Review of Devilman: Crybaby

Well... this was interesting (Some Spoilers ahead) Go Nagai is one of the most influential mangakas in the medium, having created mechas with pilots inside them in Manzinger Z and making magical girls popular with Cutey Honey (and practically starting the use of fanservice in anime). The work that brings us here is one of the most polemical: Devilman. Have you seen Shingeki no Kyojin, Parasyte and Tokyo Ghoul? They share the same basic premise: humanity faces the danger of another species that want to exterminate us, so the protagonist becomes one of this species and protects humans. This is Devilman, the one that inspired all of them.The thing I liked of Devilman when I read the manga in 2016, is that the premise that it started have good potential, as it cn show us themes like discrimination, paranoia, war and many others, making good use of even philosophycal reflexions and of some good old gore Hokuto no Ken-style.

But Crybaby made a good use of it?

The first thing that you notice when you watch the first three or four episodes (or if you have seen the cheesy Ovas or read the manga) you can get this conclusion: Devilman doesn´t take itself seriously. And when it does, it can be either in a good scene or plain out-of-nowhere.

Story: 6

Devilman pretends to give you a message about the dangers of war and the effect it have on people, like paranoia and how the end of the world can affect us. This goes hand in hand with a lot of violence, fights and tons of blood. but this can be also the negative of the Devilman series in general.

Crybaby make an excessive use of gore and sex in all episodes, necessary because of the themes it touches, but it surely take it to the extreme! Maybe it isn´t the most politically incorrect anime and how this violences shapes the course of the series can be interesting and create good moments (Devilman stopping the lapidation of some people), the sheer amount of them can make important gory moments loose impact, like the death of important people in the series. The pure esthetic use of them can feel excessive.

The exploration of the paranaoia in times of war is satisfaying to some dregree. The last four episodes make good use of it and I like how they elaborated on some characters that were barely affected by it in the original manga. This final episodes can also feel rushed trying to solve the whole conflict and closing character archs, but the message goes out clear (it does get exagerated on the craziness of people though)

Characters: 6

Crybaby got it pretty hard here, since in the manga the characters weren´t so good to begin with. Akira is ok as a protagonist, but this version of Akira got along with the plan of killing demons pretty easily and with no evidence by Ryo. It was ridicolous, and although i was made with the intention to show Akira as someone that would help any friend, it made him seem more as someone that goes alone with everything.

Ryo is... kinda flat as the manga version. His origin is weird as always, but Crybaby made him more into an insane murderer with almost no elaboration. The speech of "I´m no better than God" that he says in the manga finale explains more of his intentions. They cut it out to just flashbacks with Akira and some thoughts by Ryo about their friendship. It wasn´t bad, but the speech would have been a greater addition into his thoughts. Some could say it would have been victimization to Ryo, but understanding how a villain get his views about the world it´s one of the most important things you moust add to a story with antagonists.

Miki is way more better than in the manga version, where she didn´t do anything, and her relationship with Akira is quite good. Her rivalry with the other Miki is interesting, but it left me with a sensation that it could have a better conclusion. Miko is another character that had a lot of potential and was a decent addition to the cast. What I don´t like about this new character is that what drives her the more is her rivalry with Miki, wich is solved with a little talking. It´s natural, but I feel it could have gotten more if the series was larger.

A wasted character was Koda. They made him look so important that the way that he was used in the last episodes was dissapointing. When Akira saved him and recruited him, I was expecting an heroic sacrifice when he betrayed Akira, like dying when kiling some important demon like Zenon or Psycho Jenny. But he became a villain that doesn´t even get a good death. Just some plot device to reveal the existence of demons. He could have tried to redeem himself, but just ended being unnecesary.

Technical aspects: 7

The OST is already one of the best in the year so far. The remix of "Devilman no Uta" can become catchy, but it isn´t really used. Others like "Judgement", "D.V.M.N" and "Crybaby" are used in the series and make great additions to important scenes.

In the animation department, things got rocky. Yuasa impressed with works like "The Tatami Galaxy", with fluid animation. The different themes in Devilman demanded a different style, and the character design themselves are good. The problem lies on the movement, as off-model silhoutes can be seen in various episodes and can show the visual aesthetic of the show. The fights are good, but some aren´t really that surprising

Overall enjoyment: 6

Devilman Crybaby is a fusion of the meaningless violence and brutality that plagues modern anime with actual themes of a world in danger of war, as the manga was written in the Cold War era. The violence is justified but get to excessive points that can ruin your fun, but certainly you can get interested on the whole process of humanity about to die by their own hands.

Is Devilman Crybaby an anime I would recommend to you? That depends, as Devilman can be enjoyed more by people that knows Go Nagai´s style (a quite questionnable one if you ask me) or people that just want to see violence for the sake of it. In terms of giving a message it can be messy. Let´s compare it with a big, greasy burger you bought on the street. You know that eating it isn´t healthy, but still eat it because you like burgers and satisfies you for a while. It isn´t an awesome work of philosophy that deserves to be between the Best Anime of all time, but it can be entertaining by the antics of the story-telling and its ocurrences.