Go Nagai needs a hug. A bear hug. It could be from anyone, a stranger on the street even. Just as long as someone out there lets Nagai know that the world isn't all evil, that there's more to life than demons, devils and depressing tales of woe.

Devil Lady, Devilman, Demon Lord Dante, Nagai loves his evil beasties. He can't stay away. The devils and demons are at the forefront again in Shuten Doji, and they're at some of their least interesting in this silly, meandering story about a boy who comes from demons.

We open with two, large blue demons, who fight through an ancient forest, amongst giant space craft, and a modern-day cemetery. One of the demons has a baby in its mouth. How are they jumping around from place to place, time to time? How did the baby get in that beastie's mouth? No one knows. I'm sure there's a manga or ancient Japanese tale that explains this, but it's not explained on this DVD. Moving on.

A husband and wife paying respects to a dead relative meet up with the giant demon with the baby in its mouth. It gives them the child, who they name Jiro, and before disappearing, the demon promises it shall return in 15 years.

Fifteen years pass (ah, you knew that was coming) and Jiro is having strange dreams. A freak accident, where he should have died, reveals that he's more than a human teenager. Little horns appear on his head. Jiro becomes more angry than your average teen.

When Jiro's hot teacher and even hotter classmate are kidnapped by other demons, Jiro must enter a demon land to save one of them.

This first episode (of two on this DVD, both running at about 45 minutes) is filled with blood and action, but nothing resembling a coherent story. Jiro doesn't know how to use his powers except when it's convenient, and he gets help from other demons at all the right times. The bad demons want Jiro dead, but we don't know why. It's one of those "just because" things. With such a rushed story, the only respite is the fan service action supplied in the form of a naked teacher and naked student. Because the action isn't all the fun.

The second episode opens with plenty of action, as a magician demon comes after Jiro. This time he has the help of a local gang. Hey, sidekicks! They can't save the story either. While they bring a bit more personality (as well as guns and grenades) to the action, they're here too "just because." They take on a group of monks "just because." One of Jiro's new friends can levitate things "just because."

When the showdown with the head demon lord (at least here on Earth, anyway) comes about, all these "just becauses" add up to one big ball of confusion, because there's nothing backing the blood and action. Evil can be entertaining, demons can be entertaining, but Shuten Doji has no depth or thought to it, at least none easily decipherable by an American audience. Future volumes may prove more interesting, based on how this first volume concludes, but for now, let's give Nagai a hug.

This show is beat up, with ever-present spots and scratches, poor flesh tones, and quite a bit of shimmering of the image. This anime just looks bad. Characters are poorly defined, animation is weak at several points, colors bleed regularly. It looks like this DVD just got the once over before quality control gave the thumbs up, though I'm not sure there's much ADV could have improved on here.

There's nothing wrong with either the Japanese or English 2.0 options, with solid voice work and moderate use of the sound stage for ambient noises. I noticed no problems with distortions, drop-outs or improper noise.

A half dozen previews, some bloody and stale menus and DVD credits. There's not even an insert poster. Move along, nothing to see here.

Hugs. Lots of them. For Go Nagai, anyone who's a fan of his, for anyone who decides to watch this show. I know I needed a hug after sitting through Shuten Doji. Real life is depressing enough without the addition of a poorly conceived, ugly horror anime to the collection. A profound Skip It for this DVD. On the other hand, this is exactly the type of stuff Go Nagai fans will enjoy, God have mercy on their dark souls. If you're into bad demon stories, this one's right up your alley.