Akuma-kun (ONA)

Akuma-Kun (2023) is one of the four new projects announced in 2021 to celebrate Shigeru Mizuki’s 100th birthday. To the uninitiated, Mizuki is an incredibly influential figure in Japanese pop culture. Being a Youkai researcher, his interests in the world of folktales and how they affect the society they encompass influence the works he writes. His most popular work is Gegege no Kitarou, which made a huge step into the western anime community back in 2018 with its most recent adaptation simulcasting on Crunchyroll. However, 34 years after its initial adaptation and 60 years since the publication of its first manga, Akuma-Kun takes an all-newstep into the modern era of anime, airing a new adaptation on Netflix finally allowing this series to be accessible to the western community. The story of Akuma-Kun is similar to that of Gegege no Kitarou, but instead of episodic stories about Youkai, Akuma-Kun is about, well, Akuma. “Akuma” means an evil spirit; however, they’re also synonymous with devils or demons, which Akuma-Kun references a lot since hell is a place where these evil spirits go. These Akuma prey on human desires, usually perfectionism and greed, and use those emotions to control and manipulate humans; creating the conflicts for each episodic story. Akuma-Kun (2023) is similar to its 1989 counterpart in storytelling; however, it's important to remember that it is not a re-adaptation. Akuma-Kun (2023) takes place after the events of the main series, with the two main characters being the children of the original Akuma-Kun and his companion Mephisto-II. With this being said, you don’t need the context of the original series or original characters to understand this adaptation, as not only do the previous main characters get their own development as parents, but also because this series is its own thing in many ways. (This review contains slight spoilers, however I have a spoiler-free TL;DR at the end) The biggest difference between the two adaptations is tone. Mizuki’s adaptations are often childish in appearance while being morally complex and gruesome in storytelling. Gegege no Kitarou (2018) is a great example of this: bright childish designs and comedic moments with very gruesome tales of death and suffering interspersed between. However, Akuma-Kun (2023) takes this idea a step further by conveying these themes through its visual style. Akuma-Kun often gets very grim, conveying its brutal deaths in an honest but gruesome way. While the character designs are similarly childish in appearance, lacking any depth in detail with soft, round faces and eyes, the backgrounds are in complete contrast to this. Backgrounds are rough and gruesome in appearance, with rugged linework and impressively detailed designs. The shading is bold and has only one tone of dark black, encompassing every inch of detail in the backgrounds. Shot composition is used to highlight this beauty, with many close-up shots showing the detail on surrounding objects. This depth of detail is in every way impressive, as it is beautiful, and it's reminiscent of Shichirou Kobayashi’s work. The backgrounds are supported by a great understanding of colour composition, blending everything together and having light bounce off of characters in a very satisfying way. This can be attributed to the colour designer Kunio Tsujita at the helm, who has worked alongside Shichirou Kobayashi on Utena as well as many Toei projects such as Ojamajo Doremi, Gokinjou Monogatari, Mali & Gali, and Hakaba Kitarou. The backgrounds are just jaw-droppingly gorgeous and do a wonderful job at selling the dark and gruesome tone of Akuma-Kun. In many ways, Akuma-Kun (2023) can be compared to Hakaba Kitarou (2007), an adaptation of the original 1950s Kitarou Kashi-hon that Mizuki published before Gegege no Kitarou. This version of Kitarou is violent, not afraid to show death in its purest and most gruesome form. The 2007 Hakaba Kitarou adaptation takes a similarly differing approach to its visuals by having a rough art style to help convey its darker themes. Similar to this version of Kitarou, Akuma-Kun (2023) isn’t afraid to be as gruesome as possible, straying away from the more kid-friendly tone the 1989 adaptation had. I'm not sure what the original manga for Akuma-Kun was like since the 1989 anime isn’t an adaptation of the original manga. However, I assume it’s similar to Hakaba Kitarou in that it has a much darker tone compared to its subsequent releases. In Akuma-Kun (2023), we’re shown violent murders and deaths, and it doesn’t shy away from how horrific they are. However, this cynical portrayal of human life isn’t just for the sake of shock value. The gruesome deaths we are shown are interwoven with the core themes of the series and, in almost complete contrast, convey the value of human life. The core themes explored in Akuma-Kun (2023) are the human desire for perfection, greed, and jealousy. There are stories like a mother “accidentally” murdering her own child because her child went against her perception of her, so she made a contract with a devil to impersonate her daughter in a way she wanted her to be, or like when a rich bastard, who has a goal of trying every food in the world, blindly murdered his maid because he wanted to summon Satan to be the first to taste his flesh. As absurd as some of these stories can get, Akuma-Kun never fails to deliver these stories through great mystery and intrigue, tying everything to the ideas it's trying to convey. The idea of “selling your soul to the devil'' is a key component of the stories told in Akuma-Kun, as we see many characters throughout the series make contracts with Akuma out of a desire for perfection. However, making these contracts always ends in misfortune because the devils only want to manipulate humans by preying on their desires. One of my favourite episodes, episode 9, was about a writer who wanted to create the perfect script and sold his soul to an Akuma to do so. He was obsessed with making a masterpiece, he was obsessed with that "perfection", but that desire eventually led him to abandoning his wife and child due to frustration in himself. Even when he makes amends with them years later he believes he failed as a father and doesn't deserve to be one. But what does "being a good father" even mean? What does that look like? And just because you're imperfect that means you don't deserve these things? Akuma-Kun tells the audience that you should always value what you have in your life and never let greed or the desire for perfection get in the way of what’s truly in front of you. These themes and ideas are very common in Mizuki’s works and adaptations; however, Akuma-Kun (2023) takes it a step further by questioning the morals of the main characters. In episode 6, the newly introduced antagonist ‘Strophaia’ questions Mephisto’s claim that everything that happened is the fault of the Akuma, implying that they would’ve lived happily if it weren’t for them. Throughout the series thus far, Akuma-kun and Mephisto are the heroes that save humans from the Akuma that possess them; however, Strophaia questions this moral, saying “It's easier to blame someone else. But the more you do so, the more painful it gets.” Are Akuma-Kun and Mephisto really protecting humans from Akuma, or are they protecting humans from their own internal horrors? Episode 7 presents us with an Akuma who was rescued and raised by a human, a human who offered up all of his kindness to save others but ultimately succumbed to the weight of it all. This kindness he received growing up led to him forming a “human” heart, becoming a politician with the goal of helping others. Yet this strong desire leads him to kill those who oppose him, letting his inner Akuma take over his body. At the end of the episode, however, he chooses to give himself up to the police instead of attacking Ichirou, because he truly does want to do what’s right and have a “human heart”. Akuma-Kun (2023) is inherently about the internal horrors of ordinary people, with the Akuma serving only to exacerbate these horrors. Throughout the series, we're made to question the true meaning of these morals while the mystery continues to build with each subsequent episode, and it’s very entertaining for that reason. At the helm of series composition is Hiroshi Oonogi, who most notably worked on the 2018 Gegege no Kitarou adaptation. I believe Oonogi has a great understanding of the themes of Mizuki’s works and is able to portray them superbly. His work in Gegege no Kitarou (2018) is similarly impressive, so I’m very happy he worked on Akuma-Kun. Not only is the thematic writing for Akuma-Kun (2023) on point, but the character writing is also great. Ichirou is such a fascinating main character because, despite sharing the same role as “Akuma-Kun”, he isn’t at all righteous like his father. His goal isn’t to befriend demons or to unite demons and humans together, nor does he have any interest in the millennium kingdom, the thing that his father was looking for in the original series. In actuality, he doesn’t care at all about those things. He has a disregard for common courtesy and just about everything expected of him in social interactions. Like how he ignores Gremory’s blatant attempts at getting with him, or when he calls out the mother’s taste in history books in episode 1. In many ways, Ichirou doesn’t act very “human” nor like an “Akuma” either, and he seems to rebel against the idea of what it means to be an “Akuma-Kun ''. I find this characteriszation to be very interesting, especially when taking into consideration his relationship with the people who’ve looked after him. Mephisto-III is also a very interesting character. Despite sharing many traits with his father, Mephisto-II, he is much weaker because he’s a half-human, half-demon, with his half-human part holding him back. Yet despite this, he doesn’t resent his half-human self, as it’s often what defines him as a person. He’s very empathetic and respectful of others, which is in complete contrast to Ichirou. Because of this, he’s often quick to call out Ichirou whenever he does something morally questionable. Like in episode 1, when he tries to stop Ichirou from explaining what happened to Hina’s friend because he’s concerned about her mental wellbeing. There are also times where Ichirou has a disregard for his own life, which Mephisto-III gets very upset at him for, like in episode 3, when Ichirou almost dies trying to summon Satan. Many of these situations end up with Mephisto-III being frustrated with Ichirou; however, this often comes from a genuine concern for Ichirou, which is a reflection of the kind of relationship the two share. I really like the dynamic Ichirou and Mephisto-III have with each other. This relationship they share is important in contrast to the other important figures in his life, as he was abandoned by them both. However, this is going into ending-spoiler territory, so I won’t expand on this point as it’s something worth watching yourself. However, the takeaway from this is that the relationship Mephisto-III and Ichirou share is one of genuine concern for one another, something Ichirou feels he lost growing up. Because Ichirou was abandoned by both Akuma and humans, he lacks traits to be defined by either. Instead of valuing human life and fighting to protect lives, he’s seen calling out humans for being “fundamentally untrustworthy” and appreciating how faithful the Akuma are to their objectives, despite the fact that being an “Akuma-Kun'' means to fight for humans. This was influenced by the Akuma who raised Ichirou, ‘Strophaia’, who also constantly questions the morals of Akuma-Kun, and it’s intriguing to see this development unravel throughout the anime with how it affects Ichirou. Mephisto-III, on the other hand, is the complete opposite, despising Akuma who manipulate human lives. The relationship between Ichirou and Mephisto-III is incredibly entertaining to watch and a highlight of this anime for me. The villains of Akuma-Kun are equally entertaining to watch, as their overwhelming force of pure evil intent overpowers every scene they’re in, and I always felt a genuine sense of fear whenever they appeared. They waltz around the main characters with a calm yet passive aggressive demeanour, poking fun at and questioning their every action. Because of this, slowly learning more about who they are throughout the anime is very entertaining to watch. Even the episodic antagonists, as in the Akuma who possess humans, are fascinating to watch. Because they prey on human desires and manipulate those feelings, a huge focus is put on exploring what these desires are. The big reveal at the end of each episode is always exciting, not only because the mystery building up to it is intriguing but also because the thematic exploration is always on point. I’m not going to talk about the last couple of episodes because they are worth going into blind, and I just don’t really want to spoil the ending in this review. However, everything that Akuma-Kun (2023) builds up towards in the first 10 episodes is handled incredibly well. The ending does leave a lot to be desired and was definitely the worst part about this anime, however, to me, it didn't ruin what it built up towards. The ambiguous ending somewhat implies there'll be more to the story, so I'd love to see a second season some day. With that all being said, themes and character writing aside, I just love the overall writing of Akuma-Kun. Each episode is very entertaining, as both the mysteries and slice-of-life moments are written very well. I especially love how the slice-of-life moments are intertwined with the main plot of most episodes. It was fun seeing Mephisto-III’s home as he sat and discussed with his parents what's going on. It’s adorable to see how much Mephisto-III relies on his parents for support. Even the moments where Ichirou and his father were together. We get to see that, despite Ichirou being resentful towards his father, he still cares about him and what he tells him. These slower moments sprinkled through are much welcome, as they help develop the characters away from all the crazy, gruesome shit that goes on in each episode. Episode 10 is one of my favourite episodes for putting aside the detective conflicts and Akuma fights to focus entirely on the relationships between the characters, which I really appreciate. I enjoy how Akuma-Kun (2023) handles these things more than Gegege no Kitarou (for which I’m currently watching the 2018 season as of writing this) because it feels like Gegege puts way more focus on the battle scenes than character moments, whereas in comparison, Akuma-Kun (2023) has battle scenes that go by very quickly. It’s why the episodes in Gegege 2018 with the least amount of fighting (or none at all) are some of the best. That’s one pet peeve I have with Mizuki’s adaptations, and I’m happy to say that Akuma-Kun does a great job of balancing its action scenes with the episodic mysteries and character moments. The episodic mysteries in Akuma-Kun (2023) are genuinely suspenseful and often subvert my expectations in a way that works well, and as I’ve said before, it does a great job of intertwining the themes of the series with these mysteries. The overarching mysteries were also very interesting, with antagonists I found myself genuinely fearful of, and I was always excited to get to the next episode to see what happens. Akuma-Kun (2023) is an incredibly entertaining show that’s supported by overall great writing and awesome characters. The music and sound design are worth mentioning too, for a few reasons. The music does a great job of adding to the atmosphere and setting the mood in unique ways. Akio Izutsu was listed for creating the music, and while I don’t know much about him, I can definitely say that he’s a great musician and was able to create some very fitting pieces for Akuma-Kun. The sound design is equally great. One of my favourite moments in episode one was when Ichirou looked under a bed and found an Akuma under there. There was a pause on Ichirou’s face with the BGM continuing to play like normal in the background, but as it cuts to the creepy Akuma, the music suddenly cuts. This little detail made an already creepy scene even more disturbing, as it helps take the audience by surprise when the creepy figure suddenly shows up on screen. Little details like the ominous whispering and creepy sound effects during the horror scenes work great at building tension, and there was never a moment where I felt anything was out of place. Much like the art style, the music fits the atmosphere of Akuma-Kun perfectly. I also liked the inclusion of the OG voice actors for Shingo and Mephisto-II returning in this adaptation. Mephisto-III also shares the same voice actor, and it feels like a treat for the fans because of how iconic his voice is. I also really like the voice actor for Ichirou; he does a great job of portraying his personality with his monotone voice. I’m surprised I’ve gone this far into the review without mentioning him (which, mind you, required an extreme amount of restraint), but you can’t talk about Akuma-Kun without mentioning the prolific anime director and self-proclaimed Iyashikei-king (don’t quote me on that): Junichi Satou. Junichi Satou sat in the director's chair for the original 1989 adaptation of Akuma-Kun and reprised his role for this adaptation. Knowing he was working on this adaptation is what got me interested in it in the first place, because Junichi has been somewhat on a roll recently when it comes to revisiting his older works. In 2020, we were blessed with ‘Majo Minarai wo Sagashite’, a movie based off of the Ojamajo Doremi franchise, which did an incredible job of revitalising the core themes of Ojamajo Doremi and building off of them to tell an incredibly touching tale. I feel similarly about this Akuma-Kun adaptation, as it too calls back to the ideas explored in the original and builds off of them to create something special. One thing very noticeable about Junichi's work is the thematic density and the staff’s ability to tie many different ideas together. While a lot of what makes a Junichi anime great doesn’t directly relate to him, since the creation of anime is basically like a massive group project, I believe Junichi does a fantastic job of keeping everyone’s ideas together. You can see this in a lot of his most recent works: Majo Minarai, the new Aria movies, and Hugtto Precure, with Akuma-Kun being no different. Junichi Satou is a phenomenal director, and I’m super happy he worked on this. He deserves all the praise he gets. -- Conclusion/TL;DR -- All in all, Akuma-Kun (2023) is an amazing adaptation of the story, utilising the themes and ideas established in the manga and original adaptation and expanding on them to create a very unique experience. Its gruesome portrayal of death is one that is utilised superbly and watching the episodic mysteries unfold is very entertaining. All the way from its gorgeous art style to its ability to intertwine these themes with its mysterious plot line, I consider Akuma-Kun (2023) to be one of my favourite Mizuki adaptations. Great story and very entertaining characterization that constantly forces the viewers to question the anime's morals. Considering this adaptation was conceived as a celebration of Shigeru Mizuki’s 100th birthday, it feels like a celebration of the themes and ideas he explores in his work. Not only that, but it also feels like a gift to the fans. Akuma-Kun is a great introduction to Mizuki’s works, and I highly recommend watching it if you're interested. You can watch Gegege no Kitarou (2018) as it's on Crunchyroll; however, to watch his other adaptations will require watching fan-subs, of which fortunately there are plenty out there for both Gegege no Kitarou and the original Akuma-Kun. Thank you so much for reading this review, if you’ve made it this far, and I hope you decide to give Akuma-Kun (2023) a try! Or if you’ve already seen it and like it, my recommendation is to watch Hakaba Kitarou as it provides a similarly unnerving and gruesome experience.