Review of Devilman: Crybaby

A masterpiece needs room to breathe. Masaaki Yuasa is unquestionably a cut above your average anime director. He has an excellent understanding of how to adapt his source material and always treats it with great respect. He has left his unmistakable mark on anime with a unique flair and instantly recognizable style in storytelling, design and animation. Devilman: Crybaby is part of the 50th anniversary celebration of works by Go Nagai. Many adaptations of Devilman have been made in the past, but it's been a while. For something this balls to the wall, Yuasa is easily one of the best choices of director for an animation likethis.

And being on Netflix has also been a blessing for not having to deal with censorship - but it may have also been a curse.

Devilman: Crybaby is only 10 episodes, but it feels like it should have been a little longer. Did Yuasa only ask for 10 episodes, or did Netflix only allot a budget to have 10 episodes to be produced? We might not ever know, but I do feel D:C's length is its biggest weakness.

"Blink and you'll miss it" is how i'd describe the pacing of D:C. Not a moment is wasted and it can be overwhelming at times. It is insane how much stuff happens in a single episode. In a world where a lot of anime takes its sweet time waiting for things to happen, it's refreshing, but also alarming. Pacing can be too slow, but it can also be too fast.

A handful more episodes, maybe even just 1 or 2 more to make it your standard cour length would have greatly strengthened what could have been a masterpiece. What hurt the most was the lack of time to develop an understanding of Akira and Ryo's relationship. It's absolutely critical based on how the story ends, and there just isn't enough of it.

One example of how fast D:C blazes through its story is the world goes from operating normally to being thrown into worldwide chaos and anarchy as demons are unleashed on the world within minutes of screen time. The dichotomy is jarring and feels unconvincing.

I do think that Yuasa did the best he could with the time and resources he had. I don't want to be presumptuous and blame Netflix for this, but it feels uncharacteristic of Yuasa to misjudge the amount of time he has to tell a story.

Overall I would still recommend D:C if you're not squeamish or bashful, it's unlike anything you will see this season or perhaps even this year. It will overwhelm you with so many different emotions, and leaves you with plenty of existential terror to chew on.

But I do believe this is a far cry from Yuasa's best - most notably The Tatami Galaxy and Ping Pong The Animation, both of which are funnily enough one episode longer.

I am not worried that D:C is a decline, but rather an anomaly - and it's only because it is "just" good, not great. You'll enjoy the ride, but you'll want to slow down sometimes. And before you know it, it will be over.