1 week Ago
For any millennial gamer worth their salt, Capcom’s Devil May Cry game franchise holds a special place in their hearts. Devil May Cry games were the staple of every 2000s gaming board, with each game kicking it up a notch. To adapt such revered source material to an animated series is a feat, and Netflix seems to have found the right balance between pandering to the horde of gamers who grew up on Devil May Cry to the new kids who love their anime-like OTT adaptations.
Showrunner Adi Shankar channels his game-to-TV prowess with Castlevania as he leads Studio Mir to animate yet another masterpiece. Yes, Devil May Cry on Netflix takes a few creative liberties with the source material in the gams, but it does so without polluting the character traits—something the 2007 Japanese anime adaptation, Devil May Cry: The Animated Series (Debiru Mei Kurai) , failed to do. The best thing about the Netflix adaptation is that it does not gatekeep.
It is for all, even the uninitiated. Slowly, steadily, it peels off the layers of the world where the story is set, from the human realm to the demon world. It introduces Dante, an orphaned demon hunter, who is quite well off, thanks to all the contracts—much like the premise in the games.
The voice cast is on point, with former ‘Green Power Ranger’ Johnny Yong Bosch as the cocky Dante, Scout Taylor-Compton as Mary (aka Lady), Banshee -fame Hoon Lee as White Rabbit, and Chris Coppola as Enzo. The late Kevin Conroy, who recorded his scenes before his passing in 2022, makes a menacing US Vice President Baines in the series, and we see his Batman persona seep in, quite aptly, if I may add. Devil May Cry is all heart.
And it does what it sets out to do. And it is no surprise it already got greenlit for Season 2. Yet, beyond the 2000s nostalgia filter lies a not-so-subtle political statement.
The US portrayed in the series very much aligns with how the Western powers operate in other nations. Lee’s White Rabbit is exceptional, and his motivations are laid bare for the viewers—a nod to migrant crises all over the world—in a way that Green Day did with their hit track, ‘American Idiot’ more than two decades ago. Also Read 'Warfare' review: The tensest, most visceral war film since 'Saving Private Ryan' ‘G20’ movie review: Choppy editing, cringe dialogues drub Viola Davis-starrer action thriller 'Alappuzha Gymkhana' review: Khalid Rahman creates a perfect hangout experience that evokes the vibe of Richard Linklater films Music forms a major vein of the series, much like the action-packed games that revv up a hit track or two during fights.
From Evanescence to Papa Roach, the 2000s punk era vibe accompanies a series so marvellous that it makes the audience forget the painfully slow first couple of episodes. In its essence, Devil May Cry is quite predictable and starts off rather slow. But very much like Dante’s ‘devil arm’, it revvs up the action and intensity midway through the series and celebrates itself with action, music, and fluidic storytelling.
Devil May Cry Rating: 4 out of 5 | ★★★★☆ Where to watch: Netflix Cast: Johnny Yong Bosch, Scout Taylor-Compton, Hoon Lee, Chris Coppola, (Late) Kevin Conroy.
