How’s everyone doing out there? Are you doing well or just getting by during yet another disastrous presidential term. Seems like the whole western world is dragging everyone else down in a flaming shopping cart full of fireworks down a thumbtack water slide of energy drink into oblivion and the third-world. It’s not even 2077 and life is just cyberpunk (af) or at least a Temu version of it. What does this have to do with this months movie- absoultely nothing. Nothing except the mood of dispair in the air.

Spoiler Alert: This is Violence Jack and the sequel to Devilman; both created by Go Nagai.

This the final OVA in the series. The other entries are unedited and thus I can’t share with you here. However, fortunately or not, this version is the VHS edited version.

The Plot:
Sleepy town in the wastelands of Japan where a village is determined to pick up and rebuild their way of lives in the afterbirth of the apocalypse. A young hopeful teacher is kidnapped by the Hell’s Wind biker gang. Strapped to a ticking time bomb her only hope is the mysterious and freakishly gigantic antihero known as Violence Jack and his superhuman strength and size.

More backstory:

The series takes place in the ruins of the Kantō region, after a massive earthquake (which in the OVAs was triggered by a Comet strike) dubbed ‘The Great Kanto Hellquake’. Cut off from the rest of the world, the survivors of the disaster are divided between the strong and the weak, and the land becomes a haven for criminals and renegades from around the world. Violence Jack is uncovered among the rubble and demolished granite by the inhabitants of a ruined city, asking him to help the weak people and helping them destroy what, in most cases, are the strong groups commanded by killers and rapists (this is the story line of “Violence Jack: Evil Town”). In the three OVAs, Jack is requested to help different groups, such as the Zone A (later he ends up helping Zone C women) or a small town, as shown in “Hell’s Wind”. As for the manga, the stories change drastically, the first being the story of Violence Jack helping a group of female models in a tropical forest in Kanto by possessing a boy living in said forest in order to fight off a roving tribe of bandits. Although Jack maintains a ruthless facade, he often helps the weak, and expects nothing in return. However, Jack’s unpredictable nature means that bystanders get injured or even killed on occasion as a consequence of his vicious fighting style.

It’s not the longest but it’ll do the trick. I know she said that but, I meant this movie. If you are interested in the further adventures of Violence Jack I recommend finding (if you can stomach it) the other unedited OVA’s in the trilogy as well the mangas. Or you can go and revisit the Devilman animes including the Devilman Crybaby anime that is still on NETFLIX.

sO in ThE meantIme, stay vigilante, stay angry, learn h0w the shoot, con, build networks, put money away, don’t be a dumb maga or dumb blue maga, be yourselves, persevere and keep your damn finger on that ReWind Button.

2018 is proving to be the start of a new resurgence in anime here in the states. Dragonball Super is already nearing its epic climax. A new live action adaptation of an anime classic is premiering in theaters this summer (Battle Angel). This is a good time to be riding the pop culture wave.

Netflix last year was definitely hit or miss when it came to anime. The Castlevania mini-series written by Warren Ellis was actually pretty good and moody. Ajin: Demi Human is still in my opinion so crazy and wickedly outstanding that I can’t help but click on it when I’m in someone’s house with Netflix access. Then there’s the Death Note live action film that was well… it was bad. Not because I don’t want creators and producers taking liberties with I.P. I mean look at the Full Metal Alchemist movie – that’s pure fan service and it stinks. But the Netflix Death Note movie was pretty bad.

Netflix is coming around and they have already announced that they will be premiering more Netflix exclusive anime to it subscribers. Now when you see that Netflix logo next to the anime title, it doesn’t mean Netflix is actually creating new anime. No. What they are doing is buying the rights to stream these anime from the studio houses that actually make them. But, we’re all smart so that should be understood already. Yes, they giving us anime that isn’t limited by the constraints of television. You’re getting whatever they want to give you.

I’ve been very unmoved by a lot of anime the past few years. I loved the original Death Note anime, the Gantz English dub, Terror in Resonance, Ajin, DBZsuper, Genocidal Organ, Attack on Titan to name the few. But this is not the case.

Devilman Crybaby – I’m happy to say that I love this anime. I love its pessimism, its lack of reprieve and total mindfuck. It is a dark tale of humanity and its thirst for self-destruction.

It was also amusing and interesting to see so many youtube anime reviewers reacting to the 10 episode series with no expectations having limited knowledge of the groundbreaking series and its controversial original manga. Like “Your entire room is plastered with anime posters, shelves decorated with figurines and volumes of manga littered about but, you never heard of Devilman before?”, the furtile earth of youth. The excitement on their faces when the action kicks in, the concentration on plot progression and nuances and finally total heartbreak and devastation.

Devilman is the tale of demons working behind the crimson curtain to usurp human beings and reclaim the earth from us lesser beings and wage a final war against God himself.

What I love about this new adaptation is the art design. I love animators and production companies having the courage to experiment with the medium. I’m a child of Liquid Television after all, so psychedelic insanity and crisp frenetic animation gets me going like a bloody knuckle during a fight in the yard.

This version is helmed by Masaaki Yuasa (Space Dandy, Ping Pong, and Adventure Time season 6, episode “Food Chain”). I loved Space Dandy by the way.

The original manga of Devilman was first written and illustrated by Go Nagai, which originally published by Kodansha from June 11, 1972 to June 24, 1973 in Shōnen Magazine.  The series has been published in tankōbon format several times, most of them by Kodansha. Starting with the 1987 publishing, most Kodansha editions include Shin Devilman, which originally was not meant to be included in the canon of the original series, as a part of the volumes.   Then as an anime adaptation of the concept of Nagai’s previous manga series, Demon Lord Dante. This 39-episode anime series was developed by Toei Animation in 1972, while Nagai began the Devilman as a manga in Kodansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine, barely a month before the anime series started. The series has since spawned numerous OVAs, manga, novels, and films. The manga has sold over 50 million copies as of March 2017.

Now that you know that, here’s what I knew before viewing. I had in my possession for many years a bootleg copy of all three original OVA’s that I purchased from a nameless storefront in my neighborhood. While other kids were into DBZ, I was into Baki the grappler, Legend of the Overfiend and more mature content. Devilman stood out for its storyline and not just its violence. I was a catholic school delinquent so anything other than the good guy in the sky b.s. was always on my radar. The idea of a young man conquering the evil within himself and gaining the powers of hell to fight on the side of right was definitely hit the nail on the head. I won’t spoil anything that happens in the story if you haven’t read the original manga or seen any of the previous OVA’s including Devilman: Amon which is awesome and fits somewhere between the start of the final war and the story’s ultimate climax.

The new series takes everything minus the fat and projects it on screen in contemporary times. There are even new characters created solely for the series. And like I said the hyper animation style of this series really gives it that needed shot of crystal right in the vein of insanity. It will make you laugh, give you wood, make you squeamish (if that’s your thing), make you cry, become depressed and totally bummed out. But it’s worth it.

I give it a big RECOMMENDATION. I AM forcing you all to go and binge this series. It’s only ten episodes long. Oh! The soundtrack is totally KICKASS. Some reviewers have described the soundtrack as EDM or something like that.. No, this is straight up Acid House or Acid dance music much like what we loved back in the days when Lords of Acid, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult were marauding across the country in clubs making people dance and trip out in groovy groovy vibrations. It’s awesome. I’m downloading the damn thing right now..

DEVILMAN: CRYBABY – It’s worth your time and your tears. “Heart of a man but the powers of Hell” and be warned this is not an anime for kids unless your kids are awesome. If your kids are awesome then they can watch the hell out of this series and maybe learn something from it.

Be cool. Be groovy. And Keep your damn fingers on that Rewind Button.

• S. H…

Netflix Japan has just announced a new Devilman anime with an intriguing trailer and I cant wait.

After binging on episodes of Ajin: Demi-human, which I highly recommend, I’m officially interested in anime again.

With exception to the marvelous Terror in Resonance(2014), anime the past few years has been saturated with drek and fek and childish nonsense in cat ears. A sad state of affairs.

But Ajin, the upcoming BLAME! anime and now Devilman has me, hook, line and sinker. Toonami may not be what it use to be but Netflix is definitely picking up the slack and giving all of us another place to see exclusive titles when we aren’t are on crunchyroll. Other notable titles: Attack on Titan, Tokyo Ghoul, Psycho Pass.

Netflix Japan has debuted a teaser trailer for the upcoming anime adaptation of “Devilman,” the classic manga series by Go Nagai. Directed by Masaaki Yuasa (“Mind Game,” “Ping Pong”), “Devilman Crybaby” will premiere worldwide in spring 2018.

Serialized from 1972 to 1973 in Kodansha’s “Weekly Shonen Magazine,” “Devilman” was adapted simultaneously by Toei as a 39-episode anime series. The manga and anime have inspired numerous spinoffs, adaptations and crossovers, including a 2004 live-action film. Devilman was a manga and anime series that combined superhero tropes with supernatural horror. It was made by the famous Japanese author Go Nagai in the 1970s. It became enormously popular and influential in Japan and was later adapted in the form of a OVA and a live action movie. There was a animated crossover movie in which Devilman met another of Nagai’s famous creations, Mazinger Z.

Summary: a boy named Akira, discovers the Earth is being invaded by demons. His friend Ryo convinces him that the only way to stop the demons is to have him merge with one of them.

“Devilman” will debut in 2018.