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This article is about the media franchise. For other uses, see Devilman (disambiguation).
Devilman (デビルマン Debiruman) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai which originally started as an anime adaptation of the concept of Nagai's previous manga series, Mao Dante. A 39-episode anime TV series was developed by Toei in 1972 and Nagai began Devilman as a manga in Kodansha's Shōnen Magazine, barely a month before the TV series started. The series has since spawned numerous other anime, manga, novels and films.
[edit] Series backgroundDevilman evolved from Go Nagai's previous manga, Demon Lord Dante, after Toei Animation approached Go about turning Dante into a television series. The producers wanted certain elements toned down, and a more human-like anti-hero created. Devilman was born as a result of this; Go Nagai worked on the anime's scenario along with Masaki Tsuji, a well-known anime scenario writer (who later worked on such series as Captain Future, Urusei Yatsura, and Dr. Slump) and a highly successful and regarded novelist of several mystery fictions. Along with the television series, Devilman was also produced as a serialized manga in Shukan Shōnen Magazine over 53 issues beginning in 1972. Go Nagai designed the manga to be more horror-like and mature than the anime version, making it similar in tone to Mao Dante. It was later reprinted in a five-volume series, and has enjoyed over a dozen reprints and in five different languages. The manga's occult horror elements, extreme violence, and complex apocalyptic story line made it an instant hit. [edit] PlotA long time ago, the Earth was ruled by demons. The demons constantly fought each other for survival, but soon found themselves fighting a new race of beings: The first humans. The demons then became imprisoned in ice after a great cataclysm. They would remain there until the ice melted, after which it was said Satan would rise and lead them in Armageddon. That time has come in Go Nagai's Devilman. Devilman is about a teenager named Akira Fudo. At first, Akira is very modest and gentle, avoiding conflict. When his parents are lost on a business trip in the Antarctic (or the Arctic), Akira goes to stay with his childhood friend Miki Makimura; both soon form a close relationship as the story progresses. Miki, a tough, smart, self-sufficient girl, loves Akira but wishes that he would stand up for himself when he gets pushed around, and is frustrated by his lack of backbone. She often has to defend herself from bullies even when Akira is with her; in the OVA, she saves Akira from a gang of bullies who are threatening him. (In the manga, Ryo Asuka rescues Akira and Miki by pulling a gun on the bullies to frighten them off.) One day, Akira's best friend, Ryo Asuka, asks a favor and completely changes Akira's life. Ryo's father had discovered the existence of demons when he found a mask during an excavation of the ruins of an ancient Mayan temple. This mask turned out to be a fossilized demon skull, which showed whomever wore it what the world was like when demons ruled over it. Ryo shows Akira this and informs him about the demons' revival. Akira then sees Ryo's plan: "To fight a demon, one must become a demon." Demons have the ability to possess and control humans. However, Ryo believes that people like Akira may be able to harness a demon's powers when possessed, due to the fact that Akira has a pure heart. Ryo takes his friend to a nightclub and picks a fight to draw demonic attention to the club. His ploy succeeds: Demons possess the clubbers and threaten Ryo and Akira, until Akira is possessed by Amon the Lord of War, also called the Beast of Hell, and also one of the strongest demons. This possession causes Akira to transform into Devilman. Devilman contains the strength and power of the demon Amon, as well as the heart and soul of the human Akira Fudo, giving Akira complete control. After he becomes Devilman, Akira is no longer timid and shy: he becomes very aggressive and no longer lets anyone push him around. This change pleases Miki, although she is unaware of Akira's new-found powers (although in the TV series, she often has to step in to stop Akira when his temper gets out of control, and it is revealed that she knew of Akira's identity as Devilman in the CB Chara Go Nagai World OVA, due to secretly reading the manga offscreen). Throughout the manga and anime, Devilman has many battles with the demon hordes. He encounters many foes such as Sirène (also called Sirene, Silene, Siren, Siron and Shirenu) the demon bird (she was also Amon's lover before he possessed Akira), the water demon Geruma (also called Gelmer), a large turtle-like demon called Jinmen, Welvath, Kaim, Zannin, Zan, Zenon (Zenon is basically Satan's right hand, and one of the strongest demons), Psycho Jenny (also called Psycho Genie), Lala (a demon in the TV series who transformed herself into a beautiful young woman and attempted, unsuccessfully, to seduce Akira), and Saylos (Saylos is one of the main villains in the movie Amon: Apocalypse of Devilman). In the manga, the story ends with Akira discovering that his friend Ryo is really Satan in a dormant state. After Miki and her whole family are brutally slain by a paranoid human horde (in a particularly famous scene, Akira retrieves Miki's dismembered body from her burned house and later is seen holding her head in his arms), the final fight between Devilman and Satan ensues. The Earth is totally destroyed during this battle, and Devilman dies at the hands of Satan. In the anime, Devilman's identity as a real demon is exposed to Miki, but she accepts that she is in love with Devilman, even if he is not human. Zenon keeps lurking in the shadows and ready to attack again. [edit] Media[edit] The TV seriesThe anime series was 39 episodes long and ran from July 8, 1972 to March 31, 1973 on NET (now TV Asahi),[1][2] although in reality the series ended in April 7, 1973 in local stations.[3][4] The series sported some differences from the manga (the character of Ryo Asuka wasn't created until Go started working on the manga after he finished working on the anime), but was still very popular. Both the anime and the manga also vary on the ending; while the anime series had a bittersweet open-ended finale, the manga had a tragic ending. Rather surprisingly given its level of violence, the Devilman TV series was also broadcast on TV in Italy in 1983 by Euro TV,[5][6] and also became extremely popular there. [edit] Differences between the manga and the TV seriesThe storyline of the TV series is markedly different from that of the manga and of the OVAs.
[edit] TV anime episodes
[edit] Home video (TV anime)The whole series was released in VHS (two times) and LD formats by Toei Video during the 1980s. The first VHS collection of 4 volumes did not include all episodes, but the second one of 13 volumes did. The whole series was also released by Toei in DVD format two times, the first one as a DVD box in September 21, 2002[8][9] and later in two-discs releases through 2004.[10] [edit] Staff and production notes
[edit] Devilman mangaThe manga was originally published by Kodansha from June 11, 1972 to June 24, 1973 in Shonen Magazine.[12][13][14] The series has been published in tankōbon format several times, most of them by Kodansha (with the exception of the ebook format, published by ebookjapan),[15] and some special editions).[16] Starting the 1987 publishing, most Kodansha editions include, as part of the volumes, the manga Shin Devilman (which originally was not meant to be included in the canon of the original series).[17]
*This is the only edition that has been officially translated into English completely, although it was not released outside of Japan. The translation was done by Jeffrey Playford.
The manga has also been published along with Cutie Honey in the magazine Gekkan Kanzenban Devilman x Cutie Honey (月刊完全版デビルマン×キューティーハニー gekkan kanzenban debiruman x kyūteī hanī, Monthly complete edition Devilman x Cutie Honey) published by JIVE during 2004,[18][19] in order to take advantage of the release of the live-action films of both series. [edit] Releases outside JapanOutside of Japan, Devilman has been published in France, Hong Kong, Italy, South Korea and Taiwan. In France, it was published in 1999-2000 by Dynamic Visions, translated by Federico Colpi;[20] in Hong Kong it has been published twice, one in 1993 and the other in 1999[21] and the Taiwanese edition is also available there; in Italy it has been published three times, the first time from 1991 to 1993 by Granata Press, the second time in 1996 by Dynamic Italia and the last time by d/visual from 2004 to 2005;[22] and in Taiwan, it was published by d/visual taipei in 2005.[23] There is also a publication called Go Nagai's Devilman: The Devil's Incarnation published in 1986 by Dynamic Production for the US. It contains chapters from the first Tankobon and it was translated by Willard Carroll with David Lewis.[24] It is the only official version of the original manga published for the US. [edit] Mazinger Z Vs. Devilman (movie)Main article: Mazinger Z Vs. Devilman A crossover film between Devilman and Mazinger Z produced by Toei and released in July 18, 1973[25]. The movie features alternate versions of the events from both series, and is therefore not canonical to either one. [edit] Shin Devilman (manga)Shin Devilman (新デビルマン shin debiruman, New Devilman) was originally published in Kodansha's Shonen Magazine Special in May 25, 1979, January 25, 1980, September 15, 1980, March 6, 1981 and May 8, 1981. All chapters were drawn by Go Nagai, but the first chapter was written in collaboration with Masaki Tsuji, while chapters two and three were written by Hiroshi Koenji.[26] The rest of the chapters were done by Nagai. The manga is sometimes known as Devilman 2 and (incorrectly) Neo Devilman.[17] The genre of this manga is mainly a historical fiction. In this manga, Akira and Ryo, for some mysterious reason, travel to different epochs and places from the human history in order to stop demons from causing hate between humans and thus make humanity destroy itself. In the first chapter they met a young Adolf Hitler, in the second the French heroine Joan of Arc, in the third the goddess Nike, in the fourth Marie Antoinette and in the last chapter the Cheyenne and Custer. A title-less oneshot, which is not originally part of Shin Devilman, but that has always been compiled along with the series in tankobon, was published in the magazine Variety by Kadokawa Shoten.[26] This 16 pages-story does not have any text and it presents the moments of Akira after the death of Miki in the original series, but before the battle with Satan, as he buries the remains of Miki and encounters Ryo. The manga was partially released in a colored version in the US in 1995 by Glenn Danzig under his label Verotik under the title Devilman.[17][21][24] The manga has also been published in Italy by d/visual where it is known as Devilman: Time Travellers.[27] [edit] Devilman (OVAs)Two original video animations (OVAs) based on the manga were produced. The first one titled Devilman: Tanjo Hen (デビルマン 誕生編 debiruman tanjō hen, translated and known as Devilman: The birth) was released in November 1, 1987 by King Records,[28][29][30] while the second one, called Devilman: Yocho Sirène Hen (デビルマン 妖鳥シレーヌ編 debiruman yōchō shirēnu hen, translated as Devilman: The bewitching bird Sirène) known in English-speaking countries as Devilman: The Demon Bird, was relased in February 25, 1990 by Bandai Visual.[28][29][31] Kazuo Komatsubara, the animation director on the original TV series, returned for the OVAs as character designer. Both of them were directed by Tsutomu Iida and were closely developed in conjunction with Nagai himself. The OVAs' plot revolves around Akira's transformation into Devilman up until his battle with Sirène. Besides a few minor alterations, the OVAs are faithful to the original manga. Both OVAs were released in Laserdisc format by Bandai with standard numbers BEAL-235 and BEAL-237 respectively. They were also released in a single DVD by Bandai Visual in March 28, 2003 with standard number BCBA-1570.[32] [edit] Releases outside JapanBoth OVAs were released in the U.S. during the mid-1990s on video by L.A. Hero, and in the UK and Australia by Manga Entertainment. Manga Video in the USA picked up Devilman after L.A. Hero's license expired in America. Manga Re-Released Devilman on DVD in the U.S. in 2000. The U.S. DVD release does not include the original Japanese audio track, whereas the series was released in both subtitled and dubbed form on VHS. The OVAs remain the only Devilman anime (barring the spinoff Devilman Lady) to have been commercially released in the United States. The OVAs were also released in Italy (where it was released first by Granata Press and some years later by Dynamic Italia), France (Manga Video) and the Netherlands (Manga DVD). [edit] Staff and production notes
[edit] Amon: The Apocalypse of Devilman (OVA)Main article: Amon: The Apocalypse of Devilman In 2000, Amon: Apocalypse of Devilman was released as a pay-per-view event in Japan and was later released on video and DVD. Perhaps the most violent of all the anime incarnations of the Devilman franchise, it covers the period between the humans becoming aware of demons and the final battle between Devilman and Satan. However, in this version, rather than battling Satan, Akira is forced to face his literal "inner demon", Amon, in the final battle. [edit] NovelsThree novels have been released. The first one Shin Devilman (真・デビルマン shin debiruman, True Devilman) was written by Go Nagai's brother Yasutaka Nagai with illustrations by Go. It was originally published in 1981 by Asahi Sonorama in four books.[34][35] It is not related to the manga Shin Devilman, from which some chapters were also written by Yasutaka. With the release of the first OVA, in 1987 a single volume novel based on it was released by Kodansha. Title Shin Video Shosetsu - Devilman: Tanjo Hen (新ビデオ小説 デビルマン 誕生編 shin bideo shousetsu debiruman tanjou hen), this one was also written by Yasutaka Nagai but it had illustrations by the OVA main designer, Kazuo Komatsubara.[34] In 1999 a second novelization of 4 volumes was published by MediaWorks and once again written by Yasutaka and illustrated by Go. The title of this novel is Devilman: The Novel (デビルマン The Novel).[34][35] All three series of novels are unrelated to each other even though all were written by the Yasutaka Nagai.
[edit] MusicAll series of Devilman have generated music available in gramophone records and CDs. The anime has generated the following records and CDs
Some of the songs are also included in several anime collections, both from Nagai-related series and other series. The OVAs have generated the next albums.
Other albums also include several Devilman-themed songs and dramas which aren't based solely on the TV anime or the OVAs.
The live-action film also released a couple of CDs.
[edit] Video gamesA video game based on Devilman was released by Namcot in 1989 for the Family Computer.[36] It is an action RPG where the player takes control of Akira Fudo. The objective is to follow the clues that will lead the heroes through a ruined city, into underground caves, around a hidden military base and finally into a confrontation with Zenon. There are three possible endings in the game.[37] Another video game titled Devilman was published by Bandai for the Sony PlayStation in April 13, 2000.[38][39] The game was also adapted for Windows 98. Another game titled Akuma Suzume: DevilMahjong (悪魔雀～デビルマージャン～ akuma suzume debirumājan) was released in July 13, 2001 by the Japanese company O2 for Windos 95 and up[40][41]. The game called Devilman Typing Soft ~Akuma Uchi~ (デビルマンタイピングソフト～悪魔打ち～) was also released for Windows 95 and up in June 28, 2002 by Kodansha.[42][43] Devilman has also appeared in other games. Along with several other Nagai's creations, he appeared in the Japanese Super Famicom video game CB Chara Wars: Ushinawareta Gag (ＣＢキャラウォーズ 笑われたギャーグ cb kyarauōzu warawa reta gyāgu) published by Banpresto in 1992.[36][44] The character also appeared in the NEC PC-9801 video game Super Erection Taisen S·EX (スーパーエレクト大戦S・EX sūpā erekuto taisen) published by Dynamic Production in January 12, 1995,[45] in the Japanese PlayStation video game Click Manga Dynamic Robot Taisen 2: Kyofu! Akuma Zoku Fukkatsu (クリックまんが ダイナミックロボット大戦２ 恐怖！悪魔族復活 kurikku manga dainamikku robotto taisen 2 kyōfu! akuma zoku fukkatsu) published by Tokuma Shoten in December 16, 1999,[46][47] and in October 24, 2003 in the GBA videogame Legend of Dynamic Goushoden: Houkai no Rondo (レジェンド オブ ダイナミック 豪翔伝 崩壊の輪舞曲 rejiendo obu dainamikku gōshōden hōkai no rinbu kyoku) published by Banpresto.[48][49] [edit] Live-action filmIn October 9, 2004, a tokusatsu Devilman movie directed by Hiroyuki Nasu using CGI effects was theatrically released in Japan.[50] However, it was universally disliked in Japan, even by Devilman fans.[citation needed] It won the Grand Prize in Japan's Bunshun Kiichigo Awards (the Japanese version of the Razzie Awards, which are given to the worst movie of the year).[citation needed] [edit] Home videoThe film generated three DVD packages. The first one, DEVISUAL ver.0 Devilman Kaitai Shinsho -Sirène Hen- (DEVISUAL ver.0 デビルマン解体新書‐シレーヌ編‐ devisual ver.0 debiruman kaitai shinsho - shirēnu hen -), was released in September 24, 2004 (standard number DSTD-2246) and it consist of interviews and similar material. The next two were a regular edition of the film and a premium set, both released in April 21, 2005 (standard numbers DSTD-2411 and DSTD-2412 respectively). All were released by Toei Video.[51] The film was also released in DVD format in Australia by Eastern Eye in September 12, 2007 and in the US by Tokyo Shock / Media Blasters in 2007 (03 11).[52] It was also released in Brazil by Platina / Golden Filmes, in France by Warner Home Video, in Germany by Ufa, and other countries. [edit] Staff and production notes
[edit] Remakes and sequelsMany other manga titles were created later on including;
Several other books have been published dedicated to Devilman over the last 35 years. Go Nagai also released a manga series called Violence Jack. The series takes place during the aftermath of Armageddon and the battle between Satan and Devilman. In CB Chara Go Nagai World is revealed that Jack is Devilman. This series became an OVA anime in 1986, and was released in the U. S. sometime during the 1990s in an edited version by Manga Video and an uncensored release by Critical Mass. In 1997, Go Nagai created Devilman Lady (Devil Lady in the US). Devil Lady is based on Go Nagai's idea of "What if the main character was a woman?" The story takes a different approach to the story presented in its Devilman counterpart. In Devil Lady, a top model named Jun Fudo learns that she has the power to transform into a being known as a "devilman" or "Devil Beast". A mysterious woman named Ran Asuka shows up and explains to her that her "powers" or "gifts" are actually believed to be somewhat of a disease known as the "Devil Beast Syndrome". It is even stated that these "devilmen" are actually the next step in human evolution as a means of survival. The story became very popular and was made into an anime series in 1998. The series consists of 26 episodes and was released in the U. S. during late 2002 and early 2003. The Devil Lady series is very popular and contains its own original story that stands out from the Devilman series. At the end of the manga series, it is revealed that, as with Violence Jack, the world in Devilman Lady is in fact a re-created world by God after the Armageddon, and Jun is in fact the feminine side of Satan which has returned to Earth in order to bring back Devilman. The cast of Devilman, including Akira, Miki, Ryo Asuka, and Sirène, also crossed over with characters from Mazinger Z and Violence Jack in the 1991 OVA CB Chara Go Nagai World, also released in the Italian market as Il pazzo mondo di Go Nagai. This release featured the familiar characters in comical and lighthearted antics, in squashed-down "super deformed" form ("CB" in the title may refer to "chibi", a Japanese term meaning "runty" or "shrimpy", as well as "child body" as such double level English puns are popular in Japan). Also in this OVA series is revealed that Violence Jack is a future version of Akira Fudo, it is also revealed that Miki is an otaku, and it is also revealed that she knew of Akira's identity as Devilman, due to reading the manga offscreen. [edit] Popular reception and themesThe rich story line in Devilman, in the opinion of several readers of manga[who?], made it stand apart from other manga of the time. However, its extreme violence made it a major target of protest for the PTA and other groups. Still, the story has become a classic in Japan and has even been working its way through the U. S. over the past decade or so. The manga has been translated into English in a series of five bilingual manga volumes published by Kodansha,[53] although the only piece of Devilman anime to have been commercially released in America is the late 1980s OVAs. Interestingly, Go Nagai is said to have been highly shocked that his giant-robot work Mazinger Z, which was on Japanese TV at the same time as Devilman and which he originally did not take very seriously, far surpassed Devilman in popularity. The reason was that he had worked especially hard on Devilman and only made Mazinger as a way to blow off steam. In an essay written three decades after the debut of the original manga and TV series, Nagai commented that he designed Devilman as an anti-war work. According to Nagai, the fusion of humans and demons is an analogy for the draft, and Miki's gruesome death parallels the death of peace. "There is no justice in war, any war," wrote Nagai, "nor is there any justification for human beings killing one another. Devilman carries a message of warning, as we step toward a bright future." [See: http://www.devilworld.org/revelations.html. [edit] CameosAkira Fudo/Devilman and other characters from the series have shown up in cameo appearances numerous times in other Go Nagai works. Most notable is Tomoharu Katsumata's 1973 feature film Mazinger Z vs. Devilman (Majinga Z tai Debiruman), which featured Devilman teaming up with Nagai's titular robot to fight Dr. Hell. The original Devilman TV series itself featured cameos from Mazinger Z's Yumi Sayaka (a.k.a. "Jessica" in the American version, TranZor Z), in episodes 27 and 33. Miki is the first female protagonist of the 1974 manga Oira Sukeban, where she is the neighbor of Banji's family and Banji encounters her taking a bath while he is escaping from the wrath of his mother. Akira tries to protect her only to be easily defeated by Banji's mother. Miki gets in love with Banji but the next chapter Banji's family moves into another neighborhood. Akira has appeared in various incarnations of Cutie Honey, most notably the 1994 OVA New Cutie Honey. Episode one features gargoyles of Amon and other demons. Devilman appears as a guitarist in episode three, and Akira himself shows up later on to team up with Honey. In addition, the second opening sequence to the OAV featured a brief cameo of Akira fighting Sirène the Demon Bird. Hideaki Anno's Re: Cutie Honey featured cameos by Akira and Miki in their trademark clothing from the original TV series, as well as Himura, a villain from the TV series. Both Ryo and Akira make an appearance in several chapters of the manga Iron Virgin Jun, where they have an important role. Devilman and Miki appear in the manga Dynamic Heroes in their TV anime incarnations. Devilman also made a cameo appearance in one episode of Mahou Tsukai Chappy (a 1972 magical girl anime also made by Toei), in a scene in which one of the characters watches Devilman on TV. In Mao Dante, Zannin from the original Devilman TV Series appears. In the episode "The alliance strikes back" of the Voltron series, Devilman appears between some aliens who are staring at the torture of Prince Lotor. The original Devilman TV series and the original Japanese version of Lion Force Voltron (Golion) were both made by Toei Animation, and also shared a screenwriter (Susumu Takahisa). In the Devil Lady anime, "Takeshi", a minor character which has similar design and abilities to Akira, including a Devilman form, appears in the final episodes. [edit] References
[edit] External links
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