Devilman: Crybaby

Story: The Story in Crybaby was very good, the pacing was solid throughout the entire story, it never felt like there was unnecessary dips, and it managed to push through to the end and conclude in a satisfying way, which many shows nowadays fail to do. As someone who had never previously read Devilman or watched any adaptation, all of the twists that were present in the classic series were new to me, and most were well done, they are hard to predict until the show wants you to know or gives large hints, it does well at subverting your expectations. 9/10 Art: Art is something thatI felt was not a high point in the series, it had solid animation and went for a very deliberate style, and did well in capturing the feel of the classic art style of Go Nagai, however doing something for the sake of homage is not necessarily always the best possible choice, I'm sure many will disagree with me here, but again I have no ties to original series. 7/10 Sound: I loved the music in this show, especially the Opening which is one of my favourites that I've heard in general, but beyond the music the sound effects and such were consistently good, but nothing really beyond just good. 7/10 Character: Easily the best part of Devilman Crybaby is the characters, every single character is so well done, everything is deliberate, everything is consistent, and interesting Akira is one of the best characters I've seen in a long time, he doesn't fall into any overarching category, he as a character is incredibly unique and his relationships with the other characters especially Miki and Ryo are just incredible. 10/10 Enjoyment: This series was really damn enjoyable the action was solid if a bit sparse but when it did happen, it was incredible, with the soundtrack and voice acting backing it up, the switch flipping at the end of episode one is when I knew I was going to love this series 9/10 Overall Rating: While I'd love to give this a 10, I didn't think everything was executed as well as it could have been, it's extremely close to a 10 but it's not quite there, some things did feel like they were passed over fairly quickly, and some aspects of the show did feel more standard than outstanding. 9/10

Going into this series, I had zero background information on any of its details. Didn't know that it was a manga adaptation, that it contained adult content (so. much. boobs.), or that it was directed by THE Maasaki Yuusa (Tatami Galaxy, that one episode in Adventure Time) until I decided to do a little research halfway through the series. So there was little to no expectations in my part, other than my friend suggesting I watch it. And I have to say... I was kinda disappointed by the end. Started promisingly but faltered way down as it rushed to its finish line. Let's break itdown, shall we? Story: 5 - First episode was definitely intriguing, establishing the world and its themes, but felt a bit rushed and jumbled at times - Pacing was odd, to say the least - Themes of humanity and the good/evil that comes with it, not the most original idea (granted, the manga was written way back in the 70's) - The second half is where it reaaaaally dovetails - Plot development feels unnatural Art: 8 - Greatest asset, even with the occasional flaws - Eclectic and unique camerawork - Character design is lush and defined - An ecstatic and colorful palette that transitions late in the series to darker and muted tones - Animation in the mid-episodes sometimes felt stilted, and just plain bad in a few scenes Sound: 6 - Nothing really noteworthy, music and sound design is solid, even inventive on occasion - Plenty of electro beats, and wood percussions - OP song is quite good (not really a factor for critiquing) Character: 5 - No character is downright hateable, so that's good - Most likable is definitely Miki, the bright and hopeful girl next door - Contrasting of Ryo and Akira is obvious, but not memorable - Supporting characters have confusing arcs and inconsistent internal logic Enjoyment: 4 - Admittedly enjoyable at first, with its melange of colors and overzealousness in presentation, but becomes downright depressing by the end, minus any form of catharsis or larger talking point - Can't imagine anyone willing to re-watch all of this for the sake of entertainment Overall: NO THANKS, I'LL PASS (or watch once and regret losing 5 hours of bountiful sleeping time and writing a review after, 6am in the morning...) #Thanks2018

It looks beautiful, the OST is remarkable in and of itself and these two things you can easily verify yourself with a quick google. However, the story is a complete mess. I'd argue it's still a fine anime if you like action, ultraviolence and sex, or just want to enjoy some top tier directing. The main character becomes a human-monster and he does change because of that, but his "what have I become?" moment is really tame and rather expeditiously dealt with. We don't know how he gets past it, but there's really no time because when his inner demons pop up the plot requires himto fight some more and brush over the problem. Being a "crybaby" may be linked to this. He's so empathetic that he cries the tears that others don't dare to, but this characteristic seems to only show up when it's dramatically convenient, rather than him actually being that considerate. Else he'd be torn by what is happening and take an active role in the story, rather than just reactive. Similarly, he can help others beat the devils that took over them, but there's no rhyme nor reason for why they can do that, he just tells them "you will become a devilman" (i.e. a man that controls the devil) and they do. Humans are monsters and they go on massive witch hunts for devils once they become public knowledge. Everything devolves into random killing and world war for, really, no real reason, but it serves the plot and the forced drama. Some characters that were friendly for some time and seemed to fight against discrimination suddenly turn coats and go crazy too. It breaks the suspension of disbelief and that's when you don't care anymore, however in the case you don't notice the flaws this anime will appear to be the best and most dramatic thing you've ever seen. There are some good parts, some good micro-stories that get played well and are consistent, mainly concerning humans who turn into devils and can't control their impulses and eat their friends only to wallow in pain and want to die later on. There seems to be a group of organized smart demons that control things from the shadows but their origins are left unclear and rather quickly forgotten, this part lacks closure. Ryo, the childhood friend who gets the main character in this whole mess is shrouded in mystery and acts completely inconsistently too. He's the main force that drives the plot so that makes things even worse. SPOILER IN THIS PARAGRAPH There's also some side story about some high school (or whatever grade they are in) colleagues trying to best each other and the "gambatte" (do your best, be the best) attitude is not a problem until it interferes with the death of an important character that in their last moment only have the thought of "passing the baton" to the main character (they are track both runners). I mean, when I die, I sure as hell won't think about who gets to inherit the code I've written. So yeah, without getting into the actual ending, I'd say that the themes barely get explored, are contrived for the purpose of providing forced drama, and the characters are inconsistent too because they are subservient to this purpose as well. Is Devilman Crybaby bad? If you want something that doesn't insult one's intelligence, yeah, it's pretty bad. Still, there are parts which are genuinely awesome, but they are harder to notice, mostly micro-stories that hold some truth and feeling. If you can get past the stupidity of the plot this anime is actually really worth it thanks to how amazing it is on an aesthetics level. This also means that you need to pay attention to the screen, watching this anime on a 2nd screen while doing something else is a complete waste of time and will ruin your experience. I'm rather torn about what rating to give this anime, on one hand I want to give it a 10 for the amazing work the animators, director and sound people have done on it, on the other hand I want to give it a 1 for the plot. I expect that once the hype dies this anime will be rather polarizing. I hope that this review can shed better light on it.

I have never seen a story across any medium devolve into such drivel. There is no justification for the appalling behavior of any of the characters. It becomes so stupid, it is infuriating to watch. There is no explanation to the backstory and mechanics of things, and no eventual payoff whatsoever. My suspension is of disbelief is thoroughly shattered (and then some) past the halfway point, and it just keeps picking up the pace exponentially until the final fuck-you that is the ending. It is dreadful in tone and content. If you liked this anime, you were most likely filling in innumerable plot holes and characterizationflaws with the manga they wrote at a time before either you or the writers knew how these things were passably written. As a standalone, Devilman Crybaby is nonsense. 2/10, because that Miko girl had some nice knockers, I guess. Don't bother with this anime.

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