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NicoNicoDesu

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Devil May Cry

Dec 16, 2012

MY MONTHLY MARATHON ENTRY!

Now, just to be fair, I have never played the "Devil May Cry" videogames. I would probably have a different view of this anime if I have played them, but this is my anime-only review.

Story: Dante owns the titular shop, a shop that does anything if there is money to pay for it. His general lifestyle is sleeping, eating strawberry sundaes and pizza, and being flat-out broke and in chronic debt. When he isn't doing this, his is dealing with one of the most annoying children in anime, or he is fighting demons. Actually, it's less a fight, and more a massacre on any poor demon in Dante's path.

This is an almost-purely action anime (if the heaps of melodrama and a certain blonde child left, it WOULD be purely action), with flashy gun battles and gallons of blood. Ah, and speaking of melodrama... there is a lot of it. And then there is the cheese factor. But, if those things were to be disregarded, the show would be a cool-sounding, albeit a bit unoriginal, action anime.

Oh, and then there's the fact that Dante (an adult) is quite close to the annoying blonde girl, Patty Lowell (or Rowell, depending on how you want to spell it), who is ten, tops. Did anyone else think that Dante might be a pedophile?

Going back to my point that this show would be awesome... it would be, right?

Wrong.

The execution of this show is poorly done, and the heart of it lies within Dante himself: Dante is INVINCIBLE. His ability to defeat any enemy efficiently and without effort ruins any tension. In addition, the show is mostly episodic, with a new demonic nemesis each time, and the ending is rushed into a little over one episode. I'll stay spoiler-free, but I will say this: The ending is corny and there is a good chance you will not be satisfied by it.

Animation: The animation during the many action scenes sucks, which is especially disappointing considering the fact that this was animated by MADHOUSE, a studio which tends to do much better than this. (Note to MADHOUSE: Try fewer gun battles. "Black Lagoon" had this problem, too, but to a lesser extent.) And there is Dante's infinite supply of invincibility stars, which doesn't help the action scenes look any better.

Now that I have mentioned that, I'll move on. The character designs are based off of a game, so I can't really comment, but they follow a formula: Dante is going to be hot and badass, the women will be scantily-clad and sexy, the little girl will wear frilly crap, the older men will all look the same, and the demons will have some of the most laughable character designs ever. Okay... well, at least some of the backgrounds look okay, even though they are only really visible in the numerous stills.

Sound: Much like in "11eyes," the sound is the only saving grace of the show. The OST range from slow, symphonic songs to awesome rock. The opening song sounds more like BGM than an opening, but it is cool. The ending song is unmemorable. Voice acting is mediocre. No one is particularly good, though Dante's English voice captures his essence perfectly (I heard that the voice actor for the games voices him in the anime).

Characters: Not a single character is developed, and I don't remember any backstories.

I can't find a picture of all the characters.

Dante: Mr. Badass has mastered the art of shooting two guns at once, swordfighting, dodging just about every form of weaponry in existence, pimping, and eating strawberry sundaes while still seeming epic. He has as much personality as a stoic rock--he's style with no substance.

Patty Lowell: This little girl is useless (and stupid, but if I elaborate on that, I might start to spoil). If you manage to make it through the anime without wanting to throw her off a cliff, GOOD FOR YOU. Is she the most dislikable anime character of all time? Not even close. Did I hate her? Yes.

Lady: Yes, that is what everyone calls her. But I digress. She is pretty awesome, and almost reads like a prototype for Revy of "Black Lagoon."

Trish: The other half of the Revy-prototype. She is very similar to Lady.

Cid: The weak villian.

In a nutshell: Personality level=zero.

Overall: A complete letdown, "Devil May Cry" is a Dante-centered action show that fails even on its most important point--the action.

Oh, and random extra: Thank you, whoever gave out my recommendations for Monthly Marathon. While I may not have found this work to be high-quality, it was enjoyable, and I have two more anime to watch.

4/10 story
3.5/10 animation
6/10 sound
3.5/10 characters
4/10 overall
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