Amon - The Apocalypse Of Devilman May 2026
For fans of psychological horror, body horror, and animation that pushes boundaries, Amon is essential viewing. It is a masterpiece of despair—a howling, bloody scream into the void, reminding us that sometimes, the hero doesn’t just lose. He becomes the apocalypse.
Director Iida uses color masterfully. The first OVA had a gothic, blue-and-black palette. Amon is drenched in rusty reds, sickly yellows, and deep, void-like blacks, creating an atmosphere of a world already dead. Upon release, Amon was controversial even among Devilman fans. Some praised its unflinching loyalty to the manga’s darkest tones. Others found it too nihilistic, even by Nagai’s standards. The abrupt, hopeless ending left many frustrated. There was no catharsis, no final battle for humanity—just the death of hope. amon - the apocalypse of devilman
While The Birth serves as a stylish, brutal introduction, Amon is something else entirely: a psychological horror film that dismantles its protagonist, questions the very concept of identity, and plunges the viewer into a maelstrom of visceral gore and existential despair. This article delves deep into the making, plot, themes, and legacy of this infamous and brilliant OVA. The 1980s OVA boom allowed creators to bypass television censorship, producing direct-to-video content for a mature audience. Devilman: The Birth (1987) was a landmark, adapting the first half of the manga with stunning, gruesome detail. Its success guaranteed a sequel. For fans of psychological horror, body horror, and
In the vast, bloody tapestry of dark fantasy and horror anime, few works have cast as long a shadow as Go Nagai’s 1972 manga, Devilman . Its exploration of a reluctant demon-human hybrid, the nature of evil, and an apocalyptic ending where Satan himself wins remains shocking even today. However, the original 1972 TV anime was a neutered, children’s version of the source material. It wasn’t until the 1987 OVA Devilman: The Birth and its 1990 sequel, Amon: The Apocalypse of Devilman , that Nagai’s violent, nihilistic vision was finally rendered in animated form. Director Iida uses color masterfully
Ryo Asuka is a tragic figure in the manga, but in Amon , his callousness is on full display. He treats Akira’s disintegration as a scientific data point. He created Devilman, and now he watches his creation self-destruct. The OVA hints at Ryo’s true nature (Satan) but doesn’t fully reveal it, making him seem less like a fallen angel and more like a detached, monstrous god playing with pawns.
Amon: The Apocalypse of Devilman , directed by Umanosuke Iida (who worked on The Birth ) and written by Go Nagai himself alongside Akinori Endo, picks up immediately where the first OVA left off. The animation studio was Oh! Production, with character design and animation direction by the legendary Yoshihiko Umakoshi (later known for Casshern Sins and My Hero Academia ). Umakoshi’s work here is raw, muscular, and grotesquely beautiful—a perfect marriage of Nagai’s crude, expressive style and high-fidelity anime detail.