Devilman: The Birth and Demon Bird - Cult Manga Review

It’s funny how certain pieces of media stick with you, especially those you probably shouldn't have seen at a young age. Years ago, I was handed a couple of VHS tapes by my uncle, introducing me to the world of manga and anime. One was the legendary Akira, which blew my thirteen-year-old mind (and still perplexes me today!), and the other was Devilman. While Akira gets all the accolades, I recently decided to revisit the 1987 OVAs—The Birth and The Demon Bird—and found a fantastic, bloody blast from the past.

Created by the masterful Go Nagai in the 70s, the Devilman saga includes several manga series and a significantly sanitised 39-part TV series. My experience, however, was purely with those two OVAs.

The Birth sets the stage as high schooler Akira Fudo merges with the demon Amon, taking on the terrifying mantle of Devilman to fight the rising demonic tide threatening Earth. The core conflict, the struggle to maintain his humanity while possessing a demon’s power, is what drives the initial narrative, leading to a series of gruesome encounters.

The second OVA, The Demon Bird, sees Akira growing into his new reality. However, a horrifying descent into the sewers to confront a creature that traps its victims' souls in perpetual torment reminded me just how dark this series dared to be. When his home is invaded by demons and then he is confronted by Sirene, the eponymous Demon Bird, Akira's work seems to be cut out for him

Watching these OVAs again after more than three decades was pure, unadulterated nostalgia. What truly struck me was how well the animation holds up. While the character designs have that distinct, older manga aesthetic, the bestiary is where the animators truly unleashed their creativity—grotesque, bloodthirsty and utterly fantastic.

Speaking of the past, the English dub—the way I first experienced it—is wonderfully of its time. It’s definitely cheesy in spots, but it delivers with an earnest, fun abandon. The dialogue is home to one of the greatest (and most shocking) line deliveries in anime history: "I'll rip your head off and shit down your neck" and "Maybe you should let me soak your t**s for you!" These line alone are a chef’s kiss of 80s anime edginess.

Another element that had remained vividly in my memory was the music. The track playing in the club during Akira's initial, visceral transformation into Devilman has been embedded in my brain for decades. I found myself humming along as viscera sprayed across the screen.

The lore, too, was more layered than I remembered. Sure, the discussions of Dante’s Inferno and the Sabbath are ritualistic, edgelordy nonsense when you pull them apart, but they add a surprising layer of nuance to the world. It’s throwaway fun, yet it adds to the deeply enjoyable, over-the-top atmosphere.

The casual nudity is a minor caveat, typical of a lot of older anime. It's not overly gratuitous, especially given the permissive standards of the time, but it's a reminder of how times and sensibilities have thankfully changed.

In the end, revisiting Devilman was an amazing experience. It's a hyper-violent, deeply weird, and undeniably fun piece of anime history. If you appreciate the craziness of 80s and 90s animated classics, this is a must-watch that perfectly captures the spirit of an era.