Dante's demon-hunting quest is far from over, as Netflix has swiftly renewed "Devil May Cry" for a second season, mere days after the thrilling premiere of its inaugural chapter. Yet, for the streaming series to match the prowess of its video game predecessor, there's still a substantial journey ahead.
In Studio Mir's animated adaptation of "Devil May Cry," sinister forces conspire to unravel the barrier separating the human and demon realms, as the official synopsis intones. Only one man stands in their way: Dante, an orphan turned freelance demon-hunter, blissfully unaware that the very fate of both worlds rests upon his shoulders – or two men, if you count Adi Shankar, the showrunner, in this cosmic equation.
"Devil May Cry" burst onto the scene with impressive momentum. In its initial four days of availability, the animated series amassed 5.3 million views, equivalent to 21 million hours watched, spread across its robust runtime of three hours and 56 minutes, according to Netflix. This formidable debut propelled it to the fourth spot for the week of March 31, trailing only behind global sensations such as "Adolescence" (with 17.8 million views), "Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer" (13 million views), and Netflix's debut emergency-room procedural, "Pulse" (6.5 million views).
Last week, "Devil May Cry" conquered Netflix's top 10 lists in 87 countries, the streamer proudly declared. Among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, the series boasts a fresh rating of 95 percent.
The journey to bring "Devil May Cry" to life as a series has been a lengthy endeavor, weathering the storms of the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. With five mainline games, a reboot, an HD collection, and a mobile title already under its belt, the franchise's legacy runs deep. Johnny Yong Bosch, who lent his voice to the character Nero in the games, now voices Dante in the series. Meanwhile, Reuben Langdon, Dante's long-time voice actor in the games, also contributed to the motion capture for "Devil May Cry 3," "Devil May Cry 4," and "Devil May Cry 5," ensuring a seamless transition from game to screen.
