Dante (Devil May Cry)

For other uses, see Dante (disambiguation).

Dante
Dante's original appearance.
Series	Devil May Cry
First game	Devil May Cry (2001)
Created by	Hideki Kamiya
Designed by	Makoto Tsuchibayashi, Daigo Ikeno (Devil May Cry 3)
Voiced by (English)	Drew Coombs (Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe) Matthew Kaminsky (Devil May Cry 2) Reuben Langdon (Devil May Cry 3, Devil May Cry 4, Marvel vs. Capcom 3[1] and Devil May Cry: The Animated Series)
Voiced by (Japanese)	Toshiyuki Morikawa (Devil May Cry: The Animated Series and Marvel vs. Capcom 3)
Motion capture	Reuben Langdon (Devil May Cry 3 and 4)

Dante (ダンテ^?) is the primary fictional protagonist of the Devil May Cry video game series published by Capcom. The character and Devil May Cry are one of Capcom's flagship game franchises, which has sold over nine million copies worldwide as of 2008 and currently spans four video games.^[2][3] Dante has been featured as the main protagonist in the first three games of the series and is a playable character in the fourth game. The character also appears in several Devil May Cry novels and manga volumes, and is featured in a 2007 anime.^[4][5][6]

Dante is a mercenary in modern America dedicated to exterminating demons and other malevolent supernatural foes, a mission he follows in pursuit of those that killed his mother and corrupted his brother. He is the son of Sparda, a demon of great power that rebelled against the demon emperor and defeated his army. As a result of his demonic heritage he possesses numerous powers beyond that of any human which he uses in combination with a variety of weapons to accomplish his goals. The character was designed to fit Devil May Cry game developer Hideki Kamiya's vision of a "cool and stylish" man, and his personality was based on the titular character of manga series Cobra.^[7] The character has been well received by gamers, and has often been listed as one of video gaming's coolest characters.^[8]

Conception and design

Dante debuted in Devil May Cry, a game originally intended to be a sequel of Capcom's Resident Evil franchise.^[9] Series' creator Hideki Kamiya has said that the titular character from the manga series Cobra by Buichi Terasawa served as the basis for Dante's personality. Kamiya based his idea of Dante on what he perceived as "Stylish" -- with a long coat to make the character "showy" and a non-smoker since Kamiya sees that as more cool. The character wears red because in Japan it is a traditional color for a heroic figure.^[7][10] Kamiya has also stated he perceives Dante as "a character that you would want to go out drinking with", someone who was not a show-off but instead would "pull some ridiculous, mischievous joke" to endear audiences to him. He added that this aspect was intended to make the character feel familiar to audiences.^[11]

For DmC: Devil May Cry, Dante was completely redesigned as a result of comments by the Capcom staff. Despite knowing that they would receive negative fan feedback, the staff charge decided to do it. After several drafts of Dante's character,^[12] it ended being one done to change the tone of the series as inspired by Christopher Nolan's film Batman Begins. Tameem Antoniade from Ninja Theory stated that as they want Dante to "look and making you feel cool when you're playing it," they realized his attire from previous games would be found comical in real life.^[13]

Characteristics

Dante is a mercenary who specializes in paranormal cases, preferring those that call for demon slaying.^[14] He is muscular, has white/silver hair, electric-blue eyes and is usually seen wearing red dusters/trench coats. Dante's arsenal usually consists of firearms and melee weapons, including "Ebony and Ivory", twin handguns that never need reloading, as well as a variety of swords such as the "Rebellion" and "Force Edge", Devil Arms created by his father.^[15] The guns are hand-made with "For Tony Redgrave, By.45 Art Warks" written on them (Tony Redgrave is the alias used by Dante). ^[16] He has superhuman and supernatural powers, as a result of his half-devil heritage.^[17] This gives him the ability to enter a transformation called "Devil Trigger". In this state, Dante possesses greater strength, speed, endurance, healing, and further abilities with his equipped melee weapon, including flight.^[18] Dante is confident in his encounters with opponents, and frequently taunts boss characters before battling them.^[19] With the exception of Devil May Cry 4, Dante says the phrase 'Devils never cry'. Implying that no matter how much of a demon he may prove to be, his ability to cry makes his human side precious to him.

Furthermore he's shown to be very laid back and often indifferent. He seems to be frequently in debt and never seems able to pay someone back. His favorite food is pizza and he loves a strawberry sundae (in the anime with extra strawberries).

Dante is one of the twin sons of Sparda, the demon knight who sided with humanity and drove back an invasion of the human world by demons 2,000 years ago.^[20] After Sparda's death, Dante and his twin brother Vergil were raised by their human mother, Eva. When Dante and Vergil were children, the family was attacked by demons, resulting in Eva's death. This event led to Dante's commitment to hunting demons in pursuit of those that killed his mother.^[21] It is shown during Devil May Cry Anime (episode 6) that Dante likes The Strokes musical english band.

Appearances

Devil May Cry video games

In the original Devil May Cry, Dante is hired by Trish, a mysterious woman who looks similar to his deceased mother, to stop the return of the devil king Mundus.^[22] However, she is actually setting up events for Mundus' agents to kill Dante as he makes his way to Mundus himself. During the course of the game Dante is also reunited with his brother Vergil, who, under the control of Mundus, attempts to kill him.^[23] Trish eventually betrays Mundus to save Dante, and the pair work together to lock Mundus in the demon world. Afterwards, they become partners in Dante's demon-slaying business, now re-named "Devil Never Cry".^[24]

After the success of the first game, Capcom immediately began development of its sequel, Devil May Cry 2. He also had a habit of flipping a coin to make his decisions, although it is revealed at the end of the game that both sides are heads. Set some time after the first game, Devil May Cry 2 focuses on aiding the character Lucia in defeating Arius, an international businessman who uses demonic power and seeks to conquer the world.^[25] At the end of the game, Dante must go into the demon world to stop a major demon from escaping, but the gate closes behind him and he is trapped. With no way back to the human world, Dante heads even deeper into the demon world on his motorcycle.^[26] There is an extra scene after the credits, in which Lucia is sitting in Dante's office when she hears a motorcycle outside and rushes out to see who it is.

The third game, Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, serves as a prequel to the first game and features a cockier, teenage Dante. He has considerably more dialogue during cutscenes, and players can verbally taunt monsters during gameplay. In the story, Dante is drawn out by his brother Vergil, who is attempting to reopen the portal to the demon world in order to obtain the full power of Sparda, which remains on the other side contained within the sword Force Edge.^[27] Along the way, Dante encounters Lady, who is in pursuit of her father Arkham,^[28] who is working with Vergil but has plans of his own. In the end, Dante claims ownership of the Force Edge, while Vergil chooses to remain in the demon world.^[29] Dante matures considerably during the game and, inspired by Lady's courage and commitment to her own family, continues his demon-hunting business with a greater sense of purpose. They become friends, and he decides to call his shop "Devil May Cry", after something Lady had said to comfort him.^[30][31]

Released in 2008, Devil May Cry 4 is the first game in the series not to feature Dante as the primary character. Dante is seen as an antagonist, at least at first, by the game's lead character, Nero. Shortly after the halfway point in the game, player control switches to Dante, until he rescues Nero, who the player then uses for the game's final showdown. By the end of the game, Dante and Nero seem to have a mutual respect towards one another.

Younger Dante as seen in DmC Devil May Cry

The fifth installment of the Devil May Cry franchise, DmC Devil May Cry, was announced at Tokyo Game Show 2010, featuring Dante in a very different appearance. His coat is not long, only coming down to his lower-back, his hair is shorter and is black with a white patch in the upper back (his hair was however seen turning fully white while in a Devil Trigger-like state during a second trailer featuring the work-in-progress gameplay).

Other appearances

Dante has playable appearances in several games outside of the Devil May Cry series of games. In the Viewtiful Joe series, also created by Hideki Kamiya, he is playable in the PlayStation 2 version of Viewtiful Joe and the PSP version of Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble. In both games, he frequently has dialogue with Alastor, who is revealed to be the embodiment of the identically-named sword from Devil May Cry.^[32][33] Dante is also seen in the last panel of Jedah's ending in Capcom Fighting Jam. He appears as an enemy and optional ally in the North American/Maniax (director's cut) release of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. There is a Dante character card in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS. He was also set to appear in Soulcalibur III, but did not make it into the final game.^[34] Dante also appears in many other pieces of media based on the video games. These include two light novels,^[4][5] the Devil May Cry 3 manga, a comic of the first game published by Dreamwave Productions^[35] and an anime called Devil May Cry: The Animated Series.^[6][36]

Dante makes his fighting game debut as a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.^[37] wearing his Devil May Cry 3 outfit.^[38].

Cultural impact

The popularity of the Devil May Cry series lead to a line of Devil May Cry action figures produced by Toycom.^[39] Japanese company Kaiyodo produced a similar line for Devil May Cry 2 and a Devil May Cry 3 Dante action figure.^[5][40]

Dante's confident and fearless attitude has gained him widespread popularity. He was ranked third among the "Top Ten Coolest Video Game Characters" list of Screwattack.^[8] His design and personality received praise from numerous reviews, including this quote from IGN: "a dark anti-hero kind of guy even a down-in-the-dumps, disgruntled teenager would love".^[41] GameDaily named him one of their favorite Capcom characters, ranking him seventh on their "Top 25" list and stating that the various aspects of the character made him an "unstoppable force".^[42] Game Informer described him as "one of the most bad-ass characters around", citing his contrast between the character and those previously seen in the Resident Evil series.^[19] GameSpy described his appearance as "awe-inspiring to look at", describing his attire as reminiscent of Vincent Price.^[43] GamesRadar named him "Mister 2001" in their article on the sexiest new characters of the decade, stating that compared to the female characters in Devil May Cry, Dante was the hottest of them all. The editor cited his muscular build, hair, his fighting abilities, and his attitude for why he won.^[44] They also listed him as one of the 25 best new characters of the decade, calling him "unforgettable" as well as stating that he set the template for "smartass action heroes".^[45] During February 2010, Dante was twenty-third in a Famitsu poll featuring the most popular video game characters from Japan.^[46] He was also voted by Game Informer as the thirteenth best character from the 2000s.^[47] Dante and Trish were in The Inquirer's list of the most memorable video game love teams with comments focused on how the two join forces to defeat their enemies.^[48] In Devil May Cry 2, Dante's cocky attitude was largely absent, which was one of the main criticisms against the game.^[49]

See also

References

1. ^ "Interview with MvC3 Voice Actors". http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/8488268. 
2. ^ Haruhiro Tsujimoto (2008-02-20). "Smokin'! Capcom's "Devil May Cry 4" Ships over 2 Million Stylish Units - Making it the fastest game in the DMC series to reach that milestone". Capcom. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080228012611/http://ir.capcom.co.jp/english/news/html/e080220.html. Retrieved 2008-02-21. 
3. ^ "Platinum Titles". Capcom. 2007-01-17. Archived from the original on 2007-04-21. http://web.archive.org/web/20070421100827/http://ir.capcom.co.jp/english/data/million.html. Retrieved 2007-04-04. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Amazon.com Listing for Devil May Cry Volume 1". http://www.amazon.com/dp/1598164503. Retrieved 2007-04-23. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} "Amazon.com Listing for Devil May Cry Volume 2". http://www.amazon.com/dp/1598164511. Retrieved 2007-04-23. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "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 2007-01-23. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "Devil May Cry director Hideki Kamiya Interview: Translated from Devil May Cry: Graphic Edition". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20070928065052/http://www.survivhor.com/morbidcreations/dmc_behind/int_hideki/dmc_int_hideki_3.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-03. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "Top ten coolest games". Archived from the original on 2007-08-09. http://web.archive.org/web/20070809013318/http://www.thelastboss.com/post.phtml?pk=2160. Retrieved 2007-04-20. 
9. ^ "E3 2001 Interview with Shinji Mikami". IGN. 2001-05-17. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/094/094860p1.html. Retrieved 2007-04-15. 
10. ^ "PS2 News: CVG goes straight to hell with Devil May Cry director". Computer and Video Gamse. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=17957. Retrieved 2007-03-03. 
11. ^ Kamiya, Hideki (2009-04-01). "Greetings". PlatinumGames, Inc. http://platinumgames.com/2009/04/01/greetings/. Retrieved 2009-08-03. 
12. ^ Jim Reilly. "Capcom: Dante Needed to be 'Completely Different'". IGN. http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/112/1129209p1.html. 
13. ^ Dave Meikleham (2010-09-17). "Think emo Dante sucks in the new Devil May Cry? He could have been shirtless with suspenders". GamesRadar. http://www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/dmc-devil-may-cry/news/think-emo-dante-sucks-in-the-new-devil-may-cry-he-could-have-been-shirtless-with-suspenders/a-2010092211164587051/g-2010091595913520039. Retrieved 2010-09-25. 
14. ^ Trish:"So, you must be the handyman who'll take any dirty job, am I correct?" Dante: Almost. I only take special jobs, if you know what I mean. (Devil May Cry) Capcom, 2001
15. ^ Perry, Doug. "IGN review of Devil May Cry". IGN. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/165/165620p2.html. Retrieved 2007-04-24. 
16. ^ Shinya Goikeda, Devil May Cry Volume 1, TokyoPop, 2006
17. ^ Dante: Even as a child I had powers, there is demonic blood in me. — Capcom. Devil May Cry. (2001)
18. ^ Devil May Cry Instruction Booklet. Capcom. 2001. 
19. ^ ^{a b} Reiner, Andrew. "Devil May Cry Review". Game Informer. Archived from the original on May 3, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080503064920/http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200110/R03.0805.1448.29918.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-15. 
20. ^ Narrator:Two millenniums ago there was a war, between the human world and the other, the under world, but somebody from the underworld woke up to justice, and stood up against this legion, alone. His name was Sparda. later he quietly reigned the human world, and continued to preserve harmony until his death. He became a legend the legendary dark knight, Sparda. — Capcom. Devil May Cry =. (2001)
21. ^ Trish: You're the man who lost a mother and a brother to evil twenty years ago, the son of the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda, Mr. Dante. / Dante: Well the way I figure it, in this business a lot of your kind come along, and if I kill each one that comes, eventually I should hit the jackpot sooner or later. — Capcom. Devil May Cry. (2001)
22. ^ Trish:It seems that way, but I'm not your enemy. My name is Trish. I came here to seek your help. To put an end to the Underworld. / Dante:What? — Capcom. Devil May Cry. (2001)
23. ^ Mundus: Trish, Vergil has been defeated. You know what you must do. Now go. / Trish: Yes, master. — Capcom. Devil May Cry. (2001)
24. ^ Trish: (on the telephone) Devil Never Cry? Yes. OK, great! Where's the place? We'll be right there! This one has the password. Sounds heavy. / Dante: Okay! Let's get over there within 10 minutes and don't let one of those suckers live. — Capcom. Devil May Cry. (2001)
25. ^ Matier:Oh yes. .. We are the guardians of. .. this land, Vie de Marli. .. Our clan once fought against the demons with Sparda. Son of Sparda, we must ask this favor of you. You see, there's a man who's transformed our land into a demon's paradise. .. His name is Arius. And although he is the president of an international public corporation, he uses the demon power. Please deal with Arius and his master for us? /Dante:Looks like it's your lucky day. — Capcom. Devil May Cry 2. (2003)
26. ^ Dante:Yeah, let's go all the way to hell! — Capcom. Devil May Cry 2. (2003)
27. ^ Arkham: No use! Regardless of how strong you are, you are nothing but a half breed. You cannot defeat a pure demon, the real Sparda! What's this? Damn you! / Vergil: I've come to retrieve my power. You can't handle it. — Capcom. Devil May Cry 3. (2005)
28. ^ Dante: Responsible? Does it bother you that much? / Lady: He's my father. Besides, who else can undo what he's done? A demon like you, wouldn't understand. / Dante: Father and family huh? Well I'll go too. But you better hurry if you don't want me to take all the credit. — Capcom. Devil May Cry 3. (2005)
29. ^ Vergil: It'll be fun to fight with the Prince of Darkness. If my father did it, I should be able to do it too! — Capcom. Devil May Cry 3. (2005)
30. ^ Lady: Are you crying? / Dante: It's only the rain. / Lady: The rain already stopped. / Dante: Devils never cry. / Lady: I see. Maybe somewhere out there even devil may cry when he loses a loved one. Don't you think? / Dante: Maybe. (— Capcom. Devil May Cry 3. (Capcom). (2005)
31. ^ Lady: Oh, speaking of a kind devil, he finally decided on a name for his shop. It took him quite awhile to pick one. Want to know the name? Devil May Cry. — Capcom. Devil May Cry 3. (2005)
32. ^ Dunham, Jeremy (June 20, 2004). "A New Hope for Viewtiful Joe?". IGN.com. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/531/531910p1.html. Retrieved 2009-02-25. 
33. ^ Mueller, Greg (March 27, 2006). "Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble Review". GameSpot.com. http://www.gamespot.com/psp/action/viewtifuljoe/review.html. Retrieved 2009-02-25. 
34. ^ James Ransom-Wiley (2005-02-09). "Joystiq's report on Dante's inclusion on the Soul Calibur III roster". http://www.joystiq.com/2005/02/09/dante-joins-the-soul-calibur-3-lineup. Retrieved 2007-04-04. 
35. ^ "Dreamwave Productions closes up shop". http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=4625. Retrieved 2007-04-23. 
36. ^ "Devil May Cry anime official site (in Japanese)". http://dmc-tv.com. Retrieved 2007-01-23. 
37. ^ "Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds Preview". Game Informer (GameStop Corporation) (206). June 2010. 
38. ^ http://i.newsarama.com/images/comic-games_ff.jpg
39. ^ Borst, Brian (2003-06-01). "Devil May Cry Action Figures review". Archived from the original on November 13, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071113085014/http://www.popcultureshock.com/reviews.php?id=2243. Retrieved 2007-04-20. 
40. ^ "Amazon.com Listing for Devil May Cry 3 Dante Revoltech action figures". http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GBN2Y4. Retrieved 2007-04-23. 
41. ^ Perry, Doug (2001-10-16). "Devil May Cry review". IGN. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/165/165620p1.html. Retrieved 2007-03-29. 
42. ^ Workman, Robert. "Top 25 Capcom Characters". GameDaily. AOL. p. 19. http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/galleries/top-25-capcom-characters-of-all-time/?page=19&cp=4. Retrieved 2009-08-15. 
43. ^ Garbutt, Russel (2001-10-19). "Devil May Cry Review". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2007-02-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20070205073517/http://www.planetps2.com/features/reviews/2001/devilmaycry/. Retrieved 2009-08-15. 
44. ^ "The sexiest new characters of the decade". GamesRadar. 2009-12-30. http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-sexiest-new-characters-of-the-decade/a-2009122311561016035. Retrieved 2010-01-04. 
45. ^ "The 25 best new characters of the decade". GamesRadar. 2009-12-29. http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-25-best-new-characters-of-the-decade/a-20091221171910974007. Retrieved 2010-01-04. 
46. ^ Glifford, Kevin (February 10, 2010). "Snake Beats Mario, Is Coolest Video Game Character Ever". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3177896. Retrieved March 10, 2010. 
47. ^ Vore, Bryan (December 3, 2010). "Readers' Top 30 Characters Results Revealed". Game Informer. http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/12/03/readers-top-30-characters-results-revealed.aspx. Retrieved July 18, 2011. 
48. ^ Villafania, Alexander (2007-02-02). "The most memorable video game love teams". The Inquirer. http://technology.inquirer.net/infotech/infotech/view/20070202-47164/The_most_memorable_video_game_love_teams. Retrieved 2010-02-02. 
49. ^ "Devil May Cry 2 review". Gamespy. http://archive.gamespy.com/reviews/february03/dmc2ps2/. Retrieved 2007-04-15. 

External links

• The original Devil May Cry Japanese Website
• Official Devil May Cry 2 Japanese Website
• Official Devil May Cry 3 Japanese Website
• Official DMC3 Special Edition Website
• Official Devil May Cry 4 Japanese Website
• Capcom USA's Official "Devil May Cry" Portal