LogFAQs > #929049621

61. Devilman Crybaby (16 points)
Nominated by: Xeybozn (3/5 remaining)

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Importance: 4.5
Fear: 5
Snake: 6.5

Devilman Crybaby was a high profile anime released on Netflix last year, a pretty straight adaptation of the manga and critically acclaimed by many. My only experience with Devilman outside of this anime is the PS1 survival horror game, and this is very different from that. It's a very weird, eccentric anime that juggles a million tones at once and doesn't totally bungle any of them. As soon as you start thinking Devilman Crybaby is one way, it throws a curveball at you, and this is as early as like the first 10 minutes of the first episode. A high-school romance anime quickly becomes a balls-to-the-wall action horror fest, complete with scary flashbacks eventually giving way to a straight-up murder orgy that leads to main protagonist Akira becoming the titular Devilman. Okay, maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself. As mention, Akira is the main protagonist, an overly sensitive high schooler who is best friends with a child prodigy named Ryo, a more adventurous, cold type. Ryo recruits Akira to hunt down demons with him after an experience in the Amazon rainforest, and is actually one the responsible for turning Akira into Devilman due to Ryo calling on a demon for aid. It all makes more sense in context. It's a great set-up and can feel like a drugged out Devil May Cry at times. The art style is a lot more surreal than I expected, and can really be unsettling and can even make you feel dirty at times for watching it. It doesn't ever shy away from violence, and it will linger on the most painful shots, such as in episode 9 when Miki gets brutally stabbed in her back by a gang member, as the blade cuts down her spine in a spray of blood. Then the gang members start parading her body parts around. It's totally disgusting, shocking, and sickening, but it's effective and emotionally serves the story.

I won't say Devilman Crybaby is an anime I'm totally enamored with, but it's bold and fearless in a way I definitely respect, and goes to places you won't wholly expect. Its shock value works for the most part, and it has two great central characters, but it can sometimes forget the subtlety that comes with truly lingering horror, at times feeling more akin to a fever dream. It's a wild ride though that I'm glad I took!
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I've decided to put my fears behind me. I'm not going back.
https://i.imgtc.ws/2Q88rI4.gif - https://i.gifer.com/E07R.gif