Devil May Cry: The Animated Series Vol. 3 2007 FUNimation Productions, Official US Website Buy It Now Official Japanese Website

Devil May Cry is one of those modern video games that managed to overcome the odds and gain popularity with gamers around the world. That’s not always the case however and far too many “next big things” fail to keep the interest of a gaming public that is always looking for a memorable title. American developers aren’t necessarily keen on having their precious titles transformed into animated series’ and those that have definitely weren’t very memorable; Japan meanwhile is a different story.

The third and final volume of Devil May Cry brings the twelve-episode series to a close. With the track record of video games turned anime in the past, Capcom seems to have taken the right approach with this series and instead of trying to recreate what was experience in the video games, the animated series simply adds in familiar faces, some new ones, and comes up with its own storyline. However, there hasn’t been much consistency with the series focused more on more of a “monster of the week” brand of storytelling, save for the final episodes of the series which finally come up with something cohesive.

Sticking with the self-contained episodes, Devil May Cry puts Dante into a poker game where rumors have been spreading about a player known as King, a demon who takes the lives of those who lose while playing with him . . . or perhaps her as no one knows exactly who King is. This makes Dante’s job just a little more difficult, but not so much so that he’ll end up as a victim.

The final episodes meanwhile begin to introduce references of a demon king known as Abigail as well as the fact that Dante seems to have power that demons themselves crave to have. This first brings a pair of demonic brothers who are very opposite of each other hunting Dante in hopes of gaining his powers, but as we all know, anyone who comes looking for Dante better have a job to offer him because if not, chances are they will be on the receiving end of a bullet.

Dante then is given a pendant to guard which contains the power of Abigail, though he’s not made aware of this fact until much later. Patty, having seen the owner of the pendant, is convinced that this is her mother and she is very correct in this assumption. Patty and her mother Nina are in fact the descendants of a powerful sorcerer. Unfortunately Patty ends up giving up the pendant to save the life of her mother, a foolish act which puts the powers that the demon Sid is seeking right in his hand. He’s more than a match for Dante and ends up putting the devil hunter right at the steps of death’s door. But . . . you’ve played the games I’m sure, and you know that there is very little that can stop Dante.

This volume includes another look at the cut scenes from the long released Devil May Cry 4 video game as well as footage for the game seen back in 2007 and 2008. I understand that this series was much more of a tie-in with DMC4, but giving some details on the past games probably would have been a nice addition for anyone who is new to the characters, though it’s not essential to understand the anime.

The last episodes of the series are filled with plenty of action, gunplay, and demons getting shredded by an onslaught of bullets. Devil May Cry may not be connected to any of the storylines that some might have expected, but the anime taking a different path and trying not to focus on that aspect really does end up paying off. The anime which has tried to incorporate hasn’t always been a good as what the game itself is. Those that have tried to come up with something original have been a pale shadow of the source material. Devil May Cry falls somewhere in the middle; it’s not a bad series though certainly not as high impact as it could have been. In the end though, it stands as being one of the better efforts which should please some of the long time fans of the series while attracting new comers who might know the name but have very little familiarity with the games.

Episode 9 – Death Poker

Dante is hired to participate in a high stakes poker tournament on a luxury cruise ship. With rumors abounding regarding “King,” a player who ends up taking the lives of those who play against him, Dante and everyone else face some rather bleak odds.

Episode 10 – The Last Promise

Baul and Modeus, two demon brothers, have come looking for Dante, though it is Baul that hopes by killing the devil hunter he will gain the powers of his father. Baul’s battle doesn’t go as he had hoped however leaving his brother to pick up where he left off.

Episode 11 – Showtime!

Dante is asked to guard a pendant that is being sought after only to find that those looking for it are demons. The owner of the pendant has convinced Patty at long last she has found her mother and discovers that while she’s correct, there’s a terrible secret connected to both her mother and her pendant.

Episode 12 – Stylish!

With Dante apparently defeated, Sid seems to be on the verge of ruling the world thanks to the power of Abigail. Patty isn’t willing to accept that Dante is dead and sets out to find a way to revive him, a successful effort with hell to pay for those who have stood in the devil hunter’s way.

-mike-