Amon: The Darkside of the Devilman
Amon: The Darkside of the Devilman (AMON デビルマン黙示録, AMON Debiruman Mokushiroku, sometimes translated as Amon: The Apocalypse of the Devilman) is an action/horror manga illustrated by Yu Kinutani, based on the Devilman manga originally created by manga author and artist Go Nagai. The first volume (tankōbon) was published on January 21, 2000, and the final volume was released on April 24, 2004.
| Amon: The Darkside of The Devilman | |
 Japanese cover of Amon: The Darkside of The Devilman Volume 1 | |
| AMONデビルマン黙示録 (AMON debiruman mokushiroku) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Action, horror |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Go Nagai |
| Illustrated by | Yu Kinutani |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Magazine | Monthly Magazine Z |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | August 1999 – April 2004 |
| Volumes | 6 |
| Original video animation | |
| Amon: The Apocalypse of Devilman | |
| Directed by | Kenichi Takeshita Toyoo Ashida (general supervision) |
| Written by | Ritsuko Hayasaka |
| Music by | Mangahead Takeshi Kobayashi |
| Studio | Studio Live |
| Released | May 24, 2000 |
| Runtime | 45 minutes |
| Manga | |
| Devilman Mokushiroku: Strange days | |
| Written by | Go Nagai |
| Illustrated by | Yu Kinutani |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| Magazine | Magazine Z |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Published | 2005 |
| Volumes | 1 |
Plot
Fear runs rampant throughout Tokyo with the revelation that demons in fact exist amongst us. Paranoia and the darker side of humanity boils onto the streets as people turn on one another, suspecting that anyone could in fact be a demon hiding in human clothing. Amidst the growing tensions, tragedy strikes Akira causing his mind to snap. Retreating into his subconscious, this allows his devilish alter-ego Amon to break free from Akira's cage of flesh and wreak havoc on both human and demons alike.
Amon: The Darkside of The Devilman is an alternate setting to the last chapters of the original Devilman manga. Where in the original, Devilman faces Satan after seeing his slain friend Miki Makimura's severed head, Amon sees Akira lose control of himself, and due to his sadness and depression from not being able to protect Miki, allows Amon to gain control of Akira and his powers again.
In Volume 2, we start to see the origins of both Amon, and Sirène, and see more of Earth under the demons' rule.
Characters
- Amon: Known as the Lord of War, is one of the most powerful demons known, and considered one of the greatest warriors of Hell. Lover to the demon, Sirene. Originally "trapped" within Akira Fudo, when Amon attempted to possess Akira, but due to Akira's pure heart, Amon loses control and remains sealed within Akira, giving Akira complete control over Amon's powers. He appears in the anime as a red humanoid demon with black fur and chiropteran wings on his head and back (possibly to symbolize the rivalry between Amon and Satan). He is defeated and re-merged by Akira in one on one combat after being savagely beaten by a flurry of punches.
- Akira Fudo: The main protagonist of Devilman. He maintains the same role as he did in the original Devilman, but his appearance is more intimidating than in the original. After witnessing the brutal murder of Miki, Akira snaps and allows Amon to take control of him. Akira later defeats Amon in combat and rejects Satan instead of fighting him.
- Sirène: Amon's lover and the main protagonist of the Cretaceous Era arc.
- Ryo Asuka (Satan): Leader of all demons. Wields incredible psychic power, among other abilities. Satan is in love with Akira Fudo (based on the friendship gained as Ryo Asuka, Satan's human form). He appears as a twelve winged seraph. The story ends with the two meeting face to face and, instead of fighting, Akira walks past him while Ryo looks back at him sadly, seemingly preventing the events of the conclusion of the original series taking place.
Media
Manga
The manga was originally published in the Kodansha's Magazine Z, from August 1999 issue to April 2004 issue.[1]
| No. | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 21, 2000 | 4-06-349008-4 | ||
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| 2 | December 22, 2000 | 4-06-349040-8 | ||
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| 3 | September 21, 2001 | 4-06-349066-1 | ||
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| 4 | August 23, 2002 | 4-06-349104-8 | ||
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| 5 | July 23, 2003 | 4-06-349136-6 | ||
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| 6 | April 23, 2004 | 4-06-349169-2 | ||
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Devilman Mokushiroku: Strange days
A sequel, titled Devilman Mokushiroku: Strange days (デビルマン黙示録 STRANGE DAYS)), was also published in the same magazine in 2005.
| No. | Release date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 22, 2005 | 4-06-349214-1 |
OVA adaptation
On May 24, 2000, a loose adaptation of the first volume of Amon: The Darkside of the Devilman was released. Being based on volume 1 of the manga (no other volumes were released at the time), it is much shorter than the manga, and branches off in an entirely different direction shortly after Amon gains control of Akira Fudo at the end of volume 1.
In the OVA, fear runs rampant throughout Tokyo as paranoia grips the population who believe that demons exist among them. Akira is seen coming to the aid of Miko and Yumi, two female members of his team of demon hunters. Later, at Miki's home, her brother Tare watches a video of Akira transforming into Devilman. Before he can tell Miki, a group of vigilante demon hunters corner and kill him. When Miki comes down the stairs, she is attacked and decapitated. Ryo Asuka goes on TV and stirs unrest and violence by warning people to be vigilant against demons. Later Akira sees the group of vigilantes with Miki's head. He loses control and transforms into Devilman and kills them all in a sea of blood. Devilman is told his Army is combating a squadron of demons led by Selos. When Akira arrives Selos gives Akira the option to join his army or die. Akira responds by destroying the building. Amon emerges from the ruins, having been liberated from Akira's body and Selos' demons attack him, but Amon is far too powerful for them. Amon finds the young Yumi under the rubble and bites her in half, ending her short life. He then confronts Selos. They engage in a citywide titanic battle but Amon is far too strong and kills Selos. Amon then finds and attacks Satan who tells him that Akira still exists. Amon confronts Akira in a wasteland. Akira transforms into Devilman and they fight, but Amon is far stronger and savagely beats Devilman. Semi-conscious, Devilman's mind drifts back to his life as Akira and time with Miki which gives him the strength to retaliate and destroy Amon. The OVA ends with Akira and Ryo Asuka (who is Satan in his human form) facing each other as if to fight (as they did in the original Devilman manga), but Akira slowly walks past him.
Staff of Amon: Apocalypse of Devilman (2000)
- Creature Design: Yasushi Nirasawa
- Theme Song Performance: Mangahead
- Voice Cast: Shinji Takeda (Akira Fudo/Devilman), Atsuko Enomoto (Miki Makimura), Tomokazu Seki (Ryo Asuka/Satan), Akio Ōtsuka (Amon), Kazuki Yao (Saylos), Rie Tanaka (Miko)
References
- "fjの教祖様の既読・漫画・衣谷 遊" (in Japanese). Japan. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
External links
- Amon the dark side of the Devilman at PaTaTo's Manga DB (in Italian)
- Devilman Mokushiroku Strange Days at PaTaTo's Manga DB (in Italian)
- Amon: The Apocalypse of Devilman (OVA) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia