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Devilman: The Classic Collection #1
Devilman: The Classic Collection, Vol. 1
Go Nagai’s groundbreaking horror classic that inspired the genre for decades.
Hordes of demons, once thought entombed forever in the underworld, have now returned to Earth. Evil and corruption begin to seep into our world, as demons seize human hosts. Mankind’s only hope for salvation is to use the demons’ power against them–and only a pure-hearted man like Fudo Akira can do so without losing his humanity. Once little more than a crybaby, Akira now wields the terrible power of a devil, yet holds the innocent soul of a man–Devilman!
Hordes of demons, once thought entombed forever in the underworld, have now returned to Earth. Evil and corruption begin to seep into our world, as demons seize human hosts. Mankind’s only hope for salvation is to use the demons’ power against them–and only a pure-hearted man like Fudo Akira can do so without losing his humanity. Once little more than a crybaby, Akira now wields the terrible power of a devil, yet holds the innocent soul of a man–Devilman!
680 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
67 people are currently reading
1490 people want to read
About the author
Go Nagai
1,050 books144 followersKiyoshi 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
August 18, 2018
Fudo Akira was a sensitive boy, mocked by his classmates, until he merged with a devil. Until he became... Devilman!
Devilman: The Classic Collection Vol. 1 collects stories from Go Nagai's Devilman run in the 1970s in a sweet looking hardcover from Seven Seas Entertainment.
My dive into manga history continues with Devilman, tales of a teenage boy fused with a devil, battling demons that threaten mankind. It's a lot of fun. Akira has gory battles with all sorts of demons, some even in different points in earth's history.
I really like the character design on Devilman and the other demons. Go Nagai's art is ahead of the curve for the time period. The stories are a little simplistic at times but I wouldn't say the comics from the Big Two were much more complex in the early 1970s.
Nagai's art gives the carnage a little more impact when it happens. I showed my wife a child's severed head in a puddle of blood and said "It's drawn cutesy so it's okay, right?" Actually, one of the more interesting parts of my manga education is noticing the cultural differences. American comics from the 70s don't have people peeing themselves, breasts, naked hermaphroditic angels, tons of gore, or people using their eyebrows as weapons.
The Devilman character is like a hybrid of Hulk and Wolverine, a violent badass taking on other violent badasses. The mythology behind the demons and their role in human history was really interesting and I'll be interested to see how it pans out in volume two. The time travel stories seem to be from a different time period. I'm wondering if they were inserted in this volume according to where they fall in continuity. Again, I guess I'll find out in the next volume.
Devilman: The Classic Collection was an interesting dive into manga history. I'm on board for volume 2 when it drops. Four out of five stars.
Devilman: The Classic Collection Vol. 1 collects stories from Go Nagai's Devilman run in the 1970s in a sweet looking hardcover from Seven Seas Entertainment.
My dive into manga history continues with Devilman, tales of a teenage boy fused with a devil, battling demons that threaten mankind. It's a lot of fun. Akira has gory battles with all sorts of demons, some even in different points in earth's history.
I really like the character design on Devilman and the other demons. Go Nagai's art is ahead of the curve for the time period. The stories are a little simplistic at times but I wouldn't say the comics from the Big Two were much more complex in the early 1970s.
Nagai's art gives the carnage a little more impact when it happens. I showed my wife a child's severed head in a puddle of blood and said "It's drawn cutesy so it's okay, right?" Actually, one of the more interesting parts of my manga education is noticing the cultural differences. American comics from the 70s don't have people peeing themselves, breasts, naked hermaphroditic angels, tons of gore, or people using their eyebrows as weapons.
The Devilman character is like a hybrid of Hulk and Wolverine, a violent badass taking on other violent badasses. The mythology behind the demons and their role in human history was really interesting and I'll be interested to see how it pans out in volume two. The time travel stories seem to be from a different time period. I'm wondering if they were inserted in this volume according to where they fall in continuity. Again, I guess I'll find out in the next volume.
Devilman: The Classic Collection was an interesting dive into manga history. I'm on board for volume 2 when it drops. Four out of five stars.
June 14, 2018
This is a series that's showing every one of its years, largely in its depiction of what today we'd call toxic masculinity. (I just wanted to slap Miki for most of the first two chapters.) There's a fun, weird sensibility underneath the random homoerotic scenes and literal vagina dentatas, but mostly this is Go Nagai's special brand of horror schlock, with absurd monsters, insane violence, and the roots of a lot of shounen and seinen manga we see today. It's important in the grand scheme of manga as a medium, but it's also very much a part of the exploitative entertainment of the 1970s, and readers should be aware of that going in. (Plus the Hitler thing is...I'm still not sure how I feel about that chapter beyond "upset.")
Full Review (with extra coherency) eventually appearing on ANN.
Full Review (with extra coherency) eventually appearing on ANN.
October 26, 2018
Go Nagai wrote and drew it in 1972 and thank God there was no comic code in Japan at the time unlike America.
Today's many comics and manga can't hold a candle on Devilman, it's amazing. Akira Fudo let his best friend Ryo put a devil in him with a black sabbath rituel so he could fight against devils who recently started to awake from their ice age slumber, and they were humanities arch enemies, what preyed on humans. Only Akira had what it takes to control the devil inside him so he merged with a devil and with the devils powers, he fought against other devils. Akira and Ryo were demon hunters, and they didn't hunt just the devils of their time, they went back at time and fight against demons in all of human history. There was nudity in this manga, you will see angel and devil boobs everywhere lol human boobs too, just boobs everywhere lol the angels at the begining of the manga had both boobs and dengling dicks btw lol and it's very unforgiving towards the innocent (yeah Baby that's the stuff ! :D ) high amount of gore.
I think i managed to describe it by giving the minimum spoiler. This manga mostly loses point over the art, in some panels the anatomy of characters are good, but in some panels the proportions are wrong, it looks weird.
Today's many comics and manga can't hold a candle on Devilman, it's amazing. Akira Fudo let his best friend Ryo put a devil in him with a black sabbath rituel so he could fight against devils who recently started to awake from their ice age slumber, and they were humanities arch enemies, what preyed on humans. Only Akira had what it takes to control the devil inside him so he merged with a devil and with the devils powers, he fought against other devils. Akira and Ryo were demon hunters, and they didn't hunt just the devils of their time, they went back at time and fight against demons in all of human history. There was nudity in this manga, you will see angel and devil boobs everywhere lol human boobs too, just boobs everywhere lol the angels at the begining of the manga had both boobs and dengling dicks btw lol and it's very unforgiving towards the innocent (yeah Baby that's the stuff ! :D ) high amount of gore.
I think i managed to describe it by giving the minimum spoiler. This manga mostly loses point over the art, in some panels the anatomy of characters are good, but in some panels the proportions are wrong, it looks weird.
November 12, 2018
I came to this expecting not to get past the first few pages and ended up enjoying it quite a bit. It's wall-to-wall nudity and violence, for sure, but it also is oddly charming and earnest.
November 29, 2024
Nadspodziewanie dobrze się bawiłem. Nie zestarzało się najlepiej w niektórych aspektach, ale traktuję tę mangę czysto kampowo i w tych kategoriach się sprawdza.
June 13, 2021
Outdated to say least. You'll have more fun reading devilman G or watching devilman crybaby. This was okay at best.
June 10, 2025
Another 70s gem. Characters are somewhat unrealistic at times (and most are just ciphers), but the quick, hard-hitting pace and gruesome artwork make up for the flaws. A lot of the art is reminiscent of Disney's Night On Bald Mountain, and the story takes inspiration from a lot of Biblical concepts and both Milton's and Dante's work (one of the characters even mentions The Divine Comedy at some point). And, in turn, Devilman goes on to become the main inspiration for more recent manga like Parasyte and Berserk, in addition to being the basis for the Shin Megami Tensei games (among many other titles, surely). It's cool to see that this is the place where it all stems from.
Story is straightforward (almost to a fault but never trips itself up), art is solid and much gorier than I expected. This is a work that revels in its twistedness, a pure pulpy horror manga through and through. Nagai is an expert when it comes to depicting terror and violence, even tossing in some fright-inducing twists that heighten the more disturbing scenes.
The two main characters develop the most throughout the series and it's fascinating to see how their paths intertwine and diverge as their world progressively sinks into hellish territory. And though there tends to be a lot of exposition dumps that give us a deeper look into the devils themselves, it's largely forgivable since the story wraps up in five volumes and the artwork is powerful. Highly recommend this one to any fans of horror.
Story is straightforward (almost to a fault but never trips itself up), art is solid and much gorier than I expected. This is a work that revels in its twistedness, a pure pulpy horror manga through and through. Nagai is an expert when it comes to depicting terror and violence, even tossing in some fright-inducing twists that heighten the more disturbing scenes.
The two main characters develop the most throughout the series and it's fascinating to see how their paths intertwine and diverge as their world progressively sinks into hellish territory. And though there tends to be a lot of exposition dumps that give us a deeper look into the devils themselves, it's largely forgivable since the story wraps up in five volumes and the artwork is powerful. Highly recommend this one to any fans of horror.
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 countless classic masterpieces and memorable modern tales such as Berserk, Attack on Titan, Gantz, Neon Genesis Evangelion, 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.
***
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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 countless classic masterpieces and memorable modern tales such as Berserk, Attack on Titan, Gantz, Neon Genesis Evangelion, 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-...
November 14, 2021
That was some wild storytelling. Overall I enjoyed the story and was entranced by the artwork, but there are some things I just can't get over, specifically the time traveling. Go Nagai's plotting in Devilman often left me scratching my head, and I'm still wondering why he felt the need to include Hitler in the story. Choices were made, that's all I know.
August 1, 2018
I'm definitely ashamed I didn't get around to reading this until after having seen Devilman Crybaby. In fairness, I'd thought I'd started reading it years ago, like in 2007, when I was trying to explore the shonen demographic of action anime outside the VIZ-published hits like Dragon Ball and Naruto and things. I remember reading a few pages of some Devilman variant, seeing tits in the first few pages, and moving on to read something else, afraid I'd be caught looking at nudity. But then, this was in the same era when I'd read I"s and Strawberry 100% because I was intrigued by the "mature content" labels on the front of each volume's cover. So whatever. Anyway, I think I was reading Devilman Lady or something way back then, since I don't remember it looking quite like the first chapters here.
I guess that's a weird thing about this collection, by the way. The first chapter presented here, "The Great War of the Gods," is apparently an addition for the "deluxe edition" of the original Devilman manga, upon which this "Classic Collection" is based. The chapter is about 40 pages in length, with plenty of those pages in full color, showcasing the "beauty" of Nagai's artwork, to its fullest extent (I put "beauty" in quotation marks because the highlight of the chapter is the grotesque nature of many of the demons, not traditionally beautiful stuff). This sets up some of the lore behind the series, and is overall a fantastic addition, but it kinda disturbs the flow of the manga, postponing the time when we'd finally meet our protagonists Akira and Ryo. As far as it works for a published book, this chapter succeeds in setting up the rest of the narrative's events, but it feels weird knowing the manga was originally serialized, wherein an introductory chapter such as "The Great War" would make no sense in the pages of Shonen Magazine. But that's just a personal issue - I like to see manga volumes as compilations of issues previously published in magazines, with narrative cohesion and coherence based accordingly. "The Great War" is thus kinda wonky in that respect.
The biggest issue regarding this release is the inclusion of four chapters of the Shin Devilman miniseries. Before I knew what Shin Devilman was, I thought Go Nagai just shit himself and started throwing in random "monster of the week" episodes about Akira and Ryo time-traveling to kill demons, just for padding or something. The only significance I saw was that the narration mentioned how it was Ryo who somehow initiated the time-travel, foreshadowing the reveal of his true identity, to be uncovered in the second half of the Classic Collection. Otherwise, this sequence was almost wholly nonsensical. After the fight against Sirene, demons sneak into Miki's house to repair everything before other humans notice their actions, covering their tracks so they might continue to lay low until their intended uprising. Afterward, it seemed Akira just started living with Ryo for no specifically-stated reason. I obviously attempted to read between the lines, deciding that Akira moved away in order to protect Miki, but it turned out these chapters were actually written seven fucking years later, and were simply wedged into the middle of the series, for who knows what reason. That isn't to say they are all too bad. The first one, concerning Joan of Arc, really hammers in the "war is bad" theme of the main Devilman series, with Joan abducted by demons and tried for the crime of trying to end the Hundred Years' War. I kinda actually agreed with everything the demons were saying, but maybe I'm just too right-wing for post-war Japanese fiction. Anyway, there was some strange poignancy about how Joan was saved from her trial in order to later follow the true course of history and get burned at the stake. The Marie Antoinette chapter was kinda too similar to the Joan of Arc one, but I respect how it doubly hammered in the same themes, setting up the battle between humans, demons, and devilmen in later chapters. The Hitler chapter of Shin Devilman is just fucking hilarious. The Nike one is very weak, expecting the reader to care that a demon is in love with the spirit of Amon dwelling within Akira's heart, which was done better in the entire book-length Sirene chapter.
As for the chapters of the actual Devilman manga, they have their ups and downs. The second chapter of this volume, following "The Great War," seems to be the entirety of Volume 1 of the original manga. Ryo spends dozens of pages delivering an info-dump, but the pay-off with the birth of Devilman in the nightclub makes it all worthwhile. Afterward is another full volume of material, this time covering the harpy Sirene and her henchmen Agwel and Ghelmer, sent to attack Miki and her family in order to get to Akira, whose body houses the spirit of Amon, whom Sirene appears to love. Devilman makes short work of the lesser demons, before engaging in combat with Sirene herself. The fight ends up involving Ryo, bringing him closer into the battle against the demons. In order to defend his friend, Akira/Devilman brutalizes Sirene, ripping her body to pieces as she likewise fucks him up. As a last ditch effort, Sirene's beta-orbiter Kaim offers his body to be fused with Sirene's in order to give her a little more life-force to help her survive the fight with Devilman. She ends up dying before killing Akira, the combination of her and Kaim's body frozen in a victorious pose, blissfully unaware of the apparent downsides to demonic fusion (even though "The Great War" says this is how demons naturally get stronger). Honestly, Masaaki Yuasa does this scene a wee bit better, since Kaim and Sirene are seen in human forms throughout the first handful of episodes of the Crybaby anime, not only setting up both characters a little more, but also really "selling" Kaim's love for Sirene and the novelty of demons being in love in general.
The best chapter here tells the story of Susumu, a friend of Miki's younger brother, who fears going home because he feels his mother is trying to kill him, claiming she's been siccing dogs on him, &c. Susumu and Miki's brother are eventually caught by Susumu's mother, toward whom Susumu acts bashful, telling Miki's brother he'd just been lying the whole time for fun, easily falling into the mother's trap. The chapter ends with Susumu waiting for his father to come home and save him from his possessed mother, only to learn his father's been replaced with a dog-headed demon, who kills Susumu. Unless I'm wildly mis-remembering, Devilman is completely absent from this chapter, with Nagai focusing instead on the smaller-scale implications of an encroaching demon threat, with particular interest in demons attacking people twice removed from Akira/Devilman (in the sense that Susumu is a friend of Miki's family, who are themselves friends of Akira).
The Jinmen chapter is okay, but it's hard to really care too much about the little girl when she's nonexistent before this chapter. The return of Akira's tears is a welcome development, but it kinda feels like this sort of thing is part of what Yuasa memed to death with his anime adaptation.
I guess that's a weird thing about this collection, by the way. The first chapter presented here, "The Great War of the Gods," is apparently an addition for the "deluxe edition" of the original Devilman manga, upon which this "Classic Collection" is based. The chapter is about 40 pages in length, with plenty of those pages in full color, showcasing the "beauty" of Nagai's artwork, to its fullest extent (I put "beauty" in quotation marks because the highlight of the chapter is the grotesque nature of many of the demons, not traditionally beautiful stuff). This sets up some of the lore behind the series, and is overall a fantastic addition, but it kinda disturbs the flow of the manga, postponing the time when we'd finally meet our protagonists Akira and Ryo. As far as it works for a published book, this chapter succeeds in setting up the rest of the narrative's events, but it feels weird knowing the manga was originally serialized, wherein an introductory chapter such as "The Great War" would make no sense in the pages of Shonen Magazine. But that's just a personal issue - I like to see manga volumes as compilations of issues previously published in magazines, with narrative cohesion and coherence based accordingly. "The Great War" is thus kinda wonky in that respect.
The biggest issue regarding this release is the inclusion of four chapters of the Shin Devilman miniseries. Before I knew what Shin Devilman was, I thought Go Nagai just shit himself and started throwing in random "monster of the week" episodes about Akira and Ryo time-traveling to kill demons, just for padding or something. The only significance I saw was that the narration mentioned how it was Ryo who somehow initiated the time-travel, foreshadowing the reveal of his true identity, to be uncovered in the second half of the Classic Collection. Otherwise, this sequence was almost wholly nonsensical. After the fight against Sirene, demons sneak into Miki's house to repair everything before other humans notice their actions, covering their tracks so they might continue to lay low until their intended uprising. Afterward, it seemed Akira just started living with Ryo for no specifically-stated reason. I obviously attempted to read between the lines, deciding that Akira moved away in order to protect Miki, but it turned out these chapters were actually written seven fucking years later, and were simply wedged into the middle of the series, for who knows what reason. That isn't to say they are all too bad. The first one, concerning Joan of Arc, really hammers in the "war is bad" theme of the main Devilman series, with Joan abducted by demons and tried for the crime of trying to end the Hundred Years' War. I kinda actually agreed with everything the demons were saying, but maybe I'm just too right-wing for post-war Japanese fiction. Anyway, there was some strange poignancy about how Joan was saved from her trial in order to later follow the true course of history and get burned at the stake. The Marie Antoinette chapter was kinda too similar to the Joan of Arc one, but I respect how it doubly hammered in the same themes, setting up the battle between humans, demons, and devilmen in later chapters. The Hitler chapter of Shin Devilman is just fucking hilarious. The Nike one is very weak, expecting the reader to care that a demon is in love with the spirit of Amon dwelling within Akira's heart, which was done better in the entire book-length Sirene chapter.
As for the chapters of the actual Devilman manga, they have their ups and downs. The second chapter of this volume, following "The Great War," seems to be the entirety of Volume 1 of the original manga. Ryo spends dozens of pages delivering an info-dump, but the pay-off with the birth of Devilman in the nightclub makes it all worthwhile. Afterward is another full volume of material, this time covering the harpy Sirene and her henchmen Agwel and Ghelmer, sent to attack Miki and her family in order to get to Akira, whose body houses the spirit of Amon, whom Sirene appears to love. Devilman makes short work of the lesser demons, before engaging in combat with Sirene herself. The fight ends up involving Ryo, bringing him closer into the battle against the demons. In order to defend his friend, Akira/Devilman brutalizes Sirene, ripping her body to pieces as she likewise fucks him up. As a last ditch effort, Sirene's beta-orbiter Kaim offers his body to be fused with Sirene's in order to give her a little more life-force to help her survive the fight with Devilman. She ends up dying before killing Akira, the combination of her and Kaim's body frozen in a victorious pose, blissfully unaware of the apparent downsides to demonic fusion (even though "The Great War" says this is how demons naturally get stronger). Honestly, Masaaki Yuasa does this scene a wee bit better, since Kaim and Sirene are seen in human forms throughout the first handful of episodes of the Crybaby anime, not only setting up both characters a little more, but also really "selling" Kaim's love for Sirene and the novelty of demons being in love in general.
The best chapter here tells the story of Susumu, a friend of Miki's younger brother, who fears going home because he feels his mother is trying to kill him, claiming she's been siccing dogs on him, &c. Susumu and Miki's brother are eventually caught by Susumu's mother, toward whom Susumu acts bashful, telling Miki's brother he'd just been lying the whole time for fun, easily falling into the mother's trap. The chapter ends with Susumu waiting for his father to come home and save him from his possessed mother, only to learn his father's been replaced with a dog-headed demon, who kills Susumu. Unless I'm wildly mis-remembering, Devilman is completely absent from this chapter, with Nagai focusing instead on the smaller-scale implications of an encroaching demon threat, with particular interest in demons attacking people twice removed from Akira/Devilman (in the sense that Susumu is a friend of Miki's family, who are themselves friends of Akira).
The Jinmen chapter is okay, but it's hard to really care too much about the little girl when she's nonexistent before this chapter. The return of Akira's tears is a welcome development, but it kinda feels like this sort of thing is part of what Yuasa memed to death with his anime adaptation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 22, 2023
It’s hilarious how much more detailed the first chapter is than the rest. That’s alright though, I dug the goofier 70s style. Not gonna lie, a few parts had me unintentionally laughing my ass off. But the horror elements still hit, despite how cheesy it was. Although it was exposition heavy at times, the lore was clever and intriguing. Something about biblical elements and demons in our modern world just hits the spot.
Some of the characterization surprised me, having seen Devilman Crybaby a few years ago (although I don’t remember every detail). Ryo seemed far more emotional rather than cold, although he still had psychotic tendencies (that I thought were fucking hilarious). The only thing I remembered about Miki was that she was nice in the show, but here she kind of a savage for no reason?? she really mouthed off a lot more than I remembered, and was weirdly turned on by traditional ideas of masculinity. I also found this jarring and fucking hilarious. I honestly preferred this version of the characters.
Note about this edition in particular:
One thing about this book is it for some reason spliced the spinoff Shin Devilman (which consists of time-travel historical oneshots) to the end. It was kind of a confusing choice, even though it’s in chronological order. These chapters were the worst part of the book, with the Hitler one being especially in bad taste. I wish this edition explained what these chapters were, because I was kind of confused and it interrupted the flow of the story. Regardless, the main story was very good!
Anyway, I am a little bit obsessed with this manga. The plot has insane twists and turns, the action is well-drawn, and the occasional memeable panel just adds to the appeal. The second volume escalates a lot, and doesn’t pull any punches whatsoever. Even if it’s dated, this manga is a wild ride!
Some of the characterization surprised me, having seen Devilman Crybaby a few years ago (although I don’t remember every detail). Ryo seemed far more emotional rather than cold, although he still had psychotic tendencies (that I thought were fucking hilarious). The only thing I remembered about Miki was that she was nice in the show, but here she kind of a savage for no reason?? she really mouthed off a lot more than I remembered, and was weirdly turned on by traditional ideas of masculinity. I also found this jarring and fucking hilarious. I honestly preferred this version of the characters.
Note about this edition in particular:
One thing about this book is it for some reason spliced the spinoff Shin Devilman (which consists of time-travel historical oneshots) to the end. It was kind of a confusing choice, even though it’s in chronological order. These chapters were the worst part of the book, with the Hitler one being especially in bad taste. I wish this edition explained what these chapters were, because I was kind of confused and it interrupted the flow of the story. Regardless, the main story was very good!
Anyway, I am a little bit obsessed with this manga. The plot has insane twists and turns, the action is well-drawn, and the occasional memeable panel just adds to the appeal. The second volume escalates a lot, and doesn’t pull any punches whatsoever. Even if it’s dated, this manga is a wild ride!
January 28, 2022
I liked the characters design and they seemed interesting. Unfortunately, this volume spent more time in battle sequences instead of developing them more. Hopefully, the next volume will reach a better balance between these aspects.
February 25, 2022
Yoo kocham to
November 14, 2019
My overall rating is based on the original manga only. I was very excited when the translation of this was announced, and I'm thrilled that it's finally in print in English.
Devilman is the story of Akira Fudo and his struggle with maintaining and defining his humanity after being fused with the demon Amon and gaining his powers. Akira fights with help from his friend Ryo to protect humans from demons who seek to take over the world and eradicate all humanity. The story is iconic and influential, but extremely dark and violent.
I have complicated opinions about Devilman. It's glaringly sexist (as much as I love the women in this, especially Miki), very sexual, insensitive about most topics, and hard to recommend to people. Much of Devilman's goal is to shock people and hold a mirror to the dark aspects of humanity. It was so different at the time and had a huge cultural influence. Despite its flaws, it's a very enlightening look at the origins of many of today's manga/anime/jrpg elements from Fullmetal Alchemist to Shin Megami Tensei.
The first half of the manga has less violence than the latter half, so this volume contains a lot of good fight scenes and iconic imagery without the darker tone that colors the later chapters. I'd even say it's fun, bordering on campy, at points. The pacing is good. The art can be goofy at times but truly great at others. Go Nagai shines with his demon designs. At the end of the day, I love Devilman, but it takes a critical approach (and for me multiple readings) to really appreciate this manga for what it is and to see it in a holistic light.
On why I'm just rating the original manga, I'm not sure why this collection includes some of what was contained in Shin Devilman because those chapters are simply not good at all and would drastically lower my rating. I'd read them before this collection was published and cringed when I saw them again. I love Devilman with all its glaring flaws, but the time traveling side plot chapters are honestly not necessary or well-written, and the one that deals with Hitler is the worst one by far (which is saying something) because of its excuses for antisemitism and general awfulness. It goes beyond being badly written into clearly offensive and disgusting territory. The only reason I can see to print it is to show Go Nagai in a clear light as a creator who is flawed and often bigoted whether that's intentional or otherwise. I believe much of it is based on ignorance, but that doesn't make it any better. That being said, the Shin Devilman chapters also vaguely spoil one major plot point (they were published after Devilman), so if you don't know the story that's even more reason to skip them at least before reading the ending of the original manga. Putting these chapters in this volume was a mistake and not a decision I would have made if I were publishing this book.
Devilman is the story of Akira Fudo and his struggle with maintaining and defining his humanity after being fused with the demon Amon and gaining his powers. Akira fights with help from his friend Ryo to protect humans from demons who seek to take over the world and eradicate all humanity. The story is iconic and influential, but extremely dark and violent.
I have complicated opinions about Devilman. It's glaringly sexist (as much as I love the women in this, especially Miki), very sexual, insensitive about most topics, and hard to recommend to people. Much of Devilman's goal is to shock people and hold a mirror to the dark aspects of humanity. It was so different at the time and had a huge cultural influence. Despite its flaws, it's a very enlightening look at the origins of many of today's manga/anime/jrpg elements from Fullmetal Alchemist to Shin Megami Tensei.
The first half of the manga has less violence than the latter half, so this volume contains a lot of good fight scenes and iconic imagery without the darker tone that colors the later chapters. I'd even say it's fun, bordering on campy, at points. The pacing is good. The art can be goofy at times but truly great at others. Go Nagai shines with his demon designs. At the end of the day, I love Devilman, but it takes a critical approach (and for me multiple readings) to really appreciate this manga for what it is and to see it in a holistic light.
On why I'm just rating the original manga, I'm not sure why this collection includes some of what was contained in Shin Devilman because those chapters are simply not good at all and would drastically lower my rating. I'd read them before this collection was published and cringed when I saw them again. I love Devilman with all its glaring flaws, but the time traveling side plot chapters are honestly not necessary or well-written, and the one that deals with Hitler is the worst one by far (which is saying something) because of its excuses for antisemitism and general awfulness. It goes beyond being badly written into clearly offensive and disgusting territory. The only reason I can see to print it is to show Go Nagai in a clear light as a creator who is flawed and often bigoted whether that's intentional or otherwise. I believe much of it is based on ignorance, but that doesn't make it any better. That being said, the Shin Devilman chapters also vaguely spoil one major plot point (they were published after Devilman), so if you don't know the story that's even more reason to skip them at least before reading the ending of the original manga. Putting these chapters in this volume was a mistake and not a decision I would have made if I were publishing this book.
June 16, 2019
What I love about Go Nagai is that he draws like a 5 year old and still manages to get you hooked in his stories; I honestly find it to be one of the most inspiring things about him. He knows his audience - there’s tits and blood a plenty in this manga - and never seems to be ashamed of it or consider his work as inferior. While the art can be a distraction, this story of demons and humanity can still drag you in. Akira Fudo is an interesting as shit protagonist, and even when the story goes sideways (time traveling to kill demons!), you’re still invested in where it’s ultimately going to go. This one is a classic for a reason.
June 14, 2018
Although tame by today's standard, Devilman is an interesting look into Manga's early days, although I couldn't really recommend this for anyone looking for a gripping story I would recommend it for anyone with a passion for classical manga.
September 25, 2020
Looks like I kicked the bucket..
March 17, 2022
Pod koniec fabuła trochę zaczęła mi się mieszać i nie zrozumiałam niektórych scen, ale kadry nadrabiają!
//
In the end the plot was kinda weird and I didn't understand few things, but drawings are making it up!
//
In the end the plot was kinda weird and I didn't understand few things, but drawings are making it up!
April 7, 2021
Dibujo clásico, gore y demonios para una historia entretenida. Un chico recibirá poderes al fusionarse con un demonio y se tendrá que encargar de pulirse a los demás demonios que quieren acabar con la tierra. Simple pero efectivo.
February 18, 2024
This went crazy
November 13, 2024
It makes sense why the Devilman franchise has been so enduring since its conception in the early 70s. A lot of the themes it (absurdly) deals with, from religious extremism to the senseless violence of war (and what it says about the human inclination for bloodlust), are still incredibly prevalent today. I have a lot of appreciation for the work and the foundation it laid for other media in its vein (I am also a huge Crybaby fan and they did a great job reinterpreting this material for the show). That being said, the manga is also incredibly stupid and goofy and ridiculous and why is there just a random bizarre tone shift from serious to time-traveling-crime-fighter??? Who knows man it was a different time that involved a much more accepted use of psychedelics in daily life
June 6, 2023
3 & 1/2 half stars, read this because I knew how influential it was to many other stories I enjoy but some parts of it feel dated. Very cool designs!
June 18, 2018
I love reading classic manga. Too often these are the manga that have shaped the industry we know today, but haven’t been published in English for decades, or maybe longer. Now, all that seems to be changing, and I am making sure I read as many as these fantastic manga as possible. Devilman: The Classic Collection Vol 1 by Go Nagai is a fantastic horror manga that has truly stood the test of time.
Devilman is the story of Akira, a high school student who gains the powers of a demon. These demons which once ruled the world were forever entombed in ice. Until now, at least. The only way to fight them is to wield their incredible powers against them. Together with his friend Ryo, Akira is willing to do just that.
I really enjoyed this manga, and am very happy I got a chance to read it. Sections of this manga grew much darker than I expected them to be, even knowing the general premise of the story. Devilman holds no punches in either its art or its storytelling. Characters are not immune to pain or suffering. Yet, this never seems egregious.
The art in this manga is interesting. This definitely fits within Go Nagai’s style, but might catch some American readers off guard. The characters have a more ‘cartoonish’ aesthetic than one might expect, especially from a horror manga. Not only did I enjoy the art style, I think it enhanced the horrific, frightening elements of the demons. The demons are grotesque, some looking more like the standard demon or monster but with many more having extremely creative, very different character designs. As cartoon-y as some of the normal human characters might be, the demons are not. They’re scary. They’re frightening.
A few sections did become a bit info-dumpy. The world building was fantastic in itself, and these sections did hold my attention. However, the characters weren’t doing much of anything except talk back and forth with does make the art just a little boring. Even so, the demons, their history, and the history of the earth itself is very interesting, and I enjoyed reading these sections. They didn’t turn me off from the story at all.
There are plenty of fight scenes in this manga. We get to see Devilman fight back against the demons. We get to see the human characters, mostly Ryo, fight as well. These sections are scattered with fantastic one and two page spreads. The demons are shown in all their horror.
The ending of volume one saw my attention waning as well. While each new adventure in this section was fun in itself, it did feel like the plot was a bit lost.
Even so, I will absolutely be reading the second volume in this series. It was fun, with some very interesting character designs, and remains one of the most influential horror manga. If you like horror manga or classics I would highly suggest checking out Devilman: The Classic Collection Vol 1 by Go Nagai.
This manga was obtained from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This review originally found on Looking Glass Reads.
Devilman is the story of Akira, a high school student who gains the powers of a demon. These demons which once ruled the world were forever entombed in ice. Until now, at least. The only way to fight them is to wield their incredible powers against them. Together with his friend Ryo, Akira is willing to do just that.
I really enjoyed this manga, and am very happy I got a chance to read it. Sections of this manga grew much darker than I expected them to be, even knowing the general premise of the story. Devilman holds no punches in either its art or its storytelling. Characters are not immune to pain or suffering. Yet, this never seems egregious.
The art in this manga is interesting. This definitely fits within Go Nagai’s style, but might catch some American readers off guard. The characters have a more ‘cartoonish’ aesthetic than one might expect, especially from a horror manga. Not only did I enjoy the art style, I think it enhanced the horrific, frightening elements of the demons. The demons are grotesque, some looking more like the standard demon or monster but with many more having extremely creative, very different character designs. As cartoon-y as some of the normal human characters might be, the demons are not. They’re scary. They’re frightening.
A few sections did become a bit info-dumpy. The world building was fantastic in itself, and these sections did hold my attention. However, the characters weren’t doing much of anything except talk back and forth with does make the art just a little boring. Even so, the demons, their history, and the history of the earth itself is very interesting, and I enjoyed reading these sections. They didn’t turn me off from the story at all.
There are plenty of fight scenes in this manga. We get to see Devilman fight back against the demons. We get to see the human characters, mostly Ryo, fight as well. These sections are scattered with fantastic one and two page spreads. The demons are shown in all their horror.
The ending of volume one saw my attention waning as well. While each new adventure in this section was fun in itself, it did feel like the plot was a bit lost.
Even so, I will absolutely be reading the second volume in this series. It was fun, with some very interesting character designs, and remains one of the most influential horror manga. If you like horror manga or classics I would highly suggest checking out Devilman: The Classic Collection Vol 1 by Go Nagai.
This manga was obtained from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This review originally found on Looking Glass Reads.
June 26, 2018
I have vague memories of the anime of this from the 80's, I think? Anyway, I quite like this one. It's a bit corny, but the idea of a kid merging with a powerful devil in order to fight demons throughout history is pretty irresistible. Incredible demon designs only add to the action. The first half of the book is pretty much all set-up before settling into pretty much self contained stories.
I'm in for volume 2.
I'm in for volume 2.
May 27, 2018
Go Nagai's classic horror superhero manga. Very dark, very weird, very violent. The designs of the demons are crazy and disturbing. Frighteningly compelling.
January 5, 2023
یکی از شرو ور ترین مانگاهایی که تا حالا خوندم. شاید چون خیلی قدیمی بود اینطوری بود... در کل عمرمو حروم کردم با خوندنش
November 5, 2023
3.4/5
The first half of Go Nagai's infamous Devilman is a strange combination of 70's cheese, bad writing, sci-fi concepts, and exploratory themes of humanity. His art also shifts rather jarringly between super-simplified cartoon caricatures of people and uber-detailed portraits of cityscapes and demonic monstrosities, often clashing from page to page with very little in the way of consistency. The story's tonal shifts are just as likely to give many readers whiplash, as it veers between comical, tragic, horror, battle manga, and... time travel. The time travel stuff is extremely questionable, to say the least LOL.
The Netflix show really polished this one up, that's for sure. No time travel shenanigans in it, either. Thank Christ for that.
That's not to say this manga doesn't have its charm, because it does. The anime seems to have lifted most of its best stuff from the manga itself, even if the manga's execution of that stuff is imperfect at best and downright silly at worst. It's never boring, though, and I look forward to reading the second half of this in the next couple days (or less).
The first half of Go Nagai's infamous Devilman is a strange combination of 70's cheese, bad writing, sci-fi concepts, and exploratory themes of humanity. His art also shifts rather jarringly between super-simplified cartoon caricatures of people and uber-detailed portraits of cityscapes and demonic monstrosities, often clashing from page to page with very little in the way of consistency. The story's tonal shifts are just as likely to give many readers whiplash, as it veers between comical, tragic, horror, battle manga, and... time travel. The time travel stuff is extremely questionable, to say the least LOL.
The Netflix show really polished this one up, that's for sure. No time travel shenanigans in it, either. Thank Christ for that.
That's not to say this manga doesn't have its charm, because it does. The anime seems to have lifted most of its best stuff from the manga itself, even if the manga's execution of that stuff is imperfect at best and downright silly at worst. It's never boring, though, and I look forward to reading the second half of this in the next couple days (or less).
February 4, 2023
3.5
This is the kind of read where if you go in with high expectations, you'll probably be disappointed. However, if you're expecting something completely terrible, you'll be pleasantly surprised. I fall into the latter group.
Yes, the pacing is questionable and the dialogue often corny. I do appreciate, much like all the other entries in the Devilman franchise, how this original manga is filled with subtle, as well as overt criticisms/satire concerning human nature and society.
The absurd gore and nudity certainly isn't for everyone, but if these are things that don't bother you, I'd recommend checking this out, even if the only reason being to experience a manga series ahead of its time that heavily inspired countless animanga.
This is the kind of read where if you go in with high expectations, you'll probably be disappointed. However, if you're expecting something completely terrible, you'll be pleasantly surprised. I fall into the latter group.
Yes, the pacing is questionable and the dialogue often corny. I do appreciate, much like all the other entries in the Devilman franchise, how this original manga is filled with subtle, as well as overt criticisms/satire concerning human nature and society.
The absurd gore and nudity certainly isn't for everyone, but if these are things that don't bother you, I'd recommend checking this out, even if the only reason being to experience a manga series ahead of its time that heavily inspired countless animanga.
July 18, 2022
[2.5 Stars] It’s always interesting to read older shounen manga from the perspective of the evolution of the genre however Devilman is a strange one. I like Go Nagai’s art a lot and his panels are, at times, masterful but it makes this wierd shift from an edgy monster of the week horror manga to a campy, absurd, Doctor Who-esque time travel romp at around the halfway point. Where at first I was tempted to suggest this was an early strain of grimdark it’s very much undercut by its strange tonal shifts. I don’t hate this one but it unfortunately doesn’t hit the mark for me.
May 18, 2021
Cela faisait longtemps que je devais découvrir ce classique et je n'ai pas été déçue. J'avais un peu de mal avec le style graphique au début mais une fois habituée je n'ai pu que m'incliner devant l'imagination sans bornes de Go Nagai.
J'ai découvert comme beaucoup de monde le manga via l'anime Devilman Crybaby et même si ce dernier s'éloigne pas mal de l'oeuvre originale, il reprend forcément beaucoup de choses qui m'ont particulièrement touchée. J'ai aussi été surprise dans la seconde partie du manga de voir le passage "voyage à travers le temps", complètement absent de l'anime et qui apporte beaucoup en ajoutant une touche historique, pas forcément vraisemblable mais assez plaisante.
Le manga soulève aussi beaucoup plus de questions existentielles qu'il n'y paraît, on a certes droit à pas mal de blagues vaseuses et à des combats sanguinolents mais on est aussi amener à lire des dialogues profonds sur notre condition humaine.
Mention spéciale à la superbe édition, avec des planches en couleurs magnifiques et une traduction anglaise soignée.
J'ai découvert comme beaucoup de monde le manga via l'anime Devilman Crybaby et même si ce dernier s'éloigne pas mal de l'oeuvre originale, il reprend forcément beaucoup de choses qui m'ont particulièrement touchée. J'ai aussi été surprise dans la seconde partie du manga de voir le passage "voyage à travers le temps", complètement absent de l'anime et qui apporte beaucoup en ajoutant une touche historique, pas forcément vraisemblable mais assez plaisante.
Le manga soulève aussi beaucoup plus de questions existentielles qu'il n'y paraît, on a certes droit à pas mal de blagues vaseuses et à des combats sanguinolents mais on est aussi amener à lire des dialogues profonds sur notre condition humaine.
Mention spéciale à la superbe édition, avec des planches en couleurs magnifiques et une traduction anglaise soignée.
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