Netflix’s Devilman Crybaby is a great step into anime for the streaming giant

I’ve been watching anime for a pretty long time (no comments from the peanut gallery, Editor in Chief Sean Aune). I’ve fallen off in recent years, but I go back long enough with the medium that I’ve watched fansubbed shows on VHS and rented some of my first anime from Blockbuster. I’ve watched anime studios and publishers come and go, and I was there for the original Sub vs. Dub wars. So it’s been with trepidation that I’ve watched Netflix tiptoe its way into anime. It’s with Devilman Crybaby that the company truly dives in, though, and it’s a hell of a start.

Yeah, I did that.

Devilman Crybaby is a modern re-imagining of one of anime’s oldest properties, Devilman. The character first came to life in a 1972 anime and has been adapted into manga, television show, and animated film a bunch of times since. For Japanese viewers and experienced anime fans, the character is nothing new. The anime tells the story of Akira Fudo, a gentle young man who must become a nightmare to save the world. He lives in modern-day Japan where his friend Ryo has discovered that demons live among us and are growing in strength by possessing humans. To fight them, a pure-hearted person needs to combine with a demon. Thus, the joining of Akira and Amon become Devilman, which sounds just a silly when said aloud as you think it does.

By helping to bring this show to life, Netflix is making a statement that I hope is indicative of the streaming giant’s intended direction with Japanese animation.

Devilman Crybaby is gorgeous

Crybaby is directed by Masaaki Yuasa, a modern legend in anime. If you look at the trailer above, you can already tell that this show doesn’t look like most other animation. It resembles it, but it doesn’t look like it used off-the-shelf parts like so many other shows do. Yuasa brings a unique visual flair to his shows. Characters move with a fluidity not present in other animation. They bend and twist in ways stock anime characters can’t. They look organic and alive.

And then when the horrifying beasts of Devilman come to life, the humans transform organically into unimaginable shapes. There are no sharp edges or truly straight lines in Yuasa’s style, and so so his characters can morph and change.

Yuasa is a bold director for a reboot and a bold choice as the director of Netflix’s first jaunt into anime co-production.

 

Article source: https://www.technobuffalo.com/2018/01/17/devilman-crybaby-netflix-anime/