Customer Reviews

The Devil Lady - The Complete Collection

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

In modern day Tokyo, a beautiful but fragile young supermodel, Jun Fudou, finds her ordinary life turned upside-down when she is visited by Asuka Lan, a shady and mysterious woman with a secret agenda of her own. Soon Jun discovers that she can, when provoked, transform into a demonic giant, hence the title of the series. Under Asuka's command, Jun is forced to track down monsters--some of who may actually be her close colleagues in disguise. All the while, Jun's relationship with her best friend Kazumi begins to slide.

Created by Go Nagai, this dark, gothic-horror 26-episode series is most definitely not for young children. In addition to having a complex, sometimes nail-biting plot, THE DEVIL LADY also has its lion's share of gory violence and nudity. The battle sequences between the devilish Jun and the monsters are as bloody as you'd expect, and there are also scenes where several characters are nude. Still some other episodes feature somewhat sexual situations; for example, at one point, Jun is tied to a bed while a character (changed into a demonic cat), draws her claw against Jun's chest and slurps blood from the wound. Later, another character--Jason Bates--who, like our heroine, has the ability to transform into a devil beast, attempts to rape Jun.

To THE DEVIL LADY's credit, however, the show handles the above in a supernatural manner, so it's not so disturbing. And while some may bemoan that the production values are on par with an old-school Anime--uneven cel count, and somewhat limited backgrounds, in many ways it makes it easier to stomach a show like this.

However, there were two things that ultimately made THE DEVIL LADY for me. The first is its ominous musical score, provided by Toshiyuki Watanabe. Sparingly used, yet memorable, it adds to the show's creepy atmosphere. The main theme, in particular, a choral chant reminiscent of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" as well as Jerry Goldsmith's score for THE OMEN, is a knock-out. The other quality that struck me about THE DEVIL LADY was the compelling portrayal of Jun as a character. In between periods of killing, we see her overcome with remorse and shame for having committed such acts, and the very real pain we feel from this makes it all the more sad when she starts to become more monstrous and lose touch with her normal self. This issue of duality adds a human aspect and credibility to what could otherwise have been just another throwaway horror Anime flick.

Although episodic in nature, THE DEVIL LADY manages to find a plot of its own. While it does build to the typical apocalyptic conclusion and some episodes don't really move the story along, there are very rare moments when THE DEVIL LADY is not engrossing. As a story about a person's downward spiral, it's hard to pull away from every minute of it, but the only episodes that truly succeed in maintaining a thriller/horror feel are the opening three. Every one after that borders on predictable, but in all fairness, there are unexpected twists and just about enough intelligence to make the overall show not only an ideal choice for Halloween, but as a subject for discussion. Actually, I found out that this show is a reworking of another series by Go Nagai; THE DEVIL MAN, only with a man in the lead. To further compliment this show, it never even feels like a spin-off, so you wouldn't think otherwise.

Other kudos should be given to the folks at ADV for their handling of this series. The visual quality on the discs is very good, and the audio comes across very well on both the Japanese and English language tracks. The English dub is produced by the now defunct Monster Island Studios from Austin, Texas, whose track record has been mixed. Their English track for NADIA was wonderful, but SAMURAI X, their previous project, was too stiff, acting-wise, and loose, script-wise. THE DEVIL LADY's dub is somewhere in between. The principal trio of Jun, Asuka, and Kazumi are all excellently voiced and well acted by Shawn Sides, Siān Rees-Cleland, and especially Camille Chen (the latter's screaming scenes, in particular, are phenomenal; you'd swear that she was in the situation for real!). The supporting cast is hit or miss, but most of them verge on good; J. Shannon Weaver, in particular, is disturbingly creepy as the kid-devil Satoru. The ADR script by Elena Carrillo is probably the problem I have with the dub; although faithful in spirit, sometimes it's a little too loose, omitting and/or altering some important lines. This flaw, however, is toned down after the first volume and isn't all that bothersome after awhile. Purists probably won't give the dub a chance due to the aforementioned scripting issues, but for patient dub fans, this one might be worth checking out for the performances I described.

On a final note, THE DEVIL LADY also exists as a manga series, and has some even more horrifying violence and some sexual scenes. This Anime is tamer by comparison, although as mentioned, it's not for the kiddies.

I was pleasantly surprised with Devil Lady. Though I don't have much of a care for Go Nagai (the only series if ever enjoyed that he made was New Cutey Honey), I do know something about him, and one of the things he's known for his constant fan-service and more humor-based stories. But occasionally he takes a dip into horror, and when he does he does a good job with it. Devil Lady, though, is probably his best, I think, because it sets an atmosphere and never gets away from that. In other words, it stays dark and tense throughout, with characters that have a lot of emotion.

The story in the Devil Lady series follows Jun Fudo, a beautiful fashion model who seems a little bored with life, and more than just a bit depressed. But one night, she is captured and forced to face a monstrosity that nearly kills her. That's when her powers come out, and she changes into the Devil Lady, a super-powered fighting creature with no mercy. Now, her life revolves around a new career, of hunting and killing demons and devils in the night. What follows is episode after episode of confrontations, usually with a lot of emotional or thematic undertones, adding a little bit of depth to what is essentially a blood-and-guts anime.

As for the negatives, though there are few, there was one that caught my attention: dated animation. And the surprising thing is that this is not an old anime. It was made in the late 90s yet it looks as if it came from the early to mid 90s. It seems washed, and at times it's darker than it needs to be, so much so that you'll be adjusting the brightness on your TV just to see what it is that's happening to the Devil Lady. Another thing that bothered me was the goofy Go Nagai trademarks, and the one that really had me saying "huh?" was the Power-Rangers-growth of the monsters and Devil Lady, so that they can battle among the skyscrapers. For me, this was enough to take a point away from this collection.

Still, though, the overall value of this collection, as well the quality of the story and horror in Devil Lady, makes up for all that and I was very willing to give this DVD an easy four. Though it's no masterpiece, it certainly is one of Go Nagai's best. If you like darkly themed horror with a lot of violence, then Devil Lady is something for you.

This is one of the best hero's journey themes in Anime. Things start off ominous and then progress to an outright slugfest. Just enough character development is sprinkled in so you care when they struggle. And it never lets up right to the end.The Devil Lady - The Complete Collection

The series is a mix of Claymore/Devil May Cry/Bubblegum Crisis 2040 and while the characters are entertaining for the most part you might not find them as enjoyable as much as The characters from InuYasha/Naruto/Bleach and the like. The one thing many fans of the companies of Funimation and ADV Films(now known as Section 23 or Sentai Films) is the poor quality of the dubbed actors/actresses in the series, while the Japanese voice cast did very well you can tell this was an earlier release from an infant state ADV Films company at the time since later on ADV got a great many deal more talented voice actors/actresses in their folds with later releases( Full Metal Panic to name one). The animation isn't terrible but again it's not going to have the vast CGI effects animation many animes have gotten in the last ten years so if you were expecting any kind of effects like that the you'll be disappointed. The series ending leaves a lot to be desired, while it gives closure in some of the series it also leaves a lot of it ambiguous having you left with some questions about characters and the like. As for the characters themselves they're not unlikable it's just you feel more apathetic to their situations not really caring on what really happens to some of them including some of the main characters themselves. After watching the series I was entertained enough but not enough to bother with looking at it again, also like previous mentioned the dubbed voice cast when you force yourself to listen to them really pushed the enjoyment value of this series down as you couldn't help but twitch and wince as they said their lines. If SentaiFilms ever re-releases this series I truly hope it's re-dubbed by a much better and talented voice cast if it is I would definitely buy it and toss this one away. I luckily got this set at a very affordable price for about under $30.00 dollars, and though I was entertained $30.00 dollars is the most anyone should pay for this series anymore and you'll probably feel you got ripped off. I do also advise trying to find a few episodes online if you can just to make sure you will find this series enjoyable enough for you to contemplate getting for your anime collection....

For how old the series is, it's actually pretty well made. If you like Go Nagai, a guesser to the end, or even just plain anime gore, you'll want to get your hands on this classic.

The story line is excellent. Getting a model that is absolutely afraid of her devil side is very unique. Also, this particular plotline has so many twists that you don't know what to do with yourself. And it never gets too overdramatic. There is always space for light comedy. There are some parts in the show that get a little dragged on, but have patience with it.

The worst part of the series is the voice-acting, which was usually the case in the early days of anime. Dubbing was never great in the 20th Century, and I am glad that it has gotten better. It isn't the absolute worst dubbing, but DeviL Lady characters may tend to annoy you because of it.

If you are a big fan of Go Nagai animation, try this one out. Even if you are not, it can still be entertaining.

One of the most obscure anime out there, a lot of people have forgotten how sci-fi anime is supposed to be. This is a perfect blenf ohorror, sci-fi, and action anime that chils the bones and keeps you wanting more. Also, it has a very interesting story-line. Where else would you find an anime featuring a supermodel who turns into a night valkyrie battling her own breed for the survival of mankind. The question remains, who is the good guy and who is the bad guy? The answer is obvious by the end of the series and is well worth watching all the way through. I remember renting this from a video store whe I was younger, now I'm proud to say that it's part of my own personal anime collection!

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.