Debiruman (2004)

Director:

Hiroyuki Nasu

Writers:

Gô Nagai (comic)
Machiko Nasu (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 October 2004 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller

Plot:

Based on Gô Nagai's manga, about mild-mannered teenager Akira Fudô, who merges with a demon to fight other demons.

Plot Keywords:

Demon | Gore | Manga | Monster | Superhero

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Hisato Izaki	...	Akira Fudô / Devilman
Yûsuke Izaki	...	Ryô Asuka
Ayana Sakai	...	Miki Makimura
Asuka Shibuya	...	Mîko
Ryudo Uzaki	...	Keisuke Makimura (Miki's father)
Yoko Agi	...	Emi Makimura (Miki's mother)
Ai Tominaga	...	Silene
Bob Sapp	...	World Newscaster
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hiroyuki Matsumoto
Masaki Nishina
Suzunosuke

Also Known As:

Devilman (International: English title)

Runtime:

Germany:112 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | Germany:Not Rated | Australia:MA | Japan:PG-12

Company:

Dynamic Productions

Movie Connections:

Version of Debiruman: Kaichô shireinyu hen (1990)

Disasterously, Irredeemably Bad

Be warned: this film is a failure on every imaginable level: inept direction / laughably unconvincing special effects / atrocious, incoherent dialog / gross miscasting of virtually every important character (the film is peopled with Japanese pop stars and boy bad idols, none of whom can act) / a heavy-handed and utterly uninvolving narrative whose sorrowful attempts at social commentary come across as insultingly banal. Such a wasted opportunity too, given the wealth of the source material; DevilMan is easily one of the most iconic manga/anime characters in the history of the medium, and there is simply no excuse for the disaster this adaptation turned out to be. Don't let the advertisements fool you - the only proper way to appreciate a film like this is to receive it purely as camp, but when a film is this genuinely bad, even that'll prove a stretch.