Eroticism And Sex In the Work Of Manga Artist Go Nagai – Part II (Devilman a.o.)

FROM MANGA TO ANIME

Go Nagai’s trajectory in Japanese manga is directly associated with the systematic introduction of eroticism as a structuring element of popular graphic narrative. From his earliest professional works in the late 1960s to his best-known productions later adapted into anime, Go Nagai reconfigured the moral and editorial codes that had previously regulated manga aimed at young audiences. This rupture was not limited to print media; it also found, in animated adaptations, whether for television, cinema, or the OVA format, a privileged field for the expansion and reformulation of his erotic strategies.

In the early years of his career, Go Nagai produced short humor manga influenced by gag manga. Works such as Meakashi Polikichi or the adaptation of Chibikko Kaiju Yadamon still operated within a relatively conventional comic register. This initial phase, however, underwent a decisive shift with the creation of Harenchi Gakuen, published from 1968 onward in the newly launched Weekly Shōnen Jump. At this point, eroticism began to play a central role, not merely as visual provocation, but as a strategy of direct confrontation with the social and educational norms of postwar Japan.

Fig.1  Shuten Doji

Fig.2  Shuten Doji

Fig.3  Shuten Doji

Fig.4  Cutey Honey

Fig.5  Heisei Harenchi Gakuen (Shameless School).

DEVILMAN ADAPTATIONS

While Go Nagai gained prominence in comedy with Harenchi Gakuen, it was with Devilman, published concurrently with the broadcast of an animated series of the same name in 1972, that he approached horror and the grotesque through a tragic narrative. The confrontation between humans and demons operates as a critique of social violence and intolerance. Its protagonist, Akira Fudo, upon merging with the demon Amon, comes to inhabit a liminal zone between humanity and monstrosity, attempting to preserve human values while incorporating a destructive force that cannot be fully controlled. This internal conflict structures the narrative and reveals Go Nagai’s pessimistic view of the possibility of peaceful coexistence, suggesting that the impulse toward cruelty is not external to humanity, but a constitutive part of its nature.

The differences between the Devilman manga and its first television adaptation are revealing. The TV series, aimed at children, tones down eroticism and reorganizes the narrative into more conventional episodic confrontations. The manga, by contrast, delves into themes such as ritual nudity, sacrifice, collective hysteria, and mass destruction. This split between versions demonstrates how eroticism in Go Nagai’s work depends on the degree of freedom afforded by the medium and the target audience.

Fig.5    Devilman The Birth (1987)

Fig.6  Devilman The Birth (1987)

Fig.7  Violence Jack (Jigoku Gai), 1988

In Premium more on the OVA adaptations of the Devilman, the artistic freedom of the OVA,  detailed analyses of Harenchi Gakuen, Violence Jack, Devilman Lady, Cutie Honey, Shuten Dōji,  the legacy of transgression, many video references to Nagai's most striking OVAs, and 71 arousing pics!.

Click HERE  for the article Enemies of the State: the Films and Filmmakers of the Underground — Part 7 “OVAs”

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