miscellanium (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
miscellanium) wrote2018-01-06 03:21 pm
miscellanium) wrote2018-01-06 03:21 pm
Entry tags:
thoughts on devilman crybaby so far
devilman spoilers, obviously
if you haven't watched through episode 6 of crybaby and/or read the original manga, stop here unless you don't care about spoilers.
there's something i find rather unsettling about the animation, but for a series like this that works. (it feels very...computer-generated? almost uncanny sometimes. and the more cartoony moments only serve to accentuate the feeling.)
i'm disappointed in miko's storyline. there's still four episodes for it to improve but as it is they made her a pretty generic basic bitch. they could have used her much-remarked-upon chest as a way to address the original idea of body insecurity but it seems to serve no purpose other than titillation. one of the most touching moments in the manga was when miko, terrified and ashamed of her own body, is saved by akira who tells her that even as a devilman (perhaps especially as one) she is beautiful. it's a small moment but it feels larger to me because of how personal and quiet it is among all the destruction.
speaking of basic bitches, miki is unrecognizable :/ she's basically "contemporary generic love interest" instead of being the vulgar and violent girl that makes her interesting as a character. like, she's okay in crybaby i guess, but she's not miki. i was fond of her in the manga because even though she tries to conform to social expectations there's still several times the "proper lady" facade drops, which felt like a rather genuine representation of a high schooler. again, there's time for her character to improve but i doubt it at this point.
i do like the updating of the thugs into soundcloud rappers, and they did a good job making koda sympathetic in a way that makes his ending even more tragic. i feel like his devil form could have been more freudian, lol, since that's a big part of the demon designs by go nagai, but it works well enough as is. something snake-like might have been better....?
sirene/silene also could have been handled better. i liked how they emphasized more of the past relationship with amon and the current relationship with kaim, since that was addressed in the amon manga but not in the original, and i feel like that was useful information to add. but akira raping her seemed unnecessary (i know, i know, violence jack and devilman lady, etc etc) because one of the main things of devilmain afaik is akira's striving to stay as human as possible until he hits That breaking point. so if he's already succumbing, i feel like that lessens the impact of what comes later--assuming it's represented in a similar way in crybaby. which i think it will, based on some interviews with yuasa that i've read.
...there's a lot more i could say about koda and other things in crybaby but i'd like to finish the series first to have all the possible context.
if you haven't watched through episode 6 of crybaby and/or read the original manga, stop here unless you don't care about spoilers.
there's something i find rather unsettling about the animation, but for a series like this that works. (it feels very...computer-generated? almost uncanny sometimes. and the more cartoony moments only serve to accentuate the feeling.)
i'm disappointed in miko's storyline. there's still four episodes for it to improve but as it is they made her a pretty generic basic bitch. they could have used her much-remarked-upon chest as a way to address the original idea of body insecurity but it seems to serve no purpose other than titillation. one of the most touching moments in the manga was when miko, terrified and ashamed of her own body, is saved by akira who tells her that even as a devilman (perhaps especially as one) she is beautiful. it's a small moment but it feels larger to me because of how personal and quiet it is among all the destruction.
speaking of basic bitches, miki is unrecognizable :/ she's basically "contemporary generic love interest" instead of being the vulgar and violent girl that makes her interesting as a character. like, she's okay in crybaby i guess, but she's not miki. i was fond of her in the manga because even though she tries to conform to social expectations there's still several times the "proper lady" facade drops, which felt like a rather genuine representation of a high schooler. again, there's time for her character to improve but i doubt it at this point.
i do like the updating of the thugs into soundcloud rappers, and they did a good job making koda sympathetic in a way that makes his ending even more tragic. i feel like his devil form could have been more freudian, lol, since that's a big part of the demon designs by go nagai, but it works well enough as is. something snake-like might have been better....?
sirene/silene also could have been handled better. i liked how they emphasized more of the past relationship with amon and the current relationship with kaim, since that was addressed in the amon manga but not in the original, and i feel like that was useful information to add. but akira raping her seemed unnecessary (i know, i know, violence jack and devilman lady, etc etc) because one of the main things of devilmain afaik is akira's striving to stay as human as possible until he hits That breaking point. so if he's already succumbing, i feel like that lessens the impact of what comes later--assuming it's represented in a similar way in crybaby. which i think it will, based on some interviews with yuasa that i've read.
...there's a lot more i could say about koda and other things in crybaby but i'd like to finish the series first to have all the possible context.