Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

デビルマン [Devilman] #4

Devilman Def. Collection 4

Rate this book
"Devilman", opera fortemente influenzata dalla "Commedia" illustrata da Doré che riproponiamo nel formato originale di cinque tanko-bon.

208 pages, Paperback

First published July 10, 1973

5 people are currently reading
75 people want to read

About the author

Go Nagai

1,012 books141 followers
Kiyoshi Nagai (永井潔 Nagai Kiyoshi, born September 6, 1945 in Wajima, Ishikawa), better known by the penname Gō Nagai (永井 豪 Nagai Gō?), is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of science fiction, fantasy, horror and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with Meakashi Polikichi, but is best known for creating Cutie Honey, Devilman, and Mazinger Z in the 1970s. In 2005, he became a Character Design professor at the Osaka University of Arts. Since 2009, he is a member of Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize's nominating committee.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
170 (38%)
4 stars
171 (38%)
3 stars
82 (18%)
2 stars
19 (4%)
1 star
3 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
Profile Image for Devero.
4,976 reviews
April 11, 2020
Quanto poco tempo impiega l'umanità ad autodistruggersi guidata dal terrore e dal panico. Vicini di casa che si accusano di essere demoni, padri contro figlie, madri contro figli, e l'Unione Sovietica cancellata dalla stessa luce abbagliante che annientò la pentapoli sul Mar Morto e rese una statua di sale la moglie di lot.
E quanto poco può fare Devilman, per contrastare la fine del mondo che sta arrivando. Anche se sta riunendo un eterogeneo esercito di Devilman, non c'è apparentemente speranza.
Poca azione ma molte riflessioni, dialoghi e filosofia in questo tankobon.
Profile Image for Michael Sorbello.
Author 1 book314 followers
February 2, 2021
Once upon a time, demons invaded the world, wiping out all prehistoric creatures that once ruled the earth. After dominating all life, they ruled the world for many long years until the great ice age froze them in burials of ice deep down in the underworld. After the demons were lost to history, a new race called humans were born, and they became the new rulers of the world. Left undisturbed for thousands of years, the humans were ignorant of the threat of demons lurking just under their feet. In the modern age of technology, industrialization and political turmoil, the demons begin to rise once more, merging with corrupt humans to pollute the world with violence so they may rule once more.

Mankind’s only hope for salvation is to use the demons’ power against them, and only a pure-hearted man like Akira Fudo can do so without losing his humanity. Once, he was little more than a timid crybaby, but Akira now wields the terrible power of a devil, yet holds the innocent soul of a man; he is a Devilman. Akira gets dragged into a dark world of conspiracy, betrayal and bloodshed by his best friend Ryo. Ryo's father was a genius researcher of the occult who left many records and findings informing them of the oncoming demon invasion before he was possessed and took his own life. Now the two friends are the only ones with the power and the knowledge to save the world or lead it to its destruction.

Devilman has quite the legacy. It's very rough around the edges and it definitely shows its age with some stale dialogue, major pacing issues, one dimensional characters who react unrealistically, etc, but all of these things are to be expected since it was written in 1972 around the time when the medium was just beginning to find solid ground and can be considered the grandfather of all modern horror, dark fantasy and mature adult manga in general. It heavily inspired countess classic masterpieces and memorable modern tales such as Berserk, Attack on Titan, Gantz, Neon Genesis Evangalion, Parasyte, Death Note, Tokyo Ghoul, as well as the works of Junji Ito, Naoki Urasawa and Satoshi Kon. Hell, even many non-horror series have drawn inspiration from it such as Yu Yu Hakusho, Inuyasha and Dragon Ball. You could say that Devilman is to manga what Lovecraft is to modern horror.

Though it does struggle to move itself forward at times, the lore behind the demons, the origin of the main character merging with a powerful entity which is used in many modern series and the emotional climactic ending are all fascinating to see. The author also utilizes a lot of real-world literature to set the foundation of the plot and backstory. In the world of Devilman, the events of Dante's Divine Comedy and the Christian Bible are things that actually happened, it also brings in a lot of historical references and events such as the Salem Witch Trials, Black Sabbaths, WWII, race feuds, slavery and colonization. It's one of the first series that created the 'humans can be more cruel, terrifying and monstrous than actual demons, monsters and wild animals' plots that we've seen done thousands of times.

It's definitely a tad corny and poorly written in some places, but it's great to see where many modern storytelling tropes originated from and how it inspired so many of my all-time favorite series. The Netflix adaption Devilman Crybaby is also a very cool modernized retelling of the original story and I honestly prefer it over the manga a bit.

***

My Social Media

My YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPs...

My Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/michael_sor...

My Wattpad Account: https://www.wattpad.com/user/Michael-...
42 reviews
March 7, 2025
I demoni passano all’attacco fondendosi indiscriminatamente con gli esseri umani, consci di poter sfruttare in questo modo la loro più grande debolezza, ovvero la paura (“Le stesse armi sviluppate per proteggere l’uomo faranno la loro parte nell’estinzione del genere umano”). Fondendosi con un uomo dotato ancora di raziocinio, infatti, il diavolo è destinato a morte certa, soluzione che porta tuttavia a due vantaggi principali:
* la scoperta da parte della civiltà umana dell’esistenza dei diavoli che intendono prendere il controllo del pianeta Terra;
* la paura instillata in essi, destinati ad una possibile morte improvvisa o in alternativa a prendere parte ad un vero e proprio scontro mortale.

L’obbiettivo ultimo dei demoni, guidati dal re Zenon, é lo scoppio di una terza guerra mondiale in modo tale da sterminare gran parte della popolazione terrestre. Questa situazione instabile ma ormai critica viene prontamente risolta da Akira, deciso a proteggere quante più vite umane possibili (“Non è una stupida guerra per l’onore dell’uomo! … Io mi sono fuso con un demone per proteggere la vita delle persone.”). Tuttavia, Devilman viene presto catturato dai demoni, ma inaspettatamente liberato per volere dello stesso Satana.

Il volume si conclude con la scomparsa sulla faccia del pianeta Terra di regioni pacifiche: nazioni ostili sono ormai in guerra, mentre negli altri paesi scoppiano costantemente guerre civili. A peggiorare la situazione è l’istituzione di un corpo investigativo speciale contro i diavoli al fine di eliminare quelli penetrati nella comunità.

This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for eva.
236 reviews
November 25, 2023
Un altro volume strepitoso, con pochi scontri ma molti spunti riflessivi sulla natura della società e dei singoli uomini che la compongono. La storia si ripete e queste pagine ne sono la chiara dimostrazione, a partire dalla narrazione biblica fino ad arrivare ai riferimenti a degli eventi realmente accaduti nello scorso secolo. Tra il caos e la devastazione spicca la sensazione di impotenza di Akira, che sa che da solo non può fare nulla, sa che ha bisogno di altri Devilman come lui per portare l'umanità alla vittoria – come dice a Ryo in uno dei dialoghi che più mi hanno colpito, lui vuole combattere per salvare le vite degli uomini, non solo il loro onore. Un tocco di classe del volume sono anche i dettagli con cui Nagai stuzzica noi lettori, che ci portano inevitabilmente a delle nuove domande: perché Satana, il più grande fra i demoni, ha chiesto ai suoi sudditi risparmiare Akira? E perché tutte le ipotesi di Ryo si avverano sempre? Sono tutti dubbi che certamente troveranno risposta nel prossimo volume, l'ultimo di questa serie su cui ero tanto titubante ma che è riuscita a intrigarmi in un modo che non avrei mai immaginato.
Profile Image for Alfredo Sirica.
198 reviews5 followers
September 15, 2023
La Storia si ripete, l'umanità rischia sempre di soccombere alla propria ignoranza e irrazionalità. La paura tira fuori l'istinto e soppianta la ragione, oggi come nel secolo della caccia alle streghe.

Il volume più bello di Devilman fino ad ora, che riesca a criticare la società con arguzia e grande spirito d'osservazione.
Profile Image for Malum.
2,824 reviews168 followers
March 17, 2019
Imagine a Superman comic where Superman almost never shows up. That's what this volume of Devilman felt like. Devilman is barely in it and, instead, we are drowned in torrents of dialog and exposition.
Profile Image for Kurtis Burkhardt.
6,000 reviews51 followers
October 22, 2020
Really not that great of a manga series, everything is really crappy with this especially the story but the art keeps it interesting 😴😁👌
Profile Image for Samuele Sposito.
183 reviews2 followers
January 21, 2024
Probabilmente il volume più bello finora, più riflessivo e studiato, belle critiche e scorrevole.

4.5
Profile Image for Killer of Dreams.
181 reviews13 followers
March 1, 2020
This volume is bitter sweet. It finally allows for the manga to become a global conflict but there’s so many little issues that bothered me along the way. I felt as if the destruction after the first wave of demons is disregarded and demons and further demon attacks are nonexistent in the ensuing witch hunts. The news anchor spouts out government policies that are enacted and newspapers are still printed the next day. Pacing is another issue I found. There is a sporadic jump to Akira having rounded up devilmen and the formation of a laboratory with demon corpses. Other than these minor issues, the series is taking a turn for the better.

August 25, 2019
Update
With the adoption of my new rating system, a four star rating is befitting. The original review and original rating conform to the new rating system. I have looked at every page in this volume and find that all of the criticisms in the original review would now lower the rating of the volume to three stars, and my current feelings towards this book is a three star rating, but at the time of reading this volume, this global change change was great to read (four star-rated). I devoured this volume.

March 1, 2020,
Update
I have changed the color of the rating from red with a grey outline to grey with a grey outline. My only memory after having finished this book was that I had quickly read it, that I found it to be great (definitely to the extent of a four star-rating), and that I was eager to begin the fifth volume. Unfortunately, the review is full of sparse notes. I support the previous update's belief that the criticisms in the original review do not harm the rating. However, I am still unsure about large sections of the book even after having skimmed the volume for this update. I currently lean towards a four star-rating.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.