of Tokyo's Shinjuku district as the daemon's demensional portal, breeding grounds, and safe haven. It then becomes up to a high school student (that happens to be the son of a great war lord) and his innocent little girlfriend to save Shinjuku and the world from the clutches of death. A surreal, dark little anime similar to the style of "Vampire Hunter D".

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION: Mephisto has saved Kyoya's (the main character) behind several times over, as well as his cute, pretty-in-pink little friend. He has the brains to defeat red-haired succubi with simple chemistry, and claims to be "impartial" to all of the unfortunate incidents stiking Shinjuku. But in this impartiality, Mephisto seems convinced that Levi Rah and the evil that possesses him will triumph over the forces of good, and maintains this negativity throughout the film. He speaks in long, poetic monolougues about the nature of the human soul and the darkness that occupies it. Mephisto is the Goth of Anime Goths, and one of the deepest and most intriguing characters in all of anime.

INSIGHTS: But the mystery of Mephisto's presence is that he seems to have no real purpose as the basis of the story (other than laying succubi waste and catching fainting girls, along with giving cryptic advice to the simple Kyoya), but is far too important and complex a character to be one of those obvious plot filler people . And, if he was, why would the animators make him look as he does? He is completely different from every other character in the story: smarter, sexier, and all-around better than the mindless Kyoya and the power-hungry Levi Rah, among any one else in the district of Shinjuku. The obvious is not really very obvious in this case, and I still haven't figured it out quite yet.
Mephisto is a character different in ways than anyone else on my page. While similar in ways to D of "Vampire Hunter D", Mephisto seems to be searching for something of the philosophical rather than the emotional. And, although he thinks before speaking as does Larva of "Vampire Princess Miyu", Larva speaks out of servitute to his undead mistress, while the focus of this page does it out of the fact that people will learn what they need to know from him in time. And Mephisto seems to have no emotional or physical attachments, a far-away woman to pine for, as many of the other men featured here. And, he isn't misunderstood and he doesn't face the typical problems of the social outcasts: how did he escape it?

NOTES: My suspicions were right. "Demon City Shinjuku", "Vampire Hunter D", and "Wicked City" were all produced by the same company and had many of the same character designers and animators. Geniuses!

LINKS: As much as I have searched, not only have I never found a Mephisto shrine, but I've never even found a "Demon City Shinjuku" site! If you know of any, even a really sub-par one, please sign the guestbook with the URL or e-mail me when I get that section up. Arigato!

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