Set in a crumbling industrial wasteland on the outskirts of Tokyo, the film centers on two rival punk bands and their riotous followers as they gather for a Battle of the Bands-style protest against the construction of a nuclear power plant. What begins as musical anarchy soon escalates into all-out war when the punks clash with the yakuza-backed industrialists trying to erase them from the map.

Shot with frenetic energy and starring real-life punk legends like The Rockers and The Roosters, Burst City rejects narrative convention in favor of raw sensation. The result is a cinematic Molotov cocktail—equal parts Mad Max-style mayhem and political rage—blazing toward total collapse.

Presented in partnership with our Anime Club Presents series this July, this screening expands the conversation around Japanese cyberpunk by connecting the explosive spirit of underground live-action film to the boundary-pushing energy of the anime that followed. A must-see for fans of Tetsuo: The Iron Man and anyone drawn to the wired, thrashing heart of Japanese counterculture, Burst City doesn’t just depict rebellion—it embodies it.