I don't really know if they were going for the Emo effect with Dante's hair, but I don't really think it personally matters either way whether or not they were or they weren't. I mean, at the end of the day it's just hair. It's either that or a huge afro. I mean, Dante's hair doesn't define his character. I think if you judge someone's appearance over their character, then you'll miss the point of the character. Most people say that Nero looks stupid because he looks similar to Dante. But at the end of the day, Nero is a totally different character altogether. If you dislike Nero just for the small fact that his hair is the same colour and he wears the same sort of clothes, then you're not really giving the character a chance.
I mean, you could think that this 'new' Dante looks awful. But you just stated that you didn't much care for how Dante looked in Devil May Cry. So why does it matter now what he looks like, just because it's DmC. I'm not going against your opinion, I'm just curious to know your reasons.