Review of Devilman: Crybaby
When I first looked into Devilman Crybaby, I didn't know what to expect. An anime about demons fighting demons with a banger soundtrack? Nice. But boy was I not prepared for one hell of an emotional rollercoaster and philosophical look that was this show. At its core, Devilman is a show about humanity. Sure its first few eps are pure gore-fests and entertaining fights, but later on it starts to take on heavy themes. It's in these later episodes where we start to wonder...what does it mean to be a human? The show starts giving us these powerful moments that really makes us question who wetruly are, the demons or the humans. It exposes both the animalistic side of the viewer during the first few episodes and the human side on latter ones. The show delivers extremely hyped scenes in one moment, and the next you are utterly at lost for words. The nuanced way Devilman combines these complete opposite elements and bringing them together is something seemingly unbelievable until you've watched it. Everything comes together in a beautiful, yet utterly devastating, piece of art.
In order to convey this wonderful plot, the show builds its characters and relationships incredibly well. After all, if a show can make you sympathize with a demon, then you know it did a good job. And thanks to that, moments when the show hits, it hits incredibly hard. Other elements however, are not in any way discarded. Animation-wise, Devilman stands out with its deceptively cartoonish style that somehow perfectly mixes with the brutal gore and violence that the show boast. WARNING: THIS SHOW DOES NOT WHOLE BACK ON ANYTHING, AND I MEAN ANYTHING. It surely delivers hype after hype moments, with epic battles and unrestrained brutality constantly shown. And to complement that is an equally dope soundtrack.
The god himself, Kensuke Ushio, had blessed our ears with another brilliant soundtrack. Ranging from sick-ass synthwave tracks to heartbreaking melodies, the OST has pretty much every kind of genre of your liking. But what's special about this one is the use of "leitmotif". Certain themes are constantly remixed according to the situation at play, and they can convey both the feel of the scene and the personality of a character. The way Ushio distorted these themes , from epic and dramatic, to quirky and cheesy, to downright quiet and sorrowful...it's just a master's work at hand.
If there was one word that would describe Devilman Crybaby, it would be "rebellious". The show goes against the anime norm with its artstyle, pure-unfiltered brutality and willingness to approach heavy themes. It's refreshing to see something so different reaching our hands, something that is not afraid to stand apart from the rest, to not abide any law. If you're looking for an anime just like that, then look no other than Devilman Crybaby