Review of Devilman: Crybaby

Before I even start, let me say that I watched this show without any prior knowledge to the source material, other than it exists. Story: 9 I'm a sucker for stories that focus on humanity and it's ugliest forms. In my opinion, this show captured that incredibly well. Not to mention the rawness of the emotions I felt from it. A common criticism about this show is that it relies too heavily on sex and gore, and while I absolutely understand people who feel that way, I think it fit the theme quite well. Demons are not only about destruction, but also fulfilling their desires, whichwould obviously include sexual. I'm not going to summarize the story, because there are others far better than mine, and I really wanted to focus on the theme and tone of the series. As for the ending, I think I liked it more because I watched everything in one sitting. I don't know if it would have had much of an impact on me had I not. Regardless, I enjoyed it.

Art: 8
Another common criticism of this show! There are many people who really dislike the art style, but all the same there are people who love it. As an artist, I most enjoy art and animation that is stylized in a very unique way. If I saw one of the DMCB animators draw an original character in the same style, I would think it was from the show because it is so distinct. I would rate the art higher, but there are quite a few times where the detail in characters drop at a farther distance. So many in fact, that this would be rated a notch lower if not for my bias towards the style. Overall, I feel the art really fit the tone of the show.

Sound: 9
Honestly, I didn't pay much attention to the sound. That's typically something I do during a second watch-through. However, I know that there were many times where I felt some sort of strong emotion, and it sure as hell didn't come from the dialogue. When music is orchestrated into a show so seamlessly that I barely notice it, but it still works to evoke strong emotions from me, I consider it a huge success.

Character: 6
There are a lot of characters in this show, and they aren't really all that fleshed out. The writing went just far enough to make me care about some of them, but I can be easy to please in these situation. So I try to take the first episode and the last episode and compare how the characters have changed... and there isn't much? Honestly I think the character development is by the far the weakest point in this anime.

Enjoyment: 10
You either love it, or you hate it. That's what I've gotten from the other reviews. Don't let the negative reviews keep you from watching the show, please draw your own conclusions. You might find this show to be a waste of time, or you might be like me, and walk away still thinking about the situation, and how it can apply to life. I really loved watching this show, and I think that's all I can say about it.