I mean the phrase itself. I know a devil may cry attitude refers to reckless behaviour and a general disregard for danger, but does anyone know how that idiomatic meaning relates to the literal meaning of the words themselves? I.e. why would the devil be crying if a person was reckless? You'd think he'd be all for it...
What does Devil May Cry actually mean?
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Chancey289
Fake Geek Girl.
This question was answered in the first game. Devils in the Devil May Cry universe are thought to have no empathy. Which is why there's the phrase "Devils never cry" thrown about as well.
However, this is not true. Demons are capable of empathy just as much as humans are because Trish cries for Dante in DMC 1. Plus, a part of Sparda "waking to justice" was seeing humanity's capability for empathy. He also fell in love with Eva.
"Devils never cry" is false. Devil MAY Cry.
Does sound pretty cool though too.
However, this is not true. Demons are capable of empathy just as much as humans are because Trish cries for Dante in DMC 1. Plus, a part of Sparda "waking to justice" was seeing humanity's capability for empathy. He also fell in love with Eva.
"Devils never cry" is false. Devil MAY Cry.
Does sound pretty cool though too.
Chancey289
Fake Geek Girl.
Yea, that was pretty sappy and lame.
WolfOD64
That Guy Who Hates Fox McCloud
Well, those are my controlled opinions about the game. I do know that a lot of people find that scene to be "touching", or whatever, so I apologize in advance if I offend anyone.
Foxtrot94
Elite Hunter
Basically the cutscene with Dante and Lady at the end of DMC3, after Vergil's loss, answers your question the best:
- Are you crying?
- It's only the rain.
- The rain has already stopped.
- Devils never cry.
- I see. Maybe somewhere out there even a devil may cry when he loses a loved one. Don't you think?
The phrase means that even demons, considered ruthless and only capable of evil by popular lore, can feel human sentiments and shed tears for those they care about. Just like Dante did when Vergil got lost forever.
This theme is further explored in DMC3 in opposition to human nature: Arkham, a human, did horrible things to achieve the power of Sparda and become a god, while Dante, a demon (as well as Sparda himself), actually possesses a human heart capable of love and compassion. So, as Lady says, there are humans as cruel and evil as any devil, as well as kind and compassionate demons in this universe.
It's a recurring theme in the series.
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dreadnought_dante
And the brighter the flame, the deeper the shadow
first time i heard Devil May Cry, i thought this meant "He will make the devil cry".
well its not.
@Foxtrot94 pretty much explained it.
well its not.
@Foxtrot94 pretty much explained it.
Enzo did imply in one of his testimonies that the name of the shop references Dante's might, against which even a devil may cry, so you were not alone in this. XD
But, yeah, it was always the fact that despite being a devil, one may experience sadness over loss, if they are open to it.
Chancey289
Fake Geek Girl.
Well...um, you know, like I said, the answer was given to us already in the first game.
Devil May Cry just comes from the misconception that demons aren't capable of empathy.
Simple as that.
Devil May Cry just comes from the misconception that demons aren't capable of empathy.
Simple as that.
Foxtrot94
Elite Hunter
This is actually the first time I hear that, it's interesting and makes sense, in a way LOL
And that's where real strength comes from. Compassion and love are the real Power of Sparda everyone has looked to reach throughout the games. You can acquire his demonic powers, but without a just cause to serve, and no one to protect, you will never be as he was.
- The Power of Sparda... WHY WON'T YOU GIVE ME STRENGTH?! Am I not worthy?
- Never could take those legends too literally. But I do know that Sparda had a heart. A heart that could love another person. A human. And that is what you lack!
Dialogue between Nero and Sanctus Diabolica - Devil May Cry 4
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I think this must be it. Probably the demon's are going to cry when they meet Dante.
I don't think the phrase "Devil never cry" has much to do with the meaning of "Devil May Cry". In the first game they coined the phrase at the end to mean that if you can cry then you're more than just a devil, and used the alteration of the game title/shop name to emphasise it's significance, but I don't think that implies anything about the meaning of the original phrase. If you think about it it would be really weird for a professional demon hunter to give his business a name stating that demons have feelings too.
Chancey289
Fake Geek Girl.
Like I said, the answer is already given in Devil May Cry so there's really no need to go any further with decoding its definition. Especially when all 3 did was reduce it to a really sappy and typical element for more melodrama.
Most believe demons are not capable of empathy. That's not true. Devil may cry.
When it came to naming his shop though, you can assume his mindset was due to Enzo's testimony about Dante's strength against demons. Dante's got an ego and can be full of himself. It makes sense for him to name his shop within that context doesn't it? Sounds like something Dante would do. It's what I always believed.
Foxtrot94
Elite Hunter
He named his shop Devil May Cry in memory of what happened in DMC3 with Vergil and what Lady told him. Kinda like some sort of reminder to himself not to forget his humanity, cause that's what makes him different: in that scene with Lady, he says that devils never cry out of shame, but he actually was crying.
Lady's phrase "Maybe somewhere out there even a Devil May Cry when he loses a loved one" was what made him pick the name for his shop, as explained in DMC3's very final cutscene.
berto
I Saw the Devil
Devil May Cry is Japanese title that belongs with the pile of other Japanese action names like:
Killer is Dead
Shadows of the Damned
Infinite Undiscovery
Wild Arms
Lily Bergamo
No More Heroes
Liberation Maiden
Bravely Default
Melty Blood
Guilty Gear
Metal Gear Solid/Acid/Rising
One Night Kiss
Twilight Syndrome
Advent Children
Why Don't You Play In Hell?
Death Trance
Wild 7
HellDriver
SoulCalibur
PsychoBreak
Digital Devil Saga
Need I add any more. Just add Devil May Cry anywhere in that list and tell me it doesn't belong. I dare you, I TRIPLE DOG dare you.
Killer is Dead
Shadows of the Damned
Infinite Undiscovery
Wild Arms
Lily Bergamo
No More Heroes
Liberation Maiden
Bravely Default
Melty Blood
Guilty Gear
Metal Gear Solid/Acid/Rising
One Night Kiss
Twilight Syndrome
Advent Children
Why Don't You Play In Hell?
Death Trance
Wild 7
HellDriver
SoulCalibur
PsychoBreak
Digital Devil Saga
Need I add any more. Just add Devil May Cry anywhere in that list and tell me it doesn't belong. I dare you, I TRIPLE DOG dare you.
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Chancey289
Fake Geek Girl.
This is just kinda weird and arbitrary man.
There's different reasons behind the names of the titles you mentioned. "Devil May Cry" has a reason too. They aren't just throwing stuff together in some "different Japanese mindset" you're trying to claim there is. That doesn't even make any sense really.
(Devil May Cry also isn't just a title used by a video game. My girlfriend has a novel titled that which is a part of some series she reads.)
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Winterfrost
Shadow-of-Sundered-Star
Devil may cry - meaning the demons may **** themselves when finding Dante.
berto
I Saw the Devil
So you are telling me that if those same titles were made in the US or other English speaking countries there is a very strong possibility that they would be called the same thing they are now? You think that before Devil May Cry was named anyone else would've made something with the same title, or even any of the other ones? That when Japan names things in English there isn't any notion that that title came from Japan, that by title alone you couldn't tell it was Japanese?
Face it, there is a motif to Japanese names and DMC fits into the pile. All of those could have more sensible titles if they were made elsewhere (In Lily Bergamo's case a more conventional name) but they go with a more stylized action titles there and the difference is palpable.
By the way, with this game? The fact is that there is a very strong possibility that they named the game well before they came up with a theme to go with it, that they picked a cool name and then they wrote it into the story. It was a Resident Evil game for a lot longer than it was DMC.
Yeah, I've seen it, and when was it published? Yeah. There is nothing that was named Devil May Cry before the games, m8, it's where it comes from. There is also a Rap album from Donnie Darko by that name but nothing precedes DMC1.
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Thank you for the replies people. It seems I need to play DMC3 before making any judgement about the meaning of the title so for now I'll just take your word for it. I would have done that before making this thread but as meg pointed out I confused it with devil may care and was expecting an out of game explanation for it's meaning.
Just because Japanese titles often have nonsensical seeming English doesn't mean they weren't trying to convey anything with it, and many of the ones you posted weren't nonsensical at all. I haven't played most of those games so I can't comment on what they signify, but it's clear what "killer is dead" means in a game where you go around killing killers, and "bravely default" (which I haven't actually played) is a reference to one of the game's key mechanics.
Just because Japanese titles often have nonsensical seeming English doesn't mean they weren't trying to convey anything with it, and many of the ones you posted weren't nonsensical at all. I haven't played most of those games so I can't comment on what they signify, but it's clear what "killer is dead" means in a game where you go around killing killers, and "bravely default" (which I haven't actually played) is a reference to one of the game's key mechanics.