Review of Devilman: Crybaby

Devilman Crybaby: An underwhelming adaptation of an old classic; As a long time fan of Go Nagai's Devilman, I was excited, but cautious, when this new adaptation was announced. Having been a long time fan, I am wary of adaptations, specially if they are Netflix Originals, as their track record is not very good. Then, on January 5th, It came out. During the first month or so, all I heard were praises. People where calling it Anime of the Year, modern classic and "groundbreaking". I was surprised and decided to watch it after the Hype had died down, so to not be very influenced. So I started. Andlet me tell you, finishing it was an arduous task.

As soon as episode 1 began, I really didn't like the art style. It may work for something like Ping Pong, but in my opinion it does not fit Devilman, at all. The animation is wonky and every shot is really ugly.

The art also completely removed me from any scene of tension or emotional moment. It was very distracting, to the detriment of the show as a whole.

The music was nothing memorable either. The only thing I remember is the OP and the Devilman no Uta, but that's it. During the show I didn't even realize songs were playing, they just tuned out in the background.

However, I could get past all that, specially because I love the manga, If it delivered a great story with a modern take on this beloved classic.

That was not the case, the story tries to modernize itself but oversimplifies stuff to the point of making it boring. There is zero subtlety on, everything feels like a teenager tumblr post.

The changes also don't make much sense. I am not going to spoil anything, but the changes to Ryo to me are the worst, as it makes his character very different and, for me, worse off.

However, the worst part s the over sexualization. Sex doesn't mean adult or mature, and Devilman surely didn't need it.

Why do we need to see Akira's bulging penis?
Why do we need to see him cum on the ceiling? What purpose does it serve?

Even with Sirene, the whole point was that he saw her as a beautiful creature, not as a sex object for his desire.

It felt forced, as if they just added this extra sexualization to pander to western audiences.

Devilman Crybaby is bad, completely ruins most aspects of the original and completely misses the point.

But hey, at least it gave us a new edition of the manga.