The Devil May Cry Netflix adaptation is a perfectly fine show for people with little to no knowledge of the original series. It’s bloody, action-packed, and has a solid plot and story progression. However, as someone with a passing familiarity with the video game franchise, it’s a bit of a letdown.

Solid Show for Newcomers

The Devil May Cry Netflix adaptation is a departure from the game. Instead of focusing on Dante’s journey as a demon hunter, the show puts Dante at the center of a political plot to invade the demon world. 

The show is linear in storytelling but very heavy-handed with its political themes. However, it isn’t bad. The story moves at a solid pace, and it’s easy to understand what’s going on and why. However, there are moments when the plot overshadows the character’s development. The action sequences are also cool to watch. We see Dante and Lady fight demons in gory bullet rain mayhem.

Lady Carried the Show

A lot of what makes Dante cool is that he’s a cocky goofball but deadly. The show leaned more into the goofball aspect and forgot the deadly aspect. While he did have cool action sequences, he only reacted to the events of the show when it was a direct threat to him. Watching Dante relegated to the background of a show where he’s the main protagonist is an unfortunate choice. However, it also let me know that this was not going to be a faithful adaptation.

As a result, Lady became the more engaging character. She’s introduced as Baines’s most loyal and skilled soldier. Throughout the show, she struggles with her ideals as they clash with the reality of the situations she finds herself in. She engages with the events occurring around her more than Dante, making her the stronger protagonist. 

Vice President Baines is the Bane of My Existence 

The addition of Vice President Baines dampens my overall enjoyment of the show. While the late Kevin Conroy’s performance is amazing, the addition of the character shoves the show into this good vs evil Christian fanaticism plot that doesn’t allow for the various shades of grey from the games to shine through. 

He spends the show talking about how he is the Lord’s Special Little Guy who has to protect the United States. This made my eyes roll out of their sockets and onto the floor. For a game that focuses on family and the bonds we create with those around us, the political subplot is out of place. Well, out of place for the game’s universe, but not out of place in terms of the time it was created.

One of the final scenes from the season shows Baines leading an invasion into the demon world as Green Day’s American Idiot plays in the background. All I can think is damn, it’s 2004 all over again. The end of the season shows that the Vice President is in cahoots with the Uroboros Corporation, which is led by the main antagonist of Devil May Cry 2, Arius. If there is a next season, I hope Baines dies a slow and painful death.

The Dark Horse: The Rabbit

The Rabbit is a character who exclusively appears in a prequel manga set before the events of the third game. Later on, the character is revealed to be the main antagonist of Devil May Cry 3. However, the Devil May Cry Netflix series turns him into a new compelling character with a full arc that turned him into my favorite character.

He enters the series as a calculated and ruthless figure. He’s a competent antagonist who knows what his mission is and won’t let anyone stop him. However, episode 6 turns him from a generic smart antagonist into a compelling character that made me enjoy the show a lot more than I thought I would. Watching his optimistic origin story, his fall into madness, and his end singlehandedly shifted my interest in the show from neutral to good. It sucks we won’t see him again, but I’m glad we got him.

Devil May Cry is now streaming on Netflix.