Digital Devil

Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei was produced by the studio Movic and released as an original video animation (OVA) in 1987. This production serves as an adaptation of the first novel in the seminal Japanese science fiction series written by Aya Nishitani. It emerged during a decade defined by the rapid growth of the direct-to-video market in Japan, which allowed studios to explore darker, more mature narrative themes that were often sidelined by television networks.

The character designs were handled by Naoyuki Onda, who aimed to capture the gritty, occult-infused aesthetic of Nishitani's prose while grounding the high-concept demon-summoning premise in an eighties Tokyo setting. Upon its release, the OVA was primarily received by fans of the burgeoning cult novel series as a visual supplement to the text, marking the beginning of a massive media franchise that would later evolve into the highly influential role-playing game series developed by Atlus.