i’m only going to review the new translation of the original manga and leave the shin devilman portion of the classic collection out since i’m not as familiar with shin devilman
review including some screenshots and “scans” under cut (i’m far too lazy to actually scan manga pages so please accept my shitty phone pics)
the devilman classic collection, vol, 1 is available on amazon and at barnes and noble for approximately $25-30 depending on the retailer and contains volumes 1-3 of the original manga as well as parts of shin devilman, as shown below.
not including a “bilingual” japanese-english edition from 2002 that seems to only exist in some japanese library catalogues, the devilman classic collection is the first official english translation of the original devilman manga. all online versions available on sites like mangarock are fan translations and while these are INCREDIBLY appreciated, they don’t always make the most sense in terms of either content or tone. for the most part, the classic collection translation clarifies scenes such as ryo’s explanations at the sabbath and akira and ryo’s conversation at the diner about humanity’s predators. however, the tradeoff for better dialogue in the wordier sections of the manga is that lines from the fan translations that have since become Iconic(tm) in the english fandom are not always present in the classic collection. for instance, take “miki the hands” in the fan translation:
vs. “slapping miki” in the classic collection
this happens a lot in volume 1 especially since so many of its individual lines were memorably funny in the fan translation. don’t worry, though, “laced with drugs” was kept intact.
the improvements to the translation don’t really change the content very much, but they do come across as more natural and flow a bit better, as shown by this snippet of ryo and akira’s conversation in the diner:
but now it’s time for the fatal flaw of the classic collection: incredibly important scenes have been cut, especially those centered on ryo and his characterization. the most glaring examples of cut scenes are akira’s visit to ryo in the hospital (aka haha they gay) and ryo’s solo fight against eader/maegawa (aka murder umbrella scene). the hospital visit, which takes place before the sirene fight in volume 2, is cut and akira and miki’s first interaction post-amon goes straight into the sirene battle. this cut removes vital characterization for post-amon akira (”i enjoy being violent! it excites me!”), context for ryo being in the hospital during the sirene fight, and further development of ryo and akira’s dynamic with each other. this cut is very jarring to those who have read the manga before and could be confusing to those who haven’t.
the eader fight happens after the diner scene in the fan translation, but the diner scene in the classic collection cuts straight to tare and susumu. the eader fight’s removal from the classic collection is as baffling to me as it is crippling to the story. this fight is CRUCIAL to ryo’s characterization and reveals the extent to which he is losing his marbles from fear, which is the whole diddly-dang point of his character in the manga. this is also critically important to the story because it is the first real foreshadowing of ryo’s true identity as satan, as shown below.
this foreshadowing is not present at all in the classic collection and ryo’s mental decline will feel much more sudden to those who only read the classic collection vs. the fan translation.
SO WHAT’S THE TAKEAWAY HERE?
is the classic collection good? depends what you’re looking for. having better dialogue in the scenes that are present is very nice, though it is disappointing when iconic lines from the fanslation have been changed. there is also some very neat art in the collection and even the regular black and white art within the manga is crisper on paper. however, massive cuts have been made to the story, so i would not advise first-time readers to read the classic collection. i would direct them to the online fanslation that tells the entire story. i would only recommend the classic collection to experienced fans who want a collector’s item/physical copy of (most of) the story. it’s up to you if that is worth $30ish. i personally am glad that i have a physical copy and will preorder volume 2, but i now expect massive cuts.
