Devil May Cry - Netflix Season 2 Review

The devils are back.

I quite liked the 1st season of Netflix's Devil May Cry anime. Sure, it was far from perfect with all the cursing and wonky mix of 2D and 3D animation but I enjoyed it for what it was: a thrilling action ride with more emotional depth than I expected. That is the opinion of someone who has never played even a single Devil May Cry game before. Whose only real connection to the series is SommecallmeJohnny's reviews of all the games. While I understand this iteration has irked fans because it plays fast-and-loose with some bits of the source material that clearly hasn't hurt the series in the grand scheme of things.

This season, however, seems to be more of what those fans want from a DMC series. Where the first season came up with its own plot and villain for Dante and Lady and to contend with, really wanting to show how this adaptation is its own thing, this season more clearly adapts stories from the games, DMC2 in particular with its new big bads. We have Vergil, Mundus, Ebony & Ivory all make their proper entrances here while 'anime original' elements such as DarkCom take a bit of a backseat here and are noticeable scarce in all the trailers. 

It this enough to not only bring fans back to the show or are these just more playthings for this writing team to put their own spin on? Whatever the case, let's talk about Dante's sophomore outing on Netflix and see how stylish it is.  

After the White Rabbit’s acts of demonic terrorism on Earth, Vice President Baines has launched a 'holy war' on the demon realm of Makkai while keeping the captured Dante in suspended animation. Supporting Baine's campaign is the true leader of Darkcom, Arius von Erenburg, who plans to use some sort of superweapon to, put it bluntly, nuke Mundus out of the sky. Their last piece of opposition? Dante's brother Vergil who Mundus has sent to the human world to retrieve the part of the superweapon Lady stole from Mundus' throne. It's now up to Dante and Lady to not only bring an end to the War, but also stop the dark ambitions that Arius clearly holds that while dealing with Vergil, a reckoning for Dante that has been long in the making. 

Our three most important characters of the season; a trio that game fans should like.

I think a good way to describe this sophomore outing of the DMC anime is that it is a stronger character drama but a messier season of TV. A good way to explain this is by talking about our deuteragonists: Dante and Lady. While it is Dante's face on the cover and the titular 'Devil', the 1st season made it quite clear that in this adaptation, Lady is just as important as Dante. Not everyone, and by that, I mean the dedicated DMC fans, were all too happy about that. This version of Lady is quite a bit different than the one from the games. A very militaristic, no-nonsense character who swears a mile a minute. I wasn't a fan of that bit but I found her to be the most interesting character overall because of her emotional complexity.

All this attention on Lady took away focus from Dante which was probably one of the biggest points of criticisms I saw of season 1. This new batch of 8 episodes don't change much in this regard. The season's opening episode is all about Lady; Dante himself only shows up at the very, very end. From this start, Lady remains a big presence across the season. Sharing lots of screentime with Dante this time, she moves more towards her identity from the games. She stops swearing so much, gets her scar and starts wearing white, all the while providing clear parallels with Vergil that benefits the story and the character alike. 

Speaking of Dante: the sword wielding, witty half-demon who defies the laws of physics with a smile's presence here is a lot stronger than in the 1st season. In that season, Dante was more an agent of chaos that more or less just went along on this wild ride he found himself in. Things happened around him, not to him, if you catch my drift. Here, that isn't the case and that's all because of Vergil. 

Bringing him in not only gives this season a big new game character that fans have been waiting for but also leads to Dante having to deal with things such as survivor's guilt, his conflicting feelings about his brother who is so different from the boy he knew in his childhood while desperately trying to 'get him back'. We get to see why his mom, and her death, is so fundamental to the person he is today. We get to see the love, but also the unspoken tension and rivalry, between Dante and Vergil as little kids that blows up in the big conflict between the two that, well, makes even devils cry. Because of all of this, Dante gains a lot more emotional depth and growth without losing any of the, well, style and aura that made him captivating to watch before. 

If this anime gets a season 3 however, which I do feel is likely to happen, the number one thing they need to do is give Dante more screentime. This season is better at balancing Lady and Dante and make the latter feel like the main character he is supposed to be. I like Lady, but this is supposed to be Dante's show. 

So, if this season does a better job with both of its two central character and the balance between them, why would I describe this season as messier than the first? Because it tries to do too much in the time it has. We not only have everything going on with Dante, Lady and Vergil but we have Jester and his scheming, the new big bad Arius and Darkcom, old bads Vice President Baines and Demon King Mundus, side characters like the young Mattie and a pro-football player turned Darkcom operative vying for screentime. 

Arius has a lot of aura and screen presence thanks to his design and lovely portrayal by Graham McTavish, but when you strip that away, the actual character isn't much to write home about. The season tries to do more with Baines, like his religious extremism and his bond with Lady, but thanks to some very bland writing and disappointing performance by his new voice actor, this all fell flat for me. 

The same goes with a lot of the side characters who, entertaining as they might be, just aren't deep enough to be interesting or memorable. They are there to serve a rather predictable main plot that doesn't shy away from plot dumps, tiresome political parallels, and 'handwaving' explanations and not much else. It's not great but I find it not all that important when so much of the focus is on character work; character work that these side characters sadly lack in. 

What about Vergil, I hear you ask? He's featured quite a lot here and has that 'two sides of the same coin' dynamic with Dante as you'd expect. While he certainly has an interesting arc, that one that I alluded to before regarding Lady, I don't quite know what to think of him in the end. Moments of humanity and kindness, such as with Mattie, or even pity with that 'had our fates been switched?' bit. The scenes between the two brothers, action or not, are some of the best scenes in the season because of how different, yet similar, they are. Of how well written they are, be that in the actual writing or in the action. I got tired of this season's schtick to open each episode with a flashback but I can't lie in that the one to the brother's childhood resulted in one hell of a payoff in the end. Time will tell if that last minute 'development' will lead to a more interesting Vergil in that possible 3rd season or not. 

Some of the best scenes are Dante & Vergil not talking, not fighting, but doing both. A smart mix of both showing and telling.

Speaking of action: that's something this show keeps being great at. Yes, we still have that awkward blending of 2D and 3D animation here but the rest of the fights are much improved. They were always stylish and cool to look at but felt a bit restrained before. The very first 10 minutes of this season proves they stepped up the game in this department. The big set pieces here are a lot more elaborate and, well, bigger and more otherworldly than they were before. Awesome to look at, with some references and moves taken straight out of the games, and underscored by a killer soundtrack. One that I find to be much better than the music of the first season, so that's one last improvement for you before wrapping this review up. 

Conclusion

To me, season 2 of Netflix' Devil May Cry series is just about as good, perhaps even better, than the first season. This season builds on what came before by leaning more into character drama, especially through the interweaving plotlines of Lady, Dante and Vergil, while maintaining the stylish action Devil May Cry is known for. That said, it still falters in areas. The season tries has too many characters and stories to juggle, making for a messy main plot that isn't very memorable on its own, and the 2D and 3D animation styles still don't blend well together. Fans might not like the spin this anime puts on its source material but if you don't know said source very well, or can look past it, this is a good show that I can recommend you give a watch.