Jun Fudo 
From the creator of such cult hits as Cutey Honey 
and Mazinger Z comes a new epic from Go Nagai. It is
Devilman Lady. The tale of a young woman faced with the 
mission of hunting down beasts as well becoming one. Yes, 
you are right if you're thinking that this has some relation 
to Devilman, another Go Nagai series. In fact, some of
the characters have the same last names (i.e. Akira Fudo &
Jun Fudo). The series began as a manga from either the 
'70's or '80's. I am not sure which. Anyway, the original
manga is very gruesome and has a lot of nudity and sex, so
I am glad the anime doesn't follow in the manga's steps.

The anime is a very underrated series and is brushed off as a hentai or just
plain fanservice without any plot whatsoever. This, however, isn't true. Devilman 
Lady is a very good series when you actually sit down and watch it. The plot, 
the music, the characters and storylines are very good. 

The actual anime came out around 1998 and was aired on late night television 
Japan. It graphic content was probably why it was put at this time rather
than during normal anime timeslots. The animation is done by a company 
called Dynamic Pro and the style they used for Devilman Lady is
similiar to AIC's style for Vampire Princess Miyu (TV). In total,
there are 26 episodes of DML and two soundtracks. The opening song
is sung in Latin and is very eerie. It shows images of a persecuted Jun.
Possibly foreshadowing, hmm? The first ending song, "Rebirth ~ Megami 
Tensei", is sung by Yukari Tamura and the second ending song, "Lose Heart",
is performed by a J-rock band called Legolgel. I prefer "Rebirth" over
the latter to be honest. I don't know, J-rock songs are just becoming
tiring in my eyes. Anyway, the seiyuu for Jun is played by Junko Iwao.
She has done quite a few anime, including Mahou Tsukai Tai! (as
Akane), Perfect Blue (as Mima) and Ayashi No Ceres (as
Ceres). The other seiyuu in the anime are rather obscure ones who have
yet to have any other major roles.

So basically, DML is one of my favorite anime. It has something
else to offer than other anime with living Beanie Babies and girls
wearing miniskirts and swinging magic wands. And be happy to know that
DML will soon be coming to a shelf near you. ADV Films has
bought the rights to release it here. For those who couldn't wait,
Ctenosaur Video has pretty much subtitled the entire 
series. Only one more volume, which should be out this month. If
you've decided to dislike DML, give it another chance. It's
got a lot to offer anime fans out there.


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