Things fall apart rapidly in the second half of Go Nagai’s DevilMan Lady.The center was never meant to hold.

Jun advocates for the humanity of those people who show signs of the Devilbeast Progress, while the humans that are creating the afflicted – then dehumanizing them and hurting them – become less and less human themselves.

Having saved and lost Kazumi several times and only for one brief night allowed to acknowledge their love – Jun becomes despondent, then ultimately enraged, as society crumbles. As Asuka pushes Jun to her limits, Jun finds some strength at last.

In a deeply dark and violent ending, Asuka, who is intersex, rapes Jun, then forces her into a hell of Asuka’s making. There Kazumi is able to speak with Jun one last time and Jun sheds the very last of her inhibitions to become the Devilman Lady that defeats Asuka’s distorted form of godhead, saving what is left of humanity.

Through the final arc, as Asuka’s past comes to light, I was reminded so very much of Apos in Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne. Also portrayed as a evil “hermaphrodite” (a word that has had a long road, from tragic Greek figure to slur,) Apos and Asuka also share megalomania and disinterest in humanity other than as tool for their own ambitions. I now wonder how much Apos was influenced by Asuka…and how much Rin: Daughters of Menmosyne was influenced by Go Nagai Devilman franchise. The Devilman himself, Akira, makes a cameo appearance here, and where the rest of this series is very 1990’s, he is purest 1980s.

This series remains a dark, violent and often depressing look at humanity’s inability to treat others well, very similar to Devilman Crybaby. Sure the monsters are scary, but armed men with guns threatening innocent children is far more terrifying  because it is something we all actually see on a daily basis. But. Unlike Devilman Crybaby, it has hope. It is true that Jun does not have a happy ending with Kazumi, but because of her, Jun is finally able to accept herself. The world is not destroyed. Children play, humans evolve after all, despite themselves. There is hope for the future, for Jun…and for us.

Ratings:

Art – 9
Story – 9 Horror in every form.
Characters – 9
Service – 8 Yes, very. This is Go Nagai we are talking about.
Yuri – 9

Overall – 9

As I have said elsewhere, “All of the Devilman franchise seem to be about humanity’s complicity in its own destruction. By that standards, Devilman Lady has a happy ending as Jun only loses everyone she’s ever met, and both arms, but Tokyo/Earth survives.”