Devillady n. 12

Devil Lady #12

by Go Nagai

Yuda Hiraoka, misterioso leader di una setta segreta, richiama a sé tutti coloro che si stanno tramutando in Devil Beast nell'area di Tokyo con lo scopo di creare un vero e proprio esercito!'Nel frattempo una studentessa universitaria scopre che il suo amante nasconde qualcosa di terrificante, e decide di confidarsi con un suo compagno di studi famoso per il suo interesse nel sovrannaturale.'Questo studente è quel Ryo Utsugi che i lettori più appassionati hanno conosciuto in Mao Dante, il mitico manga che rappresenta il punto di partenza del mondo demoniaco di Go Nagai!'Ryo, da tutti soprannominato 'Dante' per la sua passione verso il poeta italiano, le spiega che quanto descritto nella Divina Commedia è la verità e che i demoni si preparano a invadere la Terra!'Sperando di scoprire qualcosa che dimostri le sue teorie, Ryo decide di aiutare la ragazza... Le pedine che si muoveranno nella battaglia finale sono ormai scese tutte in campo! Preparatevi a uno dei momenti più straordinari di questa eccezionale serie!

Genres: Manga

Paperback

First published February 23, 2000

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Killer of Dreams · Rating 2 out of 5]

The introduction of the separate devilman group, Dante, and the unrevealed nature of Asuka saved this volume from a pitiful battle between Jun and the the actor beast.

UPDATE 4/1/2019 - My review will remain at 3 stars. After having skimmed over it, I came to the following conclusions.

The battle between Jun and the actor beast was boring. More so, Jun's resistance to fight the actor beast initially, while the Defense Force soldiers were being killed seemed irrational and her pacifism towards not fighting beasts until they were determined to be beasts had not been explored and pushed to the point where she would allow Defense Force soldiers to die as the actor beast killed them. Dante is an alright character but his introducement, along with the unknown devilmen group, just gets pushed aside because of the battle. Asuka's wanderings seem pointless in this volume. What saves this volume is this mysterious devilman group, the mysterious angel figure that seems to control the H.A., and the advancement of the plot towards a beast apocalypse.

Rating Update 4/4/2019- 3 stars to 2 stars. The battle between the actor and Jun was too long drawn out. I enjoyed Jun's pacifism towards different parts of the battle but it didn't need to take 60 pages. Also, the rise of the church and their continued presence was ok. The actor arc and Dante's entrance was ok as well. I greatly enjoyed the smaller sections on the civil wars going on around the world against the beasts, as well as Jun's new home in the H.A. headquarters.

September 1, 2019
Update
With the adoption of my new rating system, a two star rating is befitting. The original review and rating updates conform to the new rating system. I have looked through my "Devilman Lady Abridged" folder to remind myself of this volume's content. The main reason behind the two star-rating is explained, not just in all the sections of this review, but especially the rating update form April 4, 2019. Thinking now about the volume, it's OK. The good parts are minimal compared to the rest of the two star-rated sections. In my "Goodreads Books" excel worksheet, I had written to change the rating back to a three star-rating, but I don't understand why. Everything previously mentioned seems to lead to a two star-rating.