In a word the story and overall plot is poor, at best. The individual “case” or “mission” episodes were a great way to hold the attention of the viewer and add variation, but would have been better suited to a series of more length. As it were, 12 episodes is far too short to hold a structure like that, much less to keep that form until the final few episodes. Yes, there were several underlying characteristics which could be argued to point to the end, but only to the untrained eye. Even if the form was flawed, it is refreshing to see an anime take an episode-by-episode approach.
Art- 5
The art isn’t bad, but it isn’t good either. It is smooth at times, and awkward at others. The lighting is done well to set mood, and so is the use of color schemes, for the most part.
Sound- 5
The music is obviously meant to excite the viewer, but the overuse of intense and somewhat violent rock music in every other scene gets old, fast, and leaves the viewer (or me, at the very least) tired of having their ears shredded every time a main character does something remotely cool. The dub and sub versions have some flaws, such as timing and portrayal of enthusiasm, but overall are average. Both the OP and ED left no lasting impression, falling somewhat flat.
Character- 5
The characters are what they are meant to be: fun, suave, witty, and bad*ss. Other than the several characters which are the focus of the series, the rest feel to be nothing but walking puppets superimposed with stereotypes. There is little development, which is disappointing but fitting for the series at the same time. There is a bit of backstory given for the main character, Dante, but it is laughably cliched and underwhelming, not to mention poorly executed despite the entire episode gven to its development. The other characters? They simply do not have a backstory.
Style- 4
The series is over the top and does not possess much “finesse,” overall. There are some select moments which do not follow that form, but often a witty line or something of the sort which is well used the first time is overused to the point of causing annoyance. (The line “this show is adults only” was excellent the first time around. It referenced Patty’s assumption that Dante was in a band from his guitar case- which actually houses his demon-slaying sword- and tastefully segways the scene away from Dante’s fight, shielding it behind a curtain and forcing the viewer to use their imagination, to great effect, adding greatly to the style. The line was overused at later and seemingly random times)
Enjoyment- 9
Even in the face of all of its flaws, Devil May Cry is an enjoyable watch. It has moments which shine through as memorable, stylish, and well-executed, with excellent sound and structure, moments seemingly plucked from a different series. Other than that, the constant action and poorly written but cool characters are fun to watch in all their demon killing glory.
Cohesion- 5
Poor cohesion between episodes, which is expected of an episode-by-episode styled series, but there is also a sometimes off-putting structure to the episodes themselves.
Overall- 5
Devil May Cry may be trash, but I’ll darned if it isn’t enjoyable trash. For a series which seems to be an odd hybrid of Supernatural, Trigun, and Vampire Hunter D, it does surprisingly well, and surprisingly poorly at the same time.
