SUIKODEN follows a legend of the clash between two ancient powers. It is said that the warriors would be resurrected in modern times to continue their fight. Enter the Tokyo of an alternate reality. The crime syndicate in this world has taken over the streets, and only the toughest people can survive here. One man, Takateru Suga, must go deep into the crime cartel to save his sister, who has been kidnapped by this criminal organization. But along the way he will assemble the strangest and most unlikely bunch of fighters you will ever see.
Takateru is the master of an ancient fighting style. The stances are strange, but the technique is just as deadly as any other. In the course of thirty minutes, he manages to recruit a whole bunch of fighters who have cause to help him in his fight against the crime syndicate. Takateru is the general from the legends, and he is assembling his soldiers to continue the fight against evil. The soldiers, however, are very unusual; there is a mercenary, a police officer, a priest, a Buddhist monk, a nun, and a drag queen. But these strange bedfellows make short work of the crime organization. However, they are only eight of the total 108 soldiers he must gather. And that is where the show leaves off.
The character designs and animation are superb! This is an OVA of almost theatrical quality. The only thing it is short on is plot. It seems that this is based on a video game, because of the way the fight scenes are arranged and the way the characters tend to make cameo-like appearances. There is definitely not enough time spent on character development. One gets the feeling that one should already be familiar with the characters. Walking in on the story without this background is akin to jumping out of a plane without a parachute. The excitement does not diminish without the 'chute, but it certainly will leave you dead in the water in terms of plot. But it's still interesting to see where things will go. Although, if there really are 108 warriors in the series I doubt there will be time to spend on plot development. The only amusing part of the whole thing is that the drag queen develops a crush on Takateru.
Animation-wise, this is definitely an above average endeavor. It is not shoddy on the voice acting side either, with several well known voice actors. The most interesting choice is of Nozomu Sazaki (Suka-chan in GREENWOOD, and Yusuke in YUU YUU HAKUSHO) for the role of the drag queen. In KOKO WA GREENWOOD, it is his roommate Shun (voiced by Sakamoto Chika) playing the guy who looks like a girl. The difference is that Sakamoto Chika is female, and Nozomu Sazaki is male. Perhaps the plot will pick up in later volumes. This could be a very promising series.

SUIKODEN DEMON CENTURY
Copyright © 1993 Hitoshi Yoshioka/Kadokawa Shoten Publishing
English language versions copyright © 1996 A.D. Vision
English subtitled VHSSU/001S $29.95
English dubbed VHSSU/001D $29.95
Bilingual/CC Sub LD CLVSU/001 $39.95
45 minutes
Released in North America by A.D.V. Films