Detroit Metal City

By adopting one of the most reviled musical subgenres and defanging it through its absurd representation, Detroit Metal City parodies the music itself. The lyrics depict deeds that would make a puritanical person squirm uncomfortably, and the music is dripping with obscenity. However, the series' use of exaggeration makes the parody clear and amusing by highlighting the degree to which death metal is a false, harmless genre that seeks to capitalize via pure shock value.

To get an indication of how far this series goes in its parody of death metal, pay attention to DMC's delightfully outrageous lyrics (one of the songs is about killing and raping one's own parents) and song titles, like the humorously named "Death Penis". The tension between the Negishi-Krauser identities is a key component of Detroit Metal City's comedy, which makes it even more crucial to properly study the lyrics. Negishi's attempts to create contemporary, campy pop music fail miserably throughout the series, a failure that wouldn't be all that funny if his music hadn't served as the inspiration for so many of DMC's songs.

A cursory comparison of the two sets of lyrics reveals that DMC's amusingly filthy lyrics are inspired by Negishi's original works. The series deftly juxtaposes Negishi's words with DMC's. As a result, watching how his original lyrics are changed to fit DMC's vernacular makes for a lot of laughter, especially given how horrified Negishi is by the sentiments in DMC's song.

Directed by: Hiroshi Nagahama
Aired: Aug 8, 2008 to Oct 28, 2008
Duration: 14 min/ ep
MAL rank: 467