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Plot
Akira Fudo has a quiet existence, avoiding the spotlight: his parents are away, and he stays with the Makimuras, a family who has accepted him with open arms. Moreover, Akira is secretly in love with the daughter of the Makimuras, Maki. The quiet is broken by the return of Ryo Asuka, Akira's boyhood buddy, who is ready to expose a fatal secret: demons live among people, they have evolved from the planet's creation to now, and they seek to destroy humanity, as Nagai demands. To defeat them, Ryo devises a plan to infiltrate a Sabbath, a popular drug party in Japan, and summon Amon, the most powerful of demons, to merge with Akira; according to Ryo, Akira's pure heart is the only one capable of subduing Amon's will, resulting in a powerful human/demon hybrid... a Devilman.
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Pros
* A faithful work with interesting ideas : The contrast between Akira's humanity, even when he assumes the form of a demon, and the "monstrous" souls of individuals who live in fear of prejudice and discrimination, both towards demonic aberrations and social outcasts, is the central topic of the novel. From a purely narrative standpoint, Devilman Crybaby is an excellent transfer of the original work: the anime directed by Maasaka Yuasa does not hesitate to take certain creative liberties, which, while not affecting the classic story, enriches the screenplay and places us in a new setting. It's a modern-day Devilman, whose story is transplanted to the current day, immersing us in a world of technology, pop culture, the internet, social media, and the modern-day uninhibition, a world of drugs and transgressive parties, gossip and loss, all immersed in a strong sensual dimension. A shot that, as we saw in our first look, has the potential to appeal to both old and new lovers of the work, thanks to a plot that is largely faithful to Go Nagai's manga, and to approach new generations by setting the story in a fairly contemporary setting.
- Deformity and sexuality: The distorted forms are primarily enhanced when the work's esoteric and monstrous dimension emerges, in a vortex of monstrosity and horror splatter that easily and literally flows into the perverse: thus, it is appropriate to spend a few words on Devilman Crybaby's use of eroticism, which takes on a symbolic value in the plot and visual style. Go Nagai's original work employs a symbolic and esoteric use of sex as the highest expression of the demonic world, but Devilman Crybaby takes this to extremes in a series of strong images and more or less explicit nudity, which is then poured into the monstrous deformities that the series places in front of the viewer. This aspect makes this anime not adapt to younger viewers, as if the producers wanted to underline at the maximum that this is a product for a mature audience (which is something that I did find appropriate due to the "mature" thematics and all the religious and esoteric references). This is also a very big difference from the first anime adaptation of the manga, which was "censured" in order to make it adapt also to a younger public, losing in this way all the charm of the original work.
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- The close relationship between demons and humans: The central nucleus of Devilman Crybaby, on the other hand, is entirely Nagai's creation. In this sense, Devilman can be considered as a distillation of the mangaka's key themes throughout his long career: uncertainty between good and evil, skepticism of adults while also trusting children, interest in religion and Western folklore, and sublimation of violence and terror. Akira chooses to merge with a demon in order to preserve humanity, but it soon becomes clear that humanity does not deserve to be saved. Humans end up acting like demons, if not worse, leading to the question of whether the monsters or themselves are the real enemy. Indeed, it raises the question of whether their annihilation was regrettable or perhaps a reasonable punishment. And the anime emphasizes, even more, this point, lingering even longer than Nagai on the climate of intolerance, violence, and destruction that men create during the war against the demons, creating a growing and disturbing spiral that culminates in an unforgettable ending, the final in a series of punches to the viewer's stomach. The only individuals who offer truly positive examples in this destructive, or rather self-destructive, world are those who appear to be antagonists at first, such as Miko. Miko, of course, represents the picture of a humanity that is clearly a minority, but one that is clean and immaculate, free of prejudice, and for which it is worthwhile to struggle.
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Cons
* Too few episodes : The story's pace suffers from an extreme acceleration towards the finish, due to the tiny number of episodes (only ten fewer than a typical Japanese TV series), with the fight between humans and demons presented in a more lengthy manner than in the manga, but still with an unpleasant sense of rush. On the other side, there are numerous dead times and digressions in the first section that may easily be cut.- Poor characterization: Character characterization suffers as well: while Akira's evolution is perhaps even better managed than in the manga, allowing the humanity latent beneath Devilman's armor to emerge more frequently, Ryo's is sacrificed to the point where the twist concerning his true identity is hasty and not particularly incisive.
Conclusion
Far from being a masterpiece, Devilman Crybaby has the distinction of bearing the banner of the most complete and faithful adaptation of the great Go Nagai's cult work ever made. In a strong visual compartment, unconstrained and brutal, the Netflix anime stages a rich and deep plot, made up of deformed monstrosities and inconceivable perversions. A riot of psychedelic colors, exaggerated sexuality, and simplistic shapes that cleverly disguise the superficiality of certain animations behind a veil of "authorship." The tale, characters, and concepts are all powerful, however, the pace of the story could be slowed down with a few more episodes, and the soundtrack could have and should have included a wider range of songs.Rating
8.0/10.0
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