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[[quoteright:259:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8y9579.jpg]]

''Maō Dante'' or ''Demon Lord Dante'' is a 1971 {{manga}} by Creator/GoNagai. Remakes of the manga were released in 1994 and 2002. A [[TwelveEpisodeAnime 13-episode]] {{anime}} was released in 2002. Unfortunately, the animation of that series was extremely poor, the story was filled with plot holes, and to get it worse, the English dubbed version was dreadful at best.

The story is about a boy named Ryo Utsugi who, after a series of nightmares, eventually encounters a powerful demon named Dante in the Himalayas. After being eaten by said demon, Dante is consumed by Ryo's memories, allowing his mind to be taken over. Ryo learns from Dante and Medusa that God, the current ruler of Earth, is actually an evil alien invader who conquered the planet and subjugated its people, turning the rebels into demons. The rest of the story focuses on Ryo's life as he battles agains [[BigBad God]] while learning the true nature of the Angels, the Demons, and Dante himself.

In spite of what others may have claimed, the anime adaptation is indeed very true to the source material (as the manga was literally only three volumes long) with only a few minor changes. The anime adds a lot of extra material to meet the thirteen episode limit such as filler set in between scenes from the manga, adding some anime original characters, making connections which weren't really shown nor mentioned in the manga (such as the leader of God's Will being Ryo Utsugi's adoptive father) and writing a conclusion for the story.

Many themes from ''Maō Dante'' recur in other works by Nagai, including ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'' and ''Manga/DevilmanLady''. In fact, ''Devilman'' came into being because Toei producers became interested in ''Dante'' and asked Nagai for a similar yet more marketable series.

----
!!Tropes:
* AdvancedAncientHumans: A million years ago, humanity was already advanced in high-tech. The kingdom of Sodom was actually the capital of humanity and the most high-tech of all. That is, until {{God|IsEvil}} destroyed it.
* AscendedExtra: Pretty much everyone besides Ryo Utsugi from the original manga is given a greater focus in the newer works.
* AdaptationalBadass: Six of the Satanists in the manga were demons in the anime.
** Similarly In Neo Mao Dante Kosuke Utsugi, Ryo’s Father, is the archangel Uriel.
* AdaptationalDyeJob: In the colored editions of the first manga Medusa’s hair was blue, in the anime her hair was red.
** In Neo Mao Dante Ryo has an odd lock of white hair.
* AdaptationExpansion: An understatement.
* AdaptationNameChange: Ryou's sister, Saori, has her name changed to Aya in Neo Maou Dante 2002. She also has a different hair style.
* AerithAndBob: The demons have names like Beelzebub, Gusion and Medusa, but also names like Dante and Pico.
* ArcWords: “What is god, what is the devil?”
* AttemptedRape: [[spoiler:Lamia]] to [[spoiler:Medusa]].
* BattleOfTheStillFrames: The majority of the anime's action sequences were this.
* BigBad: {{God|IsEvil}} is the alien invader who conquered Earth in the past and turned the survivors into demons, and he seeks to stop [[TheHero Ryo]] and Dante from taking the world back.
* {{CrapsackWorld}}: It might not be as bad as the one from ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'', but is still pretty bad. [[spoiler: And it get worse as the Apocalypse starts]].
* DecoyProtagonist: Played with. Since the beginning, Ryo Utsugi was essentially set up to be this as Dante takes over his body with Ryo's memories taking over Dante. However, it is revealed at the end of the manga/anime [[spoiler:Ryo Utsugi is the reincarnation of Dante's human self created right before God imprisoned him inside Cocytus]] making Ryo essentially both a decoy and the real protagonist at the same time.
* EyeBeams: [[spoiler:Dante]] starts using these out of nowhere in the last episode.
* FanService: This is written by Creator/GoNagai, so it's expected to pop out here and there.
** FanDisservice: it was written by Go Nagai so this is also expected to pop up.
* HorsemenOfTheApocalypse: the Four Demon Kings.
** [[EvilOverlord Sakushi]] is Conquest.
** [[WalkingArmory Shea]] is War.
** [[FatBastard Kuninpa]] is Famine.
** [[KissofDeath Lamia]] is Death
* GeckoEnding: As the manga only ran for three volumes and ended up with NoEnding, more or less half of the anime is original, including the second part and conclusion.
* [[spoiler:GodIsEvil]]
* HeroicSacrifice: Ironically, most [[spoiler:demons]] get this treatment, especially [[spoiler:Medusa]].
* HijackingCthulhu: The title demon tricks Ryo into freeing it, then rewards the boy by eating him. But somehow, Ryo's personality survives this, taking over Dante's body and displacing its previous human identity [[spoiler: [[Literature/TheBible Judas Iscariot]] ]].
* HotbloodedSideburns: Subverted. Ryo, while having sideburns, actually starts out more half-boiled [[spoiler:until he encounters Dante]].
* LightIsNotGood: [[spoiler:God]] speaks to his followers via a pillar of light.
** Subverted in the last episode [[spoiler:when Dante starts glowing golden after having been endowed with the powers of his fallen demon friends.]]
* LighterAndSofter: The anime, ironically, is this compared to ''Manga/{{Devilman}}''. While the latter is set in a {{CrapsackWorld}} where the only truly good person is the main character, Dante's world is not as bad with one of the few downsides being that [[spoiler:the modern day humans are actually just apes that inhabit pieces of God's essence, making them essentially God.]] It is still a pretty dark and violent series, tough.
** As the anime progresses, it would seem that this would be remedied. [[spoiler:Sort of, but not in the way you would think; after God regains the ectoplasm that he had planted into the apes, modern humanity starts reverting back into the mind of said apes and start killing eachother]] which, while still dark, tosses out the HumansAreTheRealMonsters trope that Devilman established.
* LostInTranslation: Official subs have... questionable quality. Prime example is calling Beelzebub "Veil Zebub". His demon form is even a giant fly.
* MaleGaze: Comes up during {{Fanservice}} parts. Shower scenes come to mind.
* MoreDeadlyThanTheMale: In both the anime and Neo Mao Dante, Eve both lasted longer and came closer to killing Dante than Adam, it might help that she has always had [[spoiler:Dante’s sister in her forehead]].
* NamedByTheAdaptation: In Neo Mao Dante, Dante and Medusa are given the surnames Luther and Gorgon respectively.
** Six of the Satanist from the manga were identified as Ura, Pico, Carne, Gusion, Sameal and Professor [[SueDonym Veil Zebub]]
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Dante and Medusa are combinations between dinosaurs, mechas, humans and even God's pure power. Typical cooking, right?
* NippleAndDimed: Zig-zagged in the manga. The sacrified girl was drawn with nipples, but Medusa was not.
* ThePowerOfLove: In the final episode [[spoiler:Ryou and Saori's]] mutual love destroys the BigBad. Subverted in that it also [[spoiler:seemingly[[labelnote:note]]it's all left a bit vague[[/labelnote]] destroys the world, kills everyone else, and puts them in the roles of Adam and Eve of the new world]].
* RapeAsDrama: While it was never shown on screen, one can guess how [[spoiler:Lamia]] impregnated dozens of kidnapped women in her dimension/lair. Scene with them hanging down naked and pregnant from her nets.
* {{Satan}}: One of the sealed Demon Lords. [[spoiler:He's actually a pretty nice guy]].
* SoundtrackDissonance: The opening is an upbeat rock song named "Release Your Mind" which totally contrast the dark, apocalyptic mood of the series.
* YaoiGenre: Shin Mao Dante fell into this genre.
----

to:

[[quoteright:259:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8y9579.jpg]]

''Maō Dante'' or ''Demon Lord Dante'' is a 1971 {{manga}} by Creator/GoNagai. Remakes of the manga were released in 1994 and 2002. A [[TwelveEpisodeAnime 13-episode]] {{anime}} was released in 2002. Unfortunately, the animation of that series was extremely poor, the story was filled with plot holes, and to get it worse, the English dubbed version was dreadful at best.

The story is about a boy named Ryo Utsugi who, after a series of nightmares, eventually encounters a powerful demon named Dante in the Himalayas. After being eaten by said demon, Dante is consumed by Ryo's memories, allowing his mind to be taken over. Ryo learns from Dante and Medusa that God, the current ruler of Earth, is actually an evil alien invader who conquered the planet and subjugated its people, turning the rebels into demons. The rest of the story focuses on Ryo's life as he battles agains [[BigBad God]] while learning the true nature of the Angels, the Demons, and Dante himself.

In spite of what others may have claimed, the anime adaptation is indeed very true to the source material (as the manga was literally only three volumes long) with only a few minor changes. The anime adds a lot of extra material to meet the thirteen episode limit such as filler set in between scenes from the manga, adding some anime original characters, making connections which weren't really shown nor mentioned in the manga (such as the leader of God's Will being Ryo Utsugi's adoptive father) and writing a conclusion for the story.

Many themes from ''Maō Dante'' recur in other works by Nagai, including ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'' and ''Manga/DevilmanLady''. In fact, ''Devilman'' came into being because Toei producers became interested in ''Dante'' and asked Nagai for a similar yet more marketable series.

----
!!Tropes:
* AdvancedAncientHumans: A million years ago, humanity was already advanced in high-tech. The kingdom of Sodom was actually the capital of humanity and the most high-tech of all. That is, until {{God|IsEvil}} destroyed it.
* AscendedExtra: Pretty much everyone besides Ryo Utsugi from the original manga is given a greater focus in the newer works.
* AdaptationalBadass: Six of the Satanists in the manga were demons in the anime.
** Similarly In Neo Mao Dante Kosuke Utsugi, Ryo’s Father, is the archangel Uriel.
* AdaptationalDyeJob: In the colored editions of the first manga Medusa’s hair was blue, in the anime her hair was red.
** In Neo Mao Dante Ryo has an odd lock of white hair.
* AdaptationExpansion: An understatement.
* AdaptationNameChange: Ryou's sister, Saori, has her name changed to Aya in Neo Maou Dante 2002. She also has a different hair style.
* AerithAndBob: The demons have names like Beelzebub, Gusion and Medusa, but also names like Dante and Pico.
* ArcWords: “What is god, what is the devil?”
* AttemptedRape: [[spoiler:Lamia]] to [[spoiler:Medusa]].
* BattleOfTheStillFrames: The majority of the anime's action sequences were this.
* BigBad: {{God|IsEvil}} is the alien invader who conquered Earth in the past and turned the survivors into demons, and he seeks to stop [[TheHero Ryo]] and Dante from taking the world back.
* {{CrapsackWorld}}: It might not be as bad as the one from ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'', but is still pretty bad. [[spoiler: And it get worse as the Apocalypse starts]].
* DecoyProtagonist: Played with. Since the beginning, Ryo Utsugi was essentially set up to be this as Dante takes over his body with Ryo's memories taking over Dante. However, it is revealed at the end of the manga/anime [[spoiler:Ryo Utsugi is the reincarnation of Dante's human self created right before God imprisoned him inside Cocytus]] making Ryo essentially both a decoy and the real protagonist at the same time.
* EyeBeams: [[spoiler:Dante]] starts using these out of nowhere in the last episode.
* FanService: This is written by Creator/GoNagai, so it's expected to pop out here and there.
** FanDisservice: it was written by Go Nagai so this is also expected to pop up.
* HorsemenOfTheApocalypse: the Four Demon Kings.
** [[EvilOverlord Sakushi]] is Conquest.
** [[WalkingArmory Shea]] is War.
** [[FatBastard Kuninpa]] is Famine.
** [[KissofDeath Lamia]] is Death
* GeckoEnding: As the manga only ran for three volumes and ended up with NoEnding, more or less half of the anime is original, including the second part and conclusion.
* [[spoiler:GodIsEvil]]
* HeroicSacrifice: Ironically, most [[spoiler:demons]] get this treatment, especially [[spoiler:Medusa]].
* HijackingCthulhu: The title demon tricks Ryo into freeing it, then rewards the boy by eating him. But somehow, Ryo's personality survives this, taking over Dante's body and displacing its previous human identity [[spoiler: [[Literature/TheBible Judas Iscariot]] ]].
* HotbloodedSideburns: Subverted. Ryo, while having sideburns, actually starts out more half-boiled [[spoiler:until he encounters Dante]].
* LightIsNotGood: [[spoiler:God]] speaks to his followers via a pillar of light.
** Subverted in the last episode [[spoiler:when Dante starts glowing golden after having been endowed with the powers of his fallen demon friends.]]
* LighterAndSofter: The anime, ironically, is this compared to ''Manga/{{Devilman}}''. While the latter is set in a {{CrapsackWorld}} where the only truly good person is the main character, Dante's world is not as bad with one of the few downsides being that [[spoiler:the modern day humans are actually just apes that inhabit pieces of God's essence, making them essentially God.]] It is still a pretty dark and violent series, tough.
** As the anime progresses, it would seem that this would be remedied. [[spoiler:Sort of, but not in the way you would think; after God regains the ectoplasm that he had planted into the apes, modern humanity starts reverting back into the mind of said apes and start killing eachother]] which, while still dark, tosses out the HumansAreTheRealMonsters trope that Devilman established.
* LostInTranslation: Official subs have... questionable quality. Prime example is calling Beelzebub "Veil Zebub". His demon form is even a giant fly.
* MaleGaze: Comes up during {{Fanservice}} parts. Shower scenes come to mind.
* MoreDeadlyThanTheMale: In both the anime and Neo Mao Dante, Eve both lasted longer and came closer to killing Dante than Adam, it might help that she has always had [[spoiler:Dante’s sister in her forehead]].
* NamedByTheAdaptation: In Neo Mao Dante, Dante and Medusa are given the surnames Luther and Gorgon respectively.
** Six of the Satanist from the manga were identified as Ura, Pico, Carne, Gusion, Sameal and Professor [[SueDonym Veil Zebub]]
* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: Dante and Medusa are combinations between dinosaurs, mechas, humans and even God's pure power. Typical cooking, right?
* NippleAndDimed: Zig-zagged in the manga. The sacrified girl was drawn with nipples, but Medusa was not.
* ThePowerOfLove: In the final episode [[spoiler:Ryou and Saori's]] mutual love destroys the BigBad. Subverted in that it also [[spoiler:seemingly[[labelnote:note]]it's all left a bit vague[[/labelnote]] destroys the world, kills everyone else, and puts them in the roles of Adam and Eve of the new world]].
* RapeAsDrama: While it was never shown on screen, one can guess how [[spoiler:Lamia]] impregnated dozens of kidnapped women in her dimension/lair. Scene with them hanging down naked and pregnant from her nets.
* {{Satan}}: One of the sealed Demon Lords. [[spoiler:He's actually a pretty nice guy]].
* SoundtrackDissonance: The opening is an upbeat rock song named "Release Your Mind" which totally contrast the dark, apocalyptic mood of the series.
* YaoiGenre: Shin Mao Dante fell into this genre.
----
[[redirect:Manga/DemonLordDante]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* {{CrapsackWorld}}: It might not be as bad as the one from ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'', but is still pretty bad. [[Spoiler: And it get worse as the Apocalypse starts]].

to:

* {{CrapsackWorld}}: It might not be as bad as the one from ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'', but is still pretty bad. [[Spoiler: [[spoiler: And it get worse as the Apocalypse starts]].

Added: 311

Changed: 79

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


*{{CrapsackWorld}}: It might not be as bad as the one from ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'', but is still pretty bad. [[Spoiler: And it get worse as the Apocalypse starts]].



* LighterAndSofter: The anime, ironically, is this compared to ''Manga/{{Devilman}}''. While the latter is set in a {{CrapsackWorld}} where the only truly good person is the main character, Dante's world is actually pretty nice with one of the few downsides being that [[spoiler:the modern day humans are actually just apes that inhabit pieces of God's essence, making them essentially God.]]

to:

* LighterAndSofter: The anime, ironically, is this compared to ''Manga/{{Devilman}}''. While the latter is set in a {{CrapsackWorld}} where the only truly good person is the main character, Dante's world is actually pretty nice not as bad with one of the few downsides being that [[spoiler:the modern day humans are actually just apes that inhabit pieces of God's essence, making them essentially God.]]]] It is still a pretty dark and violent series, tough.


Added DiffLines:

*SoundtrackDissonance: The opening is an upbeat rock song named "Release Your Mind" which totally contrast the dark, apocalyptic mood of the series.

Added: 190

Changed: 272

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


The story is about a boy named Ryo Utsugi who, after a series of nightmares, eventually encounters a powerful demon named Dante in the Himalayas. After being eaten by said demon, Dante is consumed by Ryo's memories, allowing his mind to be taken over. The rest of the story focuses on Ryo's life as he discovers the true nature of God, the Demons, and Dante himself.

to:

The story is about a boy named Ryo Utsugi who, after a series of nightmares, eventually encounters a powerful demon named Dante in the Himalayas. After being eaten by said demon, Dante is consumed by Ryo's memories, allowing his mind to be taken over. Ryo learns from Dante and Medusa that God, the current ruler of Earth, is actually an evil alien invader who conquered the planet and subjugated its people, turning the rebels into demons. The rest of the story focuses on Ryo's life as he discovers battles agains [[BigBad God]] while learning the true nature of God, the Angels, the Demons, and Dante himself.



* AdvancedAncientHumans: A million years ago, humanity was already advanced in high-tech. The kingdom of Sodom was actually the capital of humanity and the most high-tech of all. That is, until [[spoiler:God destroyed it]].

to:

* AdvancedAncientHumans: A million years ago, humanity was already advanced in high-tech. The kingdom of Sodom was actually the capital of humanity and the most high-tech of all. That is, until [[spoiler:God {{God|IsEvil}} destroyed it]].it.



* BattleOfTheStillFrames: the majority of the anime's action sequences were this.

to:

* BattleOfTheStillFrames: the The majority of the anime's action sequences were this.this.
* BigBad: {{God|IsEvil}} is the alien invader who conquered Earth in the past and turned the survivors into demons, and he seeks to stop [[TheHero Ryo]] and Dante from taking the world back.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* AdvancedAncientHumans: A million years ago, humanity was already advanced in high-tech. The kingdom of Sodom was actually the capital of humanity and the most high-tech of all. That is, until [[spoiler:God destroyed it]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


AerithAndBob: The demons have names like Beelzebub, Gusion and Medusa, but also names like Dante and Pico.

to:

* AerithAndBob: The demons have names like Beelzebub, Gusion and Medusa, but also names like Dante and Pico.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* NippledAndDimed: Zig-zagged in the manga. The sacrified girl was drawn with nipples, but Medusa was not.
* PowerOfLove: In the final episode [[spoiler:Ryou and Saori's]] mutual love destroys the BigBad. Subverted in that it also [[spoiler:seemingly[[labelnote:note]]it's all left a bit vague[[/labelnote]] destroys the world, kills everyone else, and puts them in the roles of Adam and Eve of the new world]].

to:

* NippledAndDimed: NippleAndDimed: Zig-zagged in the manga. The sacrified girl was drawn with nipples, but Medusa was not.
* PowerOfLove: ThePowerOfLove: In the final episode [[spoiler:Ryou and Saori's]] mutual love destroys the BigBad. Subverted in that it also [[spoiler:seemingly[[labelnote:note]]it's all left a bit vague[[/labelnote]] destroys the world, kills everyone else, and puts them in the roles of Adam and Eve of the new world]].


* HeroicSacrifice: Ironically, most [[spoiler:demons]] get this treatment, especially [[spoiler:Medusa]] in her CrowningMomentOfAwesome.

to:

* HeroicSacrifice: Ironically, most [[spoiler:demons]] get this treatment, especially [[spoiler:Medusa]] in her CrowningMomentOfAwesome.[[spoiler:Medusa]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

AerithAndBob: The demons have names like Beelzebub, Gusion and Medusa, but also names like Dante and Pico.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


Many themes from ''Maō Dante'' recur in other works by Nagai, including ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'' and ''Manga/DevilmanLady''. In fact, ''Devilman'' came into being because Toei producers became interested in ''Dante'' and asked Nagai for a similar yet LighterAndSofter series.

to:

Many themes from ''Maō Dante'' recur in other works by Nagai, including ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'' and ''Manga/DevilmanLady''. In fact, ''Devilman'' came into being because Toei producers became interested in ''Dante'' and asked Nagai for a similar yet LighterAndSofter more marketable series.



* LighterAndSofter: The anime, ironically, is this compared to {{Devilman}}. While the latter is set in a {{CrapsackWorld}} where the only truly good person is the main character, Dante's world is actually pretty nice with one of the few downsides being that [[spoiler:the modern day humans are actually just apes that inhabit pieces of God's essence, making them essentially God.]]

to:

* LighterAndSofter: The anime, ironically, is this compared to {{Devilman}}.''Manga/{{Devilman}}''. While the latter is set in a {{CrapsackWorld}} where the only truly good person is the main character, Dante's world is actually pretty nice with one of the few downsides being that [[spoiler:the modern day humans are actually just apes that inhabit pieces of God's essence, making them essentially God.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None



to:

* YaoiGenre: Shin Mao Dante fell into this genre.

Added: 210

Removed: 207

Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* DeadlierThanTheMale: In both the anime and Neo Mao Dante, Eve both lasted longer and came closer to killing Dante than Adam, it might help that she has always had [[spoiler:Dante’s sister in her forehead]]


Added DiffLines:

* MoreDeadlyThanTheMale: In both the anime and Neo Mao Dante, Eve both lasted longer and came closer to killing Dante than Adam, it might help that she has always had [[spoiler:Dante’s sister in her forehead]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* DeadlierThanTheMale: In both the anime and Neo Mao Dante, Eve both lasted longer and came closer to killing Dante than Adam, it might help that she has always had [[spoiler:Dante’s sister in her forehead]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ArcWords: what is god, what is a devil?

to:

* ArcWords: what “What is god, what is a devil?the devil?”
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* AdaptationalDyeJob: In the colored editions of the first manga Medusa’s hair was blue, in the anime her hair was red.
** In Neo Mao Dante Ryo has an odd lock of white hair.

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