Otamer

By saying "Nero is 18 and 19 in DMC4" doesn't make sense in the current timeline. If Nero was born in 1996 or 1997. Vergil was already defeated, corrupted, tortured by Mundus and became Nelo Angelo after DMC3 which it happened in 1994. How can he have sex to Lady in Red if he is already Nelo Angelo?

In reality, that was already retconned just by retconning the timeline from 3142 to 31245

Here is another interview for Matt Walker in feed4gamers

For the 16 and 17 part.. It was stated in the original Japanese Deadly Fortune novel that Nero is 16 or 17, since that is the time where Sanctus met a man who is visiting the island. Bingo never wrote 18 十八 (jū hachi) nor 19 十九 (jū kyū)

When it comes to Japanese numbers, they are just adding it for example 16 is 十六 (jū roku). Ju is ten and roku is six. Same thing with 17 which is 十七 (jū nana).

The thing is as I stated in my "DMC Canon Ages and Years". Sanctus poisoned Solemnis for 2 years, before he became a pope when Vergil was 17 years. From 1990 to 1991, Sanctus is poisoning Pope Solemnis before he became the pope in 1993.

If you parallel it with Dante it make sense. You see in DMC1 novel, it is stated that he drifted 2 years while Before the Nightmare stated Mundus found Dante 10 years after Eva's death. This gives us the timeframe/timeline that Dante was 18 in the novel and he was 16 when he drifted and started doing mercenary work. He left the town at 18 after what happened

This is the same case with Vergil since he is 16 at that time when he visited Fortuna, met Sanctus at 17, and left Fortuna at 18 leaving Lady in Red not knowing she was pregnant and at some point came back after seeing her died in front of him like Eva. If you will believe on what the Devil Moon lyrics said

I did the calculation just this week btw or last week (as of writing, Sept 5 2024) and the answer lies on the start and end of the rivalry between Dante and Vergil. Itsuno said before that DMC5 is the end of the Sons of Sparda arc

Both numbers 16 and 17 are potential, since you can say that the rivalry started at DMC3 game or DMC3 manga. Happened both in 1993 for the manga and 1994 in the game. Since the manga is canon. Counting Nero's age make sense to start during DMC3 manga and why 22 years old might be the current age canon age of Nero in DMC5, while he was 16 in DMC4

Edit: I think it's more on the consistency from Capcom or well the writers of DMC especially Bingo Morihashi than, pushing the narrative that Nero was 18-19. When it has already debunked, during the marketing for DMC5 since late 2018-early 2019 to changed the timeline and make the Deadly Fortune novel canon

The whole Nero was 18-19 (Itsuno) vs Nero was 16-17 (Bingo) was a debate argument between DMC lore fans during the 3142 timeline. Since at that time, people questioned how canon Deadly Fortune novel is.

I did this before without the chorus, but now Full song.

(As of June 9, 2025… I forgot to put this while, doing this analysis oopsie. Here is the link in Youtube)

Chorus:

Reclaim my throne The dark angel inside me Honor and victory A warrior with pride Humanity will see I have no place for weakness Sparda will live in me The answers, I will seek

Sparda will live in me The answers, I will seek talks about Vergil seeking answers. I think its what he thinks after the fire accident during First Redgrave Incident, when he was 8 years old

Verse 1:

Lost in a dream Demons in my mind Calling for me to release this burden Leave no stone unturned My birthright will be mine “Calling for me to release this burden“  Talks about his burden of responsibility being the elder son of Sparda and Eva, and him thinking that his family is already dead and he is alone

According to Britannica, "To leave no stone unturned" is an idiom that means to do everything possible to find something or to solve a problem.

In this case, Vergil wants to find something to solve his problem. This correlates to him researching regards to Sparda and learning who Mundus is. Another can be him practicing Iaido

"My birthright will be mine" Birthright or Inheritance means the right or possession to give something to a person according to their position in the family. To which case, Vergil inheriting the Yamato

It can also be a reference for this and him wanting to get rid both of his trauma and feeling of powerless

Verse 2:

Fight to be free My battle rages onward  I’ll be standing at the end of it all

Mundus found Vergil first, because he didn’t change his name oppose to Dante. 

"Fight to be free" or fighting for his freedom against the demons, his nightmare

"My battle rages onward", is his battle alone revenge to the one who did this to his family

"I'll be standing at the end of it all" can be him envisioning that he wanted to win his battle against demons

Struggling to find The only love I needed I’ll continue on  

At this point, he thinks that Eva didn’t love and care him. He is finding a replacement.. Someone who will love him. Think of it as him coping mechanism to his childhood trauma. He is struggling, until he met Lady in Red or Nero’s mother in Fortuna at 16 or 17.

Chorus:

Reclaim my throne, alone The dark angel inside me Honor and victory A warrior with pride Humanity will see I have no place for weakness Sparda will live in me The answers, I will seek Every day

Sparda will live in me The answers, I will seek Every day - His frantic research regarding Sparda according to Dante in Deadly Fortune

Verse 3:

Secrets untold In my mind reliving moments Tormenting me, unending

Untold can be him not saying to everyone including LiR about his trauma or only saying it to LiR. But I prefer the 2nd one due to how important Vergil is to her. There are too many reference not just from this pachinko song that describes that Vergil really did love her. For him, he trust her not to tell his secrets to anyone. His secrets are his trauma that he is still reliving like a nightmare. Just like Dante in DMC1 novel and DMC3 manga

During his research, he knows who Mundus is. I theorize that Sparda didn’t tell to his children who he really is. It’s more of a secret, and I think Vergil realizes that majority of his stories are true and not fantasy. It to correlates to the line “Sparda will live in me The answers, I will seek Every day” in the 2nd chorus. We can also say that the answers he needed to get his revenge against the deaths of his mother, Dante, and Sparda is in Temen-ni-Gru. But..

I've seen angels fall With strength, I will go on

Tragedy struck again.. His life became dark again so.. imagine his life from light > dark > light > dark. Light meaning peace, happiness and dark well.. tragedy, disaster, trauma. The lyrics saying “angels” is not literally angels, but a compliment how he sees Eva and Lady in Red as angels. Them being the kind, and caring people for him. Even though he despise his mother, he still loves his mother. So he sees in separate age timeline both of them died in front of him.

With strength, I will go on He left Fortuna at this point around 18, before he met Arkham.

Verse 4:

Born into this world My innocence was stolen Screaming, helpless Yelling into the void Nor will the emptiness That I’ve forsaken Crucify my soul

The root cause of his trauma is still what happened during the 1st Redgrave Incident. Imagine somewhere around 18 yrs old you see the love of your life died in front of you and you’re remembering what happened to your childhood.

Chorus:

Here on my throne, alone The dark angel revived me Power and majesty Eternal fight for life

"Eternal fight for life" can be also talk about Vergil (19 y.old) challenging Mundus in DMC3, until he was defeated

Humanity will see I make no room for sadness

Sparda will live in me Corruption, I will seek Until my grave

Yeah.. you get the idea regarding the Corruption, I will seek. Until my grave

Finale:

Reclaim my throne, alone The dark angel inside me Honor and victory A champion with pride Dante: "A man with guts and honor. I like that, but it's a shame you serve Mundus!" (DMC1).

Vergil became Nelo Angelo after his defeat, when he was still 19. 9 years of grueling agony and torture at the hands of Mundus before he was freed by Dante, since both of the twins are already 28 years old

Humanity will be The only place for weakness Father will live in me The answers will be mine Until my grave

The answers will be mine It can be Force Edge or anything regarding Sparda's sword that's it, then why? well.. let's rewind what Sparda did for Locking the Temen-ni-Gru after the war 2000 years ago.

Vergil needs the Perfect Amulet, and Force Edge to combine it again to become Devil Sword Sparda. The only reason why Vergil wanted to go to hell alone is a revenge against Mundus, because Mundus himself was already anticipated it

This part is a theory: In the original post, I also pointed this out regarding the difference of I have no place for weakness, and The only place for weakness. There are 4 chorus overall in Devil Moon. First 3 uses the I have no place for weakness, and the last part uses The only place for weakness 

I have no place for weakness - talks about the after effects of his mother died in front of him abandoning his humanity. How he is dealing with his childhood trauma. We know Vergil saw Eva's corpse in front of him, while the manor is burning. Him rejecting his humanity and all that, and how he still have a grudge/hate against his mother

The only place for weakness - Vergil admitting it after seeing Lady in Red died in front of him. Humanity is his weakness, therefore in order to become stronger, he needed power.

Why he needed power?

One fan theory is like a blanket for protection.

Another is mine because of this song....

This is me when I read:

Readers when the diabolical angst has finished cooking

(;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)

I want to gather these thoughts as the concept alone is interesting to me, when regards to canon. It was Hideaki Itsuno who said that the concept of Heaven doesn't exist.

Then I thought "Why is it?"

One thing that struck me is them talking about how normal it is due to familiarity because of anime, and manga. How anime and manga goes with the same concept on focusing only Human World and Demon World.

From here, its better to look outward outside DMC itself.

I think the best example (for me at least) is Yu Yu Hakusho despite, there is a Spirit World concept in it. It focus more on investigating Humans or Demons who wants to conquer these 3 worlds.

For the devs, it's Devilman despite, some DMC fans who watched Devilman criticized what Itsuno said in here, since there is God and angels.

I think the main point of what Itsuno is saying is more on how some Japanese stories focused more on the concept of Human vs Demon World than, the Spirit or Heaven World. Since they sometimes put God in the alignment of Evil, than Good. You have this some kind of "6th sense" that you already know they will put the war against the Heaven World at the end.

There are also a lot if you think about it... I think it’s more a mix of Shintoism, Japanese folklore, and alchemy. In the game’s lore, it plays out as Light (Human World) vs. Dark (Demon World). Order vs Chaos

In Shinto mythology, Amaterasu (the sun goddess) embodies light, life, and purity. Her light banishes darkness and restores balance to the world.

In Japanese folklore, light vs. darkness is a common theme. Sunlight, lanterns, and even sacred fire are seen as forces that repel spirits, yokai, and malevolent beings.

From an alchemy perspective, it’s about order vs. chaos. Chaos represents raw, unformed potential the Prima Materia. Order represents completion, harmony, and enlightenment, often symbolized by the Philosopher’s Stone or cosmic balance. Chaos is necessary for transformation to begin, but Order is the perfected state the ultimate goal.

Take for example... Fatal Frame or Project Zero. Yes, it’s a horror supernatural game, but it uses real Japanese spiritual concepts.

First, there’s the idea of Demon Gates or Kimon (鬼門). The northeast direction believed to be unlucky, where demons could enter.

Then there’s the Gate of the Underworld, the boundary between the living and the dead. This connects to the myth of Izanagi and Izanami, where Izanagi travels to the underworld to bring back his wife.

Another key element is the priestess or shrine maiden (miko), which is very Shinto. People often forget that Lady’s ancestor was described as a legendary priestess.

Purification is an important part of both Shintoism and Buddhism staying clean inside and out. In the Izanagi and Izanami myth, Izanagi felt tainted after visiting Yomi (the underworld) and purified himself by bathing in a river at Awagihara.

In Buddhism, purification also means complete detachment. Letting go of things that cause suffering, whether they are material possessions, relationships, or even thoughts and emotions. In Shintoism, detachment exists too, but the focus is on spiritual cleanliness or purity and keeping balance with others and nature, while avoiding pollution (kegare)

The similarity:

Buddhism — Let go so you don’t suffer.

Shintoism — Let go so your spirit stays pure, balance and stay in harmony.

It’s possible that Lady’s ancestor is a legendary powerful shrine maiden who purified herself and was used as a sacrifice by Sparda to keep the Hell Gate sealed, alongside Sparda’s blood and the separated perfect amulet.

"Otamer, you said she purified herself. How?"

Although there’s no concrete evidence in the lore itself, we can back it up with Shinto concepts and a very specific battle in DMC3.

Her powers could draw from one or both of the following:

Shinto misogi purification rituals - using water to cleanse spiritual impurity and strengthen one’s connection to the divine. Since the practice of harae (purification) involves using either water, salt, and fire.

The symbolic purity of light (moonlight) - Often used in modern stories as a symbol of cleansing or protection, even if it’s not a traditional Shinto belief.

The light aspect connects directly to gameplay in the Dante vs. Doppelganger fight, where the only way to damage the Doppelganger is by striking the plates on the arena’s edge to release light. Without that light, he’s completely invulnerable.

Edit (May 10, 2026): Since I mentioned light, we have to discuss Amaterasu's myth. Amaterasu Omikami, the supreme diety of Shinto mythology itself. The Sun Goddess. In Kamiya's Okami game, there is a reason why the Celestial Brush gods call her first before introducing themselves "Ah Amaterasu... Origin of all that is good, and mother to us all"

There are too many mythologies regading Amaterasu, but the famous one is regarding the cave In this myth, it talks about when she hide in the Amano Iwato or Heavenly Rock Cave and the world was plunged into darkness without light since, she grieved and outraged for what her brother Susanoo did

The 8 million gods or kami planned to gathered by throwing a party outside. Ame no Uzume no Mikoto or simply Ame no Uzume, the goddess of humor, dancing, happiness, dawn, mirth, meditation, revelry and arts performed a dance. Amaterasu got curious of what is happening outside of the cave and peeked out.

The Yata no Kagami, a sacred bronze mirror that the gods have crafted and hung before the cave. She was transfix by her own reflection. Ame no Tajikarao waited at the cave's door to forced or pull out Amaterasu from the cave and the world was bathed into light again

Mundus' plan is not unification but rather occupying via a war. He wants total authority and control of the Human World while, still handling the Demon World. Sparda realized during the war that he himself is against the idea of occupying and invading the Human World

Sparda split the Human and Demon World not like what Pluto did, but rather sealing all gates to the Underworld. Think of it as a door so you can enter and exit.

I need to see that same calm and strict but caring mentor to a aggressive strong and resolving protagonist.