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Tokyo Babylon

Subaru Sumeragi is the head of the ancient Sumeragi clan, a powerful family of magicians which has traditionally protected Japan from evil. Though Subaru is a very shy fifteen year old he is also an immensely powerful magician, with a true talent for putting to rest unhappy and vengeful ghosts and spirits. He is assisted by his outgoing twin sister, Hakuto and by a veterinarian who has befriended the twins.

The first story in Tokyo Babylon concerns the greed of the business men who were transforming 1980's Tokyo through ambitious building plans. One businessman leading the building effort, Shinji Nagumo, has been propelled to the top by a series of suspicious accidents that have killed or disabled his associates and rivals. Subaru is called in to investigate the strange happening around one building site and discovers that the sister of one of the accident victims has created a terrible curse to seek revenge. The second story is a genuinely creepy story about a serial killer preying on riders of Tokyo's subways. Mirei Hidaka is called in by the police to use her psychic abilities to track down the killer, but finds herself stalked by the murderer. Subaru must find the killer to save her life.

Tokyo Babylon just touches on the disquieting themes of corruption and betrayal that made the manga so powerful, but the film version does quite well at hinting at the devastating revelations of the original with a mood of uncertainty and mystery. Tokyo Babylon is also a critique of the coldness and ugliness of Tokyo from the Osaka born Clamp manga group. Clamp is one of the best manga creators in Japan and many of their manga, such as Magic Knight Rayearth, Cardcaptor Sakura, Angelic Layer and X have been successfully adapted as anime. Tokyo Babylon is a prequel to X, and several of the same characters appear in the X series, which brings Clamp's environmental themes to new heights.
  • Studio: Pioneer
  • Format: DVD
  • Episodes in Series: 2
  • Series Completed: Yes
  • Number of DVDs: 1

 
  • Audio Tracks: English, Japanese
  • Subtitles: English
  • Genre: Horror
  • Ages: 13+
  • Cautions: Violence
  • Reviewer: Liz
  • Core Collection: High School, Horror and Occult