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DMC Theory: Anime Shows Dante Is Depressed! - Bit-Bolt

Lain

Earthbound Immortal
Premium
I thought the anime was really underrated for reasons like this, it offers a deeper look into Dante's character without detracting from the crazy action. While "depression" might be taking it a step too far IMO, Dante clearly hasn't moved on from the events of the first game.

Overall an interesting theory.
 

absolitude

the devil is not as black as he painted
haven't watch the vid, but he's not depressed, imo he just don't talk much and is lonely, which is somewhat typical too in japanese character
 

berto

I Saw the Devil
Moderator
Well, I don't agree with the guy in the least.

All this overthinking of why he's this way here and why another there are just excuses for something much more simple and less rooted in the canon than that. He isn't in DMC2 the way he is in 1 because the director of two didn't think a character who is 'cool' would be energetic, not because he is depressed or Trish died or something equally improvable. There is no canon reason why this is; it's because with every iteration made by different hands said hands will just make an interpretation of what they think he would be like. Yeah, it was the same writer for DMC3, 4 and the anime but if that's all it took then all of the iterations would be much more similar in both writing, characters, appearance, and composition and the three wouldn't be so clearly different.

Whoever the staff at Madhouse that made the series were are the reason why Dante is a hobo in the anime, nothing to do with him been 'depressed.' This is just more of that fan logic used to compensate for the series' constant inconsistencies from one incarnation to the next.

Just a reminder, the anime is almost 10 years old.
 
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DragonMaster2010

Don't Let the Fall of America be Your Fall
And his DMC2 self.

Oh wait, no...
Shhh.gif


we do not speak its name. it grows more powerful when we do
 

V's patron

be loyal to what matters
Even thought I dont like the anime at all (it's pretty dull) I do see how he would be depressed. DMC1 ended with Mundus re-sealed but Vergil "died" so I could see why Dante would feel withdrawn.
 

DragonMaster2010

Don't Let the Fall of America be Your Fall
Even thought I dont like the anime at all (it's pretty dull) I do see how he would be depressed. DMC1 ended with Mundus re-sealed but Vergil "died" so I could see why Dante would feel withdrawn.

But there isn't much of that feeling in anime Dante at all. If he was depressed due to his brother's death, you'd think he'd react a lil better towards the two moments in the anime where his brother's death would be a factor. Episode 2 with the biker dude racing to catch up to his otherwise dead brother and almost getting himself killed, would have been a great moment to show Dante thinking of his own brother. And then there was episode 10 with Sparda's apprentices who were brothers. How one wanted absolute power off of killing Dante, while the other wanted to stop him; how could they not do anything else with that?
 

Veloran

Well-known Member
He's basically correct. The first book (Which isn't compatible with DMC3 as a prequel at this point, but the series still takes elements from it like the engravings on Dante's guns, as well as his old alias and love for strawberry sundaes, which is where the anime got that from) outright spells out that Dante's attitude is mostly an act.
 

V's patron

be loyal to what matters
@Teal Funny thing is that it is easier to see the anime Dante go towards being more like he is in DMC2 than how he is in DMC4.

@DragonMaster2010 For me its the most likely scenario given the info we have. Your reason why it didnt work is right because the writer barely touched on that connection. It's actually there just so minute you miss it really easily.

Thats actually the problem with the anime as a whole, it has a lot of interesting ideas but does the bare minimum with any of it so it feels like a bad filler episode.
 

Chancey289

Fake Geek Girl.
This theory is stupid. Fans need to understand that almost all Devil May Cry media never supplied characters that were well rounded or had depth.

That's not freaking depression. I know depression. I suffer from it severely as well as bipolar disorder. They just thought it would be cool to write Dante that way, and it ultimately made for a boring, and bad show that's only good thing was the animation.
 

WolfOD64

That Guy Who Hates Fox McCloud
This theory is stupid. Fans need to understand that almost all Devil May Cry media never supplied characters that were well rounded or had depth.
The DMC Novels Vol. 1 & 2 that are no longer canon actually made a respectable effort of surrounding Dante with believable and interesting characters, at least moreso than the crew of predictable caricatures he ended up being saddled with like Lady and Morrison. Hell, Beryl from the DCM2 novel is the supporting character we never got but absolutely deserve. You want to talk about depression? Then screw Dante's depression...nothing can tower over how insurmountably-depressed I am that Beryl isn't canon.

The potential for this series to boast actual intrigue in its lore and characters has and always will be torn asunder by the witless hacks that serve as Capcom's writing talent. As long as it's under their control, this series and its characters will never rise above mediocre shonen status...and that it is a piteous shame to witness as a devout fan.
 
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V's patron

be loyal to what matters
@Chancey289 he probably thought more about it that they did.

@WolfOD64 which is a shame because the second light novel is easy to keep as you could just set it after DMC1. It doesn't really conflict with anything.

Plus it's easy crossover fuel.

The first is trickier because you would have to move it to being set after DMC3 AND before DMC1. You could probably set it before DMC3 but you would have to rewrite DMC3 alot to flow from one to another.
 

WolfOD64

That Guy Who Hates Fox McCloud
@Chancey289 You could probably set it before DMC3 but you would have to rewrite DMC3 alot to flow from one to another.
I would love nothing more than to pry DMC3 from the canon of this series. No game, spin-off, comic, or TV series has made me face-palm my skull into oblivion like that game's plot, and removing it would actually allow more flexibility for the series' lore, and better develop the one-dimensional cartoon that was Vergil.
 

V's patron

be loyal to what matters
I would love nothing more than to pry DMC3 from the canon of this series. No game, spin-off, comic, or TV series has made me face-palm my skull into oblivion like that game's plot, and removing it would actually allow more flexibility for the series' lore, and better develop the one-dimensional cartoon that was Vergil.
Is it really inflexible?

Sorry pal it's too popular. Best you could hope for is them rewriting the plot to have the light novel as the year before. Or just hope that they move forward from DM3 and establish a new Era for him.

I do wish that they kept more from the novel than his love of strawberry sundaes: the fact that he was an hotshot mercenary with an ex cop for a partner and he was involved in the death of a rival gang is good material
 

WolfOD64

That Guy Who Hates Fox McCloud
Is it really inflexible?
Given that the anime and DMC4 work off of everything established in DMC3, it rigidifies any surprises for Dante's character or the characters around him. Look at the TV series, for instance: aside from being in debt, which barely affected the plot and was used as long-running joke more than anything else, what was established about Dante? Nothing. Absolutely nothing, except that he eats unhealthy food, is too laid-back and non-chalant to ever work up any emotional versatility, and views each mission as a "party." Literally everything lifted from 3, with none of the honorable aspects or hunter's caution found in DMC1, let alone any new elements to surface from his persona.

That really seems to be the procedure Capcom is taking with his character. If it wasn't in 3, it doesn't belong in the game...in spite of everything Kamiya had intended for the character, including everything you mentioned from the novels.

As far as I'm concerned, Kamiya's Dante is the only true depiction of the character. The one in 3 onwards is a power-fantasy manufactured by Capcom's attempt to aggressively overcompensate for his personality departure in 2, an attempt they've never ceased in moderation and have continued to drive to utter exhaustion.
 
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