Devil Lady:Complete Collection

Rating:
Summary: Wow A Go Nogai Show That Doesn't Suck
Review: After seeing several of Mr Nagai's previous works(Getter Robo/Black Lion/Devil Man/Cutey Honey/Iron Virgin Jun) my hopes weren't too high. I was nicely surprised.
The story is entertaing enough and not hard to follow. The animation was ok but nothing great. It was too dark sometimes to see the action clearly.
The human character designs were allright but the monsters designs have an 80s to early 90s style that I wasn't too fond off.
The dubbing is the only thing that irked me. I prefer to listen to the english dubs on most shows, but these performances started to get annoying rather quickly. It's as if this show was made in the early to mid 90's with the style of dubs that were everywhere in anime back then. Surprising because ADV has had some really fine actors/actresses working for them for some time now and none of them appear here or at least have a major role. After the 2nd or 3rd episode I switched to the Japanese track.
Another irk was that (after the 2nd disk I think) the extras were exactly the same thing with a clean opening and ending and some ADV previews.


Rating:
Summary: Great DVD Collection, Good Price/ You cant beat the pice!
Review: I love the Devil Lady! I started out watching Devil Man and eventually moved on to Devil Lady. It starts out with the story over a model who becomes the devil lady. You see her transformation from quite reserved woman to the demon woman as the series progresses. I paid around $30 bucks for each DVD in the 6 DVD. I wish that I would have known that the price was going to be so cheap for the whole series. I say go for it, you have nothing to lose. This is a good story, it will captivate you and have you wondering what is going to happen next!

Rating:
Summary: Great DVD Collection, Good Price/ You cant beat the pice!
Review: I love the Devil Lady! I started out watching Devil Man and eventually moved on to Devil Lady. It starts out with the story over a model who becomes the devil lady. You see her transformation from quite reserved woman to the demon woman as the series progresses. I paid around $30 bucks for each DVD in the 6 DVD. I wish that I would have known that the price was going to be so cheap for the whole series. I say go for it, you have nothing to lose. This is a good story, it will captivate you and have you wondering what is going to happen next!

Rating:
Summary: Dante In Modern Clothes
Review: In 1972, manga creator Go Nagai was approached by a Japanese TV network about the possibility of a series based on one of his comics. Nagai suggested that a new series of his, 'Devilman' might be just what they were looking for. This marked the beginning of a 38-episode run that was not only a success, but also set an indelible stamp on Japanese horror for some time to come. Twenty-five years later, in 1997, Go Nagai's dark, twisted, and polymorphously perverse images were reborn in a different guise. This time as 'Devilwoman.'

Jun Fudou is a successful fashion model, lushly attractive and in demand. Her best friend is young Kazumi Takiura, another model who, for a younger generation. Into this happy-go-lucky life-style intrudes Lan Asuka a member of the mysterious 'human alliance.' Asuka tricks Jun into a confrontation with a demonic creature, and the model discovers that she also has demonic powers, and perhaps, relishes the killing. At least until she returns to human form. As the episodes progress, Asuka explains that Jun is 'neotenic' - progressing toward devil-hood, but still retaining her human soul.

From this point on the story continues to develop unexpected complexities. At first a 'use a monster to skill monsters' story it quickly becomes clear that Jun is more than a little horrified by her own transformation. Her encounters with Jason Bates, who shares her heritage makes it ever clearer that she cannot leave her humanity behind any more than Jun can now relinquish the power of her new form. And Asuka's cold use of Jun's powers make it clear that what appears to be human agendas are no better than the demonic agendas that oppose them.

The struggle within Jun will be replicated in the world about her as the demonic comes into direct conflict with the human. But nothing is as it seems, and the viewer must be careful not to leap to too many judgments. A war is being fought over the future of the world, and everyone is suspect. Jun and Asuka represent opposites in a struggle for power where good and evil seem alarmingly similar.

Go Nagai's style is a bit rough hewn, but the strength of the story quickly transcends the simplistic, somewhat retro artwork. Nagai uses the contrast between the beautiful and the horrific to generate tension, and does not hesitate to use sensuality and violence. This is a series for a mature viewer. The questions it asks are sometimes confusing, and the answers are often ambivalent, but the overall effect is of a compelling story of a dark and heroic struggle.

Two technical issues keep this from being an enthusiastic recommendation. First, the art and animation are completely retro in look. It seems a shame that 1997 technology should be used to recreate a 25-year-old 'low-fi' look. So much of the action is put in the shadows that it is almost impossible to make out what is happening, occasioning much fiddling with the contrast and brightness settings. The worst sin, though, is the English dubbing. I have seen plenty of anime where the dubbing is weak or clumsy, but this is the first time that I felt the English script was completely misleading. Stick to the Japanese with subtitles for a much more enjoyable and sensible experience.


Rating:
Summary: Go Nagi is King
Review: The Devil-lady is an excellent anime, I highly recommend viewing it. Not only do I consider it an excellently written plot, but the art-work pays homage to earlier days. I have to disagree with the disparaging comments made concerning the retro look, I felt it worked favorably for this anime.

I watched each DVD with mounting enthusiasm and found it difficult to break away and do other things, I wound up watching the majority of the series as a marathon run. Not to give away too much plot, but it is a very interesting and thoughtful anime in that what you may beleive to be 'good' is not necessarily, and what is perceived initially as 'evil' can appear rather good. Both sides of the coin are presented and rather than making clear distinctions, it is left up to the viewer for interpretation. At various times during my screening I found myself rooting for the 'bad guys' and although I have to say the ending seemed somewhat anticlimactic and (*spoiler alert!*) I found some events, such as Kazumi's death to be unususal (Jun took more damage during the fight leading up to her initial transformation than Kazumi did, and she walked away from it just fine!) and also the fact that Jun and Bates were both missing limbs after losing them while transformed, yet when Jun lost her eye and had a myriad of other injuries inflicted upon her during her beast fights, she was fine when she de-transformed. (*end spoiler*)

All in all I highly recommend this anime to anyone who doesn't mind having to do a bit of thinking while watching it. I'll note that this is definately not for viewing of anyone under the age of 16 and it contains some fairly graphic content, including some highly lesbian overtones (overtones may be too light of a word... straight up lesbian relationships might work better) but it must be considered that in Japanese culture it is not considered entirely unusual for a young woman to have a relationship with an older woman (Please don't flame me for this comment, I'm just stating what I perceive and have been told to be the truth!)