Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

Devil May Cry: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

The mediocrity of this series might make fans of the video game shed a few tears.

Reviewed by Dustin Somner August 23, 2009

Released in 2007 to coincide with Capcom’s fourth video game installment, Devil May Cry: The Animated Series contains twelve episodes that were produced by the Madhouse Anime Studio. Personally, I’ve only played through the first video game in the series, so I can’t comment on the storyline of the three sequels. However, given my familiarity with the tone and overall story arch of the original game, and my love of all things anime, I was thoroughly excited at the announcement of the anime series. Not every video game possesses the necessary elements to carry a full-length series, but I truly felt there was a rich world that warranted further exploration. After all, what’s not to like about a demon hunter and his beautiful sidekicks fighting all manner of blood-thirsty beasts?

Have a nice close look at Ivory.

Dante runs a demon-hunting business known as Devil May Cry with the help of a young orphan named Patty, and his manager/marketing director known as Morrison. During the day, he spends his time lounging around the office playing pool and reading magazines, while powering through pizzas and strawberry sundaes. As the sun goes down and the moon forms in the night sky, Dante straps on his duel pistols, Ebony and Ivory; grabs his fine-edged tool of destruction known as Rebellion and sets out to solve the demon problems plaguing his various clients. He’s certainly not subtle in his follow-through, but once the crimson-caped warrior sets his mind to something, he’s a force to be reckoned with.

Considering the length of the series, I was expecting a connected underlying story to tie the twelve episodes together. Instead, we have an initial episode that ties in with the final three episodes, and eight episodes that follow individual plotlines about various cases Dante accepts. I’m typically not the type to complain about a structure that doesn’t connect each episode together, but in the case of Devil May Cry, the filler episodes are such a mixed bag that it eventually grew tiresome watching the constant struggle to find interesting story concepts. I was even forced to down a dose of caffeine to keep my drooping eyes from descending into dreamland. Like I said in the introduction to this review, the Devil May Cry universe should have offered a wealth of interesting story concepts to keep us involved, so the lack of sufficient entertainment value is a fairly substantial disappointment. Fortunately, the production isn’t a complete waste of time, since there are occasional glimmers of hope spread throughout the series. In the episode “Rock Queen”, Dante is called upon to protect a group of treasure hunters who come under attack by a mysterious demon that gradually possessed a young rock star years ago. The tragic story offers a nice departure from the uninspired plotlines of the episodes up to that point. I also enjoyed the odd little episode titled “Wishes Come True” which gives a unique spin on the age old genie in a bottle concept (except with a morbid twist). Lastly, I found the story arch in episodes 10-12 highly entertaining, since it reveals a brief history on the coexistance of the demon world and the human realm, as well as offering us the first glimpse of Dante in a weakened state. Up until that point, he’s simply an indestructible force that dispatches one foe after another without breaking a sweat.

From a character standpoint, I truly wish the creators had gone the extra mile to tap into the coolness factor of the Dante that populates the video game series. The Dante we’re given here is a slacker with minimal compassion for others around him, who eats more pizza than a ninja turtle. His cool demeanor certainly fits with his temperament in the games, but aside from that one element most fans won’t recognize the Dante they’ve grown to love during the course of the four video game installments (unless he’s changed drastically since the first game I’ve played).

As with any anime review, it’s imperative that I touch briefly on the animation style and quality of the series. I’ve been a longtime fan of Madhouse Studio (Trigun, Ninja Scroll) and their excellent track record continues with this series. Given the budgetary constraints of a television production, the animation quality never reaches the level of intricacy we’ve grown to expect from theatrical anime releases (such as the recent Madhouse release of Paprika), but the hand-drawn animation still contains fluid character movement, detailed backgrounds, and creative action sequences. Unfortunately, the action sequences tend to be far too short for my liking, ending in a flurry of gunshots from Dante’s duel pistols, or a single slash of his monsterous blade. If you’re familiar with the gothic style of Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (one of my favorite anime films), you’ll know what to expect from the animation in the Devil May Cry series.

Devil May Cry: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 22Mbps), Devil May Cry arrives on Blu-ray with a transfer that demonstrates a clear upgrade over a standard definition offering, but never rivals the proficiency of the best anime releases on the format. Line details appear reasonably well-defined, but there's a general haziness to the overall picture that clouds textures and hard-edged lines. Having just reviewed Funimation's release of the Full Metal Panic!: Second Raid, I was a little let down by the clarity of this series. Matters don't improve drastically with the color palette of the film, which is understandably dark . In fact a number of the episodes contain little to no color aside from a splash of blood-drenched crimson hues from time to time. On the positive side (considering how dark the film is), black levels are appropriately deep and contrast displays a positive level of differentiation between the various shades of the picture. There are still occasional shots where contrast becomes a little weak, allowing details to blend into the darkness of the background, but those scenes are a rare occurance and shouldn't substantially detract from the experience. Although detail isn't the greatest, I'm happy to report there's a complete lack of artifacts, aliasing, or any other digital anomaly, though there's some non-obtrusive color banding on at least three occasions.

Devil May Cry: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Funimation has once again provided fans with the option of listening to the series in equally proficient Japanese (original language) or English (dubbed) Dolby TrueHD 5.1 tracks. Switching back and forth between both options, the quality of the two tracks seems identical, so fans of either option will be delighted that equal care was shown in the inclusion of both tracks (unlike the recent release of Origin: Spirits of the Past). On the downside, the overall audio experience wasn't that impressive when stacked up to other lossless anime tracks, which explains my diminished audio score. The primary problem is the occasional lack of balance in the audio elements, with the dialogue dropping off significantly from time to time. I found myself straining to hear what was being said at inopportune moments in several episodes. I also noticed surround use was a little toned down during the action sequences, robbing the scenes of that crucial element of an immersive experience. It's not overly disappointing, but given some of the creative weapons and demons that are on display throughout the series, I'd hoped the audio track would generate an equal level of creativity in bringing those elements to life in the soundstage. As it stands, this is a generic audio experience that neither adds nor detracts from the entertainment value of the series.

As a side note, I should briefly touch on my disappointment in the dubbed voice-acting for this series. I suffered through the English dialogue when I could, but quickly switched back to the Japanese track after a brief sample. The actor that portrays Dante attempts to come across cool and slick, but lacks the deep voice of the Japanese actor, making his character sound more like a teenager than a seasoned demon hunter. The female actors fair better, but the voicework for Patty has the trademark whiny sound that used to be a common staple of dubbed anime productions. Bottom line, if you can accept subtitles the native language track is a far superior experience.

Devil May Cry: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Interview with Toshiyuki Morikawa (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 5:10 min): The voice actor who played Dante in the series provides some background on his character, the transition of the video game to an anime series, and gives fans a brief preview of what they can expect from the series. Of note, there's an annoying buzz in the audio track of the interview resulting from the low-budget recording.

Devil May Cry Cutscenes (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, approximately 12 min): Consisting of seven cutscenes from the Devil May Cry 4 video game, this collection focuses heavily on a fight sequence between Nero and Dante. If you want an overall look at the game, skip ahead to one of the far superior trailers on the disc.

E3 2007 Preview (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 1:56 min): This trailer provided a glimpse of what fans could expect from the Devil May Cry 4 video game.

Tokyo Game Show 2006 Preview (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 2:21 min): Unlike the prior preview (which consisted mostly of cutscenes), this sneak-peek includes in-game footage to wet the appetite of festival attendees.

Rounding out the extras, we have two additional trailers for the video game, some finished product footage from the game (split between 2007 and 2008), clean opening and closing animation from the anime series (the only extra presented in 1080p), and a collection of trailers for other Funimation releases.

Devil May Cry: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I typically don't have a difficult time deciding whether a series or film deserves a recommendation, but that's exactly the position I find myself in when considering Devil May Cry. Stacked up against other anime series currently on the Blu-ray format (such as Samurai 7 or Full Metal Panic!: Second Raid) this production falls drastically short in entertainment value and lasting appeal. However, there are still a number of shining moments to be found in certain episodes, and the final chapter of the series offers a much needed shot of adrenaline that nearly rectifies the missteps in the first nine episodes. Add in the fact that the entire series is currently available for less than the DVD box set (and marginally more than a single volume of the original DVD release), and you have a difficult choice on your hands. In the end, I'd recommend a purchase to anyone who feels compelled to add even marginal anime to their growing high-definition collection, but suggest a rental to all others.

Note: This release marks a new packaging choice for Funimation, with the series arriving housed in a single Blu-ray case with a disc on each side panel. My review copy arrived with both discs loose within the case, which I hope Funimation is working toward rectifying. Another flaw worth mentioning, is a glitch on the second disc that causes a skip to occur from 42:50 to 44:30, and again from 46:30-50:50. This could simply be an error in the screener batch of discs, but I've contacted the studio about the problem, and will report back in this review as soon as I have updated information to provide (I checked the physical disc itself, and there are zero scratches on the surface).