Review of Devilman: Crybaby
I came into this show without much knowledge of the source material, but I had an idea of the level of depravity I was going to be in for. I don't mind dark and gritty shows like this one having sex and gore in them, though it was definitely way too indulgent beyond what could be argued as necessary.. but I digress. That wasn't what hurt my rating much in the end. There were a lot of things I loved about this show, just so many more things that weren't simply mediocre but absolutely terrible. Story 2/10 - There was so much squandered potential in the story. Itdoes make me wonder at the source material, and I won't write that off yet, but in this anime the plot was extremely rushed. I was holding out the whole way through the series waiting for everything to be explained, and while it was by the end, so many things didn't add up still. The ending was also a massive disappointment.
Art 1/10
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.. Okay, I genuinely don't see how anyone can compliment this show's art. Creative liberty in style is one thing, sure. However, my only retort is this: https://i.imgur.com/nqRTJMU.png
Sound 8/10
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Definitely one of the best parts about this show. The OP is very good, and the first 4 episodes have distinct rap verses from a group of characters in the show, and it's actually very well done. There was at least one more rap later in the show, but the ones at the start were definitely the best. I had no complaints about any of the sound effects or voice acting either.
Characters 5/10
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This overall number is a skewed average. Miki was a solid 8 or 9, and Akira was around a 7 or 8 too, but all the other characters were 2s except for one who was a 1. A couple characters improved slightly after a while and raised that average only slightly.
Enjoyment 2/10
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For most of the show I wasn't enjoying it especially, but I stuck with it, because there was some potential, and I was hoping for a solid ending to redeem it some. So when the actual end was even worse than my imagined 'bad' ending,.. well, you can see my score.
Overall 3/10
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This is the first show in a long time to actively anger me. Akira had a ton of potential in his character. Miki was excellent. The music was very well done. The plot COULD have been good! But all of it was squandered in this mess of a show with its terrible art and animation, obscene amount of unnecessary sex and gore, a lot of very bland characters, and a rushed illogical story with a terrible ending.