With Netflix dropping the trailer for its new Devil May Cry animated series, fans of the franchise are excited to see Dante and his friends in an animated medium after several years. With the trailer impressing everyone with its details, fans have started to compare the series with the 2007 anime.
While the 2007 anime by Madhouse had its charms, it left much to be desired. Here, we will talk about 4 major areas that the Netflix series could improve upon, to deliver a better experience to the audience.
1. 2007’s Devil May Cry and its lack of combat
While the 2007 anime by Madhouse served as a good adaptation of the franchise, several fans criticized the series for its lack of action. For a series based on a demon hunter who hunts devils for a living, the anime seldom lets Dante use his weapons.
Dante in the games is known for his stylish combat, being skilled enough to utilize several weapons simultaneously. He is agile on his feet and uses every trick in the book to take down his enemies.
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If Netflix’s Devil May Cry lets Dante use his sword and guns whenever given the chance, it would be a huge improvement from the 2007 Devil May Cry anime, and it would certainly please the fans who hunger for combat.
2. Dante has no friends
One of the most entertaining things about games is Dante’s relationships with the characters around him. The 2007 series failed to show his bond with Morrison and his interactions with Trish and Lady, despite them being in the show.
While the first episode showed an interaction between Dante and Morrison, it felt like the scene was written purely for exposition.
The problem persists with Trish, who in the games is Dante’s friend and someone he cares for. The games show them having a constant “Will they, won’t they” relationship and this is absent from the show.
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Another aspect of the show that irked fans is that Vergil, Dante’s brother is never referenced. Both the brothers have a complicated relationship and have faced off thousands of times in the past, but this entire plot is nowhere in the 2007 show for some reason.
With Netflix’s trailer for Devil May Cry giving us a look at Vergil, veteran fans are jumping with joy, hoping for another bout among the infamous brothers.
3. Dante’s personality got lost
Dante’s sassy attitude and his cheeky one-liners are what make him charmingly annoying. They are strongly linked to his personality and the Devil May Cry video games make sure that fans get this.
Who can forget Dante mocking a demon about its odor by asking it to use some cologne?
2007’s Devil May Cry deprives Dante of this personality. It depicts him as a brooding and bored individual. He is aloof for most of the anime and he seems to be in his “depressed teenager” phase, which is very off-putting.
From what we’ve seen of Dante in the trailer for Netflix’s series, he seems to be back on track and much more reminiscent of his video game counterpart. This is a huge improvement from the 2007 series.
4. Self-contained adventures are okay, but…
Another common criticism of the 2007’s Devil May Cry was its reliance on self-contained episodes. Most of the episodes of the series (except for the last couple of episodes) were presented in the form of self-contained adventures, and there was a noticeable absence of an overarching plot.
This was an issue for a few fans who believed that having the episodes build towards a larger plot would make more sense from a narrative standpoint, and could have done wonders for character development.
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Netflix will benefit if it adopts a serialized approach for its series. Having a season where each episode builds towards a larger narrative arc is wonderful, and will serve to deepen the bonds between characters while also raising the stakes.
While the 2007 Devil May Cry series was an amazing take on Dante, it left much to be desired in terms of story, action, and character development. By focusing on what the 2007 series missed, Netflix’s Devil May Cry can outshine its predecessor and so far, it’s shaping up to be an amazing show.
Devil May Cry will be available to stream on Netflix from 3 April 2025.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
