© 2007 Capcom
I was afraid that the Devil May Cry anime series would suck when I heard the timing for DMC4’s release (late 2007), and with good cause. Many times such anime or manga is rushed, crappy, and lacking any decent story or plot line since it’s only raison d’être is to drum up awareness and excitement over a game, movie, or whatever else is the real draw.
The first episode introduces us, rather spectacularly, to Dante, the gun touting, sword wielding, smart-mouthed, bad-ass hero of the Devil May Cry franchise. Dressed in his trademark crimson leather overcoat and matching tight leather pants, he serves up pain to any and all demons dumb enough to make an appearance in this world.
All visual awesomeness aside, Dante is a bum. Most of the time he naps in his dingy, bachelor-pad/ store front until his agent shows up (yeah, Dante has an agent) with a job for him.
Usually when Mr. Morrison makes an appearance, Dante’s first inquiry is, how much is the job paying? Not only does Dante laze around like a bum, be has massive debt all over the place and his only hope of ever catching up to it is by taking dangerous jobs that pay well.
Mission One
Today, when Morrison shows up, he brings along a raggedy child and a new job opportunity. This new job Mr. Morrison offers doesn’t pay too well, nor does it seem that dangerous. The little orphan girl, Patty Lowell, is now the heiress to her unknown father’s fortune and it’s Dante’s task to see that she’s delivered safely to her new mansion. After Dante’s reluctance to get off his lazy ass and after some well placed reminders from Morrison about Dante’s debt, Dante agrees to this rather unglamorous job.
Heading out in Dante’s rather stylish ride (if he’s broke, where the hell does he get the money to look so good?), the two begin what will turn out to be something less than a joyride. Demons start to attack the duo, their mission; to kill Patty so she can’t wrest the inheritance from two brothers who stand to lose it if she isn’t eliminated. They also happen to be behind these attempts on Patty’s life.
When the cards are down, Dante’s less than impressive facade falls away to reveal the quick thinking, ruthless, ass-kicking anti-hero we know and love. All laziness and antipathy aside, Dante really cares about the people he’s been hired to protect. He takes down demons with a stylish grace that does the games proud.
Mission One ends on an up note, but I won’t tell you how. Mission two introduces us to that cold as ice femme fatale from DMC3, Lady.
Mission Two
Lady’s been hired by, of all folks, the Highway Department? A demon’s been haunting the highway that motorcycle gangs have been racing on. Appearing as a black clad racer, the demon kills all who step up to his racing challenge.
Lady, however, doesn’t want the job and fobs it off on Dante as a way for him to pay back the huge debt he owes her (good lord this guy’s a bum!) Dante wraps up Mission Two with style and it’s on to Mission Three.
Mission Three
Mission Three involves forbidden love, an overprotective father, and a chance for true happiness. Dante helps facilitate the true happiness bit in an interesting twist and the mission wraps up with no loose ends and a win for everyone involved.
Mission Four
At the start of Mission Four we’re treated with two of the lovely ladies from the games: Lady and Trish. Lady, intent as ever to kill any and all demons makes a move to end Trish. But instead of the usual Dante versus demon Mission fare, the two femmes battle it out throughout the episode. Their impressive battle eventually degenerates into of all things, a cat fight and Dante steps in to smooth things over. The Mission ends with the three joining forces and the two women becoming fast, and fashionable, friends.
Mission five
Mission Five is a departure from the formulaic fighting as well. A waitress at the local ice cream parlor has been crushing on Dante and the beefy guy who’s been eyeing her wants to know what’s so damn special about Dante that his dream girl only thinks of him. Said beefy guy ends up tailing Dante throughout his day and gets a confused glimpse inside Dante’s lifestyle.
I at first thought the anime was all suck. The first episode left a bad taste in my mouth since I was expecting something else. I was expecting, or at least hoping, that Dante’s day to day would have a touch of the grandeur that the games have. I suppose that one can’t always travel into demon territory and fight looming bastions of evil.
Re-watching the first episode in a completely different frame of mind led to me watching, the second, third, fourth and fifth. Now I’m waiting for the sixth episode if not like a complete and utter fangirl, but at least with antsy anticipation.
Thus far, there’s no driving force, no unifying goal that makes the anime go forward. It’s all radial in the sense that all the stories spin out from a central point, and that central point is Dante and his history with the games. I’m not a fan of these radial-style anime since they have the potential to drag on forever without any concrete story or conclusion.
There are 12 episodes to DMC, but I don’t think the number really matters. I have a feeling that anyone, at least anyone with a passing familiarity with games, could watch any given episode and get a feeling of what’s going on. That’s good and bad. Good in the sense that DMC will appeal to a more diverse audience, bad in the sense that we’ll be cheated out of a decent plot.
Madhouse was behind DMC’s animation and they did a great job translating Dante and friends into anime. I couldn’t have imagined any better way to design Dante, Trish, and Lady than what the studio did. The colors were in line with game and so were the demons, for the most part. I, personally, wanted the demons to be much more creatively designed but, meh, what’re you gonna do?
I don’t know how I feel about about the OP for DMC; it’s stuck in my head and I can’t decide if I like it there or not. I must admit that the screeching guitar and heavy riffs complements Dante’s personality to a tee. It’s much better suited as the opening credits to the anime than as the first thing I think of in the A.M. But, good job Rungran for making D.M.C. a memorable opener!
I love the Japanese voice cast. Toshiyuki Morikawa is the seiyu who gives Dante his smooth voice and cool demeanor. Toshiyuki Morikawa was also Final Fantasy: Advent Children’s Sephiroth. Trish, as voiced by Atsuko Tanaka, is another favorite of mine in this anime.
I like the way they make the anime resemble the game with the Episode= Mission set-up. Another good tie-in with the game is the commercial bump featuring the silhouette graphic from the games. The two ladies from DMC1 and DMC3 are a nice touch as well, but I think the whole of the story is that there really isn’t a story, so far.
The first five episodes of Devil May Cry have left me curious about the rest of the series but I have feeling I know how it’ll all wrap up. I like surprises, however, and I’ll keep my fingers crossed that DMC might pull itself together and make itself something more than a glorified promo.
out of a possible four gummies.
Check out the official DMC anime site!
Visit wowow’s DMC anime site!
Watch the DMC anime promo! (Windows Media Format, opens in new window)
