The character range of Dante from Kamiya to Tameem
- Thread starter DragonMaster2010
- Start date
berto
I Saw the Devil
I'm only an entry level Japanese speaker. I don't know enough to read a book yet.
So, DMC2 time.
Voiced by Matthew Kaminsky, Dante in DMC2 is the best looking, yeah, but we are talking personalities here so those good looks of his won't get him far here.
Now, there is an archetype in Japan of heroes or good guys who when if they are at a point going to talk about what their reasons to act are or if they have to talk about why they are doing the right thing (I suppose is what you'd call it) they act like they don't care or they act disinterested while doing everything in their power to stop the bad guy/avert disaster/save the town or city or random person/save the day. That is their shpeal. I don't know how long it's been going on but it's a trend that you'll see quite often in manga, anime, and Japanese action films. A hero who pretends not to care to look cooler in front of the bad guys, and everyone else, maybe so as to not give them the satisfaction or so as to suggest that they are, in some way, unreachable or above criticism or mockery. This way they don't have to explain themselves.
One could argue that it's a cultural staple that's incorporated into the culture and while we might not see much in it it is more resonant in that part of the world. For example, in China it is customary to reject a compliment and even admit to the opposite; let's say someone compliments your outfit. In western cultures like the US and Latin America we respond with a thank you and maybe even returning the compliment but in China the appropriate response would be 'oh, no, this outfit is hideous and I look horrid in it.' Now imagine someone complimented your kid. It might sound odd to us but for someone to respond with anything but self degradation comes off as arrogant. Maybe it's the same situation here, we might have an image of what a hero is like but they have their own... Maybe...
In this case Dante has gone from confident and active to calm and passive, almost disinterested. He's fallen into the 'can't let them know I care' archetype of heroes I was just talking about and, honestly? He's kind of the opposite, now. I mentioned that Dante was weirdly honest in the original, right? Well, here, not so much. Let's take the Griffon death scene, as an example; The original Dante became self righteous and made a speech about how disgusted he was when Mundus cooked his favorite turkey. With DMC2 Dante, though, I can't imagine him getting much more than a 'it's not my business'/'I have no interest in that sort of thing' or something like that out him.
It's literally like someone told two different people to make this guy 'cool' and you got two different interpretations of the same character. While maybe not exact opposites they are different enough that it's very noticeable. They might look alike and they might have the same history and maybe even drives but this is a very different take on Dante, a shallow inspection of how someone perceived the character.
Not much to say here since there isn't much to the portrayal of this Dante. He was too quiet and the coin thing made him come off as insincere, well meaning but insincere (at least to me). This passive nature of his is so different from the original, even when he says 'whatever' he sounds too disinterested to put any effort in to it, and it just isn't in the same spirit as the original.
So, DMC2 time.
Voiced by Matthew Kaminsky, Dante in DMC2 is the best looking, yeah, but we are talking personalities here so those good looks of his won't get him far here.
Now, there is an archetype in Japan of heroes or good guys who when if they are at a point going to talk about what their reasons to act are or if they have to talk about why they are doing the right thing (I suppose is what you'd call it) they act like they don't care or they act disinterested while doing everything in their power to stop the bad guy/avert disaster/save the town or city or random person/save the day. That is their shpeal. I don't know how long it's been going on but it's a trend that you'll see quite often in manga, anime, and Japanese action films. A hero who pretends not to care to look cooler in front of the bad guys, and everyone else, maybe so as to not give them the satisfaction or so as to suggest that they are, in some way, unreachable or above criticism or mockery. This way they don't have to explain themselves.
One could argue that it's a cultural staple that's incorporated into the culture and while we might not see much in it it is more resonant in that part of the world. For example, in China it is customary to reject a compliment and even admit to the opposite; let's say someone compliments your outfit. In western cultures like the US and Latin America we respond with a thank you and maybe even returning the compliment but in China the appropriate response would be 'oh, no, this outfit is hideous and I look horrid in it.' Now imagine someone complimented your kid. It might sound odd to us but for someone to respond with anything but self degradation comes off as arrogant. Maybe it's the same situation here, we might have an image of what a hero is like but they have their own... Maybe...
In this case Dante has gone from confident and active to calm and passive, almost disinterested. He's fallen into the 'can't let them know I care' archetype of heroes I was just talking about and, honestly? He's kind of the opposite, now. I mentioned that Dante was weirdly honest in the original, right? Well, here, not so much. Let's take the Griffon death scene, as an example; The original Dante became self righteous and made a speech about how disgusted he was when Mundus cooked his favorite turkey. With DMC2 Dante, though, I can't imagine him getting much more than a 'it's not my business'/'I have no interest in that sort of thing' or something like that out him.
It's literally like someone told two different people to make this guy 'cool' and you got two different interpretations of the same character. While maybe not exact opposites they are different enough that it's very noticeable. They might look alike and they might have the same history and maybe even drives but this is a very different take on Dante, a shallow inspection of how someone perceived the character.
Not much to say here since there isn't much to the portrayal of this Dante. He was too quiet and the coin thing made him come off as insincere, well meaning but insincere (at least to me). This passive nature of his is so different from the original, even when he says 'whatever' he sounds too disinterested to put any effort in to it, and it just isn't in the same spirit as the original.
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V's patron
be loyal to what matters
@berto
interesting stuff, keep it coming.
@DragonMaster2010
I think the transition from 1-4 is a bad one because the writing itself feels half baked and sloppy and there were more efficient ways to get what they want than what they did.
They could have tried a lil harder to keep it consistent (DMC3) or just to commit to telling a good story (the anime or 2) but they didnt.
Dante redgrave did bring up a cultural context as japanese writers tend not to care about continuity compared to american ones, but they still could have just used a new lead and a new scenario. Hell the easiest way to bring in Nero would have been him being dante's kid who checks up on him and discovers Lucia etc.
Sorry if this feels too self-righteous.
I'll cover DMC to DmC in a different post.
interesting stuff, keep it coming.
@DragonMaster2010
I think the transition from 1-4 is a bad one because the writing itself feels half baked and sloppy and there were more efficient ways to get what they want than what they did.
They could have tried a lil harder to keep it consistent (DMC3) or just to commit to telling a good story (the anime or 2) but they didnt.
Dante redgrave did bring up a cultural context as japanese writers tend not to care about continuity compared to american ones, but they still could have just used a new lead and a new scenario. Hell the easiest way to bring in Nero would have been him being dante's kid who checks up on him and discovers Lucia etc.
Sorry if this feels too self-righteous.
I'll cover DMC to DmC in a different post.
berto
I Saw the Devil
I'm trying. I've been busy.
So, moving on.
Now, most popular of the lot.
Dante in Devil May Cry 3 kinda saved the franchise, didn't he? Let's face it, after DMC2 people were kinda worried about how they'd make this one. I wasn't. I liked 2 at the time so I was really eager for more.
By the way, I'll also be lumping him with the Manga Dante since they are one in the same.
So, there is this dude who makes B action movies in Japan called Ryuhei Kitamura and I saw a movie of his back in around '03 called Versus. After that there seemed to be an explosion of Japanese movies like it. Some were good and some are real bad. Other films of it's kind are films like Aragami, Death Trance, Tokyo Gore Police, Machine Girl, and Hell Driver. Like I said, some are better than others. Versus was choreographed by a man named Yuji Shimomura who was also the action director of the film. Shortly after Versus Yuji Shimomura went to work as the action director of Devil May Cry 3, and his influence really made an impact on the game's plot and characters.
Personally, having loved Versus so much I got super excited when I learned that the game was going to be told in the same style. However, this is, by far, the biggest departure from the original Dante that there would be in the franchises history. You might not think so, I mean, what's different, super cheesy dialogue with crazy action that defies logic.Well, it's like how Michael Bay's cheese (Ninja Turtles, Transformers) is different from Roland Emmerich's cheese (Independence Day, Godzilla, 2012). Also, since the game would turn out to be the most loved in the series it would change Dante's portrayal forever.
In terms of character Dante is probably his most complex. He might be a huge goofball who drops the dumbest lines in the series but it seems like there really is much more to him than the previous takes on the character, mostly because of Vergil. The makers have made a great deal of concessions to make them both identical yet complete opposites, they are each other's shadows, and arguably the mirror image of the other, the part of themselves they hate.
By himself, Dante here is cocky, a show off, maybe even arrogant. There is a definitive line between confidence and arrogance, though the two seem similar there is a clear difference, which he crosses here. The idea was that he is young here and therefore more crass, but the change in narrative has changed both him and the world he lives in. He now defies the laws of physics with a kung fu movie ease and in the cutscenes he doesn't seem too concern about anything in terms of enemies. In the original he might've been defiant and ready to fight but he always seemed like he took the thread seriously. Here he is almost always unimpressed. I get that it was meant to imply that he's so bad ass demons don't scare him, but to me it made the threat seem minimal and so the victory kinda fell short of grand in the cutscenes.
Ultimately this Dante was far closer to the original than his DMC2 counterpart but if both he and DMC1's Dante looked more generic (dark hair, no color scheme for the clothes, average everyman design, let's say cop since it's a common game job) and I played both games without hearing their names, or the character's, I would not have saw that it's clearly the same man or even the same story. Suspected, but I wouldn't have thought it was clearly the same character, just similar enough to wonder.
The foundations of the narrative are now too different, and so are the foundations of the character. What he can or can't do, how he interacts with people and opponents, how they carry themselves; One walks with drive and intent and the other carries himself in a very relaxed manner, laid back, almost like he's got a song in his head. The difference between 'I got this' and 'whatever, no worries' when faced against a horde of vicious enemies. I might've bought that he is younger and therefore more immature but too much of this carries over to DMC4's Dante to just be passed off the differences as simply 'it's because he's younger.'
So, moving on.
Dante in Devil May Cry 3 kinda saved the franchise, didn't he? Let's face it, after DMC2 people were kinda worried about how they'd make this one. I wasn't. I liked 2 at the time so I was really eager for more.
By the way, I'll also be lumping him with the Manga Dante since they are one in the same.
So, there is this dude who makes B action movies in Japan called Ryuhei Kitamura and I saw a movie of his back in around '03 called Versus. After that there seemed to be an explosion of Japanese movies like it. Some were good and some are real bad. Other films of it's kind are films like Aragami, Death Trance, Tokyo Gore Police, Machine Girl, and Hell Driver. Like I said, some are better than others. Versus was choreographed by a man named Yuji Shimomura who was also the action director of the film. Shortly after Versus Yuji Shimomura went to work as the action director of Devil May Cry 3, and his influence really made an impact on the game's plot and characters.
Personally, having loved Versus so much I got super excited when I learned that the game was going to be told in the same style. However, this is, by far, the biggest departure from the original Dante that there would be in the franchises history. You might not think so, I mean, what's different, super cheesy dialogue with crazy action that defies logic.Well, it's like how Michael Bay's cheese (Ninja Turtles, Transformers) is different from Roland Emmerich's cheese (Independence Day, Godzilla, 2012). Also, since the game would turn out to be the most loved in the series it would change Dante's portrayal forever.
In terms of character Dante is probably his most complex. He might be a huge goofball who drops the dumbest lines in the series but it seems like there really is much more to him than the previous takes on the character, mostly because of Vergil. The makers have made a great deal of concessions to make them both identical yet complete opposites, they are each other's shadows, and arguably the mirror image of the other, the part of themselves they hate.
By himself, Dante here is cocky, a show off, maybe even arrogant. There is a definitive line between confidence and arrogance, though the two seem similar there is a clear difference, which he crosses here. The idea was that he is young here and therefore more crass, but the change in narrative has changed both him and the world he lives in. He now defies the laws of physics with a kung fu movie ease and in the cutscenes he doesn't seem too concern about anything in terms of enemies. In the original he might've been defiant and ready to fight but he always seemed like he took the thread seriously. Here he is almost always unimpressed. I get that it was meant to imply that he's so bad ass demons don't scare him, but to me it made the threat seem minimal and so the victory kinda fell short of grand in the cutscenes.
Ultimately this Dante was far closer to the original than his DMC2 counterpart but if both he and DMC1's Dante looked more generic (dark hair, no color scheme for the clothes, average everyman design, let's say cop since it's a common game job) and I played both games without hearing their names, or the character's, I would not have saw that it's clearly the same man or even the same story. Suspected, but I wouldn't have thought it was clearly the same character, just similar enough to wonder.
The foundations of the narrative are now too different, and so are the foundations of the character. What he can or can't do, how he interacts with people and opponents, how they carry themselves; One walks with drive and intent and the other carries himself in a very relaxed manner, laid back, almost like he's got a song in his head. The difference between 'I got this' and 'whatever, no worries' when faced against a horde of vicious enemies. I might've bought that he is younger and therefore more immature but too much of this carries over to DMC4's Dante to just be passed off the differences as simply 'it's because he's younger.'
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Devil Player
Well-known Member
Only a doctor could understand how a game character has basically 4 different personalities in 4 different games.
There is no continuity between how Dante was in DMC 1 and how he acted in DMC 2. It seems both Dantes got ignored in DMC 4, which seems to be DMC 3 Dante badly upgraded.
I think Capcom should decide how Dante should act, before making another DMC. I tak DmC out of the equation, because this game sets up a new and different universe. If DmC 1 Dante is consistent to Dante in a future DmC sequel, at least the writers will get their job done better than the ones from the original universe.
Sure, that's not a big problem in my view. I mean, I don't play DMC or DmC for plot or personality study, BUT at least Capcom could do something about it, lol.
There is no continuity between how Dante was in DMC 1 and how he acted in DMC 2. It seems both Dantes got ignored in DMC 4, which seems to be DMC 3 Dante badly upgraded.
I think Capcom should decide how Dante should act, before making another DMC. I tak DmC out of the equation, because this game sets up a new and different universe. If DmC 1 Dante is consistent to Dante in a future DmC sequel, at least the writers will get their job done better than the ones from the original universe.
Sure, that's not a big problem in my view. I mean, I don't play DMC or DmC for plot or personality study, BUT at least Capcom could do something about it, lol.
berto
I Saw the Devil
So, before we got DMC4 we got the anime, which I can only attribute to the popularity of of DMC3. Been voiced again by Reuben Langdon was a definite treat but I honestly I wasn't feeling it, even with him behind the microphone.
We all know that most anime transitions don't go over too well, it happens. Here, however, it seems a lot of the staff that worked on the games lent their talents to the show. Producer, writer, and Capcom in general. Doesn't make it better for me, though, rather it has me a bit down.
Here Dante's gone from laid back and arrogant to asleep. He seems so dull and sluggish here, like he doesn't want to do anything. Every job he starts out by not wanting to do it and everyone has to blackmail him to get him out his chair. When before he was always ready to jump in to action here he couldn't be less interested. The transition from 3 to the anime didn't exactly go smoothly and the character didn't translate all that well. You could argue that it's more of that 'I can't let them know I care' attitude he had in DMC2 and he was going to take the work, whatever he actually said to the people who were hiring him, but I don't like how reluctant he became, at times even selfish. There is an air of 'I don't wanna' to him and the way he carries himself.
Dante might look like his DMC1 version but the energy and attitude's gone, replaced with what can only be described as kind of a hobbo. Even Reuben (credited here as Justin Cause) seems to get too little in the way of emotional range or investment. Yeah, there are plenty of characters like that in anime but Dante wasn't meant to be one of them.
I was very willing to forgive the meh action in the show because you just can't always afford to make everything top notch but there is very little here of him that I would describe as 'cool' and I can't help but dislike this version of Dante because of how uninterested he seems, even bored. That carries over to how I perceive him, too, which is the most uninteresting and boring of the incarnations of Dante.
V's patron
be loyal to what matters
@berto
good job
@Devil Player
It happens quite often with Marvel or DC actually because of the amount of content they put out month to month or even just looking at their various spinoff materials.
But i think its more because the DMC stories are too standalone and they dont really build connections between them. It is a missed opportunity for the anime since the standalone nature of the anime allows you to bring something up and resolve it by episodes end.
for example you could have Dante interact with Alice from the manga years after the events of the manga happened, showing how she coped with the events ten years later.
@DragonMaster2010
Its a bad transition because there is this aura of hostility/negativity surrounding the project and a lot of that comes from Capcom's side because they jumped the gun with the debut trailer and didn't really have a solid PR plan till a year later which was a year too late.
You could blame fans but they only react so its a two party street.
Onto the character itself, its an okay take with some trouble spots since im not sure the changes themselves were used well nor did they hit all the notes they wanted too but its been argued enough so im not interested in continuing too.
good job
@Devil Player
It happens quite often with Marvel or DC actually because of the amount of content they put out month to month or even just looking at their various spinoff materials.
But i think its more because the DMC stories are too standalone and they dont really build connections between them. It is a missed opportunity for the anime since the standalone nature of the anime allows you to bring something up and resolve it by episodes end.
for example you could have Dante interact with Alice from the manga years after the events of the manga happened, showing how she coped with the events ten years later.
@DragonMaster2010
Its a bad transition because there is this aura of hostility/negativity surrounding the project and a lot of that comes from Capcom's side because they jumped the gun with the debut trailer and didn't really have a solid PR plan till a year later which was a year too late.
You could blame fans but they only react so its a two party street.
Onto the character itself, its an okay take with some trouble spots since im not sure the changes themselves were used well nor did they hit all the notes they wanted too but its been argued enough so im not interested in continuing too.
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berto
I Saw the Devil
Thank you. I'm still replaying DmC to get a fresher look on that Dante before I start writing about him as a character compared to both the original and the rest.
Not much to say here. Dante is very similar to his DMC3 counterpart and he certainly lacked progression. He's missing for more than half of the game and the little he's there he isn't showing much depth. Here he's really kinda doing a side mission since it's all Nero's show.
For one thing, though, Dante looks weird here. Not as in he looks bad or even ugly but he is most definitely not the same man. He's never had the same face on any of the games, except for cameos, but here it's kinda very noticeable. His face is rounder, his eyes are squinted, and his hair makes an oval shape where before it would go down at that length. He's also much bulkier which gives the impression of physical strength but less agility. The outfit I chug off to it been a reflection of this new world because I would never see the staff of the previous titles making this design. Like I said, it's not bad or ugly but it's not in the motifs of the previous titles.
Physical alterations aside, when considering that here he was meant to be closer to than 1's age but in terms of character he's closer to 3 so I can't help but notice that it's not much of progression between the two and he's just as far away from 1's character as 3 was. The whole 'he's younger' thing goes out the window. However, in fairness, he isn't quite as full of sugar as 3's was which I guess it's their way of making him 'mature,' though he doesn't exactly scream 'adult.' Then again, these are the people who were too shy to show a kiss on screen so what can one expect from them to know about been mature.
Like I said, the world has, once again, changed and Dante with it. Now even slapstick sequences happen and the world has been traded for a brighter, more baroque/victorian background with nothing one would consider 'horror' to it. You could kinda argue the same for Dante whose become brighter and doesn't have anything resembling conflict and even has slapstick now. Because of those few instances where things go pretty bananas it has been said that Dante has become a parody of himself. It's true that the more serious undertones of Dante are all but gone but in fairness those sequences, while they do stick out like a missing front tooth, are not that many. He is a less hyperactive version of DMC3's Dante that manages to keep nearly the same level of energy at times without WOO'ing, though at others he's still pretty sluggish looking.
One thing, though, that I just can't stand is that this Dante is too infallible. Dude was right the whole time, he doesn't seem to make mistakes, and he never, ever, takes a punch. You can argue that letting Nero handle the situation was not the right decision and argue the rest of the game but let's face it, in the end he makes all the right choices to save the city, Nero, and his girlfriend. They made him too perfect and it's not interesting. He's not that human anymore and there is no struggle for him so what's really at stake? I know this is the Japanese way of showing these archetypes but from DMC1 Dante to DMC4's there is a significant difference and there is a lack of dynamic forces to go with the character.
In contrast to DMC1 Dante DMC4's too different to be the same person. He is definitely the same person as 3's Dante but in the walk from 1 to 4 we kinda added more of how we wanted Dante to be portrayed rather than how he was meant to be portrayed and the makers did, too. This Dante is more of the idealized take on the character and it's dull. He lacks flaws and he's too good at everything. The previous versions all had similar attributes but at least there they struggled and, except for 2, they even took a hit every now and then. Here, the way he breezes through everything, even the giant statue he can't kill, is just not exciting or interesting because, again, there is nothing at stake, and that kinda summarizes this Dante.
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Foxtrot94
Elite Hunter
I have to disagree that DMC4 Dante doesn't make mistakes and doesn't ever take a punch. At the beginning, he took quite a beating from Nero. The boy punched him pretty hard and stabbed him violently with his own sword.
Yeah, we all know that he was holding back, not fighting seriously, but that's the point right there, he made an amateur mistake underestimating Nero and got slapped for that.
Also, as pointed out, letting Nero handle the situation on his own was not exactly the smartest decision ever.
Yeah, we all know that he was holding back, not fighting seriously, but that's the point right there, he made an amateur mistake underestimating Nero and got slapped for that.
Also, as pointed out, letting Nero handle the situation on his own was not exactly the smartest decision ever.
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berto
I Saw the Devil
Oh, I know he took the beating, but it wasn't out of lack of options. He let him give him the beating to see how strong the boy was. Remember the 'You look like you were just playing me from the beginning' line? That's when Nero realized that Dante was just toying with him the whole time, that Dante could've taken him out at any point and that's probably more frustrating for Nero.
I call it purposeful. Since Dante couldn't destroy the thing from the outside he let Nero get capture to get inside the machine and destroy it from there. Also, since it's Nero's story they wanted to have Dante give Nero his approval and to do that he needed to save the girl and the day, too, and with Dante's encouragement and not of 'You can do it.'
Foxtrot94
Elite Hunter
Hmmm to me, Nero being inside the Savior felt more like a lucky coincidence that he exploited, rather than part of a previous Dante's plan, really. I don't believe he even had one, actually. He's not exactly famous for being that much of a strategist, you know...
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berto
I Saw the Devil
Not the easiest one to talk about but gotta keep pushing and certainly gotta try to be as unbiased as one can be.
Now, we know that this is the first time Dante has been written by a non-Japanese staff. That made an obvious impact on his character. Been another prequel/reboot/origin story, though, this is suppose to imply that this dude will eventually become DMC1 Dante, even if it is a reboot. In terms of character, though, I don't see that happening.
There is a lot of discussion about the quality of the character but I'll be refraining from that and just try to keep it as a comparison rant rather than criticize the quality of the writing.
When compared to the other iterations this Dante is closer to DMC3's. In fact, I think that was the intent since DMC3's was the most popular. The way he carries himself, his general attitude, and sometimes even the sense of humor. Since they are closer in age I'd assume that that's a factor for that decision, too.
One thing, which is possibly the most noticeable difference from this Dante and the previous one and the reason he catches so much flap; Here, in contrast to all the other Dantes, this Dante is much more... rude. I'm not just talking about the trust issues he has at the beginning where he was basically telling Vergil and Kat to pi** off or even about the cursing, either, that's a debate for a different topic. His overall behavior is crude, rude, and sometimes downright ass****ish. Now, the original wasn't polite by definition but the fact is he wasn't blatantly and actively been a d**k to anyone but his enemies.
The implication was the Dante was meant to be rebellious by nature but associating a rebellious nature with been a rude tw** as though it was a side effect or a natural extension of rebelliousness but that really only applies when you're been rebellious at home, to your parents, not to the governing forces or the establishments. If you actually think a rebellion involves teenage style rebellion then you are lacking some basic understanding of what it means to fight the ruling class, honestly. By the way, you can defend the slapping the soda out of the fat dude's hand all you want and give all the reasons why he was doing it out the kindness of his heart that you can come up with but it's not different than a vegan doing the same to you (If you don't believe that the I would ask that you try it out. Go out to anywhere you'd like, find a person whose drinking a soda and slap it out of their hand and tell them it's for their own good without ever turning to look at them).
This feels, yet again, like someone told another person that they had to make Dante 'cool' and their ideas of the topic were those. In fact, if I had to put a name on it I'd say Dante's world is too... internet. That is what I see, that this Dante's creators got all their notions of the world and what they perceive as cool off the internet. The things that frustrate young people today, what they are angry at and vent through the net are very present here and playing the parts of demons. Fox news, dept, police brutality, banks and wall street, the %1, and a bunch of other hot internet topics you see covered on The Young Turks and social media; Come on, even anonymous is in there and even they even used tweeter as the unifying voice of the people to tell the demons that 'we're awake,' the way that girl who gave testimony about how Dante went on a killing spree talked and you can't tell me those messages on the walls to Dante aren't just trolling him. Actually, that's a good way to differentiate the worlds, one is full of horror motifs while the other one is full of internet... ones (I was going to say 'memes' but that's a bit too condescending to keep the discussion fair).
And in all fairness this Dante is not as bad a character as he is made out to be. He has some depth and just because it's poorly explored, written, and executed doesn't mean he is without his own merit as his own persona. He's not a great character, in fact he is kinda bad, but he's not that bad, not to the extent he has been said to be by the general masses. Still, compared to the other Dante's, specifically the original, he is really not in the same vain. He shares enough traits and motivations that if he dressed the part you'd definitely know that what they were going for was Dante but his different enough from even DMC3's Dante to be a noticeably different person altogether, younger or not.
The best way I can think of to describe the difference between the two is that OG Dante spent more time hanging with the seediest parts of the 'underworld,' thugs, mercenaries, shady strip clubs, the mob, and the altogether criminal element, getting drunk on hard liquor while this Dante spends his time is younger, hipper places, full of more up to the minute music playing DJ's, and inhabited by younger people whose speech is still comprised of text lingo like OMG, and some even consort with demons/'the man,' drinking hard liquor. I can't think of a better way to point out what the underlining differences in the two characters are. One is Blade and the other is Deacon Frost... Kinda. That might be pushing it a bit, though.
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DarkSlayerZero
DMC1 Dante>>>>>>2-4
That got me thinking about one of my fav scenes from DMC1.
He's devastated that the very person he sought to protect turned on him.
berto
I Saw the Devil
It's Eva's theme, in this case, right?
DarkSlayerZero
DMC1 Dante>>>>>>2-4
Correct
DragonMaster2010
Don't Let the Fall of America be Your Fall
I'd say Berto and I have the same opinion on the Dantes except the difference of how we see the character of new Dante.
berto
I Saw the Devil
It happens. I do agree with alot of what you said but we do have some major underlying differences of opinion, and with things like this, perception of character, opinion weighs heavily on said perception. What're you gonna do?
V's patron
be loyal to what matters
berto
I Saw the Devil
Yeah, it's kinda accurate just not intentionally so.
The way people react to Nero in the game, if you ever notice, is not an appropriate reaction to what he says or does. Arrogant? Kind of a stretch. Cocky? Yeah, sure. Insulting? Foul mouth? No, not really, but everyone says he is. Why? He says 'hell hole' and Agnus loses his s**t. He says he's not big on frogs and the frog feels insulted. Meh. He is neither rude nor really that insulting and I've heard worse language out of a more polite game character. I think they wanted to make him arrogant and foul mouth but the makers were too shy to actually pull it off, either that or Japan in general wouldn't get behind showing the actions of what gives the reputation that without he wouldn't be as romantic.
I honestly think, though, that the Nero comparison comes mostly from the moves he inherited from him. Nero is too obsessed with Kirye, who's a little too Mary Sue, herself, to give new Dante anything in the way of edgy. He kinda revolves around her and her opinion carries far too much weight; Dante is too free spirited for him to have any Nero in him. But are they similar? Yeah, a bit. As a character Nero is supposed to be foul mouth so I guess they have that in common but not really. He is lippy and self sure, so it's not as though they're completely different but all the things that he shares with new Dante are traits they both inherited from the original Dante. The similarities are mostly physical rather than character specific since you could argue that what separates Nero from DMC3 Dante is the girlfriend.