Netflix ‘Devil May Cry’ Season 2 Review - The Devil Is Still Crying

The second season of Devil May Cry opens with Mary (Scout Taylor-Compton) telling Dante (Johnny Yong Bosch), who is unconscious inside a cryochamber, "How do I catch you up? So much has happened." We expect the show to launch into a Season 1 recap, but the voiceover is really meant for Dante. So much has indeed happened while Dante was put in a deep freeze, which Season 2 makes clear as it progresses. There is a full-on fight between Hell and Earth, led by Arius (Graham McTavish) in the mortal realm. He sends the American forces into another dimension to retrieve something called "The Arcana" from Mundus' (Ray Chase) lair. Arius is the man who holds everyone, including the President of the United States, in his hands, and yes, the president in this universe, too, imprisons and spreads hate against "illegal aliens." Wink wink. But the series isn't interested in making profound political statements. If anything, the cartoonish president is merely an amusing side object. The real threat to mankind is Arius, and he needs all four Arcanas to resurrect the God of Chaos, Argosax, during a rare solar eclipse.

Season 2 is also about the unresolved tension between Dante and his brother, Vergil (Robbie Daymond)—something that originates in their past as mama's boys desperate for attention. What do you know—the brothers ultimately realize they love each other after all. Oh my, who could have predicted it? Mary, too, has daddy issues that culminate in a shocking revelation. Arius has a vaguely tragic past in which he is portrayed as a ridiculed, misunderstood genius, which, I suppose, is meant to make him "complex," but the flashback lasts mere seconds, like a footnote filling in a minor blank. Other plot turns are best left unmentioned because they amount to little more than verbal exposition. Devil May Cry delivers these expository passages in such a solemn, self-congratulatory, self-serious manner that you begin to wonder whether the Arcanas could be used to resurrect the God of Humor. There is a jester demon here, though don't expect him to tickle your funny bone. He acts like a gossipmonger who, alas, has nothing interesting—or funny—to say.

The show's self-aggrandizing tone is so oppressive that Dante's cheeky remarks land like blunt-force trauma. Devil May Cry assaults the senses—it pummels you into exhaustion and then force-feeds you exposition dumps to keep the story moving to its destination. The whole thing can be quickly and accurately described as a series in which action scenes are punctuated by exposition. Or is it the other way around? It hardly matters. There is one scene that sparkles with wit, and it comes when Dante and Mary recount how their meeting—after Dante's release from the cryochamber—took place. His narration is depicted through cute, childish, colorful cartoons, while hers is more sober and grey. This is the closest the series comes to presenting the subjective perspectives of its characters. It is also more delightful than anything else here.

I revisited my review of the first season to see how I reacted to it when I watched it last year. I ended that review by writing, "Given how dull the anime is, the Devil will surely cry." I think those words still apply. My feelings toward this series remain unchanged.

Final Score- [1/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times