Note: both the anime and manga are two completely different stories but as long as you bear this in mind, Devilman TV is an episodic series super hero series that can be very repetitive but manages to provide gruesome horror or other times some intentionally ridiculous entertainment. The story begins rather unsettling as the main character Akira Fudo is killed by Devilman, thus he takes over his corpse and becomes Akira. So, in other words our main characters is actually Devilman (or Amon to be more specific with other Devilman material). Despite this key difference, Devilman falls in love with Miki and has sworn toprotect her from the Demon Tribe. This leads to Devilman being branded a traitor where Demon Lord Xenon will send demons to kill Devilman. As you may have guessed, the series follows a formula where the beginning of the episode features the demon's murderous abilities which sets up the horror mood. Afterwards, Devilman has to fight him or her and usually ends the battle with a Devil Beam or a Devil Arrow.

A basic flaw of the show as a whole is the repetitive problems that it presents itself. As this Devilman is very much like a Tokusatsu series with Devilman turning into a giant and the demons usually arriving one at a time. While we all know it would make more sense to send everyone at once to get the job done, you have to watch this show knowing that it will play out like this. Of course this does hinder its story and instead relies on a fun factor which often led to some hilarious moments such as the iconic "Devil Jump!" . I think appreciating events such as that is what makes Devilman TV enjoyable.

What amazes me about this show is despite being aimed at a children audience, this is NOT a kid-friendly show. For its time and possibly even now, the series is too violent for any public broadcast with its constant use of human casualties, especially ones involving car crashes and airplanes. In a very Go Nagai fashion, many civilians aka extras are constantly killed adding to the dark tone of the series. A lot of demons are very over powered but certainly made their presence almost unforgettable due to their fearsome strength as some episodes are genuinely scary.

However, like any show there are some things that can't be ignored. One of my personal problems with Devilman TV is that the series may have been better is some battles lasted 2 episodes instead of a self-contained story. For example, a lot of the episode's time is spent on creating a terrifying atmosphere which leads to a few minutes of actual fighting. I don't mind short fights but it does get a bit annoying that a lot of the fights end very abruptly with Devilman struggling in a one sided match only to save his skin by using a Devil Beam (which you will hear a lot of.)

Basically, I had a lot of fun watching this version of Devilman but I can certainly see why people wouldn't like it, especially if they read the manga for it. The structure of Devilman TV is very similar to the other 70's Go Nagai series Cutey Honey & Mazinger Z due to their basic superhero plots. And very much like Cutey Honey, the series does end open-ended with Devilman never fighting Xenon or completely eradicating the Demon Tribe. However, I was really surprised to see Devilman gradually change throughout the series where he began as a despicable, violent person and by the end of the series he's an honest to heart good guy. The quality certainly shifts per episode but there's definitely something good to be found in this superhero anime. It's not a must watch series because its so good nor is it a show so bad its good; Devilman TV is the episodic journey of a devil whose becoming more and more human who vows to protect his love. As simple as it is, this type of series can only be enjoyed by a certain few who love tokatsu or just a monster of the week show in general. A recommendation that is inspired by Devilman but is better written is the series Hell Teacher Nube which offers more in terms of characterization and touching moments.