Biography

Devilman (Japanese: デビルマン, Hepburn: Debiruman) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. The manga focuses on a high school student named Akira Fudo who absorbs the powers of the demon called "Amon" with help of his friend Ryo Asuka in order to battle creatures hidden in human society, thus calling himself the "Devilman" in the process. The series was originally ordered by Toei Animation as a toned-down anime version of Nagai's previous manga series, Demon Lord Dante. However, Nagai wrote a darker-toned manga in order to alert readers of the dangers of the wars based on how dark the narrative becomes with each of Akira's challenges. Devilman's 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 manga was published between June 11, 1972 and June 24, 1973, while multiple publishers have released it in collected volumes (tankōbon). Seven Seas Entertainment published the English translation of the original manga in two volumes in 2018. The series has since spawned numerous OVAs, manga, novels, films, and a sequel. Devilman and other characters from the series have shown up in cameo appearances numerous times in Go Nagai's other works. The most notable is Tomoharu Katsumata's 1973 feature film Mazinger Z vs. Devilman, which features Devilman teaming up with Nagai's titular robot to fight Dr. Hell. In 2018, a remake titled Devilman Crybaby directed by Masaaki Yuasa was created showing an alternate more modern-like retelling of the manga. The manga has sold 50 million copies worldwide. Despite mixed reception in regards to whether or not the art was appealing, critics enjoyed Nagai's darker take on the superhero tropes mostly due to how violent the manga was and recommended the manga to most readers who are not sensitive to gore. The series' themes and Akira's design have influenced multiple other series such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and X.