Movies - Devilman

Home > Listing Index > Movies > Devilman

	Movies - Devilman

Devilman (デビルマン Debiruman) is a manga and anime character.

Devilman is one of Go Nagai's most popular creations. Devilman evolved from a previous manga entitled Mao Dante after Toei animation approached Go about turning Dante into a television series. The producers wanted certain elements toned down, and a more human like hero created. Devilman was born as a result of this. Along with the television series, Devilman was also produced as a serialized manga in Shukan Shonen Magazine over 53 issues beginning in 1972. It was later reprinted in a 5 volume series, and has enjoyed over a dozen reprints and in 5 different languages. The manga's extreme violence and excellent story line made it an instant hit. The series was 39 episodes long and ran from July 1972 to March 1973. The series sported some differences from the manga, but was still very popular. It introduces new characters, such as the demon girl Lala. She was a demon that fell in love with Devilman, and helped him while he fought the Demon Tribe. She appears from episodes 26 to 36, and was killed by Demon Magdora in episode 36. The series ended with Devilman fighting his superior Demon God, and Miki discovering Akira is Devilman. This left the series open ended. There was also a Memorial episode that recapped highlights from the TV series. Two OVAs (Original Video Animation) were released in 1987 and 1990. These videos were what Go Nagai originally intended the first anime series to be like, since the censors made him tone the series down back in 1972 because of its extreme violence. The videos revolve around Akira's transformation into Devilman up until his battle with Silene (also called Sirene, Siron, Shiranu or Shienru). The OVAs are well animated and, other than a few minor alterations, are faithful to the original manga, and were released in the U.S. during the mid 1990s on video and then on DVD in 2000. Also in 2000, Amon: Apocalypse of Devilman was released as a pay-per-view event in Japan and later released on video and DVD. It covers the period between the humans becoming aware of demons and the final battle between Devilman and Satan. It has even spawned a video game for the PlayStation.

Many other manga titles were created later on including Shin Devilman (which replaced the entire third volume of the original manga in later editions), Neo Devilman and Amon: The Darkside of the Devilman. Several other books have been published dedicated to Devilman over the last 34 years.

In 2004, a tokusatsu Devilman movie using CGI effects was released. Unfortunately, it was universally rejected in Japan, even by Devilman fans. As a consequence, it won Grand Prize in Japan's Bunshun Kiichigo Awards (the Japanese version of the Razzie Awards, which are given to the worst movie of the year).

Storyline

The story line in Devilman really makes it stand out as one of the greatest manga titles of all time. However, its extreme violence made it a major target of protest for the PTA and other groups. Still, the story has become a classic in Japan and has even been working its way through the U.S. over the past decade or so.

A long time ago, the Earth was ruled by demons. The demons constantly fought each other for survival. They soon found themselves fighting a new race of beings. These beings were the first humans. The demons then became imprisoned in ice after a great cataclysm. They would remain there until the ice melted. Satan would then rise up and lead them in Armageddon. That time has come in Go Nagai's Devilman.

Devilman is about a teenager named Akira Fudo. At first, Akira is very modest and avoids conflict. When his parents go away on a business trip, Akira goes to stay with his childhood friend Miki Makimura (both soon form a close relationship as the story progresses). Miki loves Akira but wishes that he would stand up for himself when he gets pushed around.

One day, Akira's best friend, Ryo Asuka, shows up and completely changes Akira's life. Ryo's father had discovered the existence of demons when he found a mask during an excavation of the ruins of an ancient Mayan temple. This mask turned out to be a fossilized demon skull which showed whom ever wore it what the world was like when demons ruled over it. Ryo shows Akira how the world was and informs him about the demons' revival. Akira then sees Ryo's plan, "To fight a demon, one must become a demon."

Demons have the ability to possess and control humans. However, Ryo believes that Akira may be able to harness a demon's powers when possessed due to the fact that Akira has a pure heart. Ryo takes Akira to a demonic nightclub and begins to bring out the demons in the club. The demons begin to attack Akira until he becomes possessed by Amon. Amon is the Lord of War and also one of the strongest demons. His possession of Akira causes Akira to transform into Devilman. Devilman contains the strength and power of the demon Amon, as well as the heart and soul of the human Akira Fudo, giving Akira complete control. After he becomes Devilman, Akira is no longer timid and shy. He becomes very aggressive and no longer lets anyone push him around. This new change pleases Miki, although she is unaware of Akira's new found powers.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Devilman ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Devilman; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Movies - Devilman

Storyline

Searches on eBay

Related searches on eBay