Where It All Began... and where it all will end.
"You robbed me of the most precious thing I possessed. I would honestly like to cry for you... but all my tears have dried up."
— Akira, to Ryo/Satan
Following Miki's death, Akira sets out to confront Ryo and eventually learns of his true identity and motives. Once the closest of friends, now the greatest of enemies, they and their respective armies engage in a final battle that will determine humanity's ultimate fate.
- Adaptational Alternate Ending: An unusual example in that this episode generally follows the events of the manga, from Akira declaring a war against the demons to his fight with Ryo to his eventual death to the other angels arriving to destroy Earth. The notable difference is Ryo's reaction to Akira's death after going on a monologue — which also differs from the manga due to Ryo having undergone Adaptational Villainy (see below).
- Adaptational Villainy:
- In the manga, Akira and Ryo still engaged in a final battle, but Ryo was only barely trying to fight back as he really didn't want to fight Akira (even pleading with him a few times to stop while they were already fighting), and side stories showed that he killed Akira completely by accident. Here however, when Akira charges at him, Ryo doesn't hesitate to retaliate, going all-out and even smiling while doing so. And this time, his act of killing Akira is undeniably intentional, even if he regrets it moments later.
- After their final battle, both Akira and Ryo are seen lying on a cliff, just like in the manga, with Ryo beginning to talk. However, what Ryo talks about in the manga and in the anime are different. In the former, Ryo talks about why he wanted to destroy the humans and fight God, before coming to the realization that by exterminating humans, he's no better than the God he despised. In the latter, Ryo simply reminisces about his childhood with Akira, and the closest thing to he gets to an epiphany is that he does love Akira.
- An Arm and a Leg: Akira loses several limbs during his battle with Ryo, but each time it happens, another Devilman fuses with him to grow it back instantly, allowing him to remain in the fight longer. But by the time Ryo blows off his lower half a second time, all of the other Devilmen are dead, negating this advantage and rendering the injury fatal.
- Apocalypse How: Humanity, demons and the Devilmen are all killed by the end.
- Apocalypse Wow: Humanity is hit with a global nuclear war, mass volcano eruptions, massive tornado storms and an organised campaign of genocide by the demons, all at the same time.
- Asshole Victim: Ryo has to live with the horror he killed his best friend. After all he did to Akira it's undeniable that he deserved to lose him.
- Book Ends: It takes a keen eye to notice, but the cliff where Akira and Ryo first met is also where they spend their last moments.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: It was clear from the start that Akira never stood a chance against Ryo.
- Downer Ending: This episode, and the entire series as a whole, ends on an utterly bleak note: all the remaining humans, demons, and Devilmen die in the war, and the planet is left a lifeless wasteland with Akira and Ryo as the only survivors... until Ryo realizes he killed Akira and goes insane with grief. And then, Ryo himself is killed by God's army, before God restores Earth back to before the series began so the entire tragedy can repeat itself.
- Everybody's Dead, Dave: The ending.
- Failed a Spot Check: For some reason, even though he was the one who landed the killing blow, Ryo was completely oblivious that Akira was dead in the aftermath.
- Foreshadowing:
- Akira's empathy for others — his tears — was the source of his strength. When he declares that he has no more tears to shed, his fate is all but sealed.
- Adding to the above example, Ryo warns Akira that fighting him will only end in his death. True enough...
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Ryo ends the fight by killing Akira this way.
- Ironic Echo: In Episode 2, Ryo assured Akira that while he may be half-demon now, for all intents and purposes he's still a human at heart. In this episode, Akira angrily questions his offer to join the demons — to which Ryo responds that he's no longer human anyways.
- Ironic Episode Title: For most of the series' run, Akira is the one established as the crybaby who sheds tears for those who are emotionally hurting. In this episode however, Akira himself states that he's no longer able to do such, which makes the episode title seem strange. However, it turns out that this time the title is referring to Ryo himself, who spends his final moments in tears as he mourns Akira's death.
- Kung-Fu Sonic Boom: After a fellow Devilman merges with him to restore his severed arm, Akira uses his new appendage to give one of these to Ryo. The impact is so great that it splits the ocean beneath them.
- Little "No": Ryo cries out one when Akira's death completely sinks in.
- Meaningful Echo: "Love doesn't exist. There's no such thing as love. Therefore, there's no sorrow. That's what I thought."
- My God, What Have I Done?: When Ryo realizes that he killed Akira, he spends his final moments in a tearful Villainous Breakdown.
- Mythology Gag: The part where Ryo cradles Akira's corpse and pleads for Akira to not leave him before crying out his name mirrors a scene in the original Devilman manga where Akira finds an unconscious Ryo during the Sabbath and gives a similar plea before shouting his name.
- No Sympathy: Even with Akira approaching him while cradling Miki's head and chewing him out on everything that he had done, Ryo doesn't even try to show any remorse for the tragedies he has directly or indirectly had Akira suffer. This of course, enrages Akira to the point that he rejects Ryo's offer to join the demons with a furious yell.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Ryo wins in his fight against Akira and succeeds in wiping out humanity — but in the process all the demons are dead, and his reaction to Akira's death makes it clear that the victory wasn't worth it.
- The Reveal: Ryo is actually Satan, the Fallen Angel himself.
- Rule of Symbolism: As shown in the page image, Akira and Ryo first met at a cliffside, and they meet there again in the beginning of the episode. The bottom image shows the cliff split in half, representing how their friendship has ended and that they are now each other's greatest enemy.
- Say My Name: "RYYYYOOOOOOO!"
- Slasher Smile: Ryo sports several of these in his fight with Akira, showing how bloodthirsty he is. The topper is when he grins right before finishing Akira off.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Akira is no doubt one of the most powerful Devilmen. But in the end, he's fighting against a celestial Humanoid Abomination whose scale of power is only second to that of God, so his fight with Ryo ends up being a complete Curb-Stomp Battle.
- The most glaring example would be that anyone who gets bisected is sure to die, which Ryo utterly fails to realize when he wounds Akira in that manner and then casually talks to him later as if he expected him to survive that.
- We Used to Be Friends: Akira ends his friendship with Ryo after learning of the latter's true identity and intentions.
"Forgive me, Akira. I was an idiot... You fell asleep, huh?" An eternal slumber...
