Summary
Netflix recently confirmed that its new animated adaptation ofDevil May Cryis going to receive a second season. This has longtime fans of the classic video game series both excited and worried,seeing as the first season was extremely divisive among them for many different reasons.
Since they haven’t announced a concrete release date yet, Netflix, Studio Mir, and Adi Shankar should take this as an opportunity to try and improve every single aspect that made Season 1 so controversial to raise the quality of what’s already a pretty solid animated show. There are a few things that should be improved in Season 2 ofDevil May Cry, but these are definitely the most important ones.
1The Dialogue
Characters Should Swear A Lot Less Often (Especially Lady)
A common criticism of Netflix’sDevil May Cryis the frequent use ofprofanityin its dialogue,with Mary Ann Arkham (AKA Lady) being the biggest victim of this practice. She was supposed to be an interesting and morally gray character, but she ended up feeling very edgy and annoying because of how often she swore, especially toward Dante.
Of course, theDevil May Cryfranchise is no stranger to profanity, but the Netflix series may have gone a little bit too far in that regard, and its dialogue felt more like something from Ninja Theory’sDmC: Devil May Cry. Season 2 shouldn’t completely get rid of all the swearing, but it should tone it down as much as possible, especially if it’s something that can help Lady come off as more likable.
2Lady’s Character Development
She Should Be More Similar To Her Game Counterpart
WhenLadywas introduced at the beginning ofDevil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening, she was a very aggressive and unlikable character that couldn’t trust Dante or any other demons because of her trauma, but she eventually went through some fascinating character development that made her accept him as a new ally and friend. Similarly, when she was first introduced in Season 1 of the Netflix show,Mary Ann Arkham felt like a pretty faithful adaptation of her game counterpart: she went through a very similar path of learning that not all demons are evil and that the organization she works for, DARKCOM, is a lot more corrupt than she may have initially thought.
Unfortunately, all of her character growth was completely undermined in the final episode when she decided to betray and capture Dante after everything they had been through together. This questionable decision, coupled with her incessant swearing, made many viewers dislike Lady, so it’s crucial for Season 2 to continue with her character development and make her way more appealing to the fans. For example, she could leave DARKCOM and join Dante in his fight.
3Dante’s Screen Time
He Didn’t Feel Like The Protagonist Of His Own Series
Fortunately for longtime fans of the series,Netflix’sDevil May Cryfeatured one of the very best incarnations ofDanteever made. He’s fun, he’s charismatic, and he’s cool, but he also knows exactly when to take things seriously. Needless to say, Adi Shankar and Studio Mir did an excellent job at adapting this legendary video game character.
The only problem is that Dante was completely overshadowed by other characters in his own show, which put a much bigger focus on the stories of Lady and the White Rabbit. On top of that, he was constantly being captured by Lady and/or DARKCOM to move the plot, something that felt cheap and unnecessary. Season 2 should put a bigger focus on Dante and give him more screen time, especially if Vergil and Mundus get involved in the story.
4Dante’s Fighting Style
He Should Use More Devil Arms From The Games
Another satisfying aspect of Netflix’sDevil May Crywas the action, where Dante took down his enemies with a combination of melee fighting, sword fighting, and firearms. He wielded Rebellion throughout most of the season, and he even got access to his famous Devil Trigger form, so this was an overall faithful adaptation. But it could have been even better.
In theDevil May Crygames, Dante doesn’t use just Rebellion to fight demons,since he also has access to many other powerfulDevil Armsthat he usually gets by defeating demonic bosses. Considering that some of those bosses, like Agni, Rudra, or Cavaliere Angelo, actually appeared in Season 1, it shouldn’t be that hard to make Dante use some of his most iconic Devil Arms in Season 2. A recently released poster revealed that he’ll obtain and use his classic guns, Ebony and Ivory, so it’s off to a good start.
5The Demon Enemies
Season 2 Should Feature More Lesser Demons From The Games
One of the best surprises of Season 1 wasthe implementation of classic demon bosses from the original games, like Agni, Rudra, Echidna, and Cavaliere Angelo. Based on this, it’s most likely that Season 2 is going to adapt even more belovedDevil May Crybosses, like Phantom, Cerberus, Goliath, etc.
But what was especially disappointing is that all the random lesser demons in the White Rabbit’s army were completely original to the show, and none of the classic enemies from the games were adapted instead. The only exception was Plasma fromDevil May Cry 1, who ended up having a surprisingly big role within the story. Season 2 could very easily fix thisby adding more classicDMCenemies as random fodder for Dante and Lady to defeat, like Marionettes, Empusas, the Seven Hells, and many more. Longtime fans of the games will undoubtedly notice and appreciate their inclusion, regardless of how minimal it may seem.
6Devil Trigger
It Should Look Better And Appear More Often
Dante’sDevil Triggerform is as impressive as it is iconic, and its inclusion in the newDevil May Cryshow is proof that the people involved in its production knew a lot about the series’ lore. Of course, to make its reveal more exciting, they couldn’t have made him use it all the time, so it only appeared in two different battles. But Dante should activate his Devil Trigger more often in Season 2, especially if he’s going to fight Vergil, who will surely also have access to his own Devil Trigger form.
The only other issue with this interpretation of Devil Trigger was its overall appearance. Most of the time, it was portrayed via 3D animation, which made it look odd and out of place in the 2D-animated world of this show. While it would be great if this iconic transformation looked even better in the upcoming Season 2, handmade 2D animation is incredibly challenging and time-consuming to pull off, so Netflix should give the talented people at Studio Mir as much time as they need so they can achieve this.
7The Political Themes
The Politics In Season 1 Felt Extremely Jarring (Especially In Its Ending)
There’s no denying that the most controversial aspect ofDevil May CrySeason 1 was its unexpectedpolitical commentary, since it portrayed demons from hell (or Makai) as innocent refugees who were trying to escape a world they couldn’t even breathe air in, and the American Government as a ruthless military force who didn’t hesitate to invade Makai and enslave its inhabitants. Truth be told, these are fairly interesting concepts, but they also felt like they came out of nowhere and, as a result, they were not fleshed out properly.
Since politics are not a common narrative element in theDevil May Crygames, this decision left a bad taste in most fans' mouths. Based on Season 1’s bizarre ending, it seems like Season 2 is going to continue with these political themes, meaning that Adi Shankar and his team should attempt to implement them as seamlessly and effectively as possible so they don’t come off as jarring and out of place as they did in Season 1. If they want to say something important about the current state of the world, they should take their time with it, or they otherwise risk making this part of the show feel cheap and/or exploitative.
