TheDevil May Cryfranchise has a lot of incredible things to offer, but its lore has never been its strong suit. Character action games in general tend to work on a scale and tone that simply doesn’t fit within the context of a typical story. Details change on a dime, characters resemble larger-than-life mythic figures, and almost everything boils down to an excuse to fight more demons. This issue becomes far more pointed when the franchise takes on a medium without the benefits of gameplay, as they will again in the Netflix anime. The show will be most fans' first introduction to the White Rabbit, a minor manga character many fans expect to be hiding much more.
If anyone can bringDevil May Cryto the small screen with all the smokin' sick style it deserves, it’s Adi Shankar. HisCastlevaniaseries injected new life into a franchise that had languished in the uncaring hands of its owners for years.HisFar Cry: Blood Dragonadaptationbordered on a practical joke at the expense of its purse-string holders. Shankar gets what people love about these works in a pure and uncomplicated way that allows him to deliver something compelling every time. He’s been working towards this for a while, and fans should be delighted to see him pull it off.
Where did the White Rabbit first appear inDevil May Cry?
Devil May Cryfans may have noticed the fact that the well-dressed White Rabbit has never appeared in aDMCgame. Instead, he made his debut in the 2005 manga adaptation ofDevil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening. The three-part comic series covered the events that occurred just before the game, shedding a little additional light on the game’s narrative. Unfortunately, it can only barely be considered canon, because its timeline simply doesn’t make much sense. It should take place beforeDMC 3, but its later acts borrow events from the game, rendering many of its events unlikely within the context of the series. Most fans haven’t read either of the two released volumes, and no one has read the one that never made it to store shelves,so Capcom has beenhappy to ignore its contributions. Bizarrely, however, the Netflix anime will bring at least one notable fixture back from the books.
The White Rabbit takes his name and most of his aesthetic from theAlice in Wonderlandcharacter of the same name. For reasons no one can adequately explain, most of the manga borrows the trappings ofLewis Carroll’sAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The story begins with a mysterious figure offering young Dante a rare opportunity to hunt demons for a huge financial reward. Dante’s informant, Enzo, delivers the task with the promise of millions, entreating Dante to find and rescue a little girl named Alice. This enigmatic benefactor later reveals himself as the White Rabbit, a demon who happens to take the form of a humanoid bunny. His magic powers allow him to arrange meetings with Dante and Vergil, seemingly with theintent of stealing Sparda’spower for his own. He’s a trickster character, not unlike the game’s Arkham, but he is obviously unsuccessful in his goals.
Who could the White Rabbit be in theDevil May Cryanime?
The White Rabbit appears to exist in the anime much as he did in the manga. He’s a magical trickster bent on deceiving the sons of Sparda in a gambit to steal the mighty demon’s power.One teaser depicts himusing his ability to conjure or control demons to trick Dante into believing Vergil has found him. Dante quickly sees through the illusion, but it somewhat mirrors the White Rabbit’s ability to send a mannequin to interact with his enemies in his stead, as he could in the manga. Another clip sees the White Rabbit break into a museum, where he finds the powerful Force Edge sword that Sparda once wielded. He can be seen leading a small army of demons and using a rocket launcher. Some have theorized that the White Rabbit is merely a cover for an existing character from the games. Arkham is a popular guess, as he originally popped up inthe guise of the Jesterto fool Dante. That makes some sense, but it’s just as likely that the White Rabbit is merely a reused character from the obscure manga. His position in the story fits with the way the anime seems to rearrange the timeline. As always,Devil May Crydoesn’t really care about the lore.
The White Rabbit is a minor figure who fills an archetype that appears in most of the franchise.DMC 3is, at least in part, a story aboutDante becoming the skilled demon hunterhe clearly is by the time of the first game. Part of gaining that experience comes from failure, and one great way to fail is to fall for a devil’s trick. The White Rabbit is the new trickster, and his design is so cool that his prominent new role should have fans checking their pocket watches and rushing to avoid being late.
