"People despised me... and you were a crybaby."
The title is definitely not for show. Like many would say, DEVILMAN crybaby is guaranteed to reduce you to tears. In fact, it's often said that the "crybaby" subtitle doesn't refer to Akira - it refers to the audience.
Warning: Spoilers Off applies to these pages. Proceed at your own risk.
Episode 1 - I Need You
- While not as depressing as the later examples, it's still sad to see a young Akira trying his best to care for a cat who wasn't going to live any longer, and breaking down in tears when the cat finally dies. Anyone who has a pet or was in a similar situation could relate.
Episode 4 - Come, Akira
- After not seeing his parents for a long time, Akira finally gets to see them again, even if only for a while. Their reunion immediately sours, however, when he encounters the demon Jinmen, who in this adaptation has possessed his father and killed his mother, with the latter trapped in the former's body. Akira tries to call out to his father and have him turn into a Devilman, but Jinmen takes over at the last minute, leaving Akira with no other choice but to essentially kill both of his parents. Understandably, this leaves Akira so crushed that he spends the next episode in a Heroic BSoD.
Episode 6 - Neither Demon nor Human
- Koda retreats into a parking lot before the track event to watch a video on his phone of his deceased boyfriend giving him encouragement. He quickly starts tearing up and this eventually turns into full-blown sobs, eventually leading him to lose control over his powers and briefly shift to his Devilman form.
Episode 8 - I Must Know Myself
- Miki's father finally finds his wife and son... only to discover Taro has turned into a demon and in his uncontrollable hunger, has eaten his own mother. His breakdown is gut-wrenching; he tries to put his son out of his misery, but can't. When the army comes in to kill him, he screams and begs them not to kill his son, but both just get gunned down.
- Just... Just his entire reaction when he found them. The sheer sadness of the scene was that gut-wrenching and saddening that even some viewers claimed they felt disturbed during this scene, amidst a series chock-full of disheartening and saddening scenes. OUCH.
- Even worse, Taro starts silently weeping when his father appears, implying that he's completely aware of the fact that he is eating his mother, and that his father is pointing a gun at him. Taro's father tried to aim the gun at him multiple times, only to break down in anguish with each attempt.
- Akira tries and fails to save Miki's parents and younger brother, Taro. He manages to at least recover their bodies and gives them a proper burial. Akira then sits in front of their grave and cries, apologizing for not saving them.
- After returning home from his failed attempt to save the Makimura's, Akira has to break the news to Miki that her entire family has been killed. He cannot even look her in the eyes as he relays the news. Miki wordlessly retreats to her room. Akira, overcome by the tragedy, immediately begins to weep with a loud wail. Miki, alone in her room, is finally hit by her loss when she hears Akira crying. Miki also begins to cry and soon both she and Akira can be heard sobbing as the scene focuses on pictures of the Makimura family.
Episode 9 - Go to Hell, You Mortals
- After Ryo outs Akira to the world and he escapes the Makimura home in his Devilman form, he witnesses a group of humans tied to posts being stoned by an angry mob. Akira flies down to try and stop the people from being killed and reason with the mob. As the crowd becomes more irate, Akira begs them to come to their senses, telling them that the humans tied up are not demons and that neither is he. The people refuse to believe Akira no matter how much he pleads and start throwing whatever they can at him. Akira stretches out his arms to shield the innocent people behind him, asking why they hate and kill each other in an anguished voice. By then Akira is in tears. The mob jeers and mocks him for crying and continue their assault, but Akira refuses to yield. He stands his ground and takes the punishment, still silently weeping.
- Episode 9 arguably manages to up the ante with the infamous moment of Miki's death, by throwing in Hope Spot after Hope Spot. To start, Miki tries to preemptively calm the emerging rioters, by sharing her relationship and friendship with Akira online. Some of the Devilman appreciate this, but the humans take this opportunity to dox her. Unlike in the original manga, Miki here has Wam and his buddies and Miko, who is now a Devilman, to try and help protect her. Several of Wam's friends, however, end up joining the lynchers, resulting in Wam and Miko both dying trying to protect her. Finally, just like in the original, Miki gets killed and her body ripped apart by the lynchers before Akira can arrive to save her.
- Just to twist the knife further, there's a scene during the credits in this episode that shows Akira riding his motorcycle in the sunset with Miki sitting behind and clinging onto him lovingly. And it's all set to a song called "Konyadake" (Just For Tonight): which has the singer describing how he wants to spend the last night with his love but ends up realizing that the song they're dancing to won't end.
- Akira's entire heartbreaking reaction when he returns home to see the Makimura's house in flames, with the severed body parts of his friends all being paraded on pikes by the mob that murdered them. A close up shows his eyes fill with tears as he spots Miki's body among the pikes. Akira grabs his head between his hands and chokes out strangled sobs. Then he finally snaps. Still in his Devilman form, Akira calls the humans before him "the real demons". Akira continues to cry as he tells the humans to go to hell and then incinerates them all. It's very likely one of the rare moments where he cries for himself.
Episode 10 - Crybaby
- A small hinted one with the cat of the Makimura household and the only survivor of the massacre, Tako, who turns out to be a Devilman. Said cat is beside Akira in the final battle, hinting that they're the second-in-command of the Devilman army and is basically Akira’s last link to Miki and the Makimura family. Satan’s machinations cost Akira and Tako their family. Tako sacrifices himself to Satan’s first strikes simply to give Akira a shot at making Satan pay for killing their family and humanity, costing Akira the last link he has to Miki besides his own human heart.
- Akira putting on one of Miki’s earrings, which were given to her by Wam to protect her. Not only is it basically Akira putting on something that belonged to Miki so that she can fight alongside him, but also him honoring Wam for trying to protect Miki until his dying breath. It’s a reminder to Akira that, for all the evil humans have done, there are still those among them who did not deserve what Satan has done to the world.
- The Imagine Spot of Akira, pre-transformation, having dinner with the Makimura family, his parents, and Miko with him looking at them with heartbreaking joy... before they turn into mannequins and their heads fall off. Not only does this show how much he misses all of them, but it might also hint that Akira hates himself and thinks that if he never became Devilman, they might still be with him.
- The ending. After their first and final fight, Satan/Ryo realizes too late what his plans have cost him as he reminisces on his childhood with Akira and begs him not to leave him as he's finally realized his feelings of love for Akira far too late. And then the world ends with Satan clinging to his dead friend while sobbing as God wipes the slate clean — meaning that Ryo will suffer losing his beloved again, as he has before and will continue to do forever. Even if he ultimately brought it on himself, it's hard to not pity him.
- If it helps, the Shibuya exhibition event shows a close-up
◊ of Satan in his final moments, which mirrors how Akira cried over the dead cat. - To make the ending even better, keep in mind that Akira and his loved ones are also fated to forever suffer because Satan will always fall in love with Akira's incarnations and realize it too late.
- If it helps, the Shibuya exhibition event shows a close-up
