This work directly inspired Evangelion (Hideaki Anno is a vocal fan), Berserk , Chainsaw Man , and even the Devil May Cry series. It codified the “dark hero who loses everything” trope and dared to give its protagonist a victory that tastes like ashes.
The infamous, soul-crushing climax remains one of the most devastating sequences in all of graphic literature. Without spoiling the specifics, Apocalypse of Devilman argues that the true apocalypse isn’t the arrival of hellspawn—it’s the moment civilized society chooses savagery over solidarity. apocalypse of devilman
Read Apocalypse of Devilman if you want to witness the primordial scream of dark manga. But steel yourself. This is not a story about saving the world. It is a story about standing alone in the ruins, realizing that the devil you should have feared was already standing beside you all along—holding a torch and a pitchfork. “A devil who cries… isn’t that the saddest thing in the world?” This work directly inspired Evangelion (Hideaki Anno is
Where the story pivots from dark fantasy to outright tragedy is its second half. As demonic possessions become public, mass hysteria erupts. Neighbors turn on neighbors. Lovers accuse lovers. The world descends into a witch-hunt of unimaginable cruelty. Go Nagai’s art becomes deliberately chaotic, grotesque, and visceral—human beings committing acts of torture and murder that far surpass anything the demons do. This is not a story about saving the world
Apocalypse of Devilman is not a comfortable read. The art is raw and unpolished by modern standards, the pacing can feel breakneck, and the violence is relentless. But that rawness is its power. It bleeds desperation.
Armed with this brutal duality, Akira wages a secret war against the demonic invasion. But Apocalypse of Devilman is not a monster-of-the-week action fest. It is a slow-burn psychological horror story that asks a single, devastating question: What happens when the monsters you’re fighting are less dangerous than the terrified mob behind you?