Devilmen Have Feelings Too! (Devilman Crybaby Review)

WARNING POSSIBLE SPOILERS!

Genre: Action, Horror, Supernatural

Rating: 18+

Studio: Science SARU

Episodes: 10

Originally released: 5th January 2018

Available on: Netflix

Languages Available: Japanese, English, Portuguese, French, Spanish, 

Subtitles Available: Japanese, English, Polish, Arabic and French

Manga: Yes

Devilman Crybaby is a new Netflix original anime which was released on 5th January 2018. This series originated from the 70’s and has had a range of manga, novel and animated series created from it. The most recent adaptation of Devilman is the new Netflix original series Devilman Crybaby.

A few of many adaptions of Devilman

Plot:

The story is based around Akira Fudo who is a massive crybaby. His friend Ryou tells him of demons which will overrun and take over the world. Ryuo takes Akira to a party where demons are known to appear and Akira fuses with one in order to save Ryou and the other party goers from being killed. This fusion turns Akira into a devilman with a demons body and abilities but he still has the heart of a human.

It’s amazing what becoming a devilman can do to your looks

Review:

I binged Devilman Crybaby within 2 nights and didn’t watch anything else until I had finished it which means that this show really hooked me and I couldn’t concentrate on anything else until I had finished it. I have seen some very mixed responses on the internet since its release. At first I saw all the negative responses because people didn’t like the mature and excessive content but afterwards I saw people claiming it to be “anime of the year” when we are only half way through January. After hearing so much about it and seeing Pewdipie, TheAnimeMan and Akidearest all make really positive reviews on it I decided it was time to see Devilman Crybaby myself.

The first point I want to make it that Akira was my favourite character. Main characters being my favourite is a rarity for me with anime but I loved Akira’s character. His personality was very lovable as even when he becomes a devilman he still has the heart of a human and could cry at any moment. That emotional and sympathetic part of him really struck a chord with me as he is still human and wants to do the right thing even in his demonic body.

The art style of this series was very simplistic which in terms of visuals never usually appeals to me. I love visually stunning pieces of work in all kinds of fields so with anime my favourite animation styles come from the likes of Studio Trigger and Kyoto Animation. However, although it wasn’t an art style I would normally go for it worked well for the story. As the story is dark and made for a mature audience it makes sense to have this art style that is also very mature. It’s not overly cutesy as you would find with many other anime and the simplistic art really complimented the series and its story. Like the story the art style takes itself seriously and its bleak colour platte and simple character design adds to the charm of the show. Akira and all the demons were my favourites in terms of character designs.

Also the running in this anime was a solid 10/10. I laughed way too hard…

One element I adored about this show was the soundtrack. As someone who listens to a lot of electronic styles of music I really loved Devilman’s soundtrack. It had a dark, deep trap like sound to it which worked well especially during fight scenes as it worked well within the mature atmosphere. The rapping was a really unique element of the show which I enjoyed more than I thought I would. It was just a really unique way of putting important and relevant messages out there and it was very well done.

I also loved the opening song Man Human by Denki Groove as it was such a simple rhythm driven song with little lyrical content but it really packed a punch and added to the dark, charcoal visuals of the opening credits.

The visuals for the opening credits were so dark and visually pleasing 

All the episodes contained sexual themes, nudity and graphic violence and I do understand why it was used in excess. When you think of demons and devils you think dark, grotesque and gruesome. When looking at religious or devil themed paintings you find many of them containing nudity or violence. Although I did understand why the sexual scenes were used in such excess it doesn’t mean I enjoyed them. I think one problem I had with this show was the fact that any chance they could get for a girl to take her top off well, they took her top off and usually she wouldn’t be sporting a bra (do bras not exist in this world?). This just become irritating after a while but for the most part I looked past it because if Devilman Crybaby did remove the sexual elements it would still stand strong because the story is well developed. The violence in this anime was very intense and some of it did bother me and I had to look away. I felt a lot of it was unnecessary but it didn’t stop me from enjoying the overall story.

Overall I really enjoyed this series although I have my reservations with certain elements of it. Devilman Crybaby is easily the best Netflix original anime series I have seen so far. I have heard that some thought the ending was anticlimactic but apparently it stuck to the original ending. Without give anything away I thought the ending was perfect. It made sense to me for it to end the way it did. As sad as it was it was the best and only ending it could of had with the way the series played out.

I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys very dark and mature anime. I think Devilman Crybaby is a step in the right direction with Netflix and I hope this is just the start of awesome Netflix anime originals.

Plot: 8/10

Art Style: 7/10

Characters: 9/10

Music: 9/10

Overall Rating: 8/10

What did you think? Have you checked it out or not? Is it your thing or will you give it a miss? I’d love to know your thoughts down below!

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