Question: Which one of these guys is more likely to ruin your day?
Now, there's nothing wrong with strawberry sundaes. Even I have them from time to time. Just kidding, I'm not a pussy.
The animated Dante is clearly not his reckless trash-talking self from the original Devil May Cry. He's not the missile-surfing guitar-jamming rebel from Devil May Cry 3. He's definitely not that hardass who jumped off a 60-story building to shove a gun in your face in Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. This isn't the Dante who's so lame that he's cool; he's a Dante who's so lame that he's cute.
Blame it on the demographics. Video game Dante's rugged manliness wouldn't interest the mo�/pedophile audience, but if you replace his signature diet of pizza with a diet of pizza and strawberry sundaes, all of a sudden he's cute! Then, for good measure, why not team him up with a spunky little girl to expose his soft side? It's not like that's been overdone...
Pinky, Elmyra, and The Brain ruined my childhood. I can't believe the original show was cancelled. At least the writers didn't go down without a fight:
The decision to put Pinky and the Brain with Elmyra was controversial from the beginning. Warner Bros. network executives had wanted Pinky and the Brain to be part of a sitcom "more like The Simpsons". In a press release, Warner called the move "a fresh approach to popular favorites [Pinky and The Brain]." The idea, however, was panned by animation fans and even the producers of the series. Writer and producer Peter Hastings had even left Warner Bros. for Disney over the decision.
Dissatisfaction with Warner Bros. decision to change Pinky and the Brain even showed up in the actual cartoons of Pinky and the Brain and Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain. On Pinky and the Brain, the last script Peter Hastings wrote before leaving Warner Bros. was the cartoon, "You'll Never Eat Food Pellets In This Town Again," in which the demise of Pinky and the Brain are caused by network decisions to change the show.
Pinky Elmyra & the Brain had also shown dissatisfaction towards Warner Bros.; the theme song for the series had said: "Now Pinky and the Brain, share new domain, it's what the network wants, why bother to complain?" A clip during the theme showed Pinky and The Brain getting kicked out of the Warner Bros. office during that line. Furthermore, A spoken line by The Brain towards the end of the theme adds "I deeply resent this." - Wikipedia
Back to Devil May Cry � despite the mo�, Dante is still cooler than at least 90% of the male leads in anime these days. For example, instead of becoming the little girl's bitch, he makes the girl his maid.
Orphans should earn their keep.
When he's not fighting devils, Dante can also be found sleeping, or drinking Budweiner and Dack Janiels.
Other than Dante, the only characters you'll recognize from the video games are Lady, Trish, and that spider boss (intro only).
Now to settle the issue: was the anime distancing itself from the video game a bad move? Probably not. If the anime were anything like the video game, Dante would spend about 10 episodes dying against the Nightmare. Independence from the video game also makes the show more enjoyable for people who are unfamiliar with the game. Of course, that requires the show to have substance, and Devil May Cry has just enough.
Consider the Street Fighter II anime or Final Fantasy: Advent Children. It's fun to see the same moves and environments that were in the games, but if you haven't played the games, their animated adaptations are a total waste of time. You can't say the same for Devil May Cry (although it would've been awesome to see Dante use the Stinger). Here's how I'd grade it:
- If you haven't played the game(s) and you like anime: B
- If you've played the game(s) and you like anime: B+
- If you've played the game(s) and you don't like anime: C
- If you haven't played the game(s) and you don't like anime: D