Devil May Cry: TAS Review
By brukaoru 10 Comments
Devil May Cry: The Animated Series Review
Warning: The ending is very stupid. Please don't sue me if your brain cells are damaged.Text Version of Review:
Devil May Cry: The Animated Series ReviewBased on the videogame franchise of the same name, Devil May Cry is a 12 episodic series that follows the staple protagonist Dante, a devil hunter who takes odd jobs in order to both rid the world of demons and try to pay off his debts. Starting off, Dante is tasked with looking after a "young lady" named Patty, an orphan who likes having everything her way. Eventually Patty starts to frequent Dante's shop, as well as hanging around him when he's not out on a job. From there, Dante completes menial jobs throughout the show. Strong language and graphic violence warrant the Mature Audience rating, although the language is fairly mild with only a strong profanity said every now and then. When there are battle sequences, it tends to be quite bloody.
The first few episodes offer a promising outlook on how the entire show will flow, with action scenes filling the screen, but unfortunately it all goes downhill from there. Most episodes focus on relationships of original characters that viewers will most likely not care for. For such a short series, this is not justifiable, and really just feels like filler for a small plot to be drawn out until the end. Thus, there is no major storyline, but self-contained plots in almost every episode.
The selection of music is well fitted to the atmosphere of the show, from rock selections to orchestral pieces, the soundtrack is appropriately used. The animation is great overall, having a serious art style that's both rich in color and dark in tone. However, the character designs seem a little generic, though this is mostly an issue with the demons, as there's nothing that makes them really stand out or seem unique from one another.
The English voice acting is quite good, with Reuben Langdon returning to voice Dante. Patty's voice actor accurately portraying a spoiled child can become slightly grating. Otherwise, the other characters are voiced well enough, though some fans may be disappointed that Lady's voice actor is not the same person who voices her in the games.
For a videogame series that relies heavily on action, more emphasis should have been put on the action sequences and less on character depth for one-episodic characters. For the times there are battle scenes, it feels too rushed and finished with before it even begins. Even the episodes where Dante has to fight supposedly powerful demons feel no longer than the fights with weaker ones, which is especially disappointing when the story has built these characters up to be very powerful.
The show definitely has some perks, with the characterizations of staple characters from the franchise being upheld, and some humorous situations that will give viewers a few laughs, but sadly the downsides outweigh the good. Although the anime is canon, taking place between the first and fourth game, there really isn't much a Devil May Cry fan would miss out on if they skipped watching the entire show. It's unfortunate that so much potential was wasted, this could have been a great spin-off but it just ends up being average.