Devilman Lady

This is my favourite anime of all time, and I will admit from the off, I am somewhat biased towards it. Nonetheless, I don't expect anyone reading this to go in to this anime expecting something that they themselves will give 10/10, but nonetheless, to check out this series because it is worthwhile.

A quick synopsis to begin: Jun Fudo is a fashion model, who is approached by a mysterious blonde stranger named Lan Asuka. Lan brings her to a warehouse and sets a wolf demon upon Jun, who transforms into a monster herself and fights back. Jun is a Devilman, an evolved human with ... great power, who has retained her human conscience.

The story's comic book scenario belies an intensly deep story. There are many questions asked in regard to the nature of the human condition, and Jun herself is portrayed not as a heroine as such, again, keeping it away from descending into a comic book feel, but rather as a tool, and a weapon being manipulated in some grand scheme involving the plight of the entire human race. There are romantic elements, the story is very much yuri based, with a lot of sexual ambiguity thrown in. But it never comes across as crude. The series builds to an epic finale which is reminiscent of it's origins: a Devilman story wouldn't be a Devilman story without a truly epic and memorable ending.

The series' one weakpoint is in it's animation quality. Whilst it deserves a solid score for it's design which is realistic and gritty, very true to it's setting and atmosphere, and also for having some genuinely morbid and unique mosnter designs, the smoothness of the animation is very inconsistent as is the detail. This is a low budget anime from the late 90s, and many of them suffered this. However that period is considered a golden period of anime because of how many of these shows were actually incredibly good, and Devilman Lady I think was the absolute best.

Finally, the music, along with the muted pacing and design is the final piece of the puzzle to add to why this anime is so good. It's story is rich, it's characters real, and finally, it's atmosphere is absolutely palpable. Personally I feel this is just about as flawless an anime as you'll find in all but visuals. But I care less about people agreeing with that than simply giving this show more attention, which it definitely deserves, and is one of the best adaptations of Go Nagai's mangas available.

The Devil Lady managed to capture my interest. The show is just as serious and action-packed as others within its genre, with a gothic opening sequence and gruesome monsters-of-the-day. Yet, it still takes time to be reflective and introspective, allowing characters and plots to shine through.

The main character, Jun, questions her own existence as Devilman Lady and attempts to continue her normal life despite her superhuman abilities. The tie-in between the monsters and Jun's personal life adds depth to the plot. There are moments where the show becomes cheesy, such as the unrealistic giant battles and the over-emphasis on the monster-as-physical-manifestation-of-sin angle. Yet, the ... well-written material shines through, making the cheese bearable.

The animation style is not top-of-the-line, but it does the job. The character designs are particularly noteworthy, as they avoid making Jun look like a man. They also managed to make Jun really attractive, at least to my eyes.

While not the best anime in its genre, Devil Lady is a solid and intelligent action series that prioritizes suspense and characterization over mindless action. Fans looking for non-stop action may be disappointed, but those desiring a well-rounded plot will find Devil Lady satisfying. However, I was a bit disappointed with how the show ended.

The narrative in "Devilman Lady" is too much of a prototypical brain baby, basically, it's an idea that couldn't really take root. And I don't blame any of the staff for its failings, they did the best they could with the original source material. It must have been a challenge to make an age-appropriate product out of comic that I dropped after the first chapter, because there was nothing but gruesome rape scenes and pedophilia. Everything obscene that you could possibly imagine was in the first chapter of the manga! So, to try and then adapt it into a more distinguished product, is just insane!

⚠️ ... This review of Devilman Lady will contain spoilers ⚠️

—Story/Characters

As stated in the opening paragraph, the manga completely disgusted me! I never thought that something as utterly repulsive as the "troll scene" in Kentarō Miura's "Berserk" look like child's play! It's difficult enough to be a MAN and be a diehard Gō Nagai fan, but to be a woman and read all of his works, requires a proclivity towards self-hatred. "Why," I asked myself after being traumatized by the first chapter of the manga, "does the female character in Devilman have to be sexually assaulted by a demon to gain her powers? Why does Akira turn into Devilman after attending a disco?" Luckily, there's only one rape ※scene that comes to mind in the anime, and it isn't shown in graphic detail.

※If you still plan to watch it, but are triggered by those types of scenes, it happens at the end of Episode 25: "God" (神).

This series got a running start for me, it was stoking my nostalgia, giving me "Boogiepop Phantom" vibes! Everything was good. I liked the dynamic that the protagonist, Jun Fudō, had with her domineering compatriot, Ran Asuka. I'm a little girl on the inside, so the "monster-of-the-week" theme was never a real detractor! It was always, like, what neat design is this creature going to have in the next episode, will it be spooky? What powers will it have? Will it use them to deceive humans? (etc.)

If a core cast in strong enough, this formula can be used as a lens for the audience to watch a character develop, that is otherwise veiled in mystery, or to see the growth of someone just coming into their powers, and watch how they will react to an onslaught of threats. With the tragic deaths of a couple of people that were close to Jun, it works well with creating an element of suspense in one or two episodes. But, the central bulk of the series felt like there was just a checklist of demons that they needed to mark off, with no real development between Jun and Ran (or even individually).

The biggest twist is when Ran reprises Ryō Asuka's role as Satan and betrays Jun. But, that just seems like an echo of similarities and references to Ryō's rise to prominence, in the manga. There's nothing fresh about this series, it's just a collection of tired clichés, but with demon-fighting lesbians! The excuse you would have to watch this series is a) if you're an insanely obsessed "Devilman" fan, like I used to be, or b) you don't care about the narrative, you just want something with a certain aesthetic and a gothic mood!

—Technical

Luna's Favorite Works by Each Respective Creator = ✅

Toshiki Hirano (director), notable works:
* Angel Heart
* Baki
* Bōken! Iczer 3
* Daimajuu Gekitō: Hagane no Oni
* Haja Kyosei G Dangaiō
* Haja Taisei Dangaiō
* Iczer-Girl Iczelion
* Kakugo no Susume ("Apocalypse Zero")
* Kikō Sennyo Rōran
* Kyūketsuhime Miyu (OVA) ✅
* Kyūketsuhime Miyu (TV) ✅
* Magic Kaito
* Meiō Project Zeorymer
* Rayearth ✅
* Tatakae!! Iczer-1 ✅

Commentary: Though, many of Mr. Hirano's shows are middling, I'll give it to the man — he sure knows how to create a mood, if we compare it to his work on the ※"Kyūketsuhime Miyu" franchise and the "Tatakae!! Iczer-1" chronicles, the milieu is more on the gothic side! Though I wasn't a fan of the "Devilman Lady" anime, I really have to applaud the animation staff for making it much more palatable than the manga, which is... as I have mentioned before, just porn! Some of the framing and angling of certain scenes make them lean on being an aesthetic lavish, though the story is a hot mess; one of strongest displays of his talents (as a director) was during the climax of Aoi Kurosaki's arc: "Shark" (鮫). That episode was both injected with auteurism and it also made me want to curl up under a warm blanket, with my feet snug in a pair of fluffy slippers! From what I have seen of his filmography, even if his animations aren't considered "good" all the time, they always have a unique, artistic flair to them. I would dive into his catalog, if you're itching for a stylish horror show!

※Interesting Tidbit: The director of both the OVA and TV series of Kyūketsuhime Miyu" (or "Vampire Princess Miyu") is married to the creator of the series, Narumi Kakinōchi!

Chiaki Konaka (※script — eps 1 to 5, 8, 12, 18, 25 to 26), notable works:
* Air Gear
* Alice in Cyberland
* Armitage III ✅
* Astro Boy: Tetsuwan Atom (eps 1 to 3, 14)
* Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 (eps 1 to 8, 11 to 12, 15 to 16, 19 to 20, 23 to 26)
* Digimon Adventure 02 (ep 13) ✅
* Digimon Tamers (eps 1 to 3, 7, 13 to 14, 23 to 24, 34 to 35, 41, 44 to 45, 49 to 51) ✅
* Fushigi Mahō Fun Fun Pharmacy
* Futari Ecchi
* GR: Giant Robo
* Hellsing (eps 1 to 6, 8 to 9, 11 to 13) ✅
* Inuki Kanako Zekkyō Collection: Gakkō ga Kowai!
* Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World — Byōki no Kuni — For You
* Kōkyōshihen Eureka Seven (eps 16, 30)
* Kyūketsuhime Miyu (TV) — ep 20 ✅
* Mahōtsukai Tai! (OVA) — eps 2 to 6 ✅
* Mahōtsukai Tai! (TV) — eps 1, 7, 10, 13
* Malice@Doll
* Mononoke (eps 3 to 5, 8 to 9) ✅
* Narutaru: Mukuro Naru Hoshi Tama Taru Ko (eps 1 to 3)
* Parasite Dolls ✅
* Princess Tutu (eps 4, 9, 22, 23) ✅
* RahXephon (eps 11 to 12, 17 to 18, 24 to 25) ✅
* RahXephon: Tagen Hensōkyoku ✅
* Serial Experiments Lain ✅
* Shinreigari
* Shishō Series
* Tetsuwan Birdy (OVA) — eps 1 to 3
* Texhnolyze (eps 1 to 4, 6, 12, 20 to 22) ✅
* The Big O (eps 1 to 4, 7, 14 to 26) ✅
* Totsuzen! Neko no Kuni Banipal Witt ("Catnapped")

Commentary: Mr. Konaka is very prolific for his thought-provoking scripts, his insignia is left all over the episode titles — the single-symboled morphemes, like "Beast" (獣) and "Blood" (血), bring to mind the eerily uttered title cards from "Serial Experiments Lain" (i.e. "Weird" and "Psyche"). While I am not the biggest fan of every single thing that he's work on, most of the series the he's done innocuous episodes for, like "RahXephon" and "Hellsing", has made me scratch my chin and say, "So, that's why those were my favorite episodes!" Incredible script writer, I hope that he and Yoshitoshi ABe are able to resume the production of "Despera" in the near future!

※The two other script writers were Kenji Konuta (script for "Aoharu x Kikanjū") and Keiichi Hasegawa (script for "SSSS.Gridman").

Good Seiyū Work = ✅

Really Enjoyed the Seiyū's Performance = ✅ ✅

One of Luna's Favorite Performances OF ALL TIME = ✅ ✅ ✅

Junko Iwao as Jun Fudō (or "Devilman Lady"), notable roles:
* Ceres, Ayashi no Ceres ✅
* Valencia Tachibana, Blue Seed 2
* Tomoya Daidōji, Cardcaptor Sakura (series) ✅✅✅
* Hikari Amagi, Chō Kōsoku Gran Doll ✅✅✅
* Kaizō Katsu, Katte no Kaizō
* Tokiko Mima ("Key"), Key the Metal Idol ✅✅✅
* Sally S. Ford, Macross 7
* Akane Aikawa, Mahōtsukai Tai! (series) ✅✅
* Akane Higurashi, Mai-HiME
* Akane Soir, Mai-Otome
* Hikari Horaki, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Evangelion Rebuild ✅✅✅
* Mima Kirigoe, Perfect Blue ✅✅
* Yui Kano, Psycho Diver: Mashō Bosatsu
* Tomoe Yukishiro, Rurōni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan — Tsuioku-hen ("Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal") ✅✅✅
* Annette, Shin Kaitei Gunkan
* Layla, Shinkai Densetsu Meremanoid
* Lefina Enfield, Super Robot Taisen OG (series)
* Mint Adnade, Tales of Phantasia
* Sayuri Yumoto, Tamako Market and Tamako Love Story ✅✅
* Mayuka Masaki, Tenchi Muyō! Manatsu no Eve ✅
* Serika and Ayaka Kurusugawa, To Heart ✅✅
* Haruna Otō, Working (series) ✅
* Kotori Monō, X/1999 ✅✅

Commentary: Ms. Iwao is an INCREDIBLY talented voice actress and has done some of her best work, playing emotionally complex women! While "Devilman Lady" is not deep by any means, it has a dense mood and her talents in suspense roles fits very well in the slot that's provided to her! Hands down, Jun Fudō was the strongest female character in the series... aside from Ran Asuka, not many lived long enough to have a lasting impression. Amazing performance in a second-rate series!

Kaoru Shimamura as Ran Asuka, notable roles:
* Diamond, Gall Force: New Era ✅
* Sakuya Ōkōchi, Kaikan Phrase

Commentary: From what I have seen of this actress, the casting as the female Ryō Asuka in "Devilman Lady" was the most robust role in her répertoire. Rest in peace, Ms. Shimamura, even though you had a small window of time to shine in the industry — you will always be commemorated through your work as Ran Asuka!

Kazusa Murai as Kazumi Takiura, notable roles:
* Chiharu Nitta, Boys Be...
* Nemu, Haibane Renmei ✅✅
* Marina, Pokémon (series)
* Ribbon-chan ("Bijou"), Tottoko Hamtarō ✅✅

Commentary: I thought that Jun Fudō's supermodel rival, Kazumi Takiura, was the weakest link in the main cast. But, regardless, of a character that is shallow as a kiddie pool... Ms. Murai has a really cute voice, therefore the surplus character is forgettable, but tolerable. Great job!

This series had a lot of promise, going into the first few episodes, but my excitement waned when everything fell away, into a slushy slog of monotony! That's a legitimate issue with more "old school" Japanese animation titles that I don't hear talked about too often, with full-length series, they would often dump a lot of money into animating the first volume (or two) of a collection, and then the production team would get lazy, because the consumers had already shelled out $30, even up to 100,000¥ (around $92 USD), per volume! That's the upside to streaming, if corners are cut in a production, the fans will usually have more of an option to boycott a studio or will stop supporting the franchise. There's more variety, so it isn't how it used to be, where people would just settle with whatever cool thing they could grab off the shelf! "Devilman Lady" is something that you would get stoked to find at a video rental store and watch during a stormy weekend, more atmosphere than actual staying power in its story, and because of the flaws outweighing the positive aspects, I rate the "Devil Lady" TV series a 3/10!

Rating: ★★☆☆☆