So I've just watched Devilman Crybaby and it was good - really GOOD


The title says it all. I'm a huge fan of the Devilman series and I'm happy that it finally got an anime that did it justice.

The good thing about Devilman Crybaby is that it finally brought Akira Fudou and Asuka Ryo saga to the mainstream audience. The bad thing is, obviously, you can no longer consider yourself edgy for liking this used-to-be 70s cult classic.

As a manga, Devilman is very reminiscent of the Post-WWII/Tezuka-era of Japanese manga, with undefined physics, wacky characters and slapstick humor. Yet it tells a story so dark and edgy that it contrasts the whole aesthetics of the manga.

That turtle sure looks wacky as heck, but can you imagine being killed and find your soul trapped for eternity in his shell?

It is often said that Go Nagai, the creator of Devilman, is responsible for inspiring Kentaro Miura's Berserk (the manga that defines edgelord protagonist) and Studio Gainax' Neon Genesis Evangelion (the anime that revolutionize the whole industry). It stands toe-to-toe with Jojo's Bizzare Adventure as a genre-defining manga that finally got the attention it deserves after decades of its first appearance.

That said, my first encounter with the Devilman series is actually not with the original manga, but rather its lackluster 2004 live action adaptation. I was probably 13 back then, exploring a video rental in Semarang, trying to find some weird movie and stumbled upon this gorgeous-looking cover:

Well, it was gorgeous to my 13-year old self, don't judge me please

Back then, I was so into superhero genre: Superman, Batman, Spider-man - every words just seems better with -man as a suffix. The word Devilman just rings a bell with me and the character in the front cover just looked so badass that I can't help myself to not rent it.

But was it good? Well, I honestly didn't have any recollection of watching that film. But I did watch some of its scene from Youtube recently and it was just eh. At its best, I guess you can say the film was a forgettable action flick with some religious symbolism (and bad CGI to top it all).

However, the same can't be said to the original manga which I considered to be among my Top 10 favorite. I encountered this Manga during my college days and fell in love instantly. The art and comedy that Nagai-sensei illustrates can be a bit cringy sometimes, but the eerie feeling that I got throughout reading it makes up for it.

Nobody ever illustrate something like this in manga nowadays. Am I supposed to be terrified? Or overjoyed? Or laughing?

So, about the Netflix anime adaptation... What can I say?

First things first, I applaud Netflix for being faithful to the source material and managed to modernize the aesthetics as well as incorporating some new elements that contribute to the Devilman's narrative.

As a story, Devilman starts of as your usual superhero narrative. Akira Fudou was a timid and weak boy until he was reunited with his childhood friend, Ryo Asuka, who convinces him to went on a journey that changed his life forever. He went to a party and fused with Amon, a demon champion, and turned into the Devilman! - a demon with the heart of human, super strong yet super kind.


He then became a superhero that fights demons at night and an ordinary high school students in the morning - sounds like Peter Parker's Spider-man right? But then, the existence of demons was exposed to the public and Akira Fudous must faced the fact that he is unwelcomed by the people he is supposed to protect.

As people began to be suspicious of others being a demon, the society crumbles down into that of a witch hunt, where everybody suspects everybody and people began to slaughter each other. At the end of the day, Akira can no longer see the difference between human and demon.

The title Devilman does not only refer to the main protagonist, but also to this dual nature between humans and demons. This conflict is portrayed very faithfully in the Netflix adaptation and the modern take of it makes it less comical than the original.

Obviously, the other thing that made Devilman Crybaby stands out, one that has been spoken by many people, is its art style which is unlike most anime out there. The animation is really fluid and character's physics can be silly some times, yet it is also polished and eye-catching.

I was completely awe-struck as I watched this scene, it's just so outlandish

The gore and hyper-violent nature of the show is also dialed up to 11 and I can feel that they went a bit too far in some scene, but it pays tribute to the original so well that it didn't really matter to me. The art direction definitely deserves praise as it managed to keep the original's charm while modernizing it at the same time.

Best of all, it is very short (only 10 episodes) so you really have no excuse to not watch this new hyped anime.

Now, I want to talk some of the change in Crybaby that I liked and I disliked and so this is your cue to stop reading if you haven't watched the show since I will go to some SPOILER territory. You've been warned.


Best girl in the series. No competition.

The best thing that I liked about Crybaby is its portrayal of Miki Makimura. In the original manga, Miki is mostly portrayed as your usual damsel in distress, she's weak, always need to be saved by Akira, and worst of all: she's annoying as heck.

Which is why, her death in the original manga gives more emphasize to the horrifying nature of human being, rather than her tragic death. I was more terrified with the angry mob rather than mourning for her unpleasant fate.

It's shocking, yes. But is it saddening? I don't think so

Crybaby's Miki, however, is amazing. She has great personality, she's likeable, and she's also portrayed as a moral support to Akira, rather than a damsel who clings on his arm. I did close my eyes when she was stabbed in the back by her pursuer and her scream! goddamit it was horrifying.

The image of her severed head being impaled in the air is just horrifying. Interestingly, despite the hyperviolence shown throughout the series, they actually toned it down a little bit in this scene by not showing her face.

Now this is what I can call an emotional trainwreck

This is actually effective as it builds up more emotion rather than a shock value. It's no wonder that many people became a real crybaby after watching episode 9. I myself feels truly sad for losing such a likeable character.

I should not be surprised with this scene at all since I have read the manga, but they made Miki so good that I was surprised they were being faithful to the manga by killing her in this horrifying way.

Another thing that I really like is that they explore more about Akira and Ryo's relationship. The manga didn't really explain why Ryo or Satan fell in love with Akira, it kinda just happened. The Crybaby, though, they tell the story of Akira and Ryo's childhood and how they first met.

The scene where Ryo's looking at the photos of him (or her?) and Akira is very sweet and you can see his/her genuine love for Akira. This makes the final scene where Satan finally realizes his/her true feeling for Akira more heartbreaking.

Yes Ryo, can't you see how stupid you are?

As for things I don't like, I don't know why they change Ryo's father with some Prof. Fikira or whatever. I mean, the reason Akira was willing to go to hell together with Ryo was because he believed Ryo's father was killed for the sake of this research.

I don't see how Akira would be interested to go to some suspicious place just because of some unknown professor's death and because his long lost friend was obsessed with this demon thing.

But the worst change that Netflix made is in how they reveal Satan. In the original manga, Satan's name has already been uttered very early on and readers were encouraged to think who is this Satan.

At first, the manga made us think that Satan referes to Xenon (which was ruined in the Netflix adaptation as well), but then the pieces falls and we finally came to the conclusion ourselves that Ryo is actually Satan.

As Pewdiepie has stated, Netflix' take on this revealing thing is a bit weird and abrupt. They did drop a hint here and there, but it's not so subtle and just feels weird, like how Ryo shouts "Amon, you can possess him now!" in the first episode.

It led me to believe that Ryo didn't lose his memory in this adaptation and he was fully aware of his plan to destroy humanity. But then he needs to go back to Peru to confirm his memory so it isn't quite the case, which means him/her shouting for Amon in first episode makes no sense.

But still, their take on Miki's death and the final scene made up for the things that I don't like. Even better is that they actually added to the emotional trainwreck by making Taro, Miki's sister, a demon too - in which his father was nearly convinced to kill his own son, but he can't.


The introduction of Wamu's gang is also a good decision as they replaces the forgettable high school thugs in the original manga (Amon: Darkside of Devilman obviously didn't count). Wamu's interaction with Miki is especially amazing and you can almost ship the both of them.

About Miko... well, some people are saying that she is remade from the original (who is a devilman that can throws acidic water from her tits) but they did show this particular devilman in the last episode of Crybaby so I can't see Miko as anything but a totally new character.

Anyway, Miko is definitely a great addition to the story as she serves as a character that can show how amazing Miki is. Her death, along with Wamu's gang and Miki's is very regrettable because they are all a bunch of likeable characters.

In the end, I guess I'm just happy that one of my favorite manga can get the anime and the attention it deserves. I'm still waiting for a better modern adaptation to Berserk that hopefully can learn a thing or two from Crybaby in how to adapt a successful cult classic.

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