Review of Devilman: Crybaby
SPOILERLESS REVIEW ---- I want to address to all people that are reading this review that i haven't read or seen other "devilmans" so i will only focus on reviewing this work. ---- GENERAL INFORMATION: Devilman: Crybaby aired on January 2018. I have seen a lot of hype about this show but i did not have time to watch it, until now. This was released on Netflix and if i'm not mistaken Netflix is not that well praised in Anime community, but it wasn't a problem for me. I'm glad that Devilman's episodes were released instantly, because if it was airing for like a 2 months I wouldprobably didn't enjoy it that much, and here is why:
STORY: 7/10
Devilman:Crybaby's first 2-3 episodes weren't that good at all. I would probably drop it if it was airing like 1 episode per week because those first episodes felt uninteresting for me. But the next episode started to gain my attention, it became more and more interesting. Story is sad, dramatic, yet epic and satisfying. Episodes were fitting nicely into a continuous storyline. It is simple, no doubt about it, but fans of action/supernatural anime will like it and even find something more than a "bland storyline". There is a moment in the story that is shocking and turns everything inside out, and that is well executed and narrated, not many shows can do that thing smoothly. Last episode bothers me because i feel like it was too confusing, I was not expecting such shocking ending at all. Overall it was a good story with good narrative, and it even brings tears to my eyes in particular 2 scenes. Story is the weakest aspect of the series tho.
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ART: 9/10
Art in Devilman:Crybaby is unique, thanks to the Yuasa Masaaki - the director of much praised shows like Ping-Pong The Animation or The Tatami Galaxy that had similar unique styles too. Lines in art were clear and dynamic in most of the scenes. Fighting animations were fluid and gorgeous. There is perhaps a bunch of people that will not like the overflowing presence of nudity and gore - Art in Devilman is NSFW. Some anime fans could even find it too disgusting, but for me, in this anime, scenes filled with visible boobs, rotten bodies, butchered people/demons were not repulsing. This kind of art style was creating atmosphere more shocking and astounding.
Design of characters was beautiful, and was fitting the characters lifestyle and emotions. I really like Akira and Miku design, it was clear, and again, UNIQUE. Miku is HOT. Akira looks hot and dangerous. Miko looks angry. And so on. All of the designs are reflection of characters personality, (maybe with exception of Ryou).
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SOUND: 10/10
Music - The creation that relies on taste much more than other things. Music was mesmerizing. It was fitting in EVERY scene that were displayed to the viewer. Music is the strongest aspect of Devilman:Crybaby as i rated it 10. Music was creating awesome atmosphere. I'm not a fan of the Opening theme, it was just ok, but Ending was very good. I will certainly listen to the Devilman:Crybaby OST more, specifically well-known Devilman No Uta was incredible song.
As for the voice actors - the did great job too. Especially Uchiyama Kouki as Akira Fudou. Voice acting was always on point, and went hand in hand with characters emotions, design and facial expressions.
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CHARACTERS: 9/10
As for characters in the show - they were all well written, emotional and i cared so much about them - especially Miku, every aspect of her was amazing. The characters had flaws, I think Akira had the most flaws of all the characters, but he was great loving... yeah - crybaby, and that to me was why all the flaws of him were like a breeze, that didn't matter to much.
"He is always crying FOR someone"
The character development was great and all of the characters progressed throughout the series, growing and becoming more attracted to the viewer. Characters had some backstory too, especially Ryou, and it was shown in pleasant way. I was amazed by the "hip-hop" group. They were on point, and their music was urging me to reflections, specifically Kukun's freestyle that moved Miku. It had amazing words and meaning for her, as she bounds further with him. There really weren't any characters that i disliked or hated, all presented characters were great, supporting cast was good too. The only one group of characters was too illogical to me - The unimportant crowd of humans. They just did not felt real, they were like - "Here, attack this guy, he could be a demon !. Oh, look here, he is perhaps a human but kill him anyways" Ehh... This did not feel right, it felt like they all have been hypnotized with anger or some satanic influence and that made them feel very unreal.
Overall, I think that characters were astonishing, but i probably won't think a lot about them, because i haven't connected with them in every emotional level that matters for me. Besides that i will remember them for sure.
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And here, the one that matters the most:
ENJOYMENT: 8/10
What i can say, huh ? I enjoyed Devilman:Crybaby, it was very good , but short experience. I'm always positive for shows that are so emotional like this one. I certainly think that other anime fans will like this one, its seemingly not the best show in this theme about demons and devils, but its worth watching for sure ! I really think that even non-anime viewers could enjoy this, if they don't mind NSFW aspects. I would perhaps in the future read or watch other devilmans for sure. This series was unique in my opinion, and memorable after all.
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OVERALL: 8/10
VERY GOOD, and unique experience (you will definitely like it if you love seeing anime boobs :v)
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