Devil May Cry season 1 review

Next year, Devil May Cry will commemorate its lead character’s iconic hairstyle as it marks its 25th anniversary. The intense Capcom action series debuted in 2001 and has adeptly maneuvered through six main installments. Recognized as a blend of gun-slinging and sword-fighting action, the franchise’s consistent theme seems to be this: if a demon is worth exterminating, it’s certainly worth doing so with ostentatious flair.

This signature vibe of brash ultra-violence to boost a rating-hungry Culture Meter is retained in Netflix’s lively new series, which is debuting this week after first being announced back in 2018. It has been supervised by Adi Shankar, an expert in the platform’s games-to-animation framework, having contributed to the acclaimed Castlevania and absurd Far Cry 3 sci-fi spin-off Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix.

With Limp Bizkit’s brash anthem Rollin’ backing the credits sequence and vibrant needle drops featuring artists like Linkin Park, Rage Against the Machine, and Crazy Town, the essence of this adaptation set in a quirky NYC, where the city faces sporadic invasions by demonic entities, embodies a late-90s nu-metal aesthetic. Fortunately, it doesn’t drag out too long before the well-powered protagonist dons his iconic outfit in the final scenes.

At first glance, this version of the confident demon hunter Dante (voiced with playful enthusiasm by Johnny Yong Bosch) appears perfectly crafted: the dual handguns, longsword, K-pop idol hairstyle, and swirling pink leather trench coat from the franchise’s golden era are all strikingly present. Surprisingly, there’s a hint of Ninja Theory’s 2013 reboot DmC: Devil May Cry in Dante’s carefree slacker persona and apparent reluctance towards introspection.

As a child, he might have witnessed the horrific murders of his mother and twin brother at the hands of demons, yet Dante appears to wear his trauma quite lightly. He also exudes a flamboyant swagger with his enhanced combat abilities and uncanny skills—particularly his Wolverine-like rapid healing.

As he delivers quips, performs acrobatic maneuvers, and executes witty comebacks during supernatural battles, one gets the impression that he’s been dispatching lesser minions for so long that he now incorporates flashy combat techniques just for enjoyment. (“Damn, he’s cool,” admits a hulking elemental golem as the effortlessly agile Dante prepares to smash their face with a motorcycle.)

Dante’s carefree life of demon-slaying is disrupted by devious antagonist White Rabbit (Hoon Lee), a monocle-wearing, monologue-delivering mastermind who has taken on the task of shattering the mystical barrier separating Earth from a sulfurous domain we think of as Hell. To achieve this, he covets one of Dante’s keepsakes.

Amid rising public concern regarding incursions by “terrorist demons,” the U.S. government—prompted by a questionable vice president (voiced by the late Kevin Conroy)—mobilizes DARKCOM, a semi-privatized anti-demon military unit. The forefront of DARKCOM’s mission to thwart Dante features a dynamic team of elite operators led by Mary (Scout Taylor-Compton), a determined strategist with striking green and pink irises and a pair of impressive rocket boots.

There exists a lively push-and-pull dynamic between Mary and Dante, with her rigid adherence to the rules contrasted with his one-liner-filled bravado. She suspects his flamboyant fighting style and apparent emotional shallowness might simply mask a deeper, more soulful entity within him. In one of the show’s cleverest jokes, she initially comes off as humorlessly antagonistic (at least in the beginning; as the story progresses, Dante, Mary, and White Rabbit all gain unexpected depth).

Throughout its eight episodes, Devil May Cry consistently channels the aesthetics of over-the-top action films that we can imagine Dante watching in his cluttered apartment between gigs: a highway battle with demons wreaking havoc on traffic recalls elements of The Matrix Reloaded, while Mary undertakes a side mission in a rundown apartment block that echoes The Raid or Dredd. Heads are violently severed, and viscera is liberally splattered.