Demon City is a high-octane action thriller streaming on Netflix that follows the journey of a retired hitman, Sakata Shuhe, as he seeks vengeance for the brutal murder of his family.
The film is packed with intense action sequences, emotional depth, and a dark narrative revolving around crime syndicates, betrayal, and redemption.
Overview
Sakata Shuhe (Toma Ikuta), a highly skilled hitman, decides to leave his violent past behind to live a peaceful life with his wife and daughter.
However, his dreams of a quiet family life are shattered when, upon returning home from his final assignment, he discovers his wife and daughter being held hostage by four masked men.
Before he can react, the assailants mercilessly execute his family before his eyes.
Overcome with grief and rage, Sakata attempts to fight back, but he, too, is shot and left for dead.
Not only this, the blame of the murder of his family is put on him.
Plot Summary
A Broken Man on a revenge mission
Against all odds, Sakata survives the fatal gun shot but is left paralyzed on a wheelchair, suffering from immense physical and emotional trauma.
He is taken care of by an old hitman friend, Fuji for twelve years after the traumatic incident.
His life takes another dark turn when a masked man infiltrates his hospital room and injects a mysterious substance into his IV.
As the attacker mocks his condition, Sakata suddenly regains extraordinary strength and endurance, enabling him to kill the masked man.
This miraculous recovery begins his revenge arc.
Fueled by vengeance, he leaves the hospital with Fuji and sets out to track down the remaining masked men.
Unleashing Vengeance, Sakata devises a plan to infiltrate the gang’s hideout.
Pretending to be dead, he is smuggled into the enemy’s building inside a full-body bag.
Once inside, he breaks free and ruthlessly eliminates the security guards. However, before he can reach his ultimate target, i.e the masked man, the latter escapes and bombs the building, believing Sakata to be dead.
On the other side, the leader of the masked gang, known only as “The Master,” is revealed to be the corrupt Mayor Sunohara of Shinjo City, who controls the Kimen-gumi gang.
Despite the explosion, Sakata once again survives.
He shoots the escaping masked man, only to find Fuji fatally wounded nearby. In his final moments, Fuji confesses that he was the one who betrayed Sakata and orchestrated the murder of his family.
Enraged, Sakata executes Fuji without hesitation.
The truth of the Kimen-gumi gang
The Kimen-gumi is gang of corrupt men who owns almost all the ports of the Shinjo City.
They indulge in human and drug trafficking making them powerful and dangerous.
They gained such immense power by eradicating the gang that came before them known as the Kunu-gumi.
Yes! The last mission of Sakata was to erracdicate this gang.
The leader of the Kimen-gumi, is none other than the Mayor Sunohara of Shinjo City himself.
He believes in a folklore that a “Demon” is awakened after every 50 years in the city.
Hence, he has to eliminate that demon to protect the people of the city.
Ironically, he believes that demon to be Sakata.
A Shocking Revelation: Rio Is Alive
Holding the surviving masked man hostage, Sakata forces him to contact The Master.
During the call, The Master makes a shocking revelation: Sakata’s daughter, Rio, is still alive.
In exchange for her safety, Sakata must abandon his quest for revenge.
Determined to find his daughter, Sakata follows a lead to a possible location where she might be residing.
Upon arriving, he finds a board covered with pictures of Rio, now fully grown, standing beside an unknown man.
When Sakata finally sees her in person, Rio fails to recognize him and hides behind a sofa in fear.
As Sakata attempts to reach her, the man from the picture arrives and engages him in combat.The most heart-wrenching moment occurs when Rio, still unaware of Sakata’s identity, aims a bow and arrow at him.
She shoots him in the chest, sending him crashing out of a window.
Confronting the Master: A Final Battle
Sakata is rescued by his old friend, who treats his wounds.
Soon after, he receives a call from The Master, instructing him to come to a location called Mahoroba if he wants to see Rio again.
Upon arriving, Sakata fights his way through hordes of masked men, determined to reach his daughter.
When he finally finds Rio, she is terrified and still can’t recognize him.
The Master captures both of them, forcing them to sit face-to-face.
He then prepares to execute Rio with his sword, hoping to witness Sakata’s “demon” form.
Before The Master can strike, Sakata’s friend storms in, gunning down the masked men.
In this moment of chaos, Rio suddenly regains her lost memories and recognizes her father.
As Sakata urges her to escape, he engages in a brutal fight against The Master’s men, despite his worsening physical condition.
The Master’s Dark Truth and Sakata’s Last Stand
During the fight, Sakata kills one of The Master’s top masked men, only to learn that he was The Master’s twin brother.
However, The Master remains indifferent to his brother’s death and prepares for his final showdown with Sakata.
The battle is vicious, with The Master ultimately slicing off Sakata’s left arm.
Despite the overwhelming pain, Sakata fights on, determined to put an end to the man responsible for his family’s suffering.
In a final act of defiance, he kills The Master.
As the battle ends, Rio comes back for her father, but the moment is cut short as one of the gang members shoots Sakata.
This is the same man who was pretending to be Rio’s father.
As he reveals his ill intentions for Rio, Sakata kills him ruthlessly.
Finally, Rio runs towards Sakata, embracing him.
However, Sakata succumbs to his injuries and dies in her arms.
Demon City Ending Explained: The True Mastermind and Rio’s Revenge
Following Sakata’s death, the police and ambulance arrive at the scene.
Rio, who was initially inside the ambulance, mysteriously disappears. Meanwhile, a final twist is revealed—The Master’s twin brother, who was believed to be dead, survives.
He takes his deceased brother’s place, disguising himself as the mayor and resuming control over the Kimen-gumi gang.
However, Rio, now fully aware of the truth and driven by vengeance, tracks him down.
In a poetic conclusion, she uses her bow and arrow—the very weapon she once used against her father—to kill the last remaining leader of the Kimen-gumi.
With this final act, Rio avenges her family, ensuring that her father’s sacrifice was not in vain.
What happened to Sakata?
Sakata endured heavy injuries in his final combat against the master which makes his recovery impossible.
He is last shot by one of the members of the gang who was pretending to be Rio’s father. Hence, he dies in the arms of his beloved daughter Rio.
What happened to the Kimen-gumi gang?
Sakata single-handedly erased almost all the top members of the gang.
Hence, there is a possibility that there are no more masked men standing.
Additionally, Rio kills the last man standing, i.e the twin brother of the master, leaving no room for the existence of the gang.
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