Go Nagai, the creator of many characters, stories and tropes, is known for being a bit on the side of the perverse. At times a bit violent in certain anime and manga, Go Nagai was known to be a trailblazer who brought a new attitude into the Japanese animation industry during the 1970s. With the new direct to video, OVA, format originating during the 1980s, a breathe new life would be injected into older properties looking for a chance for a reinvention, or a rebirth. Devilman would be one of these past anime to get a new lease on life on this venerable format allowing it to be an easy release for export beyond the original fanbase.
This long time veteran of western fandom represents what anime was once thought of in many minds. You had a choice between robot shows, sci-fi space operas, or violent action flicks… stuff for the ‘boys’. Of course this was not true in the bigger scale of focus, but there was this niche for a while. Devilman was released by Manga Entertainment (MANGA!) way back when and this OVA was a good representative of their catalog. Yet there is much more than what is on the surface. Yes this is an action, horror, superhero production with some violent scenes and at times blood (remember the sabbath scene?), but it is also a unique tale of the hero harnessing the power of what we often term as the villain.
When considering Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey we often find a protagonist attempting to grow beyond their mundane life by going on a quest of sorts. At one time, or another, the hero has to go down into the depths of darkness to find one’s true strength to overcome any shadows, or inherent weakness. Devilman veers off the common path of this time honored route by making the pure and just, ‘good’, hero merge with the side of ‘evil’ to become the ultimate champion of justice. Honor and own your ‘dark’ side to defeat an even ‘darker’ side! For mild mannered Akira Fudo/Fodou this means become a vicious monster… while holding onto one’s morality in the process. Devilman would tell this story previously in the anime world as a 1972 television series, but for this 1987/1990 OVA, Devilman would stick closer to its manga roots. Needless to say this OVA version would break many of the conventional set in rules hampered by the original TV release.
Even for those of you who would never touch Devilman with a ten foot stick you cannot deny this is a well crafted production visually. Devilman is just a hair short of being cinematic quality: fine line work, rich vivid colors and fluid motion are all present. Even the acting and writing are well done… only if you watch the original Japanese dub with subtitles. As a native English speaker I had that MANGA dub to work with first and I will say this turned me off to this OVA years ago. I don’t like to judge if something is good, or bad, in terms of quality, but I can safely say the English dub from Manga Entertainment makes Devilman laughably bad, though entertaining. The original Japanese track has more subtle nuances in terms of storytelling and vocal delivery, which drastically changed my view of this OVA. …it’s always a good idea to watch something a second time subtitled if ever a dub rubs you the wrong way.
Still… Devilman’s original OVA release has one flaw… besides that English dub, hehe. In all seriousness, it is very short. Just two hour long episodes. TWO!? Many older OVA releases are often cut short whether by design, or chance so there is much that is left unfinished in terms of the bigger overarching story. While at times Devilman shows a theme of the ultra violent, the character of Akira/Devilman has moments of pure depth and emotion mixed in with the high octane fight scenes. We can learn much from Devilman in terms of exploring, adopting and owning one’s own shadow side. When channeled properly towards something productive it can become your greatest asset. … as well as that other piece of timeless wisdom… it’s always a good idea to watch something a second time subtitled if ever a dub rubs you the wrong way.
What if you mixed the premise of The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman with The Incredibles? Or maybe the senate fighting of Gatchaman with warmth of My Neighbor Totoro? That’s how I see Bionic Six, a show I have not seriously watched since it was first on syndicated broadcast back in 1987. Oh sure I caught an episode from time to time, but as far as fandom all I know was that I really remembered this show as a favorite of mine way back then. Yet ironically I did not follow up much after that. I forgot a lot of the plot line, the premise, etc. All I remembered were a couple of the characters names, the title of the show and it was for an 80s cartoon, animated extremely well. Sadly, most of the video footage I find of Bionic Six is in poor shape.
Have you seen the intro for Bionic Six? Perhaps one of the best examples of short animation from the 1980s? To no surprise the name of TMS, or Tokyo Movie Shinsha, is credited as a co-producer of the show. I have numerous times gushed my love for this studio and for one of it’s star directors who happens to appear in the credits, Osamu Dezaki. Every episode is A-Grade beautiful, no cheapening out for visual budget. Bionic Six may not officially be anime, but like Galaxy Rangers (which was also animated by TMS), this was the closest thing we got here in the West that could pass in many ways as anime with the look and feel. A half-anime, or distant cousin could be the categorization. 
Remember I mentioned this is a family show as well as a superhero title? The family in question that are the heroes of Bionic Six are the Bennetts. A mixed family including dad, Jack; mom, Helen; and kids Eric, Meg, J.D. and Bunji (the last two being adopted), they are via the help of Professor Sharp and the “miracle of modern science” the ultimate sentai squad, the Bionic Six. BIONICS ON! With the help of cybernetic technology the family becomes Bionic-1, Mother-1, Sport-1, Rock-1, IQ and Karate-1 respectively. After all isn’t stopping bad guys the ultimate family bonding experience?
Their main nemesis are the followers of one Dr. Scarab, including the corrupt Doctor himself… “HAIL SCARAB!” They are an oddball collection with names like Glove, Mechanic, Klunk, Chopper and the elusive Madame-O, they are fun in terms of being “the bad guys”, but they are way too monster-like in a cartoonish way. I often wonder if this ‘evil’ group was recycled later into shows like Captain Planet and the Planeteers? Many toy related shows of the era were very similar in terms of plot and tone, basic good guys vs. bad guys, but I think the inclusion of a family dynamic makes Bionic Six stand out. It was perfect for television and if production was was tweaked slightly, this could have been great for primetime as after all… bad cartoons only appeal to blind consumption of products and great cartoons can often times tell a visual story better than anything live action… just my opinion. 
Heroes unite! The evil Genma has made his way through the universe, bringing terror and destruction to every world he touches. Not bad for a large cloud like red skull? He is now set on Earth to claim as his own except he runs into a little problem. He has to face a squad of people who hail from all around the world, from different backgrounds, nationalities and races who happen to have psionic powers… almost sounds like a variation of Cyborg 009 in a way. And it should as the original source material, and title of the film, was known as Genma Taisen (The Great Battle, or War of Genma) a cooperative effort between Kazumasa Hirai and Shotaro Ishinomori (009’s creator). Genma Taisen even had it’s origins in the 1960s too! The first half of Harmagedon, and it’s a long half, showcases only a trio of our heroic cast: a psychic princess from Transylvania (really!), a resurrected robot warrior and our main protagonist, a young Japanese man named, Jo, who is having a very bad day. First he finds out he is not on the baseball team, then he gets dumped by his girlfriend and finally he ends up being chased by some strange robot in an alley that keeps shooting at him. Talk about a rough day!
Another take on ‘Heroes unite!’ as we now look at another group of people, those who were responsible for the making of this mammoth of a film. First is Haruki Kadakawa who is not a name I often equate with anime often, except when I see his name plastered at the beginning of any opening credit sequence with that beautiful phoenix like logo. He was the executive producer and a high roller at that who made it loud and clear that he was the one funding this project! Let us next move to the powerhouse studio known as Madhouse and one of it’s best directors, the amazing Rintaro. Love him or hate him, his work is monumentally visual which sometimes looses a little depth in terms of story, or character. Next in line is our character designer who was a young manga artist that would get his first shot in the anime world. He would become ultra famous for a movie from 1988 known as Akira, but in 1983 he was just plain and simple Katsuhiro Otomo. And finally we need some music, so who could fill this roll? We need someone big, bombastic and different! How about Keith Emerson? Whoa really like from Emerson, Lake, Palmer? The guy who brought a massive Moog synthesizer on tour and had a reputation for stabbing knives into Hammond organs, amongst other things. Yeah we’ll take him! “Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends…”
Many often poo poo Harmagedon as a film, particularly here in the west. In Japan it was a huge blockbuster at the theaters and popular. Did you see the reference in Project A-Ko for instance? We of course did not have much exposure to the original Genma Taisen sources that had been around for decades in Japan. That and the over emphasis of action and the visuals make Harmagedon a feast for the eyes, but awkward in terms of plot. You really have to know and have a passion for Genma Taisen to really love it, or just see Harmagedon as an example of an arthouse action film. And anyway, aren’t many blockbuster action films just visual spectacle. Yes, but not on the level of artistic beauty that Harmagedon exudes. Plus the emphasis of more realistic designs for both Tokyo and Otomo’s characters, as well as Rintaro’s touch, gives Harmagedon an edgy look that was not seen often in anime at that time. Don’t quote me on that, I heard this from many sources and they are so right!
Several themes are brought to the surface, but one that draws a good amount of attention is some very open racism, which eventually resolves itself from understanding and compassion. Compassion is a great word to use I would say as an overall theme of this movie as we as humans need to respect the diversity of who we are and take care of this beautiful green world we live on which is not separate from us, but is a part of us. Our protagonist Jo also has his own feelings to resolve, all stemming from anger towards himself, the death of loved ones and even getting dumped and feeling not up to playing for the high school baseball team. Transforming anger into compassion, hate into love and believing in yourself is for me the major theme of Harmagedon. I understand this very well as this is a core issue I have been dealing with personally. And as of this writing in 2020, who can not say there is a lot of anger and frustration in our collective world? Jo would rise above his hate and is it me, or does this film also remind you in a way to Otomo’s Akira? In that movie we see the destructive power of personal hatred affecting each and every one of us. Both films end in total destruction and yet in both films there is a glimmer of hope that we can start again because being with people you love and that in turn believe in you, no matter the circumstances, can show a way toward one’s next season in life.
The Classic Anime Museum 
You must be logged in to post a comment.