So I recently completed yet another run of DMC3 on my way toward the platinum, and I’ve picked up on a particularly sad stinger that I’ve never noticed in the Vergil vs. Mundus scene in the secret/bonus post-credits.
Some background, for starters: Yûji Shimomura was the Movie/Cutscene Director for numerous movies and games including Devil May Cry 3, Devil May Cry 4, and Bayonetta (among others), and is famous for his action sequences and the subtleties he puts in them. Devil May Cry 3, in particular, has a heavy emphasis on body language and gestures to a really (almost) obsessive degree.
Moving on: Going back to that scene, there’s a particular nuance that’s totally missable, especially given how slight it is and the high from the wacky wahoo pizza adventure the player is probably coming down from (especially on a first time playthrough).
When Vergil comes to and Mundus appears, Vergil, predictably, behaves just as arrogantly as ever and boldly remarks “if my father could do it, I should be able to do it too!” It’s very easy to assume he got too cocky and threw himself right into a curb stomp fight. Case closed.
However, if you pay attention during his shit talking (slowed down and brightened up, below), what Vergil does shows this is, to some degree, false bravado:
Vergil discards his sheath before he charges at Mundus. If you’ve paid attention to his fighting style at all, you’d know this is extremely out of character for him. Vergil’s clearly trained as an Eastern swordsman, and his entire fighting style is fast, precise, and elegant, with the Yamato being sheathed again immediately after use.
Weeb jokes aside, his style is based off of the real Iaidō (居合道) martial art - quick, smooth, controlled movements of drawing a blade from its scabbard/saya and striking or cutting an opponent, removing blood from the blade, and then replacing the sword in the scabbard. He even uses a traditional stance when he’s preparing to fight Dante again before Nero shows up. An example:
That said, Vergil getting rid of the Yamato’s sheath is both old Eastern swordsman code and a trope (called “throw the sheath away”) - you never, ever throw the sheath of your blade away unless you feel like it’s the last time you can.
In short, despite his attitude, Vergil knew this was a fight he was most likely never going win or come back from. This makes the awareness he has as Nelo Angelo even sadder, and in turn makes V’s absolute, unconcealed revulsion at the sight of the Angelos make even more sense (than it already does) because he is looking at the picture of failure.
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