-There was a time when I hated anime.
-For me now, that sounds stupid as hell, but growing up I hated anything Anime for some reason. Eventually, like all kids do, I started to watch anime after falling into the Pokémon rabbit hole. What did I start with?
-KonoSuba and Chainsaw Man. Not exactly the kind of thing I enjoy (No shade to CSM especially, I recognize that it's awesome now, and though KonoSuba isn't my thing, it has fun characters). It took me a while to start watching Anime again, but when I did, I picked some damn good ones. While Jujutsu Kaisen was my second pick and really jump-started my love for Anime, Devil May Cry came first. Like most idiotic kids, I had only seen clips on Youtube of a guy in a red coat spouting quips- and, of course, Max0r. Yet, at its core was a deeper story that had me enthralled. So, I began my forie into Devil May Cry- and Anime as I know it today.
-It opened strong- that opening bar sequence still sticks in my head to this day. It's funny that Dante's taste for Strawberry Sundaes would foreshadow my own personal favorite character of all times' (Shiki Ryougi from KnK) tastes, but that fits well- both have red coats, are badasses, deeper stories, and are some of my favorite characters because of it.
-The Dante we see in this Anime is a far cry from the one I had been introduced to. He was sad- and I eventually learned that this was the darkest part of his life- he thought his brother was dead, and nothing in life could excite him anymore. That boredom and fear that life will only get worse sticks with me to this day, and even though this Anime doesn't solve that problem, we know he'll eventually snap out of this slump thanks to Nero in DmC 4, but in my opinion, that only makes Dante's future versions more endearing- we've seen him climb out of his greatest slumps, finding his purpose and living for what he believes in, with no regrets.
-Not only that, but Dante has to take care of Patty Lowell. She's a young girl he's tasked with protecting in the first episode, and she helps bring humanity to the demon as he basically adopts her. I've seen a lot of people call her annoying, but she's a kid out of her league, of course she's going to act like a kid would- I'm surprised she wasn't worse. Dante regains his identity as he works with Patty, his agent Morrison, Trish and Lady as he fights multiple demons terrorizing the city- while looking to reunite Patty with her mother, to do what he never managed to do for himself. I think that makes this story rather beautiful.
-The dub also features Chris Aryes as the reoccurring main villain, Sid. This was before he ever became Frieza, and he felt like the best VO in the series, even overshadowing Ruben Langdon's Dante (Which might be a good thing actually lol). Rest in peace, you legend.
-This honestly reminds me a lot of Hellsing- the original. Same vibes, style, and atmosphere that draws me in. It's ironic, because MADHOUSE made Ultimate, not the original- but I'm pretty sure DmC matches that one more. Either way, it has fantastic world building and atmosphere. It feels both real yet absurd, and oddly chill at times.
-My personal favorite episode is Episode 9- Death Poker. It's a stupid concept, with stupid asspulls, and stupid action- and I love it. I feel like this is the episode where we see what Dante is really like on the inside, and who he'll eventually become. It's like the anime version of Casino Royale- both the old and new, ironically.
-I still haven't played any of the games, but to me, this fits right in perfectly with them. I'm sure that eventually, I'll cave in and play them, but I'm glad this was my intro into the series. It may not have been perfect, but it's still beautiful.
-I also haven't seen the Netflix one. I don't give enough of a shit to. Again, eventually I will, but I have other shows I'm more interested in watching- including Re-Watching this underrated disasterpiece of a show. I love the 2007 DmC anime, and as a first decent dive into Anime? It did a pretty damn good job of making me want to explore not only the universe it's set in, but also the medium it used.
-Thanks, Dante, I owe you a Strawberry Sundae.