Netflix Anime Is The Darkest Ever Made
Have you ever misjudged an anime based on its title and ended up watching something that shakes you to your core? Admittedly, this is something that happens more often to me because my knowledge of anime history is shakier than, say, my knowledge of Star Trek (only keeping the most important trivia in this aging noggin). I mention this because I thought Devilman Crybaby would be a goofy show based on its name, but once I watched it on Netflix, I realized the truth: I just accidentally watched one of the darkest animes ever made.
Based On A Classic Series
Of course, if I was better versed in anime history, I might not have been quite as surprised. The 2018 Devilman Crybaby series effectively reboots the universe of the 1972 series Devilman, one which had already launched a number of anime spinoffs. This old-school franchise is so popular, in fact, that it had a three-episode OVA in 2015, crossing over with another highly popular anime franchise: Cyborg 009 VS Devilman.
The Existence Of Demons
What is Devilman Crybaby about, though? We follow the adventures of two high school friends, Akira and Ryo, with the latter revealing to his buddy the existence of demons walking the planet. Akira gains even more intimate knowledge of these monsters when he becomes a devilman (someone who can transform into a demon while retaining his humanity), but Ryo’s desire to expose the existence of these violent creatures may very well endanger the entire world.
A Modern Classic
When Devilman Crybaby was released on Netflix, it managed to impress critics in a big way. On Rotten Tomatoes, the show currently has a critical rating of 89 percent. It also has an audience score of 84 percent, making this one of those rare shows that managed to appeal to critics and general anime fans alike.
What makes Devilman Crybaby so impressive, though? For one thing, the anime feels modern in the best possible way, with text messaging and social media playing a major part in telling this story. That can sometimes be clunky onscreen (I never liked how the BBC’s Sherlock treated onscreen texting, for example), but this anime makes this an organic part of its storytelling that helps ground these fantastic events in our own mundane reality.
A Deep Storyline That Hits Complex Themes
Additionally, Devilman Crybaby will make you want to dust off your old psychology textbooks to fully appreciate how this show presents the casual bigotry of humanity. We see how dangerous actual demons can be, but we also see how much more dangerous humanity can be based simply on their fear that those around them may be secretly different.
You can effectively read the demon paranoia as a metaphor for real-life bigotry (many reviewers, for example, read the show as implicitly commenting on everything from homophobia to transphobia) or simply read it as good, old-fashioned human stupidity.
Experience It On Netflix
REVIEW SCORE
The final reason I loved Devilman Crybaby (and this probably says a lot about me!) is that it is remarkably bleak, going to some dark places and making you ponder some insanely heavy themes. Again, based on the “Crybaby” part of the title, I was expecting to watch something silly…something to put on while waiting for the next Demon Slayer arc.
What I got was an apocalyptic series that made me weep and gave me Sunday School flashbacks, and while that may not sound like a ringing endorsement, I love shows that take big swings and leave me thinking about their themes long after the credits have rolled.
Will you be similarly impressed by Devilman Crybaby, or will you get some demons to kill me for recommending something so bleak? The only way to find out is to stream it for yourself. Fair warning, though…this series gets so dark that you will need time to decompress when it’s all over.
