Review of Devilman: Crybaby

Yuasa's decision to include excessive scenes of sexual content that is not only distasteful and over the top but also purposeless and shallow is what ultimately ruins what could have been an excellent modern adaptation of Devilman. There is nothing wrong with having a lot of sexual content; considering that the show is an R rated Netflix original, and the abundance of it in the original, one should be expecting it. However, the problem here lies in the fact that in Crybaby, it serves the story little to no function for how much of it there is (the amount of which far exceeds whatwas in the original). Most of it could have been cut to accommodate more character development or plot for a more fleshed out narrative.

There are some parts that I liked about this adaptation: the theme song is very slick and complements the aesthetic of the show, some of the character and story arc changes are well handled and refreshing, and I think the new character designs suit the cast. However, there is a lot of character potential that was lost to the pacing, the latter of which makes the show feel procedural at times. I was also greatly disappointed by Yuasa's decision to omit some of the most iconic scenes from the original.

Overall, I think he does both old and new Devilman fans a disservice with this adaptation.