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REVIEW: DEVILMAN crybaby


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Otaku-sempai



Joined: 27 Mar 2017
Posts: 120
Location: Lackawanna, NY
PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 11:28 am Reply with quote
I'll admit that, even within the heightened reality of this series, it's frustrating how long it takes Akira to realize that his 'friend' Ryo is as much (or more) of a monster than any of the demons that he sends him against. The series definitely counts as the wildest anime ride I've experienced in quite some time.
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Zeino



Joined: 19 May 2017
Posts: 1098
PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 12:58 pm Reply with quote
It's definitely the best animated version of the story (which is admitted not a hard feat to be) but for Yuasa, I feel it's the weakest of his works due to being beholden a bit too much to Nagi's lurid if with great and important themes hidden there materiel and perhaps going a bit overboard in a scene with a certain bird demon. Still there is no shame in just being very good as opposed to the excellence of Ping-Pong, Kiba and Tatami Galaxy. And it may give Yuasa the mainstream entry to do more like this as he always wanted.

Last edited by Zeino on Wed Jan 17, 2018 1:08 pm; edited 1 time in total
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DigitalScratch





PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 1:01 pm Reply with quote
I definitely agree that even if the story and presentation has its flaws, as far as animation goes Devilman Crybaby was a mesmerizing and perverted trip from beginning to end. Definitely my favorite of the Devilman adaptations

Also, the rapping. I know a lot of people found it cheesy and out of place a times, but I really love the rapping. I really didn’t expect Keith Silverstein to be able to do Kukun’s rap but he did and I applaud his performance.
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Sahmbahdeh



Joined: 05 May 2015
Posts: 712
PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 1:49 pm Reply with quote
This is actually the first Yuasa anime I've finished, and I have to say I really liked it. While it struggles to make sense a lot of the time and there are some plot/pacing issues, it had a much stronger emotional impact than I expected, and the myriad themes and ideas sprinkled throughout make this a lot heftier of a show than I initially suspected, with a lot to think about for a while. And kudos to Netflix for letting Yuasa and Science Saru go hog-wild with this one, I will be looking forward to more of their anime original content in the future.
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Kicksville



Joined: 20 Nov 2010
Posts: 1183
PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 1:50 pm Reply with quote
Devilman is one of those things that long felt like it could and should be a bigger deal over here, if only there were a new adaption, or something. I know I'm not the only one who felt that way (I mean, it's called DEVILMAN, that's marketable!!) But for one reason or other it didn't seem terribly likely. There were other old "if only" franchises too, like...Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. And here we are!

It could've just as well not worked out all that well, but Masaaki Yuasa, who I first knew as The Kemonozume Guy, was a perfect match. There was definitely an understanding not just of what to do visually, but of how potent and relevant the material is, and what to do with that.

I do disagree with the review on the Miko subplot, I thought it worked well at expanding the scope of things while staying within the point. And playing off that point in ways that made sense. It spoke to me personally, I have to say.


Last edited by Kicksville on Wed Jan 17, 2018 1:51 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Marzan



Joined: 29 Mar 2009
Posts: 515
PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 1:51 pm Reply with quote
I’ve enjoyed myself immensely with this series. I love Yuasa has done with this adaptation
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Chrysostomus



Joined: 11 Mar 2015
Posts: 335
PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 2:29 pm Reply with quote
Otaku-sempai wrote:
I'll admit that, even within the heightened reality of this series, it's frustrating how long it takes Akira to realize that his 'friend' Ryo is as much (or more) of a monster than any of the demons that he sends him against. The series definitely counts as the wildest anime ride I've experienced in quite some time.
That's because they changed Ryo from this very troubled man with some hints of inhumanity to a trigger-happy blatant sociopathic mustache-twirling villain right from the get-go.
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tintor2



Joined: 11 Aug 2010
Posts: 1862
PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 3:50 pm Reply with quote
While I liked Miki in this version more than in the original, I think it's spoiler[a flaw when she gets herself killed just for defending Akira. It felt a bit rushed]

Also, I wonder if they would take some liberties with Akira's dark side like the Amon spinoff but in the end it remained more faithful to the original one.
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jroa



Joined: 08 Aug 2012
Posts: 537
PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 4:10 pm Reply with quote
Chrysostomus wrote:
That's because they changed Ryo from this very troubled man with some hints of inhumanity to a trigger-happy blatant sociopathic mustache-twirling villain right from the get-go.


As discussed in the other Devilman Crybaby topics, this is arguably a partial simplification in both directions that doesn't do much justice to the portrayal in either version of the story.
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relyat08



Joined: 20 Mar 2013
Posts: 4125
Location: Northern Virginia
PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 4:50 pm Reply with quote
DigitalScratch wrote:
Also, the rapping. I know a lot of people found it cheesy and out of place a times, but I really love the rapping. I really didn’t expect Keith Silverstein to be able to do Kukun’s rap but he did and I applaud his performance.


Yeah, the rapping was lit af. I was extremely impressed by how well it flowed. It was obviously not just thrown in casually, but was genuinely high quality professional work by really talented artists.

God, I love this show so much. <3
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Chrysostomus



Joined: 11 Mar 2015
Posts: 335
PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 5:59 pm Reply with quote
jroa wrote:
As discussed in the other Devilman Crybaby topics, this is arguably a partial simplification in both directions that doesn't do much justice to the portrayal in either version of the story.
I would argue that Yuasa simplified Ryo into a one-dimensional amoral mass murderer and you would have very little to refute such a claim.
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EastN3



Joined: 19 May 2012
Posts: 149
PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 6:13 pm Reply with quote
I thought this series was brilliant from start to finish, but the baton passing scene in episode 10 solidified this for me as an instant Top 5 anime of 2018, without needing to wait to see the other contenders. I still hold Kaiba and Ping-Pong to be slightly better, but bravo Mr. Yuasa. This was a brave new take on a classic work that somehow managed to elevate the source material.
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jroa



Joined: 08 Aug 2012
Posts: 537
PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 7:15 pm Reply with quote
Chrysostomus wrote:
I would argue that Yuasa simplified Ryo into a one-dimensional amoral mass murderer and you would have very little to refute such a claim.


Having already laid out my case elsewhere in this forum, I believe you are entitled to disagree. You could always try asking Yuasa this weekend to see what he says.
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leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 9:14 pm Reply with quote
"The most violent, sexed-up TV anime"? I haven't seen this (though I'd like to), but is that even in comparison to the arms race anime studios had in the 80's to be more violent and oversexed than their competitors?

DigitalScratch wrote:
Also, the rapping. I know a lot of people found it cheesy and out of place a times, but I really love the rapping. I really didn’t expect Keith Silverstein to be able to do Kukun’s rap but he did and I applaud his performance.


You'd be surprised just how many anime voice actors have a background in singing that they don't actually use when acting. (Vic Mignogna even says that it's crucial that you learn to sing as well as act if you want to voice an anime character.) Being able to rap well goes hand-in-hand with that, as it requires a strong sense of rhythm and meter (especially since this is freestyle and thus would lack anything you could use as a metronome) and the ability to annunciate rapidly and clearly, while not tripping over yourself or running out of breath.

Certainly, it's not as surprising to me to know Keith Silverstein can rap as it was hearing Nancy Cartwright and Dan Castellaneta do a convincing rap battle in their Bart and Homer voices.

Kicksville wrote:
Devilman is one of those things that long felt like it could and should be a bigger deal over here, if only there were a new adaption, or something. I know I'm not the only one who felt that way (I mean, it's called DEVILMAN, that's marketable!!) But for one reason or other it didn't seem terribly likely. There were other old "if only" franchises too, like...Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. And here we are!


THAT would come down to Netflix's marketing and how much crossover there is with anime fans who also have Netflix subscriptions. Netflix's most successful shows are ones they advertise outside of Netflix (such as on billboards, bus stops and buses, on buildings, etc.), as those are the ones that gain the attention of people who otherwise either don't have Netflix or don't pay attention to or see Netflix's own promotions and advertisements.

So far, Netflix hasn't been doing much of that with Devilman Crybaby, if any at all. I haven't seen any, even though I see plenty of ads on the street for some of Netflix's other TV shows.

The really, really TV-MA nature of this show would severely limit whom it can be shown to, however, before it catches the attention of a Sheila Broflovski somewhere. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a lot safer to show, as the most it has is some mild swearing and cartoon violence (even if said violence gets bloody sometimes), but never the sexual content or gore this series has.
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relyat08



Joined: 20 Mar 2013
Posts: 4125
Location: Northern Virginia
PostPosted: Wed Jan 17, 2018 10:19 pm Reply with quote
leafy sea dragon wrote:
"The most violent, sexed-up TV anime"? I haven't seen this (though I'd like to), but is that even in comparison to the arms race anime studios had in the 80's to be more violent and oversexed than their competitors?


Considering this is Mike Toole doing the review, I think it's pretty likely that he's including anything and everything that has ever aired in the medium. Also, I think "aired" might be an operative word. It's possible he's excluding OVAs.
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