Devilman Crybaby is an action, dark fantasy anime series released as ONA in 2018. Based on Go Nagai‘s manga series called Devilman, the anime appeared on the Netflix platform. Devilman is among the most popular anime to air on Netflix in recent years, such as The Promised Neverland or Violet Evergarden. Directed by Masaaki Yuasa, Japan Sinks: 2020‘s director recently, the series was created by the Science SARU studio. Devilman: Crybaby, which consists of 10 episodes with an average length of 25 minutes, was released on Netflix on January 5, 2018. After four years, fans are still curious; Could the anime have a second season?
What was the plotline of the Devilman: Crybaby?
The anime takes place around a high school athlete called Akira and his childhood friend Ryo. But these two have not met since childhood. Akira lives apart from his family, is engaged in athletics, and is in the background because he’s an obscure type — Akira isn’t yet the popular kid we’ll see in the next chapters.
In the first episode, Ryo suddenly arrives in his car and takes Akira to a club. On the way, he explains that the demons are running around the world, and he wants to prove that by filming them, the demons are among us and against us. After entering the club, he creates chaos inside, allowing the demons to come into existence. While there was heavy sexuality before, after the chaos, blood and limbs scattered to the left and right are involved, the tone of the anime shifts to chaos. While everyone is chopped up one at a time, Ryo madly records the slaughter.
Meanwhile, when the demons surround Ryo, Akira runs to save his friend, and the screen goes black for a moment. When he comes back, Akira unconsciously joins Amon, one of the most powerful demons, leading the cause in the uprising against God. This time Akira kills everyone and passes out. So the two fight the demons first, and then each other.
Devilman Crybaby is an anime that should be watched with the new breath it brings to storytelling. It offers a rich narrative with references to the drawing, atmosphere, character, myths, and Christianity it uses, but it also contains scenario gaps that can distract the attentive viewer. If it was a little longer than ten episodes, there were things he could have described better. Therefore, its second season is still eagerly awaited.
Will there be a second season of Devilman Crybaby?
As of June 6, 2022, at the time of writing, Netflix has not yet renewed the series for a second season. Director Yuasa or studio Science Saru did not mention any work for a second season. However, is it possible? There are some important criteria so that we can see a new season in the future. The most important ones of these are the popularity and source material availability of the anime. Under these two headings, we will evaluate the possibilities of the new season of the series.
In terms of popularity, everyone knows that Devilman Crybaby was one of the most beloved anime series of recent years. According to Myanimelist, the series ranked 122th in its popularity ranking, and this ranking is quite good. Under normal circumstances, a series with these ratings has no obstacles for season 2. However, another important criterion is the script & source material adequacy.
Manga Status of the Devilman: Crybaby
As we mentioned at the beginning of our article, the ONA series is based on the manga written and illustrated by Go Nagai. This popular manga series is quite old. Originally published in Weekly Shōnen Magazine between 1972 and 1973, the series consists of 5 volumes in total. The main manga series is not ongoing today. The bad news is that there is no longer any source material available for the series to adapt. The anime series, which is largely loyal to the manga, covers the entire manga story with small differences.
However, it is necessary to mention that there are many side stories and parallel manga series. Although the main story is fully adapted, an anime series can be created for a prequel or sequel if Netflix wishes. If we are talking about a sequel, Devilman Lady or Violence Jack would be the best series for it. Although there are separate stories from the original story, they are manga series written by Go Nagai in the same universe and take place after Devilman Crybaby. An anime series for Devilman Lady was made in 1998. However, it may be more satisfying to make a remake after Devilman Crybaby for this production that did not receive enough attention.
Second Season Release Date
Finally, if you are hungry for more Devilman media, you can watch OVAs. They quite faithfully adapted the manga’s first few volumes and are beautifully animated. They are very different from Crybaby but definitely worth watching. If a future spin-off or sequel is announced, we will share it with you. Till 2024 it seems not possible because director Masaaki Yuasa and studio Science SARU are currently working on other projects. A new Devilcry series seems possible only in 2024 or beyond.
