Artist Rui Takato gives his take on the famous “Devilman” series with his 2012 five-volume manga “Devilman G”.

Crime is on the rise in Tokyo and so are the rumors that demons caused them. Little do people realize how close they are to the truth. High school students Miki and Akira know a bit about the occult only due to Miki’s self-proclamation that she is a witch with Solomon’s ring. Akira tries to keep his best friend grounded on reality, but things change when one of their classmates went missing. The lost girl’s friends asks Miki due to her reputation as a problem solver and go ahead with the witch’s magical ritual. However things go unusually strange when she summons a mysterious group and they ask if they seen a different girl. The students tell they haven’t seen her and the group attacks, killing the girls looking for their friend. Akira tries to protect Miki but gets severely wounded. The witch does the only thing she knows and casts another spell. Another demon named Amon enters the area, taking possession of Akira and strikes down the malicious team. It seems Amon now permanently residing in the boy and he and Miki are entangled in a web of blood and mystery.

Takato takes many parts from Go Nakai’s original 1972 series to bring this modern alternative tale. Several of the old cast appear in new forms, even some characters from the 1997 “Devilman Lady” series. However in this first volume, it seems key member Ryo Asuka is not present and Miki takes his role as Akira/Amon’s main support. Takato also changes up his usual art style by adding bold exaggerated lines to reflect the old illustrations. Having worked on his own titles that have bloody violence, he knows how to bring the action and gore to the pages. Though Seven Seas Entertainment gives the manga an “Older Teen” rating, it is not for faint-hearted readers. There are many scenes of body dismemberment along with nudity and sex.

“Devilman” fans will be able to collect all five volumes of “Devilman G” before the year ends with Volume Two arriving in February. During the wait, Netflix has the latest anime adaptation “Devilman Crybaby” ready for your viewing pleasure. For more information on the manga, visit Seven Seas Entertainment’s website.