Review of Devilman: Crybaby

So due to the mixed emotions surrounding this anime, I thought I would add my two cents on why I feel you should give this anime a try. Firstly, animes like Devilman: Crybaby are really enjoyable for myself because they challenge the convenience of a happy-go-lucky plot and leave you wanting more but not in the sense the series feels incomplete but rather in the sense you need some discussion on what you just watched because it really took your breath away. I really value this as it makes those types of anime more dimensional and leaves you pondering on things well after you havefinished it. Paired with a unique art style, top-notch voice acting and dimensional characters I highly recommend giving it a watch.

Story: 8.5/10
For a 10 episode anime, Devilman: Crybaby really works with what its got. The pacing is incredibly concise. Some feel this is a strong criticism and claim it feels rushed which I can understand to a degree, hence my rating, but I also commend the creators for still making it pretty incredible in such a short span of time. I love how I did not know what to expect up until the final moments of the last episode. You are immediately hinted at a time loop from the first minutes of the series and this time loop is only revealed in the last minutes. The whole full-circle concept gives this show great rewatch value and plenty to talk about post-completion. I was truly astonished how much had happened within such a short span of time and how I never realised how much information I had consumed too. I recall it never feeling overwhelming despite the rapid world-building though.

Art: 10/10
The art-style of this adaption is beautiful. It strays slightly from the traditional styles we know and love by fusing with a more free-flowing animating mechanic. I feel as though it uses the help of CGI but do not be put off as it is no AJIN, perhaps more along the lines of Samurai Champloo for comparison purposes. The colours are magnificent and bring atmosphere to every landscape and setting and the characters are well-designed to reflect their personalities.

Sound: 10/10
This was a huge strength for me. I loved the soundtrack straight off the bat. A solid intro and the voice-acting had some really stellar moments. My most memorable would be within the first few minutes as Akira reaches out to offer Ryou his hand. I feel each voice encapsulated each character really well. Even things like Ryou speaking english I genuinely loved! The Japanese accent sounded . beautiful and I could imagine a Japanese representative who had been educated in the United States or another western country like Ryou, speaking on world affairs like such. They could have easily just subbed those moments but this small detail really added to the world-building component. The young boys rapping was another honourable mention. It was nice to see small interludes of youth-culture within their world. It was even greater when one of the boys from the rapping group crossed worlds with one of the main supporting characters (Butterfly & Miko).

Characters: 9/10 [SOME SPOILERS]
I found the characters to be much more dimensional than expected. I felt there was great development across the board. Akira and Ryou were equally interesting. The concept behind Akira being a crybaby was quite beautiful and a unique characteristic to his personality as it remained consistent despite such a complete 180 to the rest of his character post-transformation. Ryou, a prodigy, very logical and well-spoken however would constantly drop red-flags which foreshadowed his rise and fall. Miki the good-christian girl who NEVER strayed from this idea and Miko who was tainted by envy, found kindness from mr Butterfly (I loved the rappers), and lost it immediately after. The characters which were emphasised were well-built and turned out to be quite endearing.

Enjoyment: 10/10
After finishing this anime, I was on many forums trying to make finite sense of what I had just watched. This may sound like a really negative thing but it's not intended that way. It was more I had interpreted it this way, was absolutely blown away and needed to read up on how others interpreted it. During this time I learnt so much more about other small things in the anime which honestly added to my enjoyment. I really do love animes that make you think and constantly revisit you with new revelations. I feel it was well worth-while and I have recommended it to many friends, thus I also recommend it to you now.