>>3056Go Nagai is like JP Stephen King to me honestly. I love all of his works conceptually and like the characters but the writing doesn't hold up to the concept usually in the manga itself. That being said I think Devilman's popularity is helped by the strong and varied adaptations. You have goofier ones aimed at children, the darker more violent bloodbaths, as you said a lot have the homo tension to draw in women. Very varied series.
While series like Cutie Honey or Mazinger Z, while both good, have a set demographic they hit almost every time.