This past Winter 2018 anime season contained two massively violent series that, interestingly, did not stream on conventional anime methods: the first to premiere was the widely popular Devilman Crybaby which premiered in the first week of January, and the second was Killing Bites, which premiered toward the middle of January. Both shows revel in their violence and absolute absurdity, and upon first glance, the series may resemble one another in themes and ideas through visuals, but there’s something to be said about how hyper-violent drama can be taken in two drastically different directions.
Let’s get to know both shows before diving fully into them: Devilman Crybaby is a 10-episode ONA (original net animation) on Netflix about a young man named Akira who joins the war against Demons after absorbing and wrestling with the powers of a Demon to become Devilman. Throughout the series, we explore Akira’s ideologies about what it means to be human or monster while we see the world at large come to grips with what is happening. The series has fantastic visuals, an unforgettable soundtrack, and so many heart-pounding, heartbreaking moments.
Killing Bites is a 12-episode anime on Amazon Prime and is about young college student Yuya Nomoto accidentally discovering Hitomi, a Therianthrope (human capable of using the powers of a certain animal) that competes in the underground fighting tournament called Killing Bites. Yuya is tasked with being her “caretaker” and is thrust headfirst into Killing Bites, putting him in danger with some of the most lethal Japanese underground mobs and putting Hitomi at odds with some of the strongest beings in Japan. The show is simply absurd and knows it, with insane visuals, concepts, dialogue, and an over-the-top soundtrack that makes every memorable moment easily stand out.
There are two things that both shows share that cannot be disputed: hyper-violence and a sexy appeal to it. Both shows are incredibly erotic, though Devilman is far more overt about it since it does have themes of coming-of-age and, well, sex is a part of that. There are several scenes where people are having sex, or are trying to. Killing Bites is way more about the fan-service but it cranks that up to eleven basically in an instant.
But what about the violence? What about the action, the insane amounts of gore and blood and ripping and tearing and punching and kicking and talks about what this means or what that means?
The action in both series is great, though with Devilman Crybaby it’s far more stylized, as with the rest of the series. Killing Bites is just flat-out brutal about things, with people getting punched or stabbed and we, the audience, getting to see the brunt of it. The major contrast between the two is that while Devilman has this violence, it’s less about showing off the shock of someone getting shot dead, and more about what that means for the world and narrative at large; whereas Killing Bites is way more interested in the shock value of the moment, and it takes that concept and runs.
These are two shows that, in the early to mid-2000s, you’d probably see airing on television at like 3 or 4 in the morning. If you’ve ever seen an anime like this, i.e. Black Lagoon or Deadman Wonderland then you know what I’m talking about. You wouldn’t see Toonami airing Killing Bites anytime before midnight just like you wouldn’t see them airing Dragon Ball Super at midnight. They know how to market and know what people want in what order.
Great, so we’ve discussed what the shows are and their similarities. So, what is their key difference? Is it just in the style, the tone?
Actually, it’s in how self-aware the shows are of their story, characters, and the world.
Devilman Crybaby is a show about subverting expectations in a narrative. Due to its constrained episode amount, it has to do a lot with a little and that means getting to the thick of things about halfway through the series; however, this sudden turn works as it relates to how the characters are at the time. The show isn’t afraid to put the narrative at risk if it means elevating the characters to where they need to be for the next stage of the plot.
Killing Bites? It’s just raw, unadulterated fun from start to end. There is no real narrative a play. It’s just setting up the tournament, fighting in the tournament, and then surviving and seeing what happens by the end. There is character work at play but really the characters are just standard tropes that are occasionally subverted, but this isn’t a complaint. As I said before, the show takes things full-octane from the start and it maintains that level of insanity and sometimes even manages to go beyond that. There are several moments in the series where I did not see something coming because I simply could not believe that they would dare to go there.
Still, Killing Bites has its elements of drama, and of just proving oneself to the world. It’s a stupid show, yes, but to say that it’s something similar to Devilman Crybabyregarding its heart or emotional depth would be a serious crime against the latter. Killing Bites does not want to make you feel empathy, it wants you to sit down and be blown back by the insanity on screen before you. Devilman Crybaby uses this insanity to unsettle you and craft it’s world in a meaningful way, tossing in massive amounts of symbolism, foreshadowing, and character work in the animation.
It’s not fair to judge a show simply based on how violent it is. Devilman Crybaby uses the violence as a storytelling mechanic early on in the show, and then in the back half, when themes of tragedy begin rising, the show uses violence to highlight that. Killing Bites uses violence to get the blood pumping and suck you into the visceral combat, so that you’re never bored with mundane characters or motivations.
Shows can be super violent and gory but also have an emotional weight to them as well. Devilman Crybaby does this best, probably, by weaving a gut-wrenching narrative that mostly subverts the hero’s journey we’re all led to believe Akira is going to be taking. It does not shy away from the darker elements of the world it’s created and takes things to dark, unsettling, and often unwanted places. Because the visual style is so intense, you’re aware from the get-go how insane or off-putting things can eventually get when the going gets tough.
If someone is pitching you Devilman Crybaby and they lead with it being basically just an emotionally bereft show about demons fighting demons then you’re in for something entirely different. While that happens often, and they are all quite amazing fights that are just a marvel to watch, there’s more to the fights than what meets the eye. If you’re looking for that straight up action? Killing Bites.
Let me put it to you this way: Devilman Crybaby is like a chicken tender from a reputable restaurant, and Killing Bites is a chicken tender from some fast-food place. It’s still gonna be not all that great for you given the content, but you’re less likely to get super bloated and feel ill after the former rather than the latter. Killing Bites is junk food anime; you sit back with a bowl of popcorn and laugh and get excited at the hardcore moments; whereas, with Devilman Crybaby, you sit down with a bunch of blankets and by the end, you sit in absolute silence for the next week contemplating what life even is.
I think the perfect blend between the two shows, one that does have that super awesome violence and battles and has some character development, but not enough for you to get all emotional, is Hellsing, be it the manga, or Hellsing Ultimate, the 10-episode OVA series. In it, you get an over-powered vampire king fighting against Nazis, the renegades of the Catholic Church, and a bunch of awesome vampire battles and there’s mass hysteria and destruction from the halfway point on. Most of the show is basically one giant battle sequence and it’s absolutely amazing to behold. And the best part is that characters aren’t too unique or have too much depth, but you’ll still feel kinda bad when something not too great happens to them.
Actually, I think Hellsing Ultimate may have even more gore than the two shows combined…hmm..
Senseless violence does not exist in good writing. Killing Bites uses absurd action to give the audience exactly what the show is about up front, and then kicks it into overdrive from there with witty banter and probably some sex. Devilman Crybaby does a similar thing but also gives us emotional weight to the lives of the characters while mixing in that violence for us to understand what the show will be like.
As I said before, it’s supremely unfair to look at the two, understand the level of hyper-violence latent within both, and then write them off as the same thing. They’re not. One’s dumb, fun action for the sake of action and one is smart, dramatic action that underscores heavy themes of story and character. If you like one, you may not be a fan of the other, because that’s how different they actually are. I can’t necessarily ever recommend these shows because it’s tough to see how people will react to them, but, just know that these two shows are aware exactly of what they are and what they want to be, and don’t do anything to betray that. However, what you see is not always what you get. Just a good lesson in never judging a book by its cover.
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