Review of Devilman: Crybaby

Devilman: Crybaby is the first show to be completely released this year, due primarily to Netflix's all-at-once method. It aired in the Winter season of 2018 and has 10 episodes. It's a complete adaptation (read: adaptation, not 1:1) of Go Nagai's 1972 Devilman manga. The premise is about a man who becomes possessed by a devil while keeping control of himself in order to fight the growing demon menace that is threatening mankind. Devilman first became popular because it was the first manga at the time to be so violent and graphic, with lots of sexual content. The anime adaptation changes a lot from themanga to the point that only the core plot points are similar. The director, Masaaki Yuasa, has been known for his unique directing style and made great use of it once again in this show.

Quality

It would not be possible to talk about Crybaby without mentioning how it changed so much from the manga. There is a lot of modernisation, like the use of cameras, smartphones, social media, etc. This was similar to how Parasyte, set in the 80s, was transformed into a mid 10s setting. The best part of the modernisation is that the bland tough guys from the manga become a rap gang who are quite impressive at their art. The most noticeable changes, other than the character designs, are that the show has a lot of track racing. This acted as a way to characterise Akira and Miki, of whom received little characterisation in the original manga. We are shown a bit more of Akira before he becomes Devilman, which was a significant improvement because the manga began with an infodump between Ryo and Akira. All of the relevant characters in Crybaby have some personality to be distinct, but their personalities can be described in one or two sentences.

The plot takes mostly the same turns as the original, but with the added track racing there is another level to develop the story. Most scenes regarding Miki are new, including the photoshoot related scenes, and they act to display degeneracy, of which comes tumbling down at the end. Considering how bland Miki was in the source material, all of these changes are welcome, but Miki is still not compelling. The manga liked to throw everything at you at once, but the anime takes a slower approach. A complaint people had about the adaptation was that it minimised the roles of some of the demon enemies, however, one of the characters they complain about was hardly relevant in the manga, and the other had changed scenes to increase the emotional impact. I have no complaints about any of the changes because they are logical and make the story and show better as a result. This is not to say the plot has no issues, because it has many significant ones. Crybaby seems to move at a very fast pace towards the end and doesn't take the necessary time to justify a lot of what happens. Many plot points were created for the sake of shocking the audience, which diminishes its value. Compared to the manga, however, this is still an improvement because it was also very rushed at the end and didn't take any time to justify what happened. The manga was bad schlock, the anime is alright schlock. Schlockfests like this are uncommon, and what we usually get is poorly produced.

Since Crybaby is a Masaaki Yuasa work, it would be an insult to not praise his directing. The art style might seem weird and the running animation is positively goofy, yet this is all part of Yuasa's charm. Yuasa is clear with what he is conveying because he is a visual director. He gives information off with the slightly drugged up visuals rather than via infodumps ala the manga. His directorial changes led to a far greater payoff for certain scenes, and one particular scene with Miki's Christian father later on in the show that he made was one of the best moments of the show. Yuasa improves upon the original with this adaptation. The theme exploration is shakily done and this adaptation muddies the waters a bit more than the "War is evil", "Nukes will destroy the world", "Humans were evil all along". There are also a lot of Christian themes, most of which are well presented and none of which stoop to the level of Evangelion, which used religious imagery and symbolism because it looked cool instead of being substantial. The iconic ending has a neat concept behind it, but is very poorly executed due to the rushed plot.

Entertainment Factor

The main reason you should watch Devilman: Crybaby is for the entertainment. There's a lot of violence, a lot of R-rated sexual content, a great soundtrack, and fluid animation. The original Devilman became popular because it was the first manga to push the boundaries so much and become edgy. Crybaby acknowledges this and delivers even more sex and gore. Very schlock. Quite haram at points. Not recommended as a romantic show to watch with your wife because she'll probably hate it or start crying at all the gore and horror elements, but if you have some mates you want to spend a 4 hour night with, grab a six pack and enjoy the night.

Some people might take issues with Yuasa's art style or dopey animation, but I see that as part of the fun and a great reason to watch Devilman. I first became interested in this show because I saw Yuasa's name attached, and a lot of people became interested because it was part of the Devilman franchise. The plot is quite basic and the themes are messy, but for people who like Transformers, Fast and Furious and Evil Dead, this is a good pick.

Overall Message

The original Devilman slapped on a "War is bad, humans are bad" message onto an insubstantial story, but Crybaby attempts to weave the themes into the story a bit more than this. There's a moral dilemma late in the show with Miki's Christian father, but that is ultimately insignificant, although well done, in a sea of gratuitousness, violence and degeneracy. "Humans can be terrible" is a very juvenile outlook on humanity, one shared by edgy teenagers. Not to be taken seriously. "War is bad" is a more mainstream message but it's slapped on just like in the manga. Some collateral damage is shown, but the "humans are bad" idea gets in the way of the anti-war message by implicating humanity in crimes, degeneracy and slaughters. The ending tries to suggest that God will punish the evil in this world, but the show rushes through the ending sequence so much that it's hard to take any message seriously. Devilman Crybaby should be considered devoid of any meaningful message, despite the Christian undertones of some sort of Revelation/Noah's Ark.

Should you really watch Devilman: Crybaby?
No. No you should not.