Few things endear me to a show more than a sexy man with white hair. Pair that with bloody fights and sharp animation, and you’ve got a winning combo. The latest Netflix show “Devil May Cry” promises just that.
Adapted from the popular video game series of the same name, “Devil May Cry” follows demon hunter Dante (Johnny Yong Bosch, “Gabriel and the Guardians”) as he becomes entangled in a battle between the human and demon realms. While he attempts to keep the gates of hell sealed, he must face off against various enemies, from shapeshifters to talking rabbits.
Also working to stop the realms from combining is DARKCOM, a dimensional security organization dedicated to protecting Earth from demons. DARKCOM is headed by Vice President William Baines (Kevin Conroy, “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe”), who commands an elite squad of demon hunters led by Lieutenant Mary Ann Arkham (Scout Taylor-Compton, “Breakout Kings”), better known as Lady in the games.
If you’re watching the show for its action, you won’t be disappointed. The animation is effortlessly smooth and insanely creative, with characters using their fighting abilities to the fullest extent. Watching Dante swing a motorcycle like a baseball bat was the highlight of my viewing experience.
Dante himself is one of the best parts of the series. He’s goofy and carefree but an incredibly capable fighter, possessing supernatural abilities from his half-demon genetics. His personality shines through in his fight scenes, from his cocky attitude to his self-proclaimed “killer one-liners” after each victory. A show packed so full of fights runs the risk of boring viewers with the amount of action, but Dante makes every scene he’s in feel fresh and fun. He hooks the audience the moment he’s on screen, exactly how a protagonist should.
The show’s primary antagonist, the White Rabbit (Hoon Lee, “Warrior”), also steals the show. From his very first scene, he establishes himself as an unprecedented threat, with skills beyond what Dante or DARKCOM have fought in the past. He is not only brilliant in combat, but strategic and cunning, baiting characters into traps or threatening them into doing his bidding. His presence creates a fascinating game of cat-and-mouse as Dante and DARKCOM race to stop him from unleashing hell on Earth. While he starts off shrouded in mystery, the show slowly pulls back the curtain on his backstory, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats as they try to decipher his motivations. There are bigger and badder enemies to come in future seasons, but the White Rabbit makes for an excellent first villain.
Where the show unfortunately falters is its dialogue. The exposition is often excessive, stopping scenes dead in their tracks to recite the history of the realms or the ancient demon knight Sparda. Although the lore requires significant explanation, the line deliveries can feel awkward and unnatural.
Mary is the main victim of this writing. While I could forgive the redundant exposition, her dialogue reads like it was written by a 13-year-old who just discovered the word “fuck.” I don’t mind a character with a swearing problem, but her f-bombs are inserted in the most unnecessary places, like saying Sparda has been “MI-fucking-A” for the past several millennia. It seems like the writers were trying to make her a badass (which she is, don’t get me wrong), but her lines land more like an edgy teenager is speaking than a decorated officer. When featured beside characters like Dante and the White Rabbit, the discrepancies in their writing are clear.
Even with its writing issues, “Devil May Cry” delivers exactly what it promises: Dante and demons. The first season ends on a cliffhanger, with multiple storylines left open. The ending was clearly intended to set up a larger story in the future, likely centering Dante’s demonic heritage and his relationship with his twin brother, Vergil (Robbie Daymond, “Uzumaki”). Considering the show’s positive reception so far, a second season seems likely, as long as Netflix doesn’t decide to exorcise the series.
TV Beat Editor Morgan Sieradski can be reached at kmsier@umich.edu.
