Devilman: Crybaby Series Discussion

Jan 21, 2018 6:35 PM

Offline

Apr 2015

254

Let's talk about the DEVILMAN: CRYBABY!

You can go as in depth as you'd like about Devilman: Crybaby! Spoilers allowed! However, if you don't want to get spoiled and instead want to gauge the general opinion of the Devilman, feel free to join our Discord server

Go into a public channel and enter ".iam Nyanime Club" to get the Nyanime Club role. This lets you get alerts for anime watches and general news regarding the Nyanime Club (see #nyanime-club Discord channel). If you need any help don't hesitate to contact a Mod on the server.

InducedPhobiaFeb 2, 2018 2:27 PM

Jan 21, 2018 6:35 PM

InducedPhobia

Offline

Apr 2015

254

SPOILERS FOR ALL OF DEVILMAN CRYBABY

I love this show. This felt like it was made just for me and it suited my tastes perfectly. I was on a ride during its entire runtime. Devilman Crybaby, albeit flawed in many respects, is one of my favorites of all time.

I’ll just go over the raw visual appeal of this show first. This is the first work that I’ve seen from director Masaaki Yuasa who is known for his eclectic and abstract aesthetic and animations. And holy shit, this is a great way to depict the ultraviolent and hypersexual scenes of Devilman. It adds so much visual eye-candy to each rip and tear of flesh that I can’t take my eyes off the screen. This is emphasized in the first episode going into the rave where the first Sabbath in the show is depicted. The utter brutality yet indifference to the dismemberment and disembowelment of humans with progressively drug-addled visuals is a complete joy to watch. This extends through the show and only gets more and more exciting with each passing visceral set piece.

This OST. This OST. THIS OST. Every moody track arouses a very specific emotion. Whether it be the whimsical track Miki, the rave fuccin (emphasis on fuccin) banger Buddy Ryo, or the moody piano that Crybaby times perfectly with emotional highs. The music feels specifically designed for the scenes in the show. They always felt like two cooperative elements that lifted each other to up to make an altogether better work. I don’t know if I would enjoy this show as much if it weren’t for the OST. Also, holy fucc, these rappers are awesome. Sure, lines are a little corny but my pure bois just want to use their hip hop to make the world a better place. Each “freestyle” feels like it has weight and relevance to the story and they surprisingly good. I love how this modern element introduced into the story of Devilman feels so natural.

The characters of this show are generally good. The good portion supporting cast feels particularly underdeveloped, but it never felt like the show was wasting it’s time by focusing on the more important characters. Ryo and Akira feel like the most thematically relevant and intriguing. This adaptation’s focus on the crybaby aspect of Akira’s persona is an interesting choice and makes sense in the context of Yuasa’s abstract work intending to focus on symbolism and motifs rather than believable characterization. Akira has a sense of empathy for others which is his Achille’s heel but is also what gives him his “human heart.” I find this type of characterization more relatable (albeit extreme) than a rigid set of convictions and morals that causes him to cry over others when something challenges his philosophy. He just cries for others because he genuinely feels sorry for them, and I find that way more likable in characters. However, this crybaby nature is what allows Ryo to manipulate and use Akira for his own interests which end up eventually running counter to Akira’s goals.

Ryo is my favorite character of the show. It’s made painfully clear from the first few minutes of the show that Ryo is not a good guy and is not necessarily on Akira’s side. His motivations change erratically as the show progresses and that’s what I feel makes him most interesting. He genuinely wants to learn more about demons and find out what happened to his professor initially, but as he learns more about the nature of demons and how they relate to humans in the Devilman universe, his perspective warps. Growing up he felt there was a naturalistic order to life—the strong should prey upon the weak and the even stronger should prey upon the strong. He ends up accepting the demons’ presence and feels that both the humans and demons would naturally try to wipe each other out. Whoever wins, wins. Everything changes when he is confronted by Akira regarding this perspective in middle of the show. He begins to look within himself and his actions to consider the words of someone he considers his close friend. This is the moment Ryo realizes he is Satan. All his memories flood back into him. Everything makes sense. All his actions and warped philosophy becomes re-contextualized with him being the angel that fell from God’s grace. I love that.

Ryo’s and Akira’s characterization are central to the themes of Devilman. Devilman Crybaby is about love.

"Love doesn't exist. There is no such thing as love. Therefore, there's no sorrow." ―Satan

The moment the devilman scare starts in the show and the public devolves into mass hysteria is when we see this theme truly come alive. Everyone begins distrusting each other and being focusing on their own survival. We’ve never seen an indifference to human life like this before. The military is taking civilian lives, grandma is getting her head blown off, and people are jumping off buildings separating their spine from their viscera on impact. I said earlier that the brutality of this show was visually interesting but it is changed for scenes like these. There is no dramatic pan, there is no emotional music, there are not multiple angles. This isn’t glorified in any way. It’s just casually depicted with a tone of indifference that feels sharp.

This buildup leads into episode 9 where this theme comes to a head. Miki’s acceptance of Akira despite being a devilman stems from her seeing that the crybaby she knows Akira to be is still there. The episode is paced in such a way that Akira’s “crybaby” nature is rewarding him. His love of people through his empathy is uniting people against this threat of extinction. The social media posts, the crying children, the wavering mob—these elements in this episode show the viewer the importance of seeking to understand one another as people. The episode is then flipped around. This is idealism and it is not possible to expect every person to unite like this. The entire supporting cast is dismembered and paraded out by a hate mob in just half an episode. Two of the pure rap bois betrayed Miki, Wamu, and the others. They truly didn’t believe in Miki or Akira through all of this. People didn’t seek to understand. Everything is taken back.

Episode 10 arrives and humanity has doomed itself. Satan has exploited the darker sides of human nature to bring about the end of people. I love how he specifically states this. It is humanity’s fault that it comes to this. The show’s tone in delivering this message feels like an indifferent warning. It feels like it doesn’t want humanity to succumb to its fears and devolve into war, famine, and complete destruction. Humanity is the maker of its own demise and this show acts as warning. A warning for us to understand and respect each other before we spiral down.

The reason why I describe this warning as indifferent is because of the plot twist at the end. This entire plot was a scheme by God to punish Satan. Repeatedly being born again, humans perpetually going extinct and arising, Ryo being forced to kill the one person he loved over and over again. All of this is God’s wrath on Satan. And humans will make the same mistakes over and over again.

Fuck me, I love this show.

Jan 21, 2018 9:39 PM

ProjectSeoul

Offline

Jan 2017

I really enjoyed the show more than I thought I would. The first episode left a weird impression on me and I wasn't really sure how I felt on it. Maybe it was because of the abstract art style that I'm not used to seeing, or extremely violent and sexual this show is. Regardless, I continued watching, and I'm glad I did.

As I've said before, the show has an abstract art style that - I don't think - I've seen before. It's not polished or sharp, as say like Violet Evergarden, but rather it's simple and abstract. Which works to its advantage since character expressions and fight scenes are only heightened by its art style.

The cast of characters is great. Akira has a nice change in character after the first episode. He becomes more expressive and masculine, while also crying for people - showing that he still has humanity in him even after becoming a Devilman. Wonderful girl, Miki, is a reasonable girl who always gives people a chance, even though it gets taken advantage of. Mikiko, or Miko, is hot ..... and has a nice side story, but I'll leave that for later. Then there is the best character, Ryo. He has the appearance of a good person, but the looks are deceiving. Ryo is actually violent, crazy, and a jackass who seems to only care for Ryo, since they have a history together. He has the goal in researching demons, but as the story progresses, you begin to question what his goals really are as he begins to initiate harm to humans. Which I find really interesting. You can see how Ryo changes as he inflicts fear into humanity when he introduces demons and that any human can be a demon.

The thing that gets me the most in Devilman is the portrayal of humanity, once shit hits the fan. We are taught that demons are supposed to be evil creatures and angels/god are meant to be holy and pure. But in the second half of the show, Devilman Crybaby likes to shun out that idea. The fine line between who is good and who are bad become thinner and thinner as humanity looses control. In episode 9, humanity distrust in each other has resulted in them killing each other without thought. The messed up part is that friends turn on each other, and they take pride in it. Like when Hie and Babo cheer as they hold up Wamu and Gabi's body parts up on poles. In this case, evil has won over humanity.

The show really likes to play the idea that everything can be evil, or at least have a malicious intent. Humans, demons, and even god himself have a little evil in them.

So, the reason I think that even god as darkness in him is how he handles the everything as the earth is flipped on its head. The thing is, God does nothing. He sits idly by as humanity tears itself apart, while the war between Devilman and Demons continue to destroy the world. Only when there is Satan left standing, does God finally take action and destroy Satan. The same action that destroyed earth, which becomes the second moon. The same action that destroyed the first earth, and becomes the first moon. By no means was God meant to be portrayed as a saint in this show.

Now, some negatives I have about the show are its side characters, Miko and Koda. Koda changes sides, and were given to context as to why, and we're never given a reason why because he dies soon as he sees Akira again. Miko had a side story that could have been interesting, but nothing happened with it. Which is disappointing since Miko doesn't really do anything when she becomes a Devilman, other than the fact that she "helps" Miki, and her character is just.... there as a fill in.

Side note: That scene when Noel sees Tare eat his mother, Akiko, was extremely well done. Best scene imo.

Jan 22, 2018 2:04 AM

artemis37

Offline

Sep 2013

641

This series was absolutely bittersweet for me. I started out having hope that things would turn out well, which then turned into my heart breaking in half, and eventually I had on idea what I should believe in anymore. It was a pretty good display on how horrible humans can truly be in a dire situation, but aside from that, I think I kind of missed the points at the very end.

Nevertheless, I've enjoyed recommending this to people as a series that is very hard to stomach, isn't nearly as "safe" as other anime, and is made in such a bad taste that it manages to form it's own image from that. Everything that can go wrong, does go wrong, and I appreciate it for that. Not every series needs a good ending.

Also shoutout to the soundtrack, which now haunts me because of the nature of the story.

artemis37Jan 22, 2018 6:14 AM

See All Discussions

» Seven Deadly Sins S2 Episode 3 Discussion Thread InducedPhobia - Jan 27, 2018	5	by AthenaEnoshima »» Feb 12, 2018 12:08 PM
Sticky: » Seven Deadly Sins S2 Episode 4 Discussion Thread InducedPhobia - Feb 3, 2018	3	by AthenaEnoshima »» Feb 12, 2018 11:58 AM
» The Seven Deadly Sins S2 Episode 2 Discussion InducedPhobia - Jan 20, 2018	5	by AthenaEnoshima »» Feb 11, 2018 11:52 AM
» The Seven Deadly Sins S2 Episode 1 Discussion InducedPhobia - Jan 12, 2018	4	by AthenaEnoshima »» Feb 11, 2018 11:15 AM
» Anime Pitch ProjectSeoul - Feb 7, 2018	0	by ProjectSeoul »» Feb 7, 2018 9:20 PM

Devilman: Crybaby Series Discussion

More topics from this board

» Seven Deadly Sins S2 Episode 3 Discussion Thread

Sticky: » Seven Deadly Sins S2 Episode 4 Discussion Thread

» The Seven Deadly Sins S2 Episode 2 Discussion

» The Seven Deadly Sins S2 Episode 1 Discussion

» Anime Pitch

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters