Once again, with Devil May Cry, I find myself jumping into a franchise somewhere where in the middle. I’ve never played any of the games, and my knowledge of the back story stops at “cool guy in a red coat”.  While I was expecting the high-quality animation that Netflix has previously delivered in other video game adaptations like Castlevania, I wasn’t expecting a delightful early 2000’s throwback, complete with Limp Bizkit opening.

• Created by: Alex Larsen. Adi Shankar
• Starring: Johnny Yong Bosch. Scout Taylor-Compton. Hoon Lee
  

What I Think It’s About

The story focuses on demons invading Earth through portals. Main character Dante holds a key item needed to secure the portals.  Both the government and demons are after it, and we get to meet a cast full of colorful demon hunters, bounty hunters, special operators, and religious zealots.  There’s a lot of exposition in the first couple of episodes and meeting so many characters takes away time spent from the most interesting one: Dante.

This show wants to do one thing: make Dante look cool while fighting.  Which is fortunate, since it’s incredibly good at it.  The animation is smooth, and the soundtracks are epic.  What it’s not so good at is making the other characters, or the surrounding storyline, as interesting.  Even without any prior knowledge going into this, I have a general sense of where the story is going and there aren’t any major surprises, so standard tropes bog the first few episodes down a bit. It’s not bad, exactly, and some of this may be due to working with existing game lore, but it does feel a bit like padding things out while waiting for the real plot to happen.

About Characters

My biggest issue with Devil May Cry, may likely tie back into its origins as an early 2000’s video game.  Mary, the female lead, is a very specific type of character. She’s tough as nails, abandoning everything in her drive to get stronger to fight the demons and protect her world.  She’s even abandoned things like curiosity and logical reasoning, sometimes to the detriment of the plot. 

Mary is, in short, your “strong female character”.  Which wouldn’t be a problem if we hadn’t seen so much of it. If every female character fits this archetype, then it’s just as bad as any other negative depiction.  It’s demonstrating that there is only way to portray strength as a woman. Oh, that and she’s stupid, like strategically.

It’s also repetitive. For example, we know an ambush is coming before it happens because Mary is so dead set in her beliefs.  It reaches a point where Dante is been sidelined, and it’s basically Mary’s show. It’s much a less interesting show to watch.  Fortunately, before too long we’re back to peak NuMetal and Dante kicking ass on a motorcycle or a plane.

The Tropes

Part of what makes Devil May Cry so much fun is how it weaves action tropes into a fun narrative. It’s got betrayals, shapeshifters, amazing superhero-inspired jumpsuits, and a lot of love for Capcom.  Some of these work better than others; the shady broker is a ton of fun as is Rabbit’s master plan for Dante.  Some of the dialogue, on the other hand, gets a little rough and overly quippy or explain-y or needlessly edgy.

Also, eight episodes may not be long enough to explore all the elements of a complex war between dimensions. When the religious zealot does the inevitable religious zealot stuff, it just feels expected and cumbersome, instead of a dramatic shifting of balance.  We’ve seen humans being just as monstrous as any creature before. We will see it again, it’s fine as a plot it just feels out of place here in this specific story. Dante is weirdly disconnected from the background and these plot elements. It works for most of the series. Mostly.

Voice Acting

This is an all-star cast doing great work.  Kevin Conroy is a stand-out in his last role as the Vice President and Albert Wesker clone.  Rodger Jackson, Ghostface himself, has a pretty meaty role as one of Rabbit’s hench-demons. The real highlight is the legendary Johnny Yong Bosch as Dante.  His is a voice many of us have been listening to in one franchise or another over the years. He does an excellent job of matching the tone of Dante.

When It Works, It Really Works

Devil May Cry isn’t afraid to break momentum to tell parts of its story it thinks are important. For example, using different animations styles and music, the narrative delves into two worlds destroyed by tragedy and the lack of compassion.  It’s a great episode and should have come earlier in the series. 

As a villain, Rabbit looks and sounds great.  He has great dialogue and solid motivation. My only real problem with him, is its far easier to root for him than Mary. I don’t think I’m supposed to do that.

If Only They Would Shut Up

At every given opportunity, someone must give a speech summarizing the show’s events. Also how they feel about the events, and what they’re going to do about the events.  It’s repetitive since we know a lot of this information already.

The show also suffers from a lack of Dante. True, you don’t want your show to be reduced to nothing but fight scenes. Maybe this wasn’t the right way to pull it off.

Into the eighth episode, we’re still dealing with character arc conflicts. Ideally they resolve these before we head into the final battle.  But no, we have to stop and talk about it first and during.  It’s all so video gamey, both in pacing and plot.  The boss fights feel like proper boss fights too, with hit box mechanics, special attacks, and everything.

Final Thoughts

I don’t know the world of Devil May Cry enough to judge how well Netflix adapted the lore of the game into a coherent animated series. As a new fan it’s easy enough to follow. Although I do have a few questions about the world in general. I wish the show was more comfortable with letting Dante be the main character of his own show. I’ll probably watch the second season, assuming they don’t take forever to release it.

Devil May Cry is streaming now on Netflix

Read other animation reviews here:

• Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom
• My Hero Academia: Subtle Body Horror