Devilman Lady
The Devil Lady

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Before starting this series, it's necessary to have read Mao Dante and the original 1972 Devilman manga as several events in Devilman Lady ties in with the stories of the mentioned manga. That being said, Devilman Lady is very well written but has very grotesque sexual content and this series is not for the easily disturbed. If you choose to stick around with it, certain rewards are appearances of Devilman, Demon Lord Dante and several other characters while offering a dark yet ambiguous insight on morality.

The story begins with our leading lady, Jun Fudo, having a nightmare of her former career as a Olympian ... swimmer. We learn that she developed murderous tendencies due to losing in the Olympics so to avoid these vile thoughts Jun then becomes a teacher. It is during a field trip where her origin as Devilman Lady commences as her students are being eaten and violated by Devil Beasts. Jun herself is a victim of sexual abuse who then becomes a demon to save her students. Appearing at the scene is the organization known as The Human Alliance who have been hunting down Devil Beasts in secret. A member of this organization becomes Jun's friend being named Ran Asuka. After some exposition, Jun begins her journey as Devilman Lady and seeks to provide safety for humanity by killing Devil Beasts.

Most of the series is very episodic but manages to be filled with great characterization as Jun is constantly questioning her violent actions as she is potentially evil as the beasts she hunts. Most short stories have a sense of tragedy as in this current world any human suffering grief or seeking vices has the potential of becoming a Devil Beast which often leads with a sad back story as to why they let their souls be consumed by evil. This conflict tends to affect Jun's idea of heroism as she tries to save their souls but often ends in failure, thus questioning the separation between good and evil. This is further expanded in later chapters as more Devil Beasts are being formed along with the appearance of Devil Men (beasts who fight for justice).

This is where the series picks up on the previous message in the Devilman manga which explained the evils of men and the need for anti-war. In Devilman Lady, the message follows a similar meaning but a very different presentation. As an example, Devilman Lady is losing sight of her humanity and believes herself to no longer be human. When she sees Devil Men executing Devil Beasts she thinks to herself "Are we killing our own kind?" This type of mentality is what makes the series interesting as a better phrase to sum up the story is "Who Watches The Watchmen?" Most of the "heroes" we encounter gradually become corrupt or eventually lose sight of their initial goal of protecting humanity. A greater emphasis of this story theme are its final chapters where the series takes a "Devilman route" which Armageddon is on the rise, especially with the prophecy of the revival of Demon Lord Dante.

Aside from the conflict of good vs evil, Devilman Lady also offers a few homages to Go Nagai's previous manga but most specifically Devilman. During the middle of the story, the setting is changed to Hell which offers the appearance of multiple Devilman characters including Devilman himself. These few chapters add an extra layer to Devilman's character as we see him a bit more mature on the subject matter of corruption and offering words of encouragement to Jun Fudo.

Go Nagai's art work in this series feels grand, especially in the scenes depicting Hell. Most of his character designs are more muscular and three-dimensional but still retains his gritty and frightening style he's known for. In my opinion, this manga may be Go Nagai's best in visual appeal and the same can almost be said about the writing. My real disapproval of this series is the ending as it comes off as very out of character and inconclusive. I will not spoil the ending but I'm certain that this finale could have gone in a different direction. Upon further thought there are some unresolved events that don't get a proper resolution.

Regardless of the questionable ending, Devilman Lady certainly captures the same feel as the original Devilman to the point where I would consider Devilman Lady as a sequel. It's definitely worth reading although one must be prepared for several uncomfortable scenes of sexual content as its very close of being a hentai about demons(imagine a more explicit version of Berserk). Devilman Lady dives into the mental struggle of heroes pursing justice and the sins they commit to justify their actions. The series is very episodic but contains plenty of scenarios to fully express its story and does it splendidly.

This manga is a great extension of the original Devilman and provides some definitive answers that were desperately needed. It follows an all-new cast of protagonists who must deal with the threat of a demonic invasion. The characters include a cult of satanists, an evil tree salesman who turns into a demonic tree and a shark who grows out of a woman's stomach. The tone of this manga nails it for the most part, consistently dark and brooding, while having moments of lighter human comedy.

Go Nagai's art in this manga is a massive improvement. The humans no longer resemble a wacky cartoon, but are ... finely drawn, delicate and this makes their transformations into demons have impact. There are segments of this manga that are simply fantastic, such as the whole sequence in Hell that may be one of the best Go Nagai sequences. This manga focuses strongly on the disturbing aspects of the demons, if you're into body horror you'll love this aspect.

There are many one-shot villains who are fairly enjoyable, though don't measure up at all to Jinmen or Sirene due to lack of development. This is one of the sourer points of the story as despite having fun designs the villains tend to get a single chapter, are quickly dispatched and those who get longer than that feel sidelined compared to the returning villains from the first manga. While it is very nice to get some development on those characters, this manga ends up feeling as though it adds little of its own in terms of characters. However, it does fix many of the plot holes and does a great job of expanding the lore.

The fights are still lacking however, if they can be called that. The best Go Nagai gets out of the fights is one character shooting an energy beam or doing a flashy attack that usually wins the fight or fails, happening about 5 times in the whole manga, to give an idea of their simplicity. Mostly conflicts are resolved by a deus ex machina or bashing the two characters together like action figures until one is the winner.

The main character, Jun, is put through the ringer of abuse of all kinds. This is handled both more tactfully and at the same time, very crudely when Jun is constantly raped, as is the second protagonist. However Jun is more developed and three-dimensional than her male predecessor, overall the characterization is a big improvement. There are some interesting characters such as the disturbing swimming rival to Jun, the family at the center of the satanist cult and a dumbass who thinks he's the real Dante. One sequence I feel best describes the middle part of the manga is a paranoid demon hunter who unknowingly becomes a demon and slowly comes to this realization while hunting down protagonist demons who are themselves hunting the evil ones. Segments such as this and Hell are more successful alluding to philosophy than the original Devilman and I'm surprised how underrated this manga is compared to that one.

Lore is a huge part of the appeal in Devilman Lady, as this manga develops practically everything introduced in Devilman. This includes explaining the afterlife and the hierarchy of both the God and Satan sides. This is a crucial chapter in the franchise to explain the overarching conflict that defines this series. This is a must read if you liked the original Devilman, to make sense of the ending and get some closure on the story, especially when it brings back so many old characters. I've read plenty of other Devilman mangas and this one is far and away the best. (Most of the others just seem terrible.)

The big problem in this manga is the ridiculous ending. Like the original Devilman, Lady has a massive series of plot twists that spoil what the plot had set up to that point. In fact, the new protagonists are completely invalidated in a way that defies description. If you think about what this manga adds to the lore, it basically changes one thing, and you wouldn't lose anything from centering the story around Devilman in Hell. Is it a cop out? Is it a subversion? Go Nagai's writing transcends these labels. One thing's for sure, it is not good.

I did enjoy Devilman Lady and the ending was not enough to completely spoil the experience. The tone and atmosphere is well executed, but the pacing is pretty scattershot. The new villains just aren't as memorable as the couple of good ones in the original. It's a shame as with development in the middle part of the manga, dedicating 2+ chapters to these one shot villains instead of always ending it in 1, these could've been elevated from seeming like filler segments. As most of the enjoyment comes its relation to Devilman, it's mandatory to have read that first.

Despite the score seen this manga is a 6.5/10 it definitely not a 6 however not as high as a 7. However before viewing this manga Devilman and Shin Devilman, as everything set up in those manga basically gets development, this manga is great for lore enthusiast of Go Nagai.

This contains the similar anti-war message that devilman has stated however like many reviews and blog have stated. However this is a different perspective, about mankind, heroism, corruption of man this is clearly showcased in really at the beginning of the series where it was most episodic which different character showcasing a different point of ... view. Before going further your probably how do u read this series? because it's not official translated you have to find out that yourself, before going further, let's discuss the positive.


Art:
The art showcases an evolution of Go Nagai artistic sense, everything has been improved, better shading, more accurate anatomy, the art in Devilman compared to this series literally is no comparison. The shock value aspect that this manga is known for is evaluated in this sequel. This is not a huge spoiler however the deception of hell is really amazing, you feel like he saw Miura eclipse from berserk and stated that shits tame. It retains the grittiness that Devilman showcased especially near the end of the original series but evaluates into a 3 dimension aspect like comparing the beginning of berserk art to volume 14 onwards its an evolution.

Writing:

Writing is iffy still, Go Nagai writing has always been controversial to say the least the amount of times rape has become a plot device especially the beginning is kinda insane. This can kinda be an issue because of a lot of the writing feel old school but this is where berserk finished its golden age arc one of the best written Senien arcs of all time. The characters especially the side characters have much more depth than the previous series, however something about Akira is far more fantasizing to view compared to Jun, however, jun does grow as a character. She was an optimistic teacher from beginning the series to somebody who questions her actions all the time and more morally ambiguous.

The best thing about this series is that alot of things you thought were random in the series actually has an answer in middle, alot of plot twist where u look back makes a lot of sense. the best writing is far the hell section its showcasing everything great about Go Nagai captivating art, with at times impressive writing that you feel an emotional connection with these characters. The problem of this series is really the last 4 chapters because apparently this series was getting canceled, this makes a lot of sense due to the case a lot of random plot conveniences occurs, characters aren't properly explained, you feel like 20 big chuck chapters have been missing, plot points set up never gets brought up or has a conclusion.


Overall:

I say this was going to be a solid 7.5 however conclusion was rather lackluster, i still need to be updated on my Go Nagai lore. I assume they alot of side stories that need to be viewed before viewing devilman saga, i say if you want to ride on this roller coaster and u liked Devilman i recommending viewing this but not really as a standalone manga but knowing that you need to view the other series to have a proper conclusion. If you don't want to view the entire Go Nagai experience i don't really recommend i'm reading this because i want to conclusion for this franchise.


recommended reading order i still need to complete : Devilman, Shin Devilman, Devilman Lady ( optional Violence Jack), Amon The Dark Side, ( optional Neo Devilman) Devilman Mokushiroku: Strange Days sequel of Amon the dark side, Akuma Kishi a prequel to the entire franchise then lastly Devilman Saga.

I know that sounds like alot i don't think you have to view all of it however this is the recommended viewing i found, anyways its a solid read hopefully you enjoy it and spread the word so netflix can make an anime verison like devilman crybaby.

Devilman lady is a sequel to the original 70s Devilman which is one of Nagai's best known works if not the best.
Before reading Devilman Lady I've heard rumors of it being not that well written.Well that surely kinda made me worry as I really liked Devilman and i did not want its sequel to be appalling.In the end ,during the first volumes it proved to be mediocre , it was kinda random and not things of huge importance were happening.Things get really interesting during volume 7 and after it ,when something really unexpected and shocking happens (cannot say cause it's a major spoil).

Anyways the story ... is pretty interesting and well written ,this time the thing that is mainly indicated is the demons' desires and way of thinking ,which is really intriguing according to my point of view at least.The story reaches its peak during volume 7 and after.I've also heard numerous people saying that the ending was awful,I would definitely not call it bad though, I firmly believe that its only disadvantage was the fact that it was a ginormous cliffhanger, but answers will be given in Devilman Saga probably so i suppose that there is no problem.

The art has been greatly improved in comparison with the original Devilman (well there is a 20 year gap between them so....), original's art was surely great ,but it was greatly inhanced in its sequel and that's a fact

The new characters the story provides are great , readers can form bonds with them quite easily ,characters from Nagai's previous works appear in Devilman Lady ,so people who have read and enjoyed Nagai's works prior to Devilman Lady will probably be as delighted as i were while reading it.

Taking the aforementioned into account, Devilman Lady is a pretty dam' nice and it should get more positive attention .Obviously it was not even close to how great the original Devilman was,however it was a great sequel for sure

Seldom has it been the case that a series has gotten as much undeserved slander than Devilman Lady. The rather severe judgments that have been cast against this series have some understandable points, yet at the same time I would like to argue that these criticisms are flawed and do not give Devilman Lady the dignified treatment it deserves. I will keep this review entirely spoiler free and would also like to make it clear that this series is the sequel to the original (unlike Violence Jack).

The most common complaint I have seen cited against this series is that it is nothing but a softcore ... hentai trying to disguise itself as something far more complex than it really is. This claim bases most of its weight on the fact that there are numerous scenes depicting nudity and light pornagraphic imagery. However, there is a distinct artistic reason why Nagai chose to design this manga in such a sexualized manner. Jun is a devilman, she is a beast and as such she is in constant confliction between her human senses and her bestial desires. The carnal longings of her being throughout the series are illustrated in her depictions as a nude figure. Of course, this makes sense as animals do not wear clothes. Nagai makes it clear that the main occupation of demons is to rape and devour their victims. This sensual excess is the very reason why humans despise the animalistic tendencies of other species. Afteralll, humans rarely resort to such behavior, and are quite adept at inhibiting them. For Jun to succumb to the wishes of the beast inside her would mean to destroy all of her humanity at once.

Another common accusation against the series is that it is convoluted. I find this to be the most bizarre and laughable attempt at constructive criticism . The series deals with many plotlines derived from multiple mythological stories and tries to weave them together in a cohesive manner. Biblical tales, Japanese folklore, Homers Greek Mythos, and even Dante's Divine Comedy all play a clearly influential role in the narrative. However, Nagai does not overcomplicate things. These major literary works are brewed together to form a classic and mind-bending manga of epic proportions. I can say with much certainty that the ending of the work is one of the biggest mind bending conclusions. Those who say that it is confusing did not really read it in the way it was meant to be read.

This and violence jack are by far the greatest manga's ever made
Do not let the here gaijins here dissuade you from reading them
The over all themes of faith religion and the demon rape are enough to start this and forget everything else
Of course you would to read devilman first to even understand anything
The final twist at the end is probably the convualatuted piece of shit i ever read but it makes sense if you waste a few hours thinking over who was the real evil in the end and what the fuck the over all point of the story was
This ... is one of the few manga i read that dosnt make it very clear on who is evil and who isn't both sides have a set of goals that makes perfect sense in fact i was rooting for the demons by the end of it
Forgive the mess that is this essay above
10/10

Go Nagai really needed the shounen age limit.

I did not enjoy “Devilman Lady” at most times. It's a story I'd obligatorily love just by virtue of the premise and concepts. A psychosexual narrative about the humanity in one-self. The natural evolution of the concepts seen in the original Devilman manga, but then the author decided I'd be interesting if there were just COPIOUS AMOUNTS of rape included. Character development? Let's set up a new rape scene for that. Transition towards a new arc? Gang rape the protagonist. I wanted to grab the author by the neck at times. If a story doesn't need to show ... that, DON'T SHOW THAT. Hell, if the author believes it's imperative to have it, he can imply it. Door closes, screams happen inside, cut to the end of the scene. Incredibly disturbing, leaves things for the mind, that's it. But no, every fifth chapter there's a new rape scene. I'm not even disturbed by it, just tired of reading it.

My problems don't stop in the disturbing content, either. The writing suffers horribly. Rules pulled out of the ass, arcs, or plot points that go nowhere, scenes that mean nothing, filler arcs, pages upon pages of wasted ink on boring elements that didn't need to be there. It felt like a villain of the chapter, with no connective tissue in many scenes. I didn't care for half the things I read, BUT, I have to clear up. I was invested in the story.

It's a shame that these issues come with some of the best scenes in the Devilman universe. The trip to hell arc was some of the best I've read in the mythos. The icy forest assault, the demon king scenes, the implications towards destiny, the church assault. These moments threw me into binging the series, until more of those terrible elements came along to stop it. I could've finished this in one day if it had the quality of the things I mentioned, but there's always something to stop you. I ended up dropping off the series, and retaking it recently. Managed to power through, and I don't think it was entirely worth it.

This manga has the two sides of the same coin. The worst of the worst, edgy, offensive content you can imagine, coupled with incredible moments that make one believe it's worth it. The only thing that sealed the deal in believing this manga doesn't deserve a read, is the ending.

What even happened? In two chapters, everything went to hell. Nothing made sense anymore. As if the rules of reincarnation were thrown out the window, the plot needed an ending, the end plan had to happen, and we don't have time to explain why. Then, right before the climax, the end. Nothing got resolved, the main character didn't mean anything, the main villain didn't mean anything. Nothing meant anything. It was as if it got cancelled, and I've seen no evidence of that.

It's a shame. The art evolved, the dialogue was impressive at points, but it always turns back to the same old “let me explain why this is happening in extreme detail” when you can erase the dialogue, and we get the same information. All the elements that could've had subtlety got explained to death, and the ones the author clearly couldn't explain, he left in the dirt to confuse us. Always a great aspect, with the opposite happening at some other point.

5/10. Instead of being an “average” manga, it's one with great moments and other TERRIBLE moments.