The Devil Lady - The Becoming (Vol. 2)

Rating:
Summary: Devilish, dark, and delicious . . .
Review: I borrowed this volume and the first from my friend, who is also an anime fan. When I saw this, the dark atmosphere completely blew me away. It was a perfect background for the even-darker occurrences that had become a part of Jun's life since her first transformation. I also noticed that Jun was spiraling into mental instability, but who wouldn't after being forced into becoming a demonic assassin?

One of my favorite episodes in this volume was "Cat." It was my favorite because it presented a look at love twisted into hatred, and it showed me just how thin the line between those two emotions truly was.

If you're the sort of person who can stand violence, bloodshed, and hints of yuri (lesbianism to you non-anime people), then Devil Lady is the anime for you.

Rating:
Summary: The Knowledge of Good and Evil
Review: In the early DVDs of a long series, it is often difficult for the viewer to pinpoint the core themes towards which the episodes are building. Devil Lady is such a case. While Jun Fudou is clearly tortured by her new role as a 'devil lady' and by what Lan Asuka demands of her, I'm not yet sure whether the focus is on the destructive conflict between Jun and the appetites of her more monstrous half, or whether we are headed toward some for some equally grim, but more triumphal ending. Of course, this doubt is what creates the layers that raise a series like this above a simple hack-and-slash horror story.

The four episodes on this DVD study the increasingly debilitating effect of Asuka's insistence on using Jun as a weapon, despite the fact that Jun is clearly having trouble. "You have to become strong," announces Asuka, forgetting that this is contrary to Jun's human nature. Instead, the strength the Devil Lady calls on is her darker side, leaving the fashion model caught - she is killing unfortunate humans caught in the throes of a genetic expression, or she is taking the lives of her fellow creatures. In either case, she is doing something horribly wrong.

The first episode 'Cat' brings this problem into sharp focus when Jun responds to the friendly overtures of Hitomi Konno, a competing model. Of course, the worst happens, capturing the two in a deadly embrace. 'Fog' is the first episode where Jun has difficulty with a kill. The unusual weather conditions remind Jun of a childhood legend of the grim reaper. When the creature seems to materialize in front of her, Jun's hesitation nearly costs the day.

'Enemy' is Jun's first failure. Jason Bates, a researcher from the Samuelson Lab arrives to examine Jun. Asuka fails to understand that Jun's feelings about the previous two killings. Jun is distracted enough to be outwitted, and only Bates can save her in time. 'Eyes' is the classic paranoid melodrama, with Jun becoming increasingly sure that she is being stalked. As her fear builds, she fails to realize that her feeling of eyes upon her is literally true. When Kasumi is threatened Jun leaps into action only to find that confronting her own nightmare is worse than she thought. We are clearly approaching a crisis. If Jun cannot find a way to cope with what she is, her destruction is inevitable. Asuka and Bates offer Jun only uncomfortable alternatives.

On improvements in this part of the series is that director Toshiki Hirana has escaped from the repetitive mold of the early episodes, making this more of a story. The English dubbing remains lackluster, so resign yourself to reading subtitles is you want some clear picture of the emotional reactions of the characters.

Rating:
Summary: The Knowledge of Good and Evil
Review: In the early DVDs of a long series, it is often difficult for the viewer to pinpoint the core themes towards which the episodes are building. Devil Lady is such a case. While Jun Fudou is clearly tortured by her new role as a 'devil lady' and by what Lan Asuka demands of her, I'm not yet sure whether the focus is on the destructive conflict between Jun and the appetites of her more monstrous half, or whether we are headed toward some for some equally grim, but more triumphal ending. Of course, this doubt is what creates the layers that raise a series like this above a simple hack-and-slash horror story.

The four episodes on this DVD study the increasingly debilitating effect of Asuka's insistence on using Jun as a weapon, despite the fact that Jun is clearly having trouble. "You have to become strong," announces Asuka, forgetting that this is contrary to Jun's human nature. Instead, the strength the Devil Lady calls on is her darker side, leaving the fashion model caught - she is killing unfortunate humans caught in the throes of a genetic expression, or she is taking the lives of her fellow creatures. In either case, she is doing something horribly wrong.

The first episode 'Cat' brings this problem into sharp focus when Jun responds to the friendly overtures of Hitomi Konno, a competing model. Of course, the worst happens, capturing the two in a deadly embrace. 'Fog' is the first episode where Jun has difficulty with a kill. The unusual weather conditions remind Jun of a childhood legend of the grim reaper. When the creature seems to materialize in front of her, Jun's hesitation nearly costs the day.

'Enemy' is Jun's first failure. Jason Bates, a researcher from the Samuelson Lab arrives to examine Jun. Asuka fails to understand that Jun's feelings about the previous two killings. Jun is distracted enough to be outwitted, and only Bates can save her in time. 'Eyes' is the classic paranoid melodrama, with Jun becoming increasingly sure that she is being stalked. As her fear builds, she fails to realize that her feeling of eyes upon her is literally true. When Kasumi is threatened Jun leaps into action only to find that confronting her own nightmare is worse than she thought. We are clearly approaching a crisis. If Jun cannot find a way to cope with what she is, her destruction is inevitable. Asuka and Bates offer Jun only uncomfortable alternatives.

On improvements in this part of the series is that director Toshiki Hirana has escaped from the repetitive mold of the early episodes, making this more of a story. The English dubbing remains lackluster, so resign yourself to reading subtitles is you want some clear picture of the emotional reactions of the characters.

Rating:
Summary: Dark enough to be good
Review: The second volume of the Devil Lady series (aka. Devilman Lady) picks up where "The Awakening" left off. Jun Fudou continues to grapple with her feelings about the sudden awakening of her "beast gene". As a reflection of this, the DVD feels less focused than the first. While Jun's actions in the first DVD seemed to make her stronger, now she falters, displaying much more weakness than we have seen so far.

The series is beautifully directed and dark in both content and atmosphere. It is reminiscent of a suspenseful Hitchcock film. The orchestral score is very well done and the gothic choir music opening really sets the mood. The box artwork is very stylish and the clean opening/ending, and bonus cards are a nice extra. The 90's animation looks slightly dated now (think Gunsmith Cats), but the presentation more than makes up for it.

Anyone who doesn't like horror/suspense, or are turned-off by implied lesbianism should take caution. For fans of the genre, or just the curious, there is a lot to like here. 4 stars.