Devil May Cry: The Animated Series

Devil May Cry
North American DVD cover of Devil May Cry volume 1 featuring main protagonist Dante.
デビル メイ クライ
Genre	Action, Horror, Supernatural
TV anime
Directed by	Shin Itagaki
Studio	Madhouse
Licensed by	Funimation Entertainment Manga Entertainment, ADV Films (formerly)
Network	WOWOW
English network	FUNimation Channel
Original run	June 14, 2007 – September 6, 2007
Episodes	12 (List of episodes)
Anime and Manga Portal

Devil May Cry (デビル メイ クライ^?) is an anime series based on the video game series by Capcom. It debuted on the WOWOW TV network in Japan on June 14, 2007 and ran 12 episodes.^[1][2][3]

The show was produced by the anime studio Madhouse and was directed by Shin Itagaki. Bingo Morihashi, one of the writers for the second, third and fourth games, was also on the writing staff.

A teaser-trailer, released on the show's official site, featured pre-production artwork of Dante, the primary protagonist and playable character of the video games, and confirmed him as the show's main protagonist.

A second trailer released at the 2007 Tokyo International Anime Fair showed actual animation from the show and included a character and cast list, featuring both new characters and other characters from the games.

The first episode aired in Japan on June 14, 2007.

On June 30, 2007, at Anime Expo 07, it was announced that ADV Films had licensed the show. However, in 2008, it became one of more than 30 titles that were transferred to Funimation Entertainment.^[4]

The series made its North American television debut when it started airing on the FUNimation Channel September 6th, 2010.^[5]

Plot

Devil May Cry series fictional chronology
Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening Devil May Cry The Animated Series Devil May Cry 4 Devil May Cry 2

Main article: List of Devil May Cry episodes

The series is based on the manga and novel volumes, and sees the return of series regulars, Trish and Lady.^[6]

In the show, Dante runs his devil-hunting business, Devil May Cry, while struggling under constant financial debt. There are also two new regular characters—Dante's agent Morrison who visits frequently, and Patty Lowell, a young orphan girl he saved in the first episode, who also visits frequently and shares a sisterly relationship with Dante.

While the show's stories were mostly self-contained, a season-long plot was introduced in the first episode and came to the forefront in episodes 10-12.

Characters

Main article: Characters in Devil May Cry

Dante (ダンテ^?)

Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa (Japanese), Justin Cause (English)

A half-demon half-human son of Sparda the Legendary Dark Knight (a demon) and Eva (a human), Dante operates as a private investigator, mostly accepting jobs involving the supernatural. When he accepts a job, he diligently finishes it to the point of gaining a reputation of infallibility; he is strong enough to face a small army of lesser Devils with bare hands. Known for his cocky banter when on a job, he is fond of strawberry sundaes and pizza without olives. His weapons of choice are a pair of Caliber .45 pistols known as Ebony (for its dark color) and Ivory (for its silver color). He also carries his sentient faithful sword, Rebellion in a guitar case. A source of a running gag in the series is his apparent lack of gambling skill and his indebtedness, often being short of money. According to Dante, this is because people who hire him usually leave him a bill instead of paying him (due to destruction he causes during the job, such as destroying a bridge). His lack of money is also attributed to Lady, to whom he owes an unspecified sum of money. Lady often takes his payment as part of his debt. When Dante earns some money it is usually squandered. ^[7]

Trish (トリッシュ, Torisshu^?)

Voiced by: Atsuko Tanaka (Japanese), Luci Christian (English)

A demon created by Lord Mundus in the image of Dante's mother (face wise) and given demonic powers such as electricity, strength and quick healing. She joined Dante after Mundus' defeat and became his partner. Though it didn't take long for them to agree on separate ways due to certain conflicts in interest. Doing jobs on her own, she wanders mostly outside of Dante's usual hunting stops. However Dante did remind her at one point that she can come back at any time, though not wanting to admit he simply gets lonely in his less than inspiring office.

Trish generally criticized Dante's lifestyle and eating habits. Unlike Dante or Lady, Trish doesn't take jobs to track down demons, she just goes from place to place following rumors as a freelance hunter. Trish appears to enjoy shopping for clothes and sometimes sticks Dante with the bill. Trish initially has a few violent scrapes with Lady which notoriously seemed almost planned out by Dante in advance, but the two become good friends shortly after. They both enjoy amusing themselves on their abilities to torment and manipulate Dante.

Lady (レディ, Redi^?)

Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa (Japanese), Melissa Davis (English)

A human devil hunteress, descended from the priestess whose blood Sparda used to seal the gate between the human and demon worlds. Dante seems to be in constant debt to her. She sometimes brings Dante work, but usually must con him into accepting the jobs and generally takes his pay claiming them as part of the debt he owes her. Lady spends more time at Devil May Cry than Trish but still not as much as Patty. She is Patty's primary female role model.Though human she is a skilled acrobat, also has immense skill in billiards and is a weapons expert.

Patty Lowell (パティ・ローエル, Pati Rōeru^?)

Voiced by: Misato Fukuen (Japanese), Hilary Haag (English)

A young girl who Dante met after she supposedly came into a large inheritance. This turned out to be a scam, and she has since been spending a lot of time with Dante, whether he likes it or not. She turned out to be a descendant of a powerful magician who sealed the devil Abigail. Patty is very girly and loves cute things, sometimes decorating Dante's otherwise gloomy office with ribbons and plush toys. She loves romantic TV shows and serves as Dante's only source of feminine influence in the absence of Trish and Lady.

J.D. Morisson (J・D・モリソン, J. D. Morison^?)

Voiced by: Akio Ōtsuka (Japanese), Rob Mungle (English)

Dante's liaison. He finds Dante jobs and sometimes helps out with repairs around the office.

Sid (シド, Shido^?)

Voiced by: Nachi Nozawa (Japanese), Christopher Ayres (English)

A weak demon who first appears in episode one, and has recurring appearances throughout the series. Initially seeming to be an insignificant danger and minor nuisance, Dante shows mercy towards Sid and restrains from killing him when given the opportunity. Unfortunately, Sid's ambitions prove to be far more dangerous than Dante possibly imagined.

References

1. ^ "ActiveAnime: Devil May Cry Anime and Pre Site Opening". Archived from the original on 2007-04-17. http://web.archive.org/web/20070417100910/http://activeanime.com/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=3851. Retrieved 2011-02-04. 
2. ^ "ActiveAnime: DEVIL MAY CRY BROADCAST AND PROMOTIONAL VIDEO". Archived from the original on 2008-12-01. http://web.archive.org/web/20081201155302/http://www.activeanime.com/html/content/view/569/58/. Retrieved 2011-02-04. 
3. ^ "Devil May Cry anime official site (Japanese)". http://dmc-tv.com. Retrieved 2007-04-12. 
4. ^ "Funimation Picks Up Over 30 Former AD Vision Titles". Anime News Network. 2008-07-04. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-07-04/funimation-picks-up-over-30-former-ad-vision-titles. Retrieved 2009-06-18. 
5. ^ http://www.funimationchannel.com/schedule/2_e037.htm^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Interview with DMC4 director, Kobayashi". http://games.kikizo.com/features/dmc4_iv_p3.asp. Retrieved 2007-01-02. 
7. ^ "NYAF 07: Devil May Cry Sneak Peek". http://www.advfilms.com/latest-news/devil-may-cry-ign-com/dvd-reviews.aspx?newsid471=6960. Retrieved 2007-12-30. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Official Funimation Devil May Cry Website
• Devil May Cry Japanese website (Japanese)
• Wowow's Devil May Cry Japanese webpage (Japanese)
• Devil May Cry (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia