Swords, guns, and demons; who could ask for more?
Devil May Cry is based on Capcom’s hit videogame franchise of the same name and is about a somewhat lazy “odd job man” named Dante. Dante is actually the son of legendary demon warrior, Sparda, and possesses unparalleled skill with both his large buster-type sword and handgun. Usually his jobs are as odd as his occupational title suggests—usually involving him to protect humans from devils that have crossed over from the demon world or finding and stopping peoples’ devil-related misfortunes. This usually draws Dante’s allies—Patty (a pushy 10 year old orphan), Morrison (Dante’s business partner), Lady (a small woman with some mean artillery), and, on occasion, Trish (a shockingly powerful fighter and gunslinger)—into the heart of trouble and back.
The third volume of Devil May Cry involves Dante and his allies doing everything from protecting a gambling addict from Death itself to having a winner-take-all duel with two devil brothers that once followed in Sparda’s footsteps. Not only this, but they are drawn in to an intricate web throughout by a mysterious, yet pathetic, devil who is collecting items for a ritual to gain the power of Abigail—the only demon that rivaled even the Demon King in power. Dante is the last thing between him and annihilation of the human world. But who can save Dante from being the first casualty? Maybe little Patty can find out…
The polished metal of blade and bullet.
Devil May Cry’s packaging is sure to please the eye. The animation is of superb quality, and that is easily reflected on the cover illustration of Dante (weapons at the ready) with Trish in the background. The back of the DVD jacket also sports similar artwork of Trish, and the darker background supporting all the text is actually darkened images from the show. Now, granted, the DVD menu itself isn’t much—just an extreme close-up of the skull from Dante’s sword—but the layout is very stylish and akin to videogame option menus. As I mentioned before, this series has some seriously sharp and detailed animation. Most anime tends to differ in style from what you see on the DVD jackets to the actual animation (budgets don’t usually allow for a lot of flashy stuff), but DMC’s popularity is probably the biggest reason so much care was taken into the high animation quality for a mere TV series. Even the English voice cast was up to par with the original Japanese. And the soundtrack is absolutely fantastic. The presentation of the disc and overall anime certainly is true to the mood of the series.
Fans rejoice!
Funimation is notoriously stingy for extras for some series, and for others they give you bounty. Devil May Cry is one of those lucky series that gets some extra treatment. On this third volume fans of the videogame will weep with joy at the included 2007-08 footage of the upcoming game installment of Devil May Cry 4. I’ve never even played the games, and I found myself drooling in anticipation. Aside from the treat of game footage, you get clean opening and ending songs from the show. Then, of course, is the traditional host of Funimation trailers, and they’re surprisingly refreshed, for the most part, from the usual list that’s been plunked onto Funimation DVDs lately. The trailers include Afro Samurai, Shin-chan, Darker Than Black, Claymore, DBZ, and One Piece. All in all, it’s not a bad haul for the extras. Kudos, Funimation!
Game Over.
I was really impressed with Devil May Cry: Level 3. Most videogames are hit and miss and translated into an anime title. Either your beloved characters and storylines get butchered or it just falls short of what joy the games bring you. But such is not the case with Devil May Cry. It really does carry the same high quality of story, characters, and production value that game games do. You can expect nothing less than nonstop action, lots of bloodshed, and intriguing stories and characters from this series, and the third installment is no exception. It’s a great show for both fans of the game and action lovers alike.
