Devilman – Crybaby

So it has been quite a while since I watched any anime, and for some odd reason I chose to watch Devilman Crybaby. I gave Netflix a lot of stick for ruining Death Note in its movie adaptation, but when it comes to straight up anime. They actually make some good stuff, Knights of Sidonia, Ajin and Seven Deadly Sins come to mind. But damn! What I got from this anime was nothing like I would have expected.

Note this is SPOILER FREE!

Art Style

Now I kinda have a love-hate relationship with the art in this anime. On one hand its quite authentic, unique with quite a vibrant colour palette. It also has the best form of characters ‘running’ in any anime I’ve seen. Think the way characters run in Naruto, except they have taken steroids and their arms are like propellers on an aeroplane, its good stuff!

Run Forest Run! – Credit [Netflix]

What I don’t like though, is the simplistic backgrounds and the use of blank faces for distance shots and busy scenes. I was never a fan of this type of art and Devilman does not change that for me. Problem is, a lot of this is used throughout the course of the anime. So I did roll my eyes a bit and sometimes reached for my phone because it took me away from the narrative. Overall it was okay, well in my opinion anyway.

Music

I really enjoyed the music in this anime, it suited the tone of the series perfectly (which I will get onto later) Even though I’m not a fan of the genre, it had a Gothic vibe to it, with a fusion of heavy metal. What made it stand out, was the timing of when certain tracks were played and they weren’t heavily played either. The big monster tracks were held back for the big events, and when the holy Sh**t moments were going down, they punctuated this even more with the music.

Devil x Club x Church – Credit [Netflix]

Voice acting was also top notch, I actually watched it in English dub and thought the main characters were done well. Quite often anime dubbed can be horrendous, but Netflix originals seem to always find quality voice actors.

Story

Now I don’t want to spoil anything for you, because I think this anime is worth a watch for the story at least.  The Premise is this, a chap called Ryo Asuka discovers that ancient demons are roaming planet earth. They survive by taking the forms of other beings mainly humans and are planning to take over the world. He realises the only way to defeat a demon is to become one. Only problem is, once a demon takes over a human, the human loses control of the body and heart. He then meets up with his childhood best friend Akira Fudo, who is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. But also a bit of a “loser” You know that guy, who is no good at sports and not that smart, no real outstanding qualities to be successful etc. What he does have though is a pure heart, like legit he will shed tears for you instantly and defend you like his life depends on it. Even if he has only known you for 5 minutes! Anyways, due to being such a nice guy, Ryo managed to get Akira possessed by a demon. However, he still keeps his heart. So he has the body of a demon and a heart of a human, hence Devilman!

Blood Brothers? – Credit [Netflix]

After that, it gets good. Like seriously good! There is the standard fate of the world at stake, but also mystery about Ryo and what his true intentions are. Also are there other Devilmen around? How do you stop all these demons lurking in the shadows, what is there true nature? On top of that Akira has to deal with being part human and demon, which affects him physically and mentally.

Now there are 10 episodes in total, and at first it feels like there is going to be a slow build up. But out of nowhere, the pace kicks up and so many things happen in the space of a couple of episodes, You will sit there and think. Wait what? How did all this happen? Which is my main gripe of the story, it rushed a few elements too quick and some of the more emotional and impact full moments could not hit home as well as it could have. It could have used a few more episodes to provide character growth and exposition. Or even another season, for part two of the overall story.

There are some crazy ones in this anime! – Credit [Nintendo]

Hentai?!?

Now one thing I havent mentioned yet, eventhough I am ready to give my overall conclusion on this review. Is some, well lets say colourful scenes in this anime.

By that I mean..

Its exactly what it looks like – Credit [Netflix]

Yes there is quite a lot of it, some of it is extravagant and weird, while others is just straight up nasty. Yet it kinda works..

Like you get why this woman is having an orgasm or why this guy is but naked and doing something with his peepee that he really shouldn’t be doing. Honestly, I sent a Snapchat of one of the scenes to my friends. This scene was in the first episode and it was just the characters doing a track and field run. But the dialogue was what made me laugh, so I thought I’d share it for laughs. One of my friends replied back saying, “Are you watching hentai?” I actually haven’t watched hentai before, but I’m quietly confident some of the scenes in this anime would definitely be suitable of that genre! So yes beware of some graphic scenes, and advise maybe not watching it in front of your parents or even young kids!

Overall

Devilman Crybaby is not like any anime I have ever watched before, its short but very sweet. It has definitely left a lasting impression on me, I was in bed and just in awe of what I had just watched. Left me a bit speechless too, maybe because its not the sort of thing I normally watch. There is also tons of violence, lots of blood, decapitations and people getting slaughtered. Be warned it gets dark, very dark towards the end!

This is the less gruesome stuff! – Credit [Netflix]

I did a bit of research, and found that this is based on the Devilman manga originally created by Go Nagai back in 1972. There have been a number of different adaptations of the manga since then, with different endings and characters. I read the plot of the original, and Devilman Crybaby follows this one mostly. The endings are essentially the same, and I actually felt it had best endings of all the adaptations. So you can rest easy knowing, that this will conclude in a satisfying way.

The anime is definitely for older viewers and if you’re into ancient mythology mixed in with religion and human evolution. This will be a great watch and I highly recommend it!