Devilman Crybaby: Devil May Cry

Gore, psychological, and shounen are three themes that usually don’t go well together. Yet, coming from the creator of the acclaimed Mind Games, Devilman:Crybaby is another Yuusa masterpiece. It sets up a realistic plot of what would transpire if the world suddenly faces the advent of demons. It depicts demons being an ancient existence who had roamed the earth long before mankind. However, they slowly disappeared over time. Our main story revolves around Akira Fudo, a sensitive young man who cries easily when he sees others in pain. He and his half-Japanese childhood friend, Miki Makimura lives in a small house in the heart of the city. Fudo’s uneventful weak life turned over a new leaf when his friend and child prodigy Ryo Asuka comes back to him after spending years abroad in the dense jungles of Peru, researching the demons. Ryo took Fudo to an orgy, popularly known as Sabbath, to make him witness demons firsthand. Sexual urge and violence is a stimuli towards awakening the demons inside oneself, and the violence and display of naked lust turned Akira Fudo into a devil called Amon. However, the transformation somehow fails, as Fudo still retains the consciousness and virtues of his human self. Thus the devilman is born.

The Birth of Amon

The story of Devilman: Crybaby is unique. Unless I saw it, I would never had believed that an anime of such caliber could be made within 10 episodes. The story abruptly ascends from a realm of petty personal gratifications and insatiations to a realm where simple desires are led to rest and the whole battle transcends into a realm of collective struggle. The show makes one witness a true oppressive dystopia, where humankind faces an adversary, nonpareil by strength and dedicated in their cunning.  Masaki Yuusa has really educed the deepest human desires in this anime. The mastermind behind Mind Game surpasses himself while slowly developing the relations behind Ryo, Fudo and Miki. They were but children—caught in a conflict of beyond their power—yet their maturity blossoms when they each handle the situation in a manner that shamed the adults besides them. Indeed, character development in Devilman Crybaby is very strong. And some of the most sensitive moments in the show pass by naturally, while we gasp at the excellence at which Yuusa presents his message to us.

The style of animation used is very interesting. It follows a classical fuzzy, colorful theme that had often been used for psychological animes. If someone starts on the series without any premonition, he might be a bit baffled. Indeed, the animation during the first two episodes are—erratic and unusual—if put it mildly. But, there are things to be unfolded. Only in the later episodes would one finally realise that it was intentional, and traditional anime art returns. And in retrospect, it seems fitting that the initial episodes would have a different style of art than the later ones, to mark the contrast and the development that ensues in the meantime. This is a wonderful use of animation, and is indeed one of the things that make this show unique.

The opening song is one of the best I have seen in years. It reminded me of Monster, another anime which is highly acclaimed due to its psychological plot. It has a rumbling sound of African tribal drums that conflict themed music often use, and due to its rarity in the anime music world, it stands out. But apart from that, I did not care much about OST or background musics. Indeed, I may not be the best person to comment on the background music of an anime. The ending is good enough, but does not stand out among the crowd like the opening does.

This more or less completes the overview of what I had to say about the show. For those who haven’t seen it, this is a must recommendation. I only discuss those anime which stands out among the crowd, and those that make me reflect. Devilman: Crybaby definitely falls in that category.

What follows next are some discussions pertaining to my own opinion.