The Batlord

Been reading the first volume of Devilman. I love this manga. In many ways it's kind of unsophisticated. The art is dated, but it's from 1972 so it's kind of expected, and the demons, while delightfully bizarre, look kind of goofy. And the opening scene isn't really all that original: Japanese school boy and girl walking to school are harassed by generic Japanese street toughs using generic Japanese street tough dialogue.

But then the main character's, Akira, best friend arrives on the scene to save the day. I love this dude. I don't even know if this trope existed back then, but at first glance he could be that to ultra cool, unemotional guy who's supposed to appeal to all the girls in the same way as Justin Bieber. Except it isn't generic anime douchiness that has made him detached, it's amoral nihilism. At this point the entire tone of the manga changes and becomes totally surreal and messed up.

The basic concept is pretty simple: Japanese kid becomes possessed by demon, battles other demons, bitchin' fight scenes ensue. It's a bit darker of a premise than becoming a giant fighting robot pilot or receiving a Japanese school girl outfit that comes with magical powers, but otherwise it's not something that comes off as revolutionary. Where this veers from the comfortable norm is the level of violence, which is excessive even by today's standards, and the bizarreness (don't know if that's a word) of the author's screwed up imagination. I mean, unoriginal premise or not, the way in which the main character gets his powers is one of the most unique and ****ed up origin stories I've seen in an anime/manga.

So if you dig Lovecraft and pulp horror/sci fi, and would like to see the two merged then I highly recommend Devilman. I also highly recommend listening to some Electric Hellfire Club while you do. It sets a nice atmosphere.

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