History YMMV / Devilman

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: The manga also, but ''especially'' the anime for children, simply could not have been released to their originally intended age groups in America due to extreme ValuesDissonance. Any other problems aside, violent {{Gorn}} promoting a Satanic-looking demon as heroic would never even be considered for adaptation by any network executive. Which would be why the anime was translated only in 2014 (and then still in an obscure sub-only version for older audiences), and the manga not until 2018.

** On Tumblr, some fans would make jokes about people such as Creator/DanteAlighieri being fans of Devilman, and such works as Literature/ParadiseLost, Literature/TheDivineComedy and even Literature/TheBible itself being ''Devilman'' FanFiction.
** Japan's local meme flavor is [[https://bit.ly/33EWpfZ Wakaruman,]] where 70's Devilman is used to express understanding or confusion in a manner similar to [[https://bit.ly/2VNJ2Yi Wakari Tetsuya.]]

** "WHY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD"
*** Hell, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubSdfYqCgK8 the entirety of the English dub of the OVA]] could count.

* FridgeHorror: In ''Devilman Grimoire'', actually. Remember how, in the original ''Devilman'', [[spoiler: Miki and Tare were horribly murdered by a psychotic lynch mob consisting of their own neighbors, because they thought she was a witch?]] When one considers that the cast is pretty much the same in ''Grimoire'' (with a few additions), it stands to reason that the Makimuras' neighbors most likely are also the same people. Which then leads to the realization that the whole neighborhood is a ticking time bomb, ready to go off under the right conditions. It doesn't help that Miki goes around announcing to anyone who's willing to listen that she is a witch. Then again, as of the latest chapters in ''Grimoire'', [[spoiler: Miki herself is now a Devilman, so killing her just became that much more difficult.]]

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The story heavily criticizes militarism, and how we dedicate more time and energy to building weapons to destroy each other than building bridges to understand one another. Tribalism is bad, because no matter how justified you think your motives are people unrelated to your feud will be victimized. A perpetual atmosphere of hatred and fear can only result in tragedy.

* CommonKnowledge: [[spoiler: Satan Possessed Ryo Asuka’s corpse after he was killed in a car accident. In actuality Satan only assumed Ryo's identity and the two look nothing alike, a major factor in Ryo discovering their true identity.]] This misconception was likely born from the fact in the 1972 anime Devilman possessed Akira's body after killing the latter.

*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kCWT57h4J0 remixed version]] for the 2018 Crybaby adaptation is pretty fun to hear too, with a catchy beat.

* NeverLiveItDown: The Live-action movie - much like how ''Film/DragonballEvolution'' will do to anime fans in North America five years later and ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' did with DC Comics fans seven years before, the 2004 movie made people of Japan lost their faith in the possibility of a good live-action movie based on mangas.

** One of the prime reasons why [[BreakoutVillain Sirene]] became one of the franchise's most popular characters.

** [[spoiler: Ryo was already [[Bishonen pretty easy on the eyes,]] but a gained a upgrade in sexiness once his [[AngelicBeauty true form]] of Satan was revealed.]]

* Some fans nickname ''Devilman Saga'' as [[WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond ''Devilman Beyond'']] because of its futuristic setting.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: The manga also, but ''especially'' the anime for children, simply could not have been released to its originally intended age groups in America due to extreme ValuesDissonance. Any other problems aside, violent {{Gorn}} promoting a Satanic-looking demon as heroic would never even be considered for adaptation by any network executive. Which would be why the anime was translated only in 2014 (and then still in an obscure sub-only version for older audiences), and the manga not until 2018.

* ApocalypseWow: In the live action film, the end of the world is visually stunning.

* HomoeroticSubtext: Between Akira and Ryo. Made more complicated by the fact [[spoiler:Ryo is in reality the [[OtherworldlyAndSexuallyAmbiguous hermaphrodite Satan]]. On the other hand, Satan '''is''' outright stated to be in love with Akira, and the world ending and being recreated over and over again, is a way by God to punish him, by Satan watching Akira's suffering repeat itself.]]
* HoYay:
** The [=OVAs=] play this up. For example, Akira is so happy at the sight of Ryo that Miki literally begins to be jealous of Akira and even asks "is he more important for you because he is more handsome?". Moreover, Ryo soon tries to drive her away with a knife, saying "there is no need for women".
** Also the multiple and overly long [[HeldGaze stares]] between Akira and Ryo fuel this to the roof (the English dub unintentionally take this UpToEleven with this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM3lVxvf-sk scene]]).

** On Tumblr, some fans would make jokes about people such as Creator/DanteAlighieri being {{Big Name Fan}}s of Devilman, and such works as Literature/ParadiseLost, Literature/TheDivineComedy and even Literature/TheBible itself being ''Devilman'' FanFiction.

** Devilman No Uta, the Japanese opening of the original anime series.

** Of all the voice actors who have voiced Ryo Asuka, Creator/ToruFurusawa (who voices Ryo in the PlayStation 1 game) and Creator/YumiKakazu (who voices Ryo in the PC Mahjong game) can be considered the weakest choices for Ryo. Toru Furusawa gives Ryo a voice that sounds way too deep and masculine to even remotely suit him, and Yumi Kakazu gives Ryo a voice that makes him sound like a girl or a 13 year old boy.

** While the Toei anime is for kids, it can still be pretty violent by modern day standards, and while there's not as much nudity, its still there to some degree that some people probably feel is too much for kids to see.

* AnimationAgeGhetto: Unsurprising, knowing most video stores. The OVA is well known for its incredible brutality and the dub is full of swearing. The 1972 anime on the other hand ''was'' aimed to kids, having lots of changes in comparison with the original manga.

* WTHCostumingDepartment: In the original Toei anime series, Devilman wears spedos with a belt to make him look more like a superhero. Unfortunately that look hasn't aged particularly well by today's standards and looks quite silly, especially when compared to Devilman's more inconic look where his lower torso is completely covered in fur.

* WTHCastingAgency: The 2004 live action movie was criticized for casting teen idols with no acting skills as the main characters. Some also scratched their heads at Akira and Ryo being played by twins, which causes a whole slew of problems. The first one is that Akira and Ryo weren't blood-related in the manga. The second problem is that Ryo is Caucasian on his mother's side, so he's only half the same ethnicity as Akira. The third problem is Ryo's [[spoiler: crush on Akira]], which [[{{Twincest}} goes without saying]].

* WTHCastingAgency: The 2004 live action movie was criticized for casting teen idols with no acting skills as the main characters. Some also scratched their heads at Akira and Ryo being played by twins, despite them not being blood related in the manga (and in Ryo's case, the fact that he's biracial).

* WTHCastingAgency: The 2004 live action movie was criticized for casting teen idols with no acting skills as the main characters.