Gamer and Anime fans unite, Devil May Cry Netflix series is now out. Following the success of video game adaptations like Castlevania and Castlevania: Nocturne, fans have high hopes for this series. It already has a 92% approval rating on Rotten Tomato, and Metacritic’s score passes in the “generally favorable” category. Let’s see if the praise is well deserved or not.
Devil May Cry Netflix Series Opens with a Bang
Carnage abounds within the first minute. A mercenary group infiltrates the Vatican in order to steal some golden relics, leaving the bullet-ridden corpses of the Swiss Guard in their wake. Unfortunately for them, their assignment was part of the master plan of a demon, White Rabbit.
After showing up and monologuing in patented villain style, White Rabbit (in a move so obvious anyone but bit characters could see coming) proceeds to massacre the mercs and blow up the Vatican. Just goes to show, when you are dealing with a six-foot-tall talking rabbit holding a sword, stay as far away from it as possible.
Devil May Cry Netflix Series: Early Episode Exposition
The rest of the episode primarily focuses on building the world and setting up the conflict. They do a decent job of providing scientific explanations for demons and Hell, which is to their credit. The creators also provide some insight into the world at large, showing pundits and politicians who are either unpleasant or incompetent in some way or another.
As much as I’d love to say that they were caricatures of society today, they were a little too accurate for my liking. Perhaps they’re trying for a, “Is this world even worth saving” approach. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Dante, Talented but Unfocused
First of all, let’s address the elephant in the room right off the bat. Yes, that is the voice of Ichigo from Bleach. Now that that’s settled, let’s talk about Dante in the new Devil May Cry Netflix series.
Sadly, despite him being the main character, we don’t get to see much of Dante in the first episode. What we do see of him shows that he’s a bit showy (I know, shocker), a little goofy, and perhaps a bit of an adrenaline junkie.
He’s clearly very skilled when dealing with demons but it seems that he has a habit of getting bored easily. I’m assuming he’s looking for a worthy opponent of some sort. After all, his fight against Plasma was, pretty much, totally one-sided. Maybe he just needs an enemy strong enough to keep his attention.
For all his cockiness and lack of motivation, however, it’s clear that Dante is a decent individual. He’s relatively friendly to the woman he saves, has a cordial relationship with the waitress at the diner, and he makes sure to save everyone in said diner from Plasma’s attack. He clearly values human life, in spite of his mercenary tendencies (which were only slightly hinted at).
Double the Trouble
The main conflict for the Devil May Cry Netflix series is the demon’s attempt to invade. As a result, there are likely to be several different antagonistic forces that appear throughout the season. The first episode sets up 2 of them.
First is White Rabbit, the main architect of the plan to bridge the gap between Earth and Hell. The Devil May Cry Netflix series version of the character is far more exceptional than the Manga version. His cunning, battle prowess, and ambition put him leagues above his comic counterpart. Of all of Dante’s enemies, he’s likely to be the one that gives him the most trouble.
The second is Plasma. As a shapeshifter, they are perfectly capable of adapting to most situations. This allows them extreme flexibility in terms of their offensive and defensive capabilities. Like White Rabbit, they were giving a significant boost in power in the show, as their game counterparts are little more than a speed bump in terms of combat abilities.
Both demons are clearly working together to try and steal Dante’s amulet, which is part of the key that will allow them to link the worlds. We’ve yet to learn their true motives (it is the first episode after all) but it’s clear that both are dangerous adversaries. The question is, which one is going to be more of a problem?
