This could be the future of anime -- no longer just simply Japanese animation, but rather a distinct genre of its own, if it isn’t such already, with an international influence. Created by Ezra Koenig, Neo Yokio is co-directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi (HunterXHunter, Le Chevalier D’Eon, and others). The rest of the crew contains a variety of English, Japanese and Korean surnames. So Neo Yokio is a multi-national anime.

Neo Yokio is a fantasy version of New York in the not so distant future. The upper class is divided into two groups. First there is the old money, and then the nouveau riche, who have to work for their money in order to keep up their opulent lifestyles. Kaz belongs to the later. He works in the family business – as a demon hunter. Yes, it is the family business to keep the city safe from demons – for a price. Though Kaz’ main interests lie in fashion, field hockey, and other leisurely pursuits, he does his work when he must.

In addition to the good life, Kaz has a robotic butler named Charles to assist in his hunts. Then there is his Aunt Agatha calling the shots, his social rival Arcangelo, an old girlfriend Helena, and best friends Lexy and Gottlieb to cause various problems perplexing our hero.

Season one is short, with only six episodes. The emphasis is more on comedy than action. And the language contains more than a few bits of profanity, so it is not for the little ones.

The artwork is acceptable. It really does not break any new ground, but it does seem to fit in its own way. The animation is fairly good. This is not eye candy, though. This anime relies on characters and story.

The voice cast does its job, including big names such as Judd Law and Susan Sarandon. There is no Japanese dub, though translations into French, German and other languages are available.

Neo Yokio is entertaining enough, and it is fun to watch. Mostly it shows that anime is certainly beyond the borders of Japan.