Was it any good? Well, it depends on how you watch it. If you watch it with knowing what Devilman is about, then you have an interesting and entertaining adaptation. But if you watch it as an introduction to Devilman, it might just be an introduction and nothing that special.
Unlike Fist of the North Star the movie and Macross: Do you remember Love which not only introduces itself but also retold the story, Devilman directly following what was shown in the first chapters with no real finally. Then again, those two where movies who had to summarize several episodes under two hours, while this was just one OVA in less than an hour. Hell this OVA is called “The Birth”, so you can’t expect much than an origin story.
But I digress.
This OVA dumps allot of exposition. Which would be good if there WAS more than just two OVAs created. Yes, this is one of those OVAs where it’s only two episodes. So you should probably see this as long episode rather than anything else.
Because of this, the OVA sets up a decent atmosphere of both Horror and Suspense as demons can pop up at any moment. It helps as Akira has to man up and fight back. The story might be not as good as it could had been, it still presents what we should know and it does it well. Some people might say that this is played way too fast as this takes place during one afternoon. But considering the extremes Akira faces and how they are pushing him to a corner, you can’t really blame it.
As you might expected, this movie has a good enough of gore. It’s that type of 80’s gore that everyone likes. Uncensored, but not polished.
If I had to compare this to the source material, this isn't as crazy or humours and makes the situation look darker than what it was originally portrayed. But I think it’s decent as this tries much to contrast to the TV-series.
And you can tell by its design. The design is spot on. When I think of Devilman, this is the version I think off. Not that the TV-series was bad, but since this adaptation demanded a menacing look, this is the closest version to match the manga. The characters themselves are fun to watch, with Akira trying to be reasonable and Ryo who is an extremist. Too bad they won’t leave much of an impression unless you know who these characters are. The voice casting is good, exactly what I would think when I hear these characters. Akira is voiced by Zarbon, which actually is fitting when you think about it.
But for the LOVE OF GOD, don’t expect the same quality for the English dub. Let me just say that they might missed the point that these characters aren't delinquents with foal mouths.
So if you ever wanted to get into Devilman but can’t find the first chapters, this is the way to start. If you feel like that this one didn't hooked you up, then the next one will defiantly help you out.
