Because I had heard some bad things about it from fellow geeks that I trust, I didn’t immediately watch Devil May Cry on Netflix. However, I played the heck out of the original games on my trusty PlayStation 2, and I eventually caved in and checked out the show. To my surprise, Season 1 absolutely blew me away. At its best, the show is an action extravaganza, delivering all the thrills of your favorite ‘80s and ‘90s movies rolled into one. At its worst, Devil May Cry is a bit like your favorite fast food: way too greasy and overly indulgent, but a fulfilling, guilty pleasure nonetheless.
While I’m now all-in on this anime, it still took me a hot minute to get to Season 2. The longer I waited, the more I worried that the new season would fully embrace the excesses of Season 1 and become a hot mess. To my delight and surprise, though, Season 2 is better in every way. It’s got more action, more cool lore, and more moments that make you want to stand up and cheer. Most of those moments are tied to killer songs, which brings me to my favorite part of Devil May Cry: thanks to its endless needle drops, it’s like one long music video aimed squarely at millennials.
Hellish Sibling Rivalry
The premise of Devil May Cry Season 2 is that demons are real and that America is in the midst of a full-blown war with Hell. The country’s strongest fighter is Dante, a half-demon, half-human mercenary who speaks violence as a second language. But he may prove to be no match for Hell’s own soldier: Vergil, the brother that he thought had died long ago. What starts out as a straightforward war between worlds quickly becomes a game of intrigue and backstabbing between a series of mysterious players, each with equally mysterious agendas. As for Dante, his agenda is quite simple: to save the world and get the girl.
Even more so than the first season, Devil May Cry Season 2 has plenty of moments for old-school gamers to get excited about. This includes the full-blown introduction of Vergil (one of the most compelling characters in the show) and plenty of extended lore about Mundus, the Big Bad of the entire show. We also get the fun introduction of Ebony and Ivory, Dante’s signature handguns from the very first game. While most of the gamer-centric content pertains to DMC, the show occasionally takes inspiration from other franchises. For example, it’s impossible to watch American soldiers invading Hell in the first episode and not think about Doom, the greatest Boomer shooter of them all.
Millennials Will See Themselves In This Anime
Devil May Cry is most certainly at its best when Dante is hacking and slashing his way through endless waves of demonic foes and getting into death-defying duels with his brother. Fortunately, the show’s quieter moments are still compelling because of the various political intrigues between over-the-top characters. It’s really great to watch everyone react to Arius’s smug monologues, and it’s quite fun to see hardline zealot Baines bouncing off Hopper, the would-be cowboy president. What I enjoyed most, though, was the growing relationship between Dante and “Lady.” Trust me: if you were ‘shipping these two in the first season, you’re going to be eating good with Season 2.
Also, if you happened to play the Devil May Cry games when they came out, you’ll love Season 2’s peak millennial soundtrack. An emotional moment between two of our most important characters hits that much sweeter once “My Immortal” from Evanescence starts playing. Action scenes, meanwhile, hit that much harder to the tune of Korn’s “Freak On a Leash” and Drowning Pool’s “Bodies.” We also get tunes from Papa Roach and GUNSHIP, my favorite retro-flavored band. Incidentally, if you have any doubt the soundtrack was chosen to serve as millennial catnip, just wait until you get the most unexpected needle drop of them all: “Sk8er Boi” by Avril Lavigne.
Music Video: The Anime
That brings me to the best and worst thing about Devil May Cry Season 2: it sometimes feels less like an epic fantasy story and more like a series of really cool music videos strung together with cheesy dialogue. If you’re looking for something a little more substantial (like the apocalyptic vibes of Devilman Crybaby or even the gender-bending exploits of Ranma ½), then you are likely to be disappointed. However, if you’re mostly here for relentless action scenes and silly one-liners, you’ll find DMC a particularly tasty buffet of B-movie schlock. For me, a guy who was mainlining anime music videos well before YouTube, this season really hit the sweet spot.
While the entire voice cast does a great job (Scout Taylor-Compton perfectly embodies both silk and steel as Lady, and Ian James Corlett is a solid replacement for Kevin Conroy as Baines), the glue holding Devil May Cry together is Johnny Yong Bosch. He gives Dane such joyful irreverence that it’s tough not to get caught in the chaotic swirl of his charm. This is doubly impressive because Dante is often written as an arrogant and downright annoying guy. Thanks to Bosch, however, this character has all the charisma of your cool older brother and your youngest, dumbest sibling, all rolled into one.
Care to see what the fuss is about? Want to see humanity face down the forces of Hell amid a sibling rivalry that crosses two worlds? Maybe you just want to rock to the songs you enjoyed back in high school? Devil May Cry has all of this and more. It’s currently streaming on Netflix, where you can jump right into Season 2 or stream this quirky classic from the beginning. Maybe warn your friends and family before you start, though, because you’re going to be cracking bad jokes and jamming out to butt rock long after the credits roll.
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