is a 2004 Japanese

superhero film A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature Action film, ac ...

directed by

Hiroyuki Nasu (January 27, 1952 – February 27, 2005) was a Japanese film director. He won the award for Best Director at the 8th Yokohama Film Festival for '' Be-Bop-Highschool'' and '' Be-Bop-Highschool Kōkō yo Tarō aika''. Filmography * ''Devilman ...

. It is based on the manga series of the same name.

Production

''Devilman'' had a box office gross of 5,200 million yen, despite a production budget of 1 billion yen. The movie was first scheduled for a May 2004 release, but was postponed due to reshoots. Special effects were produced by

Toei Company () (also styled TOEI) is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution and video game developer and publishing company. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan (all but two of them operated by i ...

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...

and

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

divisions, under the joint name ''T-Visual''.

Cast

* – Akira Fudo * – Ryo Asuka *

Ayana Sakai is a Japanese actress. She has appeared in more than twelve films since 1998. Selected filmography References External links * 1985 births Living people Japanese actresses Japanese female models Japanese gravure models Actors ...

– Miki Makimura * Asuka Shibuya – Miko * Ryudo Uzaki – Keisuke Makimura (Miki's father) * Yoko Aki – Emi Makimura (Miki's mother) *

Ai Tominaga is a Japanese model and actress. She has been described as one of the first Asian models to walk European catwalks, but there were models like Sayoko Yamaguchi that walked the runways in 1970s and 1980s. Career She has appeared on the cover o ...

– Silene *

Bob Sapp Robert Malcolm Sapp (born September 22, 1973) is an American mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler, actor, and former American football player. He is currently under contract with Rizin Fighting Federation. Sapp has a combine ...

– World Newscaster * Hiroyuki Matsumoto *

Hirotarō Honda is a Japanese actor from MIto, Ibaraki Prefecture. He started his acting career at the Bungakuza Theatre Company's acting school. His first film appearance was in the Nikkatsu Roman Porno film ''Sei to Ai no Korider'' in 1977. Filmography Fil ...

- Asuka *

Mark Musashi Masaru Edward Fulenwider-Musashi (born April 26, 1977 in Rikuzentakata, Iwate, Japan), better known by the stage name , is a Wushu martial artist and a stuntman/actor or Gaijin tarento. Raised in Buckfield, Maine, he attended Dartmouth College ...

– LAPD

Reception

The movie topped an annual poll by the magazine ''Eiga Hihō'' for the worst movie, attracting five times as many votes as the second-place film, and also won first place at the

Bunshun Kiichigo Awards The Bunshun Kiichigo Awards (文春きいちご賞 - ''Bunshun Kiichigo Shou''), or ''Bunshun Raspberry Awards'', is an award presented in recognition of the worst in film. It was founded in 2005 by the Japanese publication company Bungeishunj� ...

and

Sports Hochi , previously known as , is a Japanese-language daily sports newspaper. In 2002, it had a circulation of a million copies a day. It is an affiliate newspaper of ''Yomiuri Shimbun''. Reports 19 September 1939: SS Scharnhorst The Hochi Shimbu ...

's Hebi-Ichigo Awards. It was voted the worst Japanese film of the 2000s in an online poll, which noted that the excitement of the manga series getting a film adaptation increased the universal disappointment with the film. At the Sports Hochi awards ceremony

Takeshi Kitano is a Japanese comedian, television presenter, actor, filmmaker, and author. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, he is better known abroad for his work as a filmmaker and actor as well as TV host. With th ...

called it "one of the 4 most stupid movies ever made after ''

Getting Any? is a 1995 Japanese film, written, directed, edited, and starring Takeshi Kitano. ''Yatteru'' (やってる) is the colloquial form for ''yatteiru'' (やっている), ''yatteru'' coming from the Japanese verb ''yaru'', which is an informal word m ...

'', , and " and said "There is nothing better than getting drunk and watching this movie." At the same ceremony

Sachiko Kobayashi , born in Niigata, Japan, is a female Japanese enka singer and occasional voice actress and voice provider of VOCALOID 4 Sachiko developed by YAMAHA co. She previously worked alongside the Pokémon Company, under the alias " Garura Kobayashi". ...

said she was suddenly called to the set to appear in the movie before she even knew what it was. The film was universally panned by national newspapers and critics, and even by fans of the original manga, citing reasons such as the CGI being hideous, and the casting of various nationally popular models and teen idols, many of whom had never acted before. In addition, reportedly, CGI was used for the fight scenes because director Hiroyuki Nasu did not know how to direct one with live actors. Due to trying to force the whole story into a short run time, the plot was criticized for making little to no sense. It was also noted that the design of Silene on the poster was completely different to her appearance in the movie. Yuichi Maeda gave this movie 2 points out of a 100 on his writer, stating that the only thing good about this movie was the poster and the concept design. Hiroshi Yamamoto created a whole separate part on his website to collect bad reviews of the movie. It links to several national newspapers that panned the movie as well as links to about 100 blog entries from various critics denouncing the movie. The movie has since become a benchmark in Japan for the reception of live action movies, with '' What to Do with the Dead Kaiju?'' in particular being dubbed "The ''Devilman'' of the

Reiwa Era is the current Japanese era name, era of Japan's official calendar. It began on 1 May 2019, the day on which Emperor Akihito's elder son, Naruhito, Enthronement of the Japanese emperor, ascended the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan. The ...

" by online users.

References

External links

* *
Anti Devilman review collection site
2004 science fiction action films 2000s Japanese superhero films 2000s monster movies 2004 horror films 2004 films Demons in film Devilman Films directed by Hiroyuki Nasu Films set in Japan Japanese supernatural horror films Superhero horror films Live-action films based on manga Toei Company films Japanese dark fantasy films 2000s Japanese films {{2000s-horror-film-stub