Sometimes Netflix makes a big deal of introducing a new original series, and sometimes programs just land unexpectedly in the recommendations lists of viewers with an affinity for the subject matter. Devilman Crybaby, a 10-part Japanese anime series directed by Masaaka Yuasa and written by Ichiro Okouchi that premiered on January 5, appears to be in the latter category. But don’t let the lack of hype fool you. If you can stomach the extreme visuals and neck-snapping tonal shifts, Devilman Crybaby will leave fans of contemporary adult-oriented animation wondering what the hell they just saw, mostly in a good way. If not, it’s a binge that will leave you wanting to purge.
The plot is a fairly straightforward boy-meets-demon, demon-possesses-boy, global-panic-ensues story arc that plays out over ten 30-ish minute episodes. Akira, a sensitive high school student, reconnects with a childhood friend, Ryo, who has, at age 16, become an internationally-recognized genius and media celebrity. Ryo takes Akira to an underground rave orgy to prove that devils walk among us, goes on a killing spree to set the devils loose, and ends up getting Akira partially possessed by a super-strong creature called Amon. This gives Akira new-found strength and confidence, along with the ability to transform into a giant horned, winged demon when the mood strikes him. However, unlike most victims of demonic possession, Akira retains his human soul, making him the ideal agent for Ryo’s crusade to expose and eliminate the threat that the devils pose to humanity. It also turns him into a track and field star at his high school, and propels the nerdy “crybaby” into the center of teenage angst and romantic intrigue.
That’s all in the first episode and a half. If it sounds like a roller coaster ride, just wait until it gets going. And simply summarizing the story doesn’t do justice to the visuals, especially in the first episode, which push the conventions of anime to the breaking point. The series settles into a more traditional style after that, but every so often breaks out the most eye-melting psychedelia seen on the small screen since the mid-90s heyday of MTV’s Liquid Television.
One of the most disconcerting aspects of Devilman Crybaby is how it turns on a dime from a typical supernatural-horror genre story into a much deeper, darker exploration of humanity, religion and the fragility of social institutions. In this, it mirrors last decade’s breakout anime hit Death Note (which Netflix adapted into an ill-conceived live-action original series in 2017), which also started out as a more or less domestic drama of a teen’s struggle to wield godlike powers and ended up as a taut thriller played out on a global scale.
Devilman Crybaby borrows some of that structure and a few story tropes, such as the aloof, impossibly-young genius who attempts to direct the action until he loses control of the situation. Both stories also feature a staggering body count, particularly among characters positioned to win the sympathy of the audience. But Devilman Crybaby ups the ante with lots of explicit sex and gore, plus a few characters who spontaneously bust out raps and rhymes (Note: when this happens, either read fast or keep a finger handy on the pause button, because the raps are in Japanese with English subtitles, and the lyrics are important to understand what’s going on in the episode).
Like Death Note and many other works of Japanese animation, Devilman Crybaby is based on a manga (Japanese comic story), in this case a classic work from the 1970s by mangaka Go Nagai. It had previously been adapted as a 39-part anime series in 1972, as well as into feature films in the late 1980s and a live action TV series in 2004. Though it has a huge following in Japan, Devilman remains largely unknown in the US, which means that most Netflix viewers will be completely unprepared for the escalating series of shocking twists that the plot takes in the final episodes.
Devilman Crybaby is absolutely not for kids, and may even put off fans of other sophisticated Netflix animated fare like Bojack Horseman who are not well-versed in the idiosyncrasies and obsessions of anime. But if you are a fan of the style, the property, or just an open-minded viewer ready to have your eyeballs melted and your brain torn open, click on episode one when it appears in your queue and take the ride.
