SPOILERS AHEAD!!
Not since the 2013 reboot of Devil May Cry have I seen the fan base this pissed. Adi Shankar's take on Devil May Cry has people rather divided, with new fans and general audiences liking it and long time fans absolutely loathing it. As a fan of this series since childhood, I felt a duty to see for myself just what all the fuss is about. It can't be that bad right? Well, it isn't that bad, but it isn't that good either. There are sparks of brilliance and interesting reinterpretations of established series events and concepts that prove Adi Shankar knew the series and knew the rules he was breaking, but there are just as many strange creative decisions, references so on the nose it borders on parody, and sometimes attempts at what seem like the wrong genre entirely for a Devil May Cry adaptation.
Season one is like witnessing an identity crisis in real time. Like, what is season one supposed to be? Because I don't think Shankar even knows. Sometimes it's a Marvel-esque superhero show with quippy dialogue and pop culture references, sometimes it's a surprisingly gripping psychological drama exploring characters with greater depth than I recall the main games doing, sometimes it's the wacky and action packed antics of Dante we came to see, and sometimes it's a hackneyed attempt at a war drama with surface level allegories to United States imperialism written by a 14 year old who learned what politics was last week. Yes, the US wages wars it shouldn't, the mainstream media lies, and conflicts between countries and factions are usually more complicated than they seem. I don't think Devil May Cry's target audience is unaware of any that.
When it focuses on the strained friendship between Dante and Lady, and the personal stuggles and motivations of Dante, Lady, and the White Rabbit, the show actually kept me emotionally invested. As someone from a broken home myself, I can relate to living with trauma and struggling with relationships of all kinds. The moments of warmth interspersed with moments of cold distance as two different, yet similarly hurting people try to feel each other out. I could relate both to Dante being forgiving and understanding of Lady's mistakes, and relate to Lady being so hard on herself and not knowing what to do. I wanted to know more about Shankar's interpretations of these character's pasts and how they would grow into more well rounded people despite most of society seemingly despising or using them in some way even in the present. Even the war drama elements and morally grey conflict between the human world and the demon world, called "Makai" in this adaptation, were interesting when it was less concerned with mirroring real world politics and more concerned with each character's individual story and stake in the conflict. I do wish Lady didn't come off as so try hard with her unnatural use of swearing, but perhaps expressing her attempts to seem more mature and in control than she actually is was the point. Still, it was rather jarring and kind of made me cringe.
The show is at its best, or course, when it's focusing on what we all came here for: Dante himself. It took some getting used to hearing Nero's voice coming out of Dante's mouth, but Johnny Yong Bosch absolutely knew the assignment! Whenever Dante was actually given screen time to just be himself rather than losing fights to Lady because plot convenience, his flair for the stylish and general attitude of not taking this seriously was as glorious as always, even if the CGI rendered demons were in an uncanny valley. While I would have preffered an original soundtrack or more remixes of songs from the games, seeing Dante do cool stuff on a motorcycle while Papa Roach blasts through my headphones was still hype and I don't care how stupid it is.
As if Shankar heard my complaints, season 2 downplayed the political allegories, focused more on the struggles of Dante, Lady, and now Virgil, built a very fascinating lore around Makai and the Human World's various powers and factions, repurposed Devil May Cry 2's Arius into a very threatening and charismatic villan, and noticeably improved the animation of action sequences with less reliance on CGI and slightly better CGI in scenes that do use it, although I would still prefer if it were al 2D animated. I was absolutely stoked whenever Dante and Virgil were about to fight again! Lady's speaking and use of profanity feels less forced, her character growth was moving and redeemed her from being kind of annoying in season one, and Virgil's reinterpretation ultimately kept the essence of his character, a man seeking power so he is never again vulnerable to the kind of tragedy he suffered as a child, while contextualizing it in this new multifaceted greater conflict. Pivotal moments of the main series were reworked in ways I wasn't expecting and genuinely kept me interested in what spin the show was going to put on things next. The scene where Virgil sends Dante back to the human world in a retelling of a scene from Devil May Cry 3 was absolutely stunning. The romance between Dante and Lady, however, feels quite rushed and forced, like the show felt obligated to have a romance subplot and just sort of shoved it in there. And I do hope season three explains where the hell Mundus got the Yamato from in the first place to give to Virgil. Seriously, why would Sparda just give him that?
Both seasons share some issues. Dante's power is nerfed far more than was necessary to build tension and stakes, making him look useless at times. I can understand Lady beating him once or twice, but after that Dante shouldn't logically be that careless and easy to outsmart or sneak up on. In general he struggled in fights even toward the end of the scenes, when I was hoping he would get the upper hand and start showing off more with a flashy, over the top finish. I hope season 3 lets him really make a mockery of Mundus or whoever the big bad ultimately ends up being. I also think the show's lack of reverence toward Sparda was a failed attempt at subversion of established lore that just comes off as annoying. From the first explanation we get where Lady gives a careless, profanity filled retelling of the legend of Sparda, to the lore building in the second half of season one and entirety of season two, this show really makes Sparda look less like a powerful warrior and symbol of free will to change, and more like a confused jerk and a deadbeat dad. Shankir could have kept the moral greyness of Sparda's decision and still painted him as largely heroic and well meaning, and could have made the initial explanation more reverent for those new to the series. Also, some of the references to game concepts can be way too on the nose. Virgil literally saying "I am that storm" as Bury the Light plays made me groan, and who's idea was it to make the term "Devil Trigger" an in-universe term?
Adi Shanker's interpretation of Devil May Cry is a mixed bag. I don't blame anyone who hates it for being a poor adaptation or for shoehorning politics where it doesn't belong, and I don't blame anyone who enjoys it as a standalone work or as a new fan. There's a lot of unrealized potential here that I hope is utilized in what is supposed to be the third and final season. Fingers crossed Adi Shanker sticks the landing and this show manages to age well after the controversy and hype has passed. As it stands, it's an entertaining but flawed attempt to simultaneously honor and subvert the stories told in the mainline video games, and just a baffling watch.
To those of you who recently entered the Devil May Cry fandom through this show, I welcome you with open arms, jukeboxes playing heavy metal, and heart stopping quantities of pizza. May your pizza be cheesy, your combos stylish, your music loud, and your dark souls filled with LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGHT.
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