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Devilman Volume 1 (the 2024 edition)

The Devilman manga is... clunky.

I'm a big fan of the 2018 adaptation Devilman Crybaby and had heard good things about the manga, so when I saw it sitting on a shelf in my local book store I had to grab a copy. My feelings are overall mixed. If you've seen the show then good news! The book is different enough to bring something new to the table, be it actual plot differences or just some extra lore and backstory. That being said, this first volume isn't great. I've admittedly already started reading the second one and looked at a few pages of the forth, so I know the complaints I have here will be improved over time, but that does not change how I see this first volume.

The artstyle is... something. It's certainly unique at the very least. The artist had apperantly mainly worked on comedic short comics before this, and the style makes sense for that kind of thing, but it feels a bit off for a story that takes itself fairly seriously. However, after getting used to it I'd say it's fine. Not great, but also not distracting.

The first volume is unfortunatly stuffed with exposition. I had to take a break from reading for a few days because right in the middle of the book are pages after pages where two characters stand infront of a black background and just talk about the entire backstory of the world and it's exhausting. It's all good and important stuff you need to understand the world and story, but it's just too much.

Now, I've been awfully negative here, but I still liked Devilman's first volume enough to buy the rest of the books (except volume 5 because it's not out yet). Maybe I'm just biased because I love the show so much, but there is something here that keeps me hooked. I'd say give it a shot and see if it does the same for you.