Netflix’s adaptation of Devil May Cry games isn’t a direct retelling of Devil May Cry 3. In fact, it carves out an entirely new timeline. While some changes in the anime are interesting, others diverge so sharply from DMC games that they’ve left longtime fans puzzled and angry. Here’s a breakdown of ten key differences between the Devil May Cry anime series and the game universe.
Table of Contents
1. Dante’s Shift from Seasoned Hunter to Bumbling Rookie
In the games, especially DMC3, Dante is cocky, stylish but cool under pressure guy, already showcasing glimpses of his legendary demon-hunting prowess. In the anime, however, his characterization leans heavily towards being underprepared and confused. He often needs to be saved by others, reacts slowly to danger, and lacks his usual swagger.
Instead of the confident and wisecracking protagonist that fans have come to love, we see a less experienced, more reactionary Dante. While this may be an intentional “origin” approach, it risks undermining his iconic status that the DMC fans are more accustomed to.
2. Lady’s Radical Character Changes
Lady, a fan-favorite from DMC3, was known for her tragic backstory, intense drive for revenge, and a grounded, human perspective in a supernatural world. In the anime, she’s almost unrecognizable. She is louder, brasher, and far more aggressive, with none of the emotional nuance that defined her in the Devil May Cry gaming series.
Her past is entirely ignored; there’s no mention of Arkham, her father’s betrayal, or her emotional arc. Instead, she’s portrayed as Dante’s rival, but without context or depth, reducing her to a trope rather than a character.
3. The Voice Cast Overhaul
One of the most jarring changes for fans is the anime’s voice casting. Most notably, Johnny Yong Bosch, known for voicing Nero in the games, now voices Dante in the anime. This creates immediate tonal dissonance for fans deeply familiar with the franchise.
Bosch brings a different energy—more youthful, less gruff—which clashes with expectations for Dante’s voice. While he’s a talented actor, the overlap in voice roles adds confusion, especially when long-time fans associate him with an entirely different character because they just can’t help but think of Nero when hearing Dante speak on the screen. Not to say that all the voice casting decisions were as questionable because devoted fans got their last performance by Kevin Conroy after his untimely death, and that too in an antagonist’s role.
4. A New Timeline
Another way Devil May Cry anime differs from the games is the creator’s vision. Adi Shankar confirmed that the anime takes place in an alternate universe. The goal appears to be making the franchise more accessible to a broader audience. However, this comes at a cost: the haunting gothic aesthetic, surreal environments, and mythological and fantastical undertones of the original DMC games are traded for a grounded, urban setting.
Demons exist, but the world feels more like a noir crime drama than a gothic action fantasy. The creative choice, while understandable from a showrunner’s perspective, strips away much of the atmosphere that defined Devil May Cry’s identity that had attracted many fans of the franchise towards the games in the first place.
5. Government and Politics Take Center Stage
A major deviation from the games is the introduction of real-world governmental influence. In the DMC games, human authorities are largely absent, mostly because they are powerless and unable to fight against demons. The anime, however, introduces Darkcom, a CIA-like organization tasked with managing supernatural threats.
There’s also a presidential figure, and political maneuvering takes up substantial screen time. This repositions demon-hunting as a geopolitical issue rather than a personal or mythological one. The tone shift is stark and, for many fans, jarring—pulling the franchise away from its supernatural and demon hunter-centric roots.
6. Boss Characters Are Misused and Forgotten
Boss fights in Devil May Cry aren’t just about flashy combat—they’re key narrative milestones. Each boss in DMC3, for example, deepened the lore or advanced character arcs. In the anime, these bosses are introduced rapidly and then discarded.
They’re treated as disposable henchmen for the White Rabbit rather than formidable foes with thematic relevance. Their deaths are abrupt, and none can seemingly return or contribute meaningfully to the larger story, robbing the anime of the tension and pacing that made the games so satisfying.
7. Power Leveling Inconsistencies
One of the most noticeable inconsistencies is in power scaling. In the games, Dante’s demonic heritage places him leagues above human characters like Lady. But in the anime, Lady regularly fights on par with Dante—and sometimes outshines him.
She interrupts battles, saves Dante, and appears equally capable against high-level demons. This muddles the internal logic of the DMC universe and weakens Dante’s role as a half-demon powerhouse. Fans familiar with the established hierarchy of strength find this difficult to reconcile.
8. The White Rabbit’s overhaul
The anime introduces White Rabbit, a mysterious figure who appears to be manipulating events behind the scenes, while the manga and the games introduce us to The White Rabbit as one of the many aliases that Arkham, the main antagonist of DMC3, used. His cryptic dialogue and unexplained powers replace Arkham’s manipulative, dramatic villainy from DMC3.
What’s more, Arkham is never shown. It is only briefly mentioned and quickly discarded as a character, as seen in Lady’s backstory. The anime embraces a “the monsters aren’t the evil ones” motif, removing the central antagonist dynamic that anchored the game’s story. It’s a slower-burn mystery approach, but it sacrifices the immediacy and personal and narrative stakes that Arkham brought.
9. The Episodic Format Hurts Pacing and Character Growth
While the game follows a clear narrative arc, the anime adaption of Devil May Cry leans on a monster-of-the-week structure. Each episode introduces a new threat, often disconnected from the last, which makes character progression feel stagnant.
Dante and Lady go through similar motions in every episode, and there’s minimal growth or revelation. This lack of progression makes the show feel like a prologue stretched over an entire season rather than a compelling first chapter with any kind of significant character growth. While the games weren’t too quick to mature the character’s motivations either, they still were a better representation of character growth.
10. Teases Without Payoff: Vergil and Sparda Are Underused
Vergil—central to DMC3’s emotional and narrative depth, which the anime is largely based on- makes a singular, one-line appearance at the end, resulting in more of a cameo than any significant appearance. There’s no interaction with Dante, no buildup to their rivalry, and no glimpse into his motivations, only a single flashback.
Similarly, Sparda, the legendary father of Dante and Vergil, is only hinted at in cryptic lines from The White Rabbit. These omissions feel like missed opportunities. For a show meant to explore Dante’s early years, sidelining the two most important figures in his life feels like a strange creative choice.
Devil May Cry Anime vs Games
Netflix’s Devil May Cry anime is not a direct adaptation of its gaming counterpart; it’s a reinvention. While it boasts stylish animation and moments of intrigue, many of its choices, from tonal shifts to character reinventions, stray far from what made the franchise iconic. That said, it may still find footing in future seasons if it embraces more of what longtime fans love: personal stakes, stylish storytelling, and a return to the gothic roots of Devil May Cry.
