*Spoilers!!!* My S2 Devil May Cry Netflix Review
Alright...Blunt intro...Here’s my take on Season 2 of Devil May Cry Netflix:
What I Liked: 1. Animation’s improved from Season 1.
2. Found this season to be more entertaining than the previous one, but...(Refer to everything in my dislike section.)
3. Episode 2’s flashback animations were amusing to a degree. The Noir-like one’s meant to poke fun at the original game series, and is pretty spot-on in an exaggerated way. It’s too bad they couldn’t stick with that art style and such for this whole series.
4. I found episodes 3 and 4 were pretty good, but...(Refer to the 2nd point in my dislike section.)
5. I found the music was okay in episode 4. (For the other episodes’ music, refer to the 22nd point in my dislike section.)
6. The choreography was cool, aside from the copy-pasted ones from other media (Refer to the 4th point of my dislike section.)
7. It gives a good message about media propaganda and hysteria. However...(Refer to the 5th point in my dislike section.)
8. There were quite a lot of different media and Devil May Cry refs throughout this season, but...(Refer to the 3rd point of my dislike section.)
9. Dante finally gets stabbed by his sword in this series!
10. Even though Lady can be two-faced, it’s nice that she finally gets a change of heart for the better in a subtle way.
11. They’ve made Arius more badass, unlike the DMC2 game where he just pew-pew-pews and teleports.
12. The rivalry and beef between Mundus and Argosax was a neat touch. You never get to see the demon lords interact with each other, especially face-to-face.
13. Dante’s spotlight time's improved, but...(Refer to the 7th point in my dislike section.)
14. I noticed Lady was swearing less, but...(Refer to the 15th point of my dislike section.)
15. I find Vergil’s voice sounded better in this season compared to the previous one, but...(Refer to the 18th point in my dislike section.)
16. I was amused by the Vergil Bodies battle. I liked how the fight went down, and how the song sort of suits the situation happening, but...(Refer to the 21st point of my dislike section.)
What I Disliked: 1. I understand that everything has a deadline, but I felt that everything in this season moved at a really fast pace compared to the previous one. While part-way through working on this whole review of mine, I found out about how Season 3’s going to be the final one of this Netflix saga (which explains the pacing). I remember “Mr. Visionary” mentioned about having ideas and plans for wanting 5 or more seasons. Makes you wonder what made them change their minds.
2. Episodes 1 and 2 were a rough start...You’ve got Lady showing off her OP girl-boss skills, Jester’s sudden appearance, slow buildup to Dante’s time to shine, and then episode 2 was so all over the place despite the amusing flashback scenes in different art styles. Episodes 3 and 4 were starting to get interesting, up until the end of episode 4 where it takes a nose dive (refer to the 14th point below), and then episode 5 and beyond just becomes a total mess with 90s and early 2000s nostalgia slop, too many media refs (refer to the next 3 points below), story and lore logic being thrown out the window (refer to certain 12 points below), and more.
3. I’m aware since it was first announced that this whole Devil May Cry Netflix series is supposed to be a bootleg multi-verse, meaning that it was gonna deviate from the original game canon with multi-versal elements happening. But then Adi on Twitter/X turned around and lied saying that he was gonna be faithful and not change anything from the original lore...Look what happened then? But the amount of other media (or multi-versal elements) being shown in this series is getting too much to the point where you ask, “Is this even a Devil May Cry series at all?” My boyfriend and one of my Discord/Twitter friends couldn’t help but point out the amount of Warhammer 40k refs happening throughout this season. Even the friend asked, “Is this Devil May Cry or Warhammer?”
4. Speaking of refs. Nothing wrong with making any refs at all in any media as either a way to pay tribute or poke fun at something. But copy-pasting from TactiCool, and the DMCV cutscene with Dante and Vergil’s short fight is just a bit low effort and cheap. The DMCV ref kinda makes sense since it’s supposed to be a DMC series, and would give a positive reaction with some fans noticing the ref and all. But copy-pasting altogether I find is just really cheap and lazy, and makes me feel like the ones making this saga are attempting damage control by saying to their viewers, “Hey! Remember THIS scene from THIS?! Cool, huh?!”
5. And one last ref point. I didn’t like and found it unnecessary how they decided to add the Asmongold ref again. In a way it makes sense since whatever comes out of that a-hole’s mouth’s basically how more and more people are acting nowadays when it comes to political stuff, propaganda, and hysteria stuff. Especially on social media.
6. One of the biggest annoyances I’ve had in this season was the way they pronounced certain names...Ma-DAG-li-ah?!!! WTF is that?!!! It’s Ma-DAH-hlee-ah, you uncultured swines!!! And MUN-dis?!!! It’s MOON-dis! (I’m aware in the reboot and Season 1 they pronounced it as mun-dis, but come on...). And Gold-stine? It’s Gold-steen! (I’m aware that it would be pronounced as “stine” due to the German pronunciation thing, but we’ve heard Nico in DMCV pronounce it as “steen”.)
7. Dante’s character change. From what I’ve stated in my Season 1 review, I’m aware he’s supposed to be younger where he’s more naive and building power, plus he’s been asleep in a pod for awhile, which I can see why they’ve made him pretty weak in this entire saga. But because Devil May Cry’s supposed to be led by Dante, he ain’t acting like a lead protagonist at all, and he’s practically being sidelined (once again) by the other characters. Not only that but ever since Season 1, I just can’t help but feel and witness that they’re making Dante too much like Nero in this whole thing. You’ve got Johnny Bosch voicing as him, Nero’s DMC4 hairstyle in his Tony Redgrave and Season 1 eras, Nero’s theme songs Devil Trigger and Shall Never Surrender playing for Dante, a flashback scene of him meeting Enzo where he’s wearing one of Nero’s scrapped DMC4 outfits, and the way he acts altogether just speaks “Nero” more than “Dante” (except he doesn’t have as much of a potty mouth like Nero does, lol). |I admit there are small hints of Tony Redgrave traits happening in him. And Itsuno did mention somewhere that quite a bit of inspiration for Nero came from Dante. And Johnny’s auditioned to be Dante since DMC3. But if you’re gonna make a Devil May Cry animated series with Dante being too much like Nero, why not make it about Nero instead? (Seems I’ve made this part of my dislike section a drinking game with how many times I’ve said “Nero” now, lol.)
8. Speaking of Nero...Before the announcement of Season 3 being the final one, I was wondering what was gonna happen with him on whether he was ever gonna appear, or not. There was that one flashback scene of Arius paying a visit to the Order of The Sword with Credo leading the cavalry, then getting offed by Arius. And there was (see the 14th dislike point) that got me and other fans wondering about that becoming a thing with him now.
9. How Dante’s and Vergil’s trademark weapons were bestowed to them...Vergil’s Yamato’s supposed to be from Sparda, not Mundus. I’m aware that this series is supposed to be its own thing, but why change it like that? Especially with how Dante’s Ebony and Ivory were given to him.
10. Speaking of Ebony and Ivory...I didn’t like what they did with Goldstein here...Not only does she have a questionable voice actress playing her, but they just make her as a DarkCom blacksmith who appears for 2 seconds in a couple of episodes. She’s supposed to be a relative figure who leaves a huge impact on Dante and the audience. And from what’s hinted in the other episode she features in, it seems she’s more of a relative figure of Lady’s than Dante’s where she bestows Kalinna Ann to her and parts ways with a warm hug. Like what I’ve stated in my 4th dislike point, it just feels like the ones making this series are attempting damage control where they’re like, “Hey! Remember THIS character?! And she gives Dante his trademark pistols like in the original lore!” Then they throw in a Tony Redgrave ref without going deep into it.
11. Speaking of Tony Redgrave. Like I said in the previous point, they never go deep into Dante’s Tony Redgrave arc. They just briefly mention of him being out alone on the streets, then accepted by Enzo to work as a mercenary, and then interact with that new magical professor character, Lucan. That’s it. They refer to Dante’s mercenary life when they give him Ebony and Ivory, but they don’t even take the time to show what really happened during said life.
12. And one last Dante point. So, are we gonna ignore the fact that Dante doesn’t have the power to sense danger or demons anymore? We’ve witnessed him with such power in the very 1st episode of Season 1 at the diner. But then in this season, he doesn’t even sense the enemies approaching Lucan’s hideout. What happened there? Again, logic’s thrown right out the window in this whole season...
13. Like with Dante’s Tony Redgrave persona, Arkham/Jester wasn’t looked into a whole lot either. Near the end of the season, they happen to reveal that he’s alive and working behind Lady’s back at DarkCom when they could’ve done all that since Season 1. Like...It’s nice to know that Arkham still lives, but they could’ve added much more about him to add more impact on the story and whenever he eventually goes to meet Lady face-to-face. Instead, he’s just thrown in there in brief moments acting like a total weirdo with hardly any importance, and then the big reveal happens near the end of the season...This is such a mess...
14. Lady and Dante in a relationship. Now...I’m a supporter of Lady x Dante (and Lucia x Dante). Fans have requested this to happen for ages. There was that Japanese-exclusive CD drama where Lady had a huge crush on Dante (but in the end decided to remain as a sister-like figure or good friends with him). And love works in complex ways. But the problem with this? Not only is it too sudden, but it feels forced, and there’s no valid reason and buildup for this to happen at all. Not to mention the cringey Twilight reference happening before their kiss just adds to the ridiculousness of this situation. But I guess at the end of the season, she does decide to remain as some kind of friend to him?
15. Speaking of Lady. Every time a swear word did come out of her mouth, it seems her favourite one’s the ‘F’ word.
16. They’ve made Lady OP again. Don’t get me wrong, nothing wrong with having a strong female character. And I’m aware Lady’s supposed to be a really skilled fighter. But there’s just so much illogical things happening with her power scale where it seems like she’s been injected with Captain America’s super soldier-like serum. I’m aware in the original series she pulls stunts that no ordinary human can do, especially Olympians. But you have her in this series chopping large demons’ heads off with a blade as small as a scalpel, infiltrating Mundus’ lair alone, creating deep craters in floors and walls when bashing people’s heads in (especially when they’re wearing helmets that are supposed to be “top-notch” DarkCom technology), and winning every fight against every demon she faces compared to Dante. Then they pull a bit of a Mikasa from Attack On Titan scene with them showing off her toned body while lifting weights. Now, nothing wrong with fan service, and I’m aware that having her work out is supposed to be a bit of a plot point for how she keeps in shape for her career. But I find the whole showing off bodies for fan service purposes like that (especially with male characters) is silly. Speaking of which, notice how both Goldstein and that one Secretary are muscular as well. What is it with Netflix shows in their obsession of women power?
17. Speaking of Goldstein. Not only was her voice choice questionable, but even some of the other characters’ choices of voices were really odd and unfitting. You’ve got both that Hopper guy and Beowulf (who didn’t even put up a fight in this season at all by the way) sounding like wimps, the Secretaries having a different accent than Arius, and more.
18. Speaking of voices. Even though I preferred Vergil’s voice in this season, I found it odd how his accent kept changing where he’d sound like he’s from the UK at times, then loses that accent.
19. Speaking of Vergil, I wasn’t a fan of a few changes in his character...I found it odd how he not only decided to work for Mundus willingly, but his decision to appear on TV in episode 2 was really strange. I get it’s for plot purposes to get him to meet Dante in person, but it’s still weird how he decides to appear on TV talking about demons and such as if it’s a “regular” occurrence to the general public. Then again, I guess people know demons are real now since the ending of Season 1. You’d think DarkCom would have the technology to use some mind-wiping equipment similar to that Neuralyzer from Men In Black, or something. Or amnestic-like formulas like in the SCP Foundation universe. And about the Mundus situation. I know that one way to brainwash someone is verbal manipulation. But having Vergil willingly work for Mundus because of what came out of that ungodly statue’s mouth just feels really off. Heck, Mundus is supposed to be of universal potentiality, so why isn’t he using his reality-bending powers on Vergil’s brain like in the original plot? He didn’t even put much effort into defeating Argosax, either. Again, I know this is supposed to be its own thing, but it’s so wrong...
20. Vergil can fly in his Nelo Angelo form now...Well, we do see in the DMC1 game how he becomes floating blue flames when he retreats after his 1st and 2nd battles with Dante, but we’ve never witnessed him fly at all in the original saga. Not even in gameplay. Why not make him as the blue flames when flying?
21. And one last Vergil point...Even though I was amused by the Bodies battle, I couldn’t help but cringe either...It’s such an overplayed early 2000s, edgy internet song, and they couldn’t even come up with their own music for this. Let alone pick a theme of Vergil’s from any of the games. It takes me back to the time when Youtube AMVs and GMVs were a bit of a hit, and people would use songs like that for different video games, anime, TV shows, and movies.
22. I’ve grown up with most of the songs playing in this season. But the problem I have with the song choices is the way they implemented them. Not only are they mixed in terribly where 90+% of the time, the sound effects and dialogue get drowned out by the music (almost like it’s a dance club sim happening, lol), and they don't quite go in sync very well. But the song choices used are both extremely cheap and have nothing to do with the scenes happening at all. Like what I’ve stated in the previous point, they couldn’t come up with their own music for this season? They just had to throw in random 90s and early 2000s nostalgia for the purpose of trying to be “cool” and “edgy” like that generation when the original DMC series was released on the PS2, mobile devices, PS3, and Xbox360. I understand this Netflix series is supposed to have that kind of vibe happening but at this point, it’s just getting really cringey and makes me feel worse on being a Millennial.
23. I’m usually an “it is what it is” kind of person when it comes to entertainment media. But for the 1st time in years since Ninja Theory’s reboot became a thing, my annoyance and irritation levels were building up to the point where my head erupted like a volcano, and I was getting really mad at whatever was happening. If anything, whatever I get uncomfortable with in entertainment media has me getting disappointed and critical more than getting angry or frustrated. Like I’ve stated in my 2nd dislike point, there were things that weren’t making any logical sense at all, and were turning my brain to mush. What set me off was the scene when Korn’s Freak On A Leash song was playing during Argosax’s awakening. Now, I like that song from Korn, but it isn’t fitting at all. It’s hilariously terrible...
24. No Lucia!...Instead, they’ve made Arius’ top Secretary minion (the muscular one) as Lucia’s replacement and named her Chi, which was Lucia’s original name Arius gave to her. And what’s odd is that the mark on Chi represents Psi. So why not name her that? Was it for referencing purposes? Was it forced in there ‘cause they’ve made Lucia as just a brief cameo in Season 1? Make it make sense!
25. I’m usually okay with changes but depends on these changes. One of these changes I was uncomfortable with (aside from a lot of the other dislike points I’ve made) was how they’ve changed Argosax’s and Arius’ transformed concepts. Argosax’s design does speak “chaos” in a way, but it heavily deviates from the original DMC2 game concept. The beginning of Argosax’s transformation has some hints of the Despair Embodied’s looks happening, but then evolves into a caca-coloured being with what looks to me like a mix of Dante’s and Vergil’s SDT forms, with the outline kinda looking like OG Sparda’s silhouette (except for the Phantom or Arachne legs coming out of the back), and Goliath’s or Fallen’s mouth torso thing happening. I also expected Arius to have a different transformation that resembles what he becomes in DMC2 where he looks like a Resident Evil BOW with PVC hoses coming out of his back, then evolves into an even more grotesque BOW in the style of an eastern dragon with an exaggeratedly huge mouth. All we get in this Netflix series with Arius’ transformation is him with glowy bits on his skin, and is just inside of Argosax’s body.
26. Speaking of Argosax, there’s his contradicting power logic...We’ve heard from the characters themselves that it takes millions of souls for him to gain power but from what we witness on screen, it’s only like...What, 3 at a time? Maybe 15 at most? I understand animating a bunch of people can be difficult and costly but if you’re gonna state that it takes millions to grow power, then actually show these millions getting consumed by him!
27. Speaking of power. Anyone can use the power of Sparda’s sword now! Aside from the Freak On A Leash bit that riled me up, even seeing Chi/Psi using the Sparda sword before the song played got me mad. The original idea Capcom made about wielding the power of Sparda was that it chooses its master. And if it doesn’t approve of the wielder, the wielder can either overflow with corrupted energy like Arkham did, or it will just stop lending its power to them like with Sanctus. But nope! Let’s just make it as a dinky magical sword that anyone can wield now!
28. And finally, about Sparda. Ever since the original saga, he’s always been a bit of a mystery of a character. We don’t know much about him except the fact that he was scary when he got angry (according to what Vergil told Dante in DMCV Special/Devil Hunter Edition and Vergil DLC), and that he saved humanity from a horde of demons ‘cause he sided with human feelings. But the way they’re making him in the Netflix saga just scratches me and others’ heads. You have both Mundus and Adi spouting all this stuff about how “terrible” of a character Sparda is/was. Then there’s talk from some other characters in this series about how he’s a hero. So is Sparda a good guy or a bad guy? At the same time, I know there was that scene in the DMC2 novel where Dante and this other female protag named Beryl get plunged into an alternate universe where Sparda and Dante are the bad guys, and Vergil/Nelo Angelo is the hero. Unsure if this is a ref or a hint at what this series is doing plot-wise, but it’s getting confusing at this point.
And that’s my review of Devil May Cry Netflix Season 2. Now...I remember in Season 1 I gave the score a 7/10 but after watching Season 2, my score for Season 1 has lowered. I’m now giving Season 1 a 6/10, while Season 2 is stealing that 7/10 score. I know these are generous scores coming from me but I’m aware it is its own thing, and “it is what it is”. And I know it’s odd with the amount of complaints and criticisms I’ve had about this whole saga, but this is my opinion and how I feel.
My boyfriend doesn’t really know much about Devil May Cry since he hasn’t played the entire series yet (he knows about it and had the games for awhile now, but hasn’t gotten around to playing them). But even he found this Netflix saga okay or 'meh', and knows for sure that the original saga has better stuff happening from what I’ve talked about with him sometimes, and from some stuff he’s watched or read about it. He compares this whole Netflix saga as a generic Disney Marvel ripoff with too many Warhammer 40k and Millennial nostalgia refs happening. Not only do I agree with him, but a lot of people I’ve seen who gave their feedback have pretty much said the same thing. The thing is, he preferred Season 1 with how not so all over the place it was compared to Season 2, and he liked White Rabbit as a villain.
Wonder how Season 3’s gonna play out. Will most likely be a whole year from now that it gets released. Only one way to find out. Thanks for reading.
