Netflix’s Devil May Cry anime will officially return for a second season, continuing the dangling plot threads laid out in the season one finale. While it was obvious that more was planned, it’s now clear Netflix has faith in the anime, and grander plans for its future.
To date, this adaptation has received largely positive reviews from critics and audiences, and it’s been floating around the top shows on the Netflix charts. It’s also contributed to a bump in interest for the Devil May Cry video games, with sales growing in the week following the show’s debut.
More interest in the Devil May Cry games is certainly well-appreciated, and there’s every hope their renewed popularity might inspire Capcom to consider a return for the franchise. It’s been six long years since the release of the blockbuster Devil May Cry 5, and while there has been a mobile spin-off released in that gap, franchise fans have still been relatively underserved, recently.
Netflix’s Devil May Cry is a bump for those players patiently waiting for more – although it’s worth noting there has been some griping about the tone and subject matter of this show, and its accuracy to the source material.
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Like DmC: Devil May Cry before it, this is a story that takes certain liberties with the lore of the franchise – and not just in casting Johnny Yong Bosch (who usually plays Dante’s nephew, Nero, in the series) as Dante. In this particular adaptation, Lady is reimagined as a cop in a paramilitary demon-killing army. Dante is fairly similar to his in-game counterpart in personality (cringe), but lacks the experience and knowledge of his heritage, at first.
The first season of the anime also focusses on an original villain, with much of the action focussed on his rise, and the encroachment of a mysterious new demon realm. With such a tight focus, the first season doesn’t really give the franchise’s characters lots of opportunities to shine – but with that second season now confirmed, we’re likely to see a significant expansion of the anime’s scope.
As for what to expect of Devil May Cry: Season 2, let’s briefly venture into spoiler territory.
SPOILER ALERT: The following paragraphs discuss the ending of the first season of Devil May Cry.
The first teaser poster for the next season of Devil May Cry has revealed one core hint about what to expect. At the conclusion of the first season, Lady captured and imprisoned Dante in the bowels of DARKCOM, as a means to protect the world from his power.
In the season two poster, we see Dante has significantly longer hair, suggesting some time may have passed between the first and second seasons, and that possibly Dante will be imprisoned for some time before he escapes.
That may leave room for the rise of Vergil, who was teased as being alive and well at the conclusion of the season. As game fans will know, Vergil is Dante’s (usually) evil twin brother, who seeks to gain more power, and rule the world (when he’s not splitting himself in half and growing big demonic trees).
The conclusion of the first season sets up a very rich backdrop for the next chapter, which should lean more heavily into game lore, as Vergil takes centre stage.
At this stage, Netflix hasn’t confirmed an exact release date for the second season of Devil May Cry, but we do expect to hear more in the coming months.
