Devilman Crybaby

I typically don’t watch anime. In fact, the amount of anime shows I completed is less than 10. However, after countless mentions by my friend, I decided to give this series a go. After all, there were only 10 episodes that were roughly 22 minutes long, this was baby food.  *If only I had known what I was getting myself into.  * Devilman Crybaby centers around a sensitive boy named Akira Fudo being enlisted by his friend Ryo Asuka (who he hasn’t seen in 10 years) to fight the demons who threatened humanity. However, Ryo goes about doing this by having Akira merge with a demon and thus, Devilman is born.  This is essentially the gist of what happens, but oh man, this is only a taste.  Devilman Crybaby was just a fucking rollercoaster of chaos and emotion that goes far beyond what I had mentioned before. To say that Akira got more than what he bargained for is an understatement. Yet, it’s one of the most tragically beautiful stories I have ever seen. The pacing never feels slow or fast, the characters have this depth to them that you legitimately care for each and single one, especially Akira, who despite transforming into this demon, is more human than many of the characters we encounter throughout the series. And while the show does show the typical “humanity is just as bad than ____” it does so in a way that also highlights the points where humanity can be good. But of course, everything goes to shit in the end.  Episode 9 however, is the one that fucking broke me. It’s traumatic and it’s post credits is legitimately the fucking cherry on top. Brace yourself. (Even now as I write this, I’m getting emotional.)  As for Crybaby’s ending, it’s truly some of the darkest shit I’ve seen, but at the same time it’s so damn fitting and it really just has that endpoint that expanding it further would really just ruin the whole thing. (Trying not to spoil because it’s just something that you need to see, but if you read the manga, then you know what I’m talking about) One thing that did bother me though was the sexualization of the characters. Why? Well it’s because the characters are roughly 16. 1-fucking-6. It’d be another thing if they were older but the amount of nudity and sex scenes that occur as the age they were depicted was just gross. Aside from that glaring observation, Devilman Crybaby was a near masterpiece. If you didn’t finish it in one sitting then I assure that you will finish it in two. I know it isn’t movie but damn it, it’s still worth talking about. You may not be prepared for what may come, shiiit, you may not ever recover from the ending (I probably won’t), but one thing’s for certain...*you’re in for a wild ride. *