Review of Devilman: Crybaby

So there are three groups of people who will watch this series: the kind that will drop it immediately for the overused gore and sex, the kind that will watch it because of the gore and sex, and the kind that will look past the gore and sex to the real story that's being presented. If you are in the third group, congratulations, you will come out of this experience better for your time spent in this series. So lets address the sex and gore. Is it necessary? Yes and no. I do admit that most of it is there forshock value and edge appeal. I'm not so naive as to think those things are not needed to make a series popular and that the overall success of any anime comes from said popularity. But, I do think that there is merit to the depravity shown. Its NOT there just for edge. The core message revolves around the idea that no one is immune to excess, vice and depravity. That you don't have to be a saint in order to be good. Is there a version of this where there isn't a pair of breasts in your face every 90 secs and still delivers that message? Sure, but I understood the point of it all, meaning it wasn't pointless.

The thing about this anime is that it has some simple concepts at its core, but where it really shines is in execution. No character is predictable or boring. No action is without motivation, and the audience understands the complex morality of the situation at all times. I'm also super impressed by how it managed to buck anime tropes without being subversive for the sake of being subversive. I liked that the power of love is not a win-it-all solution to the problems at hand, because, in all honesty, in war, no one really ever wins.