Devilman: Crybaby

Devils cannot take form without a living host. However, if the will of an individual is strong enough, they can overcome the demon and make its power their own, becoming a Devilman.

Weak and unassuming, Akira Fudou has always had a bleeding heart. So when his childhood friend Ryou Asuka asks for his help in uncovering devils, Akira accepts without hesitation. However, to Akira's surprise, the place they go to is Sabbath: an immoral party of debauchery and degeneracy. Amidst bloodshed and death, demons possess the partiers, turning their bodies into grotesque monsters, and begin wreaking havoc. In a reckless attempt to save his best friend, Akira unwittingly merges with the devil Amon and becomes a Devilman, gaining the power to defeat the remaining demons.

Though it grants him great power, this new partnership awakens an insatiable and primeval part of Akira. Having the body of a devil but the same crybaby heart, Akira works alongside Ryou, destroying those that harm humanity and his loved ones.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Asuka, Ryou Main

Murase, Ayumu Japanese

Fudou, Akira Main

Uchiyama, Kouki Japanese

Devilman Main

Uchiyama, Kouki Japanese

Satan Supporting

Murase, Ayumu Japanese

Makimura, Miki Supporting

Han, Megumi Japanese

Kuroda, Miki Supporting

Koshimizu, Ami Japanese

Kukun Supporting

Young Dais Japanese

Wamu Supporting

KEN THE 390 Japanese

Silene Supporting

Tanaka, Atsuko Japanese

Amon Supporting

Choi, Eun-Young Producer

Yuasa, Masaaki Director, Episode Director, Storyboard, Key Animation

Kimura, Eriko Sound Director

Oshiyama, Kiyotaka Episode Director, Storyboard, Animation Director, Character Design, Key Animation

Reviews

Oct 19, 2024

LegionIscariot

Recommended

Devilman is like "Chainsaw Man" or "Kaiju N.8" only Devilman is actually good...

Akira the crybaby is invited by his friend Ryou to a club of debauchery in order to investigate devil possessions.
Ryou believes that all the depravity and sin would be a great place for them to manifest, and he was right.

In a desperate bid to save his friend, Akira gets possessed by a powerful devil but maintains his human heart. Now with his new found power he can fight the devils entering the world through humans.

However this isn't some superhero story where a guy in cape shows up and saves the day. ... Innocents will die.

The anime is an accurate representation of the human race. Inability to act smart in times of crisis. Unable to stand together against evil when we really need to. Hating each other for being different. Willing to sacrifice others out of fear.

It asks you what's really a monster. A monster is not determined by external appearances but by what's in your heart.

First thing you'll notice is the art style. Its a style that tends to be very rare in anime. I dont know what its called but I guess its a mix of traditional hand drawn with computer animation. With a lot of abstract and trippy designs. Helps it stand out.

The anime also has a sleezy side to it and im not complaining. Lots of sexual content.

If you like sex, drugs, and violence this anime is for you.
But be prepared to see good people die in horrible ways.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Dec 13, 2024

LotteGiants

Mixed Feelings

I can see how this would've been mindbending and a cult classic back in the 70s and even this version might've been something special if I had less perspective when I saw it but at this point in my life it just feels like a rather cheap bunch of nonsense. I respect that it was able to absolutely go 100% for a nihilistic message but as a well-adjusted adult I fundamentally find that messaging laughable on a core level. Horrible things do actually happen in history but when fictional media portrays it seriously without any balance I find it to be a waste of time. ... If you actually think this portrayal of humanity is really really true then there is no point in living and if there's no point in living then there's an easy remedy to that. Which is why its a waste of time to take that seriously and anyone that stays alive to argue that is a maladjusted poser.

As for the quality of the storytelling in this show...it isn't good. Aside from a few beats about who the characters are (in the literal sense, not their personalities) you could cut out like half the episodes and miss nothing. Nobody really changes during the course of the show and everything basically turns on why Ryo is such a piece of shit. I figured it out around episode 6 or 7 and then the show goes for a bunch of unearned emotional moments by overloading how shocking the deaths of these paper-thin nobodies are. The rappers are really the only characters that have any sort of arc, honestly. Like, the first three episodes where Miki has that stupid photographer trying to molest her are so insanely pointless in retrospect. Not that it felt like a well-told plotline at the time but by the end it feels like literal filler.

I also think this show is very ugly. Ping Pong is one of my favourite anime and its art is also quite ugly in stills. The difference is that Ping Pong uses that to show extreme deformation of characters while they play and it can integrate fantastical stuff quite easily and it creates its own unique look that is fantastic. Devilman Crybaby does a bit of psychedelic stuff early on and then it gives up on doing anything interesting with its art and hides its obligatory action behind darkness and bad editing. It wants to look like Shingeki no Kyojin but it doesn't have the chops and it just suffers for it. I have no idea what the budget was for this show but the end result makes it seem like it was done cheaply by a studio without enough experience to pull off the kind of action scenes needed.

I'm honestly not entirely sure how I feel about the sound design for this show. I do like the music and it feels like it nods to the 70s show while being modern but I'm not sure if it actually blends well with the show itself. A good OST is fine but it doesn't feel like it enhances the show just by being good. As for sound effects and the like, I don't think this show does anything special. I have this same complaint about Dandadan. Not every studio can make sounds as instantly iconic as David Production or do what Sunrise does with its Gundams but I can't think of any particularly amazing sounds from this show. Its all just fine.

Honestly, this show was good enough to get me to finish without forcing myself so I can't say its bad but even though I went in with no expectations I'm still somehow disappointed. I think Masaaki Yuasa just doesn't make things I think are genuinely good other than Ping Pong (which is a legacy cementing masterpiece). I don't like phrasing criticism this way but he truly does make stuff that people love to think is very smart but is actually just directionless crap. Not that Devilman doesn't try and say anything at all but I think its substance is very slight and people that haven't ever seen anything trying to say what it gestures toward will think it is very smart and deep despite it being some cheap gut punches and silly nihilism and nothing more.

I think I wrote a review here that sounds like a 3/10 but I feel comfortable with a 6/10 ("Fine" as MAL rates that). It was somewhat entertaining and it at least takes a shot at some big themes even if they are all muddled and trip over each other. This show will be a catalyst for some people to think more about anime and story-telling in general and maybe bigger things than those. I do hope that those people eventually rewatch this years later and see that it isn't the pinnacle of anything though.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jul 23, 2024

Hermonia

Not Recommended

Funny

What the hell did I just watch...

The story is mid, the characters couldn't even carry it. Didn't care about them one bit. All that they could show was nudeness. It feels like this was originally supposed to be a hentai but then the director decided that it should have a story and added a bunch of random demons and action into the mix. Which goes absolutely nowhere...

The art is bland and tasteless, looks like everything was drawn in a rush. It's understandable when characters are standing in a distance and everything is blurry and not detailed, but even up close shots were drawn so ... poorly.

Only the last few eps were interesting imo

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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	Poll: Devilman: Crybaby Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) lordzeru - Jan 5, 2018	528 replies	by LotteGiants »» Dec 13, 9:08 PM
	Poll: Devilman: Crybaby Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) lordzeru - Jan 5, 2018	207 replies	by LotteGiants »» Dec 13, 8:39 PM
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	Poll: Devilman: Crybaby Episode 6 Discussion ( 1 2 ) lordzeru - Jan 5, 2018	87 replies	by LotteGiants »» Dec 12, 6:18 AM