Review of Devilman: Crybaby

Devilman: Crybaby is very disappointing, especially for someone who is a fan of the original Go Nagai manga. The skeleton of the original manga is there right? great. The body that fills in the skeleton of the work is a Frankenstein's monster of an adaptation. I really do like Masaaki Yuasa, but this was truly a blunder. I don't know how Crybaby does it, but somehow, even with the story in tact, it manages to warp the impact of that story. I think music is subjective, really, but I cannot get down with the soundtrack that accompanies this adaptation. I don't think the music is bad, but it certainlydoesn't fit the tone of Devilman.

The art is chaotic to say the least and this is something I'm very conflicted about. Yuasa is at his best when the art is chaotic (i.e. Mind Game). When I heard he was directing this adaptation for Devilman; I was ecstatic. The original Manga art is a psychedelic trip, so naturally, I thought it was a match made in heaven. In the end, it was not the match I wanted it to be. It's too much, to the point to where it has next to no consistency.
Even the sex, something that is very important to Devilman, feels overdone and tasteless.

My final point that I want to make, is that the characters, while close to their original counterparts, feel like a mockery of the originals. The character development beats are there, and the motivations are there, but they feel so wrong.

All of these things compacted together, heavily effect the story and drag it down as a result.
While I don't like Crybaby, I am thankful that it will bring people to the original manga, and for that It at least deserves a 3.