Review of Devilman: Crybaby

THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW Devilman Crybaby is an a Netflix-exclusive anime based on the manga "Devilman" from 1972. This version takes the story into the 21. century. I actually finished the show a few days ago, but i haven´t had any ideas on how to formulate this review. This is a truly special show that definitely deserves more recognition. Story - 7/10 The plot starts out fairly simple, you have a young schoolboy that gets possesed by a monster that lives inside him. The first few episodes detail his life and how it changed after the incident. The story itself starts out very formulaic and gets morecomplex as the show goes on. But what sets this show apart from any other average shounen is HOW everything plays out. This show depicts the whole process and development of the main character in an extremely raw and unfiltered way. There is a reason why this is only on Netflix, because sites like Crunchyroll or Disney+ would NEVER allow a series with this much blood, violence, sex and nudity on their family friendly websites. "Devilman Crybaby" does not censor anything and goes from one insanely violent scene to another. But the show manages to make you care about the plot, so all these intense bloody and sexual scenes fit the story the author wants to tell, and doesn´t just exist to raise the series edge-factor.
The main problem however is the plot and the writing itself. While everything is depicted so excitingly, you somehow almost forget how fast everything escalates. This show inspired works like "Berserk" and "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and it is very fun to see how these two series bought elements from "Devilman Crybaby". But the reason why both of them are considered classics is because they take their time with the plot progression. 10 episodes are certainly not enough for everything to make sense. The pacing also feels odd. We only get real plot-exposition in the last episode. I also think the ending was very underwhelming, which is a result of the fast pacing. Still, the fact that this show uses such unique plot devices and themes sets it apart from other shounen.

Art - 9/10

The art in the show cannot be described in one sentence. The animation is incredibly flluid and well done, especially in the short but exciting fight scenes. The camera angles are particularly unique, which showed that the animators were not afraid of drawing characters from angles that some may perceive as unnatural. A lot of shows nowadays try to get away with drawing characters only from the front and the waist up, making the whole shot composition extremely boring. If you look at it from a realistic standpoint, you notice that a lot of the movement is very cartoonish. The running cycles in particular have become a widespread meme in the anime community. The artstyle might get a bit of time to get used to. Because of the insane amount of sakuga and movement going on, the character designs are very much simplified to a point that many would consider ugly. I got used to it after a few episodes however. It gives the show a very unique feel to it. This category is completely based on personal preference and i can completely understand if someone thinks this show looks "unrealistic" or "unnatural" because guess what : You are watching an anime.That´s the point.

Sound - 9/10

The music in "Devilman Crybaby" is absolutely amazing. The wonderful soundtrack consists of very intense and dynamic futuristic EDM. It is insane to think that this soundtrack was made by Kensuke Ushio, who is also resposible for the award winning soundtrack of "A Silent Voice". The OP is fantastic and sets the tone for the show perfectly. There are little to no vocal tracks, the series only relies on the energetic and rhytmic atmosphere of the soundtrack. The demonic chanting during the club scenes is particularly memorable. Another thing this show does which i have never seen before is the use of rap to deliver exposition. Not really sure how this fits into the show, but i am all here for it.

Character - 6/10

The characters in the show all receive some kind of development but the main problem is that the story is so big and the stakes are so high that the characters more often than not get pushed aside. The main character, Ryo is by far the best character in the show, because we follow him and his new life, and get to see the effects that his new powers have on him. The side characters were fine, but i can´t deny the fact that some of them felt like an afterthought. There are still some strong moments with them, but they are rare and scattered across the show. But the main reason for the rating is the main antagonist, who in my opinion was a total misstep. Not only do we not learn of his backstory up until the very last episode, his whole intention and the things he does during the show are not explained properly. So up until episode 10, i found myself asking "why?". I also think that while his reasonings and all do make sense in the end, it felt a bit lazy and rushed.

Enjoyment - 8/10

The insane animation and soundesign makes you forget about the overpaced plot and makes for a truly mindbending experience. However, if you are sensible of topics such as body-horror, monsters and sex, this is not a show for you. I especially recommend this to fans of "Berserk" and "Neon Genesis Evangelion".

- Marco_Yooo

PS: This is anime #200 on my list, after many years of watching :D

FINAL SCORE - 8/10