Anime / Devil May Cry: The Animated Series

aka: Devil May Cry

Keep Rockin', Baby!

Devil May Cry: The Animated Series is the anime of the Devil May Cry video game series created and owned by Capcom, and animated by Madhouse. It is a story that ran for twelve episodes and takes place between DMC1 and DMC2.

The series follows half-demon Dante as he runs his supernatural Detective Agency, Devil May Cry, as a justification for carrying out his war against the Demon World. In addition to Trish and Lady, characters from the video game that the series is based upon, two new characters make an appearance. These are Morrison and Patty Lowell; Dante's informant and temporary ward, respectively.

The Devil May Cry animated series follows the tradition of the original animated series of Hellsing in that it chronicles primarily self-contained adventures before bringing them to a linked final conclusion at the end of the season. The animated series favors animation, music, and other elements of style over detailed plots or characterization.

There are also two Drama CD volumes released on 2007 and 2008, which are voiced by the Japanese cast and narrate stories occurring during the same time as the anime.

The US release was originally handled by ADV Films in 2007, but the license was transferred over to Funimation in 2008 in light of ADV's financial troubles. In July 2015, the English dub started airing on U.S. cable network Chiller TV, a horror themed sister channel to Syfy, as part of their late night Anime Wednesdays block, along with other horror themed anime previously licensed and dubbed by Funimation.

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This anime contains examples of:

• 12-Episode Anime: The series has twelve episodes, referred to as "Missions".
• Absurdly High-Stakes Game: The card game in the aptly named "Death Poker" episode, in which the losers lose their lives.
• Action Girl: Trish and Lady may not necessarily be as powerful as Dante but they are no pushovers either.
• Adaptation Personality Change:
  • In the games, Dante is a wisecracking wild man, who always fights like he's having the time of his life. The anime made him far more laid back, and took away most of his personality quirks in the process. He also gripes more about not getting paid for his work, whereas several lines in the first game indicate that he's not that concerned about money.
  • Lady is considerably more laid-back and sarcastic compared to her persona in the third game where she was an intense and focused Determinator driven by revenge. Justified, as that game saw her in the middle of a very personal conflict but now that this conflict is resolved she no longer needs to push herself so hard.
• Adaptational Superpower Change: A downplayed case with Ebony&Ivory. In the games their main asset is their rate of fire but their damage is rather low, but the anime gives them the power of a Hand Cannon with the same rapid fire rate.
• Advertised Extra: Despite being featured in the opening credits, Trish only appears in three episodes.
• All There in the Manual: The anime itself serves as this for the games, explaining why Trish and Lady already know each other in Devil May Cry 4 despite never meeting each other in the games prior.
• Always Chaotic Evil: Most of the demons that Dante fights are evil to the core, but there are exceptions to the rule, such as Trish, Brad and Modeus.
• And the Adventure Continues: The series ends with Dante, Trish, and Lady driving off to their next demon hunting mission.
• Ascended Demon: Brad, thanks to The Power of Love. Modeus is one as well, though for different reasons.
• Badass Biker: Dante and Lady. Dante himself puts his skill to the test in the second episode against a demonic bike.
• Badass Longcoat:
  • Just like in the games, Dante wears a red one.
  • Modeus and Baul, the two apprentices of Sparda in episode 10, have these as well.
• Badass Normal: Lady is the only normal human in the cast of demon hunters, the others being a half-demon (Dante) and full demon (Trish) respectively. She primarily makes up for this by using an extensive arsenal of firearms and her powerful rocket launcher Kalina Ann.
• Bad-Guy Bar: Dante trashes one run by demons in the very first scene.
• Batman Gambit: In "Wishes Come True", Dante needs to get into Devil's Prison in order to rescue someone who got thrown in there due to the machinations of the evil demon mask that serves as the Monster of the Week. He does this by first causing a disturbance in order to get himself thrown into the prison, and then assaulting the creepy warden when he gets a little too handsy with him in order to get thrown into the same cellblock as the guy he's trying to rescue. This also has the side benefit of placing him in a position to stop the sadistic "hunt" performed by the warden and his boys upon the inmates which has them taking on their true demonic forms.
• Be Careful What You Wish For:
  • The episode "Wishes Come True." is a prime example of this.
  • Same applies to Elena Houston, the singer in the episode "Rock Queen." She wanted folks to become intoxicated with her singing? She got obsessively intoxicated fans. Both episodes involved demons who messed with people.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: A few episodes feature these - The dutiful butler in episode 3 turns out to be a serial killer and a demon worshipper, the priest in episode 4 turns out to be a demon himself and some more.

• Blade Across The Shoulder: One of Dante's favourite poses. He does it a lot in this anime adaptation, even in the opening sequence.

• Blob Monster: The wish-fullfilling demon is this, apart from his mask. Its body is amorphous and seemingly made out of strong acid. It can launch this acid as projectiles, either spitting them out its mask's mouth or just launching them out of his body, and it can also engulf its victims fully within its body.

• Body Horror: In "Wishes Come True", a demon makes his victims' bodies melt in gruesome fashion by means of hell-slime. This is the only "wish" that this particular demon can grant.
• Bottomless Magazines: Just like in the games, Dante never has to reload his guns.
• Breath Weapon: The Big Bad has one.
• The Butler Did It: In the third episode, the one responsible for the murders Brad is being blamed for is the Mayor's butler, who wants to bring a powerful demon to earth by sacrificing his master and his daughter.
• Butt-Monkey: Dante, to some extent. Also Isaac, the poor schmuck from episode 5.
• Call-Back: The speech Dante gives to Modeus after he killed his brother is an almost verbatim retelling of what he said to Vincent the Biker gang leader in Episode 2. However, this incident ends on a completely different note.

• Cat Scare: Played straight early on in the fourth episode, and again in the fifth.
• Character Exaggeration: Dante is accused of being ridiculously over the top.

• Close to Home: Many situations that Dante has to deal with very closely parallel his own life. The first episode introduces Patty, an orphaned girl who misses her mother and carries her picture as a mememnto of her and who carries great power in her bloodline, the second episode features a man who is hellbent on avenging his brother, the third one involves love between a human woman and a male demon and so on.
• Combination Attack: Trish and Lady pull this off during the final episode when Lady fires a missile from her Kalina Ann and Trish rides it, empowering it further with her demonic energy and guiding it into the Big Bad. It still does nothing, as powered-up Sid just tanks it.
• Commonality Connection: Dante has been contracted to kill Bradley, a demon who has fallen in love with a human, Angelina. When Dante encounters Brad in the alley, he asks Dante about his parent's relationship to validate the possibility of love in a demon. Dante spares him after hearing this and suggests him to live like a human being.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Dante's outfit in this anime series is the one he wore from the first Devil May Cry game, which makes sense because this series chronologically takes place after DMC1.
  • The fact that Dante owes Lady a massive sum of cash is brought up numerous times. This debt is, of course, due to his wrecking of Lady's bike in Devil May Cry 3. There's even a bonus image in that game of Dante shrugging while Lady stares in shock to the only part left of her beloved bike.
  • The scar on Lady's leg also came from Devil May Cry 3, when her father stabbed her in the leg with her own bayonet.
  • The first volume of the audio drama CD references the plot point in Devil May Cry 1 wherein Dante's shop was renamed from "Devil May Cry" to "Devil Never Cry". However, Trish asked Dante to revert his shop's name back to the original "Devil May Cry" prior to her meeting Lady in episode 4 of the anime because Trish wanted to travel around the world by herself, and "Devil Never Cry" would've meant that they owned the shop together. This also establishes a Call-Forward to the later installments, wherein Dante's shop would be consistently named "Devil May Cry" going forward.
• Cool Bike: The show is full of them, including the ones owned by Dante and Lady.
• Cool Car: Morrison's classic car. Dante's red convertible also counts, though Patty doesn't seem to think so.
• Convection, Schmonvection: It's funny how Patty and her mom can have a heartfelt reconciliation in a burning hotel without, y'know... roasting to death or dying of smoke inhalation.
• Crucified Hero Shot: Dante is pinned to a life-sized cross by his own sword at the end of the penultimate episode, following the Once an Episode routine of the games. As anyone who knows Dante knows, he gets better.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: A lot of Dante's fight scenes are like this, usually ending in one single strike from him. It got to the point where he expresses disappointment over them.
• Cutlass Between the Teeth: Dante in the first episode has Ivory, one of his guns, in his mouth. Justified, as one hand was shooting with Ebony (his other gun), the other hand was filleting with his sword, and he's half-devil. And during the second episode he actually does it with Rebellion - catching it with his teeth as Lady tosses it to him.
• Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: As it turns out, Patty's mother gave her away because she had to protect and watch over a certain amulet that made her a target for demons, and she left Patty at an orphanage to keep her from harm. By the end of the series they reunite and stay together now that the demonic threat after them is eliminated.
• Dead All Along: The sister of the imprisoned guy who hires Dante in episode 7 is actually a ghost. This is hinted at through her sudden vanishing into thin air once she gives Dante the ring, and at the end of the episode her brother reveals that she, being already sickly, died due to stress soon after his imprisonment.
• Demonic Possession: A common problem in the series, which features most prominently in "Rock Queen" and "Death Poker", both of which feature a malevolent possessor preying on people. The latter isn't even one of the gamblers, but a demon who possesses people through means of a pocket watch on the victim's person.
• Depraved Homosexual: The warden of Devil's Prison.
• Destructive Saviour: Part of the reason Dante is so poor all the time is because he racks up a lot of repair bills during his demon battles.
• Designated Girl Fight: Lady vs. Trish in Episode 4, which turned out to have been instigated by a priest who turned out to be a demon.
• Discontinuity Nod:
  • Dante's love of strawberry sundaes is a reference to the first light novel that served as a prequel to the original game (until the third game went and kicked it out of canon). It is now officially canon once again after DMC5 features Dante enjoying the treat again.
  • The name "Tony Redgrave" inscribed on Ebony & Ivory is used as a plot point in episode 8 "Once Upon a Time". As with above, this is re-canonised in Devil May Cry 5.
• Do Not Call Me "Paul": Lady cuts off the Highway Department agents when they're about to call her by her real name.
• Eldritch Abomination: Belphegor in the third episode, although despite all the build-up about how he'll devour the entire city, Dante beats him in about five seconds.
• Expressive Mask: The mask of the wish-fullfilling demon can actually change its expression, which can be seen a few times during their fight or just before Dante kills it.
• Fat Bastard: The warden of Devil's Prison.
• Fighting Fingerprint: In episode 4 Lady correctly suspects that Trish (who she's just met and doesn't even know the name of) is somehow connected to Dante just from the fact that Trish also uses a pair of pistols.
• Fight Unscene: Some fights, like the demon in the third episode and the final clash against the Big Bad, are underwhelming.
• Finger-Tenting: One person in Episode 9, "Death Poker", does this.
• Gangsta Style: Dante's default firing pose, as well Trish.
• Good Thing You Can Heal: Dante tends to get stabbed, shot and impaled with alarming frequency. In fact, Dante relies on this in order to destroy the pocket watch that possesses gamblers in the episode "Death Poker". Specifically, he allows himself to be possessed and then has Lady shoot him in the heart, right where the pocket watch is. Thanks to his healing factor and Lady's incredible aim, he survives and successfully manages to destroy the pocket watch.
• The Gunslinger: Dante's main form of combat usually involves a pair of stylish pistols called Ebony and Ivory. Lady and Trish use guns as well, though Lady is more into More Dakka than Dante and Trish's Gun Fu.
• Guns Akimbo: Both Dante and Trish specialize in this style.
• Guns Are Worthless: Averted. Unlike the games which primarily have you using your sword to deal with enemies, Dante finishes most of his foes, including the Big Bad, with either Ebony or Ivory.
• Hand Cannon:
  • Dante's custom Colt M1911's Ebony & Ivory.
  • Trish's Luce & Ombra are essentially her own versions of Dante's above mentioned custom pistols
• Harmful to Minors: Dante usually attempts to shield Patty from the gruesome battles he has with demons. He occasionally fails, though.
• Healing Factor: Dante and Trish, by dint of their demonic heritages.
• High-Pressure Blood: Whenever the combatants suffer heavy injuries during fights, there's a lot of blood scattered around. This usually happens to demons sliced by the Rebellion. In the final episode, Dante bleeds a lot when Patty tries to remove Rebellion that was impaling him, and when Sid skewers him with spikes.
• Humans Are the Real Monsters: Discussed. While Dante avoids killing them, he still notes on multiple occasions that "humans are often worse than demons."
• Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: The sadistic game that the warden and his men play with the inmates of Devil's Prison, involving setting prisoners free and sending them running. Any inmate they catch, they kill. It doesn't go too well for them when Dante gets involved.
• Hybrid Power: Sid wonders why Dante was stronger than he was, despite Sid having absorbed Abigail's power before being defeated. It pretty much boils down that while Dante has the power of demons, it's also because he has the soul of a human that makes him more powerful. Director Hideki Kamiya of 1 has tweeted that it's because humans have heart, which demons lack, as well that Dante chooses to live as a human.
  Dante: "It's about souls. ... Basically, here's the story, Sid. Someone like you who's let a soul rot can't measure up by just getting some power, not to someone with a real soul. That's not how it works down here."
• I Call It "Vera": Dante's pistols "Ebony & Ivory," Lady's rocket launcher "Kalina Ann," and "Luce & Ombra" for Trish's pistols.
• I'm Melting!: The demon in "Wishes Come True" does a particularly nasty version of this to its victims.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice:
  • In the penultimate episode, Dante gets impaled with the Rebellion in a life-sized cross, complete with a Crucified Hero Shot. Patty makes a risky attempt of waking Dante in the midst of the chaos by trying to pull off the Rebellion. Fortunately, Dante recovers, as this is already another instance of the series' Running Gag.
  • In the final battle, Sid impales Dante with several spikes, although he just laughs the attack off and mocks Sid in return.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The episodes are called "Missions" instead of "Episodes," and the last two are named "Showtime!" and "Stylish!" in reference to the games.
• Idiot Ball: As noted below, the world would have come a lot less closer to destruction if Dante had just killed Sid, the demon he encountered in the first episode.
• Immune to Bullets: Dante can easily shrug off a lot of injuries that would kill a normal person, bullets are just one of many that don't phase him.

• Informed Attribute: Abigail is supposedly almost as strong as Mundus. The events of this series occur shortly after the first game, so Dante would not have had chance of beat him, using only his basic Devil Trigger, if it was true.
• Instrumental Theme Tune: "d.m.c." by rungan. Not to be confused with Run–D.M.C..
• Interquel: This anime occurs after Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening and the first Devil May Cry, but before Devil May Cry 2 and Devil May Cry 4, according to Word of God and some Continuity Nods. ^note Dante is in his DMC1 attire instead of his DMC3 version. Interactions depicted in DMC4 also show Lady and Trish talking to each other as acquaintances, and the fourth episode of the anime is centered around the two meeting for the first time
• Invincible Hero: Dante. He dispatches most demons with a bullet to the head or a single sword swing. The ones that are meant to be a huge threat generally only last a few seconds longer and don't even hurt him.
• The Jailbait Wait: In the first episode, Dante mentions this joke to Patty, who is obviously way younger than him:
  Dante: In about 10 years or so, I'll ask you out on a date.
  • By Devil May Cry 5 Patty has turned 18, and is implied to want to take Dante up on his "offer" much to Dante's discomfort.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Dante, as standoffish as he can be, won't kill full-blooded humans for any reason. Doesn't mean he has to like them though. Also, despite constantly in the poor house, he does missions for the principle of them and rarely expects payment from poor clients.
• Keep the Reward: In a few cases Dante refuses the payment he was promised or given.
• Knight in Sour Armor: Dante is at his most cynical in this anime.
• Loser Protagonist: This is the series that introduced this element to Dante's character. He's the ultimate badass when it comes to hunting demons but his luck is absolutely rotten with everything else, and even his close friends treat him like a Butt-Monkey most of the time.
• Lost Food Grievance: Dante gets pissed after Patty eats his own strawberry sundae.
  Dante: MY strawberry sundae! Mine!
• Ludicrous Gibs: It's amazing how much damage Ebony and Ivory can do to demons, especially compared to the games.
• The Magic Poker Equation: In the episode "Death Poker," it's magic that's influencing the players' "luck" on getting the winning cards Lady (masquerading as a dealer) doles out.
• Major Injury Underreaction: Dante is rarely fazed by even the most grievous injuries.
• Make Me Wanna Shout: Possessed Elena Houston attacks like this.
• Manipulative Bastard: In Episode 4, the priest hires Lady to eliminate a blond demon terrorizing the local town, which eventually led to her fighting Trish, the demon in question. It turns out the "priest" lied about the details because he himself is actually a demon being hunted by Trish.
• Monster of the Week: Dante would battle a demon each episode, although most are much weaker than the bosses in the games, often being killed with standard gunshots, which barely do any damage even to the games' mooks. In the first episode, he spared a demon he considered too weak. This comes back to bite him once said demon becomes the last opponent in the final episode.
• More Dakka: Lady's massive arsenal of firearms. Dante as well with his Ebony&Ivory - he never shoots a target once if he can shoot it five times. Or fifty times.

• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: So the final battle arrives, and Dante finally uses his Devil Trigger... for an instant, and all the viewers get is a hint to what it looks like.

• One-Steve Limit: This is actually a plot point in the first episode. Patty Lowell is believed to be the heir to the Lowell family fortune but the real heir is actually a woman who also has the name Patty Lowell. The older Patty tricked her rivals into thinking the younger Patty was the true heir so they'd focus all their efforts on killing the girl while the woman could claim her fortune unopposed.
• Our Demons Are Different: Lesser demons are Always Chaotic Evil, devils like Trish and Sparda's disciples are Noble Demons, or just not evil to begin with. (One of Sparda's disciples is too much of a Proud Warrior Race Guy to pass up a chance to fight Dante, and the nicer one is compelled to avenge his death.)
• Overprotective Dad: Angelina's father in episode 3 is very controlling of her. He hires Dante to kill the man his daughter starts to date, and while it's somehwat justified by Brad being a demon it is implied her father is very strict with Angelina even beyond this situation. However he goes as far only because he cares for her ater the death of her mother and he does go around on this a bit by the end of the episode.
• Noble Demon: Baul. According to his brother he does not care about the power plays in hell and he challenges Dante not because of hatred or any infernal agenda but to prove his worth against Sparda - challenging Dante only because without Sparda around Dante is the next best thing. He also cares for his brother even if he's not in a hurry to display it.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: Sid the petty demon who gets treated as a joke by Dante. By the end of the series he absorbs the power of another, much stronger demon, and wreaks enough devastation to rival even what we see in the games.
• Percussive Maintenance: Dante to his jukebox on one occasion. Subverted because when he tries it he actually ends up thrashing it rather than somehow making it work, inverting the situation in the beginning of the third game.
• Perpetual Poverty: Dante has problems staying financially afloat because of the collateral damage he racks up during his Demon Slaying jobs. It doesn't help that he's also in debt to various people, or that Trish and Lady like to stick him with their shopping bills.

• Rags to Riches: Patty after the first episode. After getting used as a patsy by the other Patty Lowell she wrings so much money out of her as a compensation she shows up in a new set of clothes per episode for the rest of the series - after she donates a large part of it to her orphanage.

• Red Right Hand: Zigzagged. Many demons still have some hints of their inhuman nature even when they take on human shape. Brad and Modeus have unusual ear shapes, Baul's face looks a bit distorted and Sid's is even more twisted with crooked teeth and a huge mark around his left eye. There's also a degree of Beauty Equals Goodness here, as kind-natured Brad and Modeus are bishonens, the antagonistic and bellicose but also honorable and noble Baul looks rather odd but still has strong features and an imposing stature, while the fully villaionus Sid is almost The Grotesque with his ugly mug and a slouched posture. However, all of that applies only to important named characters - no-name demons like the guy Lady kills at the beginning of episode 2 or the wardens in the Devil's Prison look perfectly normal.
• Right Makes Might: The low level demon grunt Sid manages a ritual to grant him the power of the demon lord Abigail. Though he curb-stomps Dante the first time they fight, Dante defeats him in a rematch. When Sid asks how he could have possibly been defeated, Dante claims a rotten soul like Sid's can never truly defeat a virtuous soul, no matter how much power he gets.
• Rule of Cool: This anime, like the games that it's based on, is almost made of it.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: Everything Sid does in this series is for the sake of releasing and taking the power of a very powerful demon.
• Senseless Violins: Dante often carries his sword in a cello case.
• Series Continuity Error: Trish's lightning powers are always yellow in the games, but this anime adaptation gave her blue lightning instead. This series being chronologically sandwiched in between the games made it look like the color of her lightning temporarily changed.
• Shadow Discretion Shot: Done intentionally by Dante in the first episode with a theatre backdrop to prevent Patty from directly witnessing the violent combat against the demons trying to kill her.
  Dante: Sorry, honey, but this show isn't for kids.

• Shout-Out to Shakespeare: "Capulet City", the main city of the series.
• Showy Invincible Hero: The series is set after the first game where Dante defeated the ruler of hell Mundus, so nothing Dante faces in the episodes poses even the slightest challenge to him and the show doesn't try to pretend otherwise. Even when Sid gets the better of him in the ultimate episodes it's more due to the element of surprise - once Dante recovers and gets his round two he trounces Sid within seconds in spite of Sid having the power to rival a demon king then.
• Single-Stroke Battle: Dante has quite a few of these.
• Statuesque Stunner: Trish, even without the heels is still a tall and beautiful woman.
• Sticks to the Back: Dante stows Rebellion this way when he's not stowing it in a cello case.
• Stripperiffic: Most of the show's female characters, to varying degrees.
• Summon to Hand: Dante can do this with Rebellion, as he demonstrates during the opening fight of the first episode. Baul and Modeus also have their swords spring out of the ground and jump right into their hands.
• Surprisingly Good English: The song, "Future in my Hands" by Aimee B, is surprisingly well-spoken English. Then again, this one probably shouldn't be "surprisingly", since her full name is Aimee Blackschleger and she is an American singer who moved to Japan for her career.
• Swipe Your Blade Off: Dante occasionally does this with Rebellion after slaying a demon. Other times the blood just sort of magically vanishes off his sword.
• Throwing Your Sword Always Works: Dante throws his sword around a few times. One such instance happened in the "Rock Queen" episode where he impaled a mermaid-demon through the neck against a wall without harming the possessed human victim.
• Token Mini-Moe: Patty, the only child among the otherwise predominantly adult cast. Outside of episodes focused on her she is there to provide some cuteness and to snark at Dante.
• Toplessness from the Back: Lady in the change room.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Dante with strawberry sundaes and pizzas with no olives (and possibly garlic potatoes).
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: People generally tend to find little, if anything out of the ordinary about the tall, white-haired guy in the long red coat with a big-ass sword slung across his back.
• Unwitting Pawn: Dante after sparing Sid at the beginning, as well Lady when Sid steals the mask from both of them in "Wishes Come True".
• Weapon Tombstone: After killing them both, Dante plants the swords of Baul and Modeus into a boulder.
• Where the Hell Is Springfield?: Just like the games' fictional settings, it's difficult to pinpoint the location of Capulet City, the setting of TAS. Although, being named after Romeo and Juliet from the British Author William Shakespeare hints that it has British influences.
• Would Hurt a Child: Sid almost cuts Patty's throat in the first episode. The other Patty Lowell is also this, indirectly, as she didn't seem that disturbed by using a child as a live bait for demonic assassins even if she had gotten her a bodyguard.

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