Reviews - Devilman: The Classic Collection Vol. 1

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77 reviews for:

Devilman: The Classic Collection Vol. 1

Go Nagai

4.01 AVERAGE

alexaliz's review

3.5

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Another 70s gem. Characters act somewhat unrealistically at times (and most are just ciphers) but the quick, hard-hitting pace, gruesome artwork and character arcs makes up for the flaws. A lot of the artwork is reminiscent of Disney's Night On Bald Mountain, and the story takes inspiration from a lot of Biblical concepts 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 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 manga and it's fascinating to see how their paths intertwine 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 pacing remains balanced and the manga wraps up in five volumes. Highly recommend this one to fans of horror.