Devil May Cry Season 2 Review

In April of last year, Netflix released a new anime with the resounding title Devil May Cry. As you might guess, it’s an adaptation of the game series of the same name, helmed by the somewhat niche but well-known Adi Shankar. The man made a name for himself with another game adaptation, Castlevania, so he certainly knows a thing or two about brooding men with big swords. Naturally, the first season sparked a storm of criticism. As usual, fans didn’t like anything at all. But that’s a familiar story. I, the author of this text, reviewed the first season and, on the contrary, really liked it. The creators managed to capture the core of Devil May Cry—the crazy, over-the-top essence of the project. A year later, it’s time for the second season. Unfortunately, this conversation will be less pleasant.

The first season was clearly experimental. Even though viewers were introduced to Dante and Lady in all their glory, it was clear that no one really delved into the mythology of the universe. The story didn’t commit to anything, and the antagonist was only loosely connected to the main evil of Devil May Cry—the demons. However, the finale left a massive hint about the appearance of the second iconic character, Dante’s brother Vergil. This pretty much left the creators with no choice, and in the second season, they had to work closely with the original material.

The result is partly good, but even I was surprised by the final outcome. Almost from the start, they explain who Vergil is, why he’s so different from Dante, and why he’s not exactly a hero. There’s also the ever-present demon Mundus, who, canonically, is responsible for the brothers’ parents’ deaths. But everything else turned out to be, to put it mildly, unusual. I’m not a purist and don’t criticize adaptations just because they don’t follow the source material exactly. At least, not when the creators aren’t constantly saying in every interview that they’re faithfully following the original. Hi, Lauren Hissrich, showrunner of The Witcher—remember how Netflix ruined its main fantasy series?

For some unknown reason, Eva, the mother of Dante and Vergil, didn’t really love the second twin. This is stated almost directly, although the script tries to contradict itself. During the fire and demon attack, Eva saves Dante, but for some reason doesn’t even try to save his brother. A bit earlier, we see a scene where Eva explains to Vergil that he’s special because he needs to train and study more to reach the same heights Dante already achieved without preparation. According to the creators, this is supposed to add ambiguity to the mother’s character, but in practice it just looks odd: the woman can’t seem to make up her mind about her own children.

And it gets even weirder. It turns out Mundus didn’t always rule the demon world, which is canon. Long ago, the supreme villain was just a servant to an even more cunning creature, the Lord of Chaos Argosax—which isn’t quite canon. The demon was powerful and cool, but in the end was betrayed by his own followers, including Mundus. As a result, the main antagonist of the original feels like a pretty normal guy throughout the second season, who cares much more about the lives of his own subjects than his predecessor did. And suddenly, Sparda isn’t much of a hero either. He didn’t close the portal from hell to protect people at all, and he never really loved Eva. Sparda’s children are nothing more than an experiment meant to evolve, so the murder of their mother is, in general, a justified step. The brothers were never really needed by their father.

Interestingly, just like the games, the series deliberately avoids giving a clear answer about Sparda’s fate. In the second season, viewers get a big flashback of the Dark Knight’s battle with Mundus, but once again it’s unclear what ultimately happened to the swordsman. Whether he’s alive or dead seems destined to remain Devil May Cry’s greatest secret.

All of this is layered over current events, where humans continue to wage a fierce war against demons, led by a playboy and philanthropist named Arius who looks so obviously evil that there’s no doubt about his role. Dante, meanwhile, is in cryosleep, and Lady is still wracked with guilt, blaming herself for the situation. Arius needs to find several relics to activate a mega-weapon that can destroy Mundus in one blow. The King of Hell learns of this and sends Vergil to the human world to thwart the businessman’s plans. This, naturally, leads to Dante being unfrozen. That’s the setup for the story.

For fans, all of the above might sound like a death sentence, but let’s be honest: the original Devil May Cry was never known for its story. Sure, there are five games, but conceptually they all boil down to a very simple formula: a big demon appears, the heroes lose, then spend the whole game getting stronger so they can beat the villain in a rematch. Or, if the demon doesn’t show up right away, the heroes take a long journey to try and beat him on the first go. That’s it. Things were a bit better in the reimagining DmC: Devil May Cry, but, thanks to the same fans, the concept was buried before it could be developed—despite the fact that the game was excellent. If you love adventure, we recommend checking out our selection at best action-adventure games on PC, PS5, Xbox, and Switch.

In a sense, the series follows in the footsteps of DmC: Devil May Cry, expanding the world around the two half-brother protagonists. They don’t live in a vacuum or spend all day and night wandering gothic castles; they have friends, enemies, and relationships. Dante faces the political machine, where his reckless behavior isn’t just unacceptable—it’s dangerous. Vergil, meanwhile, struggles to integrate into the demon world. The creatures don’t accept a warrior who looks human, and being Sparda’s son doesn’t make things any easier. Only Mundus’s will keeps the katana-loving blue brother afloat. All of this, again, sounds promising—but the details matter.

And it’s the details where things fall apart, in a big way. First, the plot. The story seems fine at first, but ends up spread so thin that it’s hard to follow. The first season was tightly constructed and didn’t let up, while the second feels needlessly drawn out—even though there are only eight episodes. All the characters are busy with something, but it feels more like chaotic running back and forth than real development. And the pacing is constantly thrown off by flashbacks. In the first season, Lady and Rabbit’s backstories were important and helped flesh out the characters.

The antagonist’s motivation actually became the main turning point of the whole story, forcing viewers to look at the plot from a completely different angle. Now we get long sequences with Vergil, Arius, and even Mundus, but almost nothing happens in them that would affect how we perceive the events. On top of that, Arius is clearly a throwaway villain, and there’s no point in exploring his character. For comparison, let’s remember Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, where Dante met his brother for the first time. No one spelled out their past; just a few lines were enough to piece together the bigger picture—quite accurately, too. There were no twenty-minute flashbacks.

The second problem is the characters. Things aren’t smooth here either. Dante’s character was well portrayed in the first season, and it seemed like it would be hard to change or ruin him. Nevertheless, just like in the second game, the main wisecracker suddenly becomes very serious and grim. Occasionally, the old Dante peeks through, but so rarely that it feels like someone else wrote a couple of lines for the script and then left. Vergil, who in the original was set apart from Dante by his incredible level of swagger and professionalism, suddenly acts just like his brother. He’s very emotional, even when it doesn’t seem appropriate. Lady is also grim and serious this time—more so than in the first season. Her only difference from the other main characters is that she swears a lot.

In my opinion, this is a serious misstep by the creators. If Dante and Vergil had been copies of each other in the games, only differing in cloak color, the project probably wouldn’t have become so popular. Their conflict and different life paths were apparent without lengthy explanations and were baked into their behavior. Despite looking alike, it was almost impossible to mix them up.

Moreover, many personality details are stated by the characters but never shown in their actions. For example, several characters mention that Lady is in love with Dante. But in the first season, this was never demonstrated. Maybe she has a thing for frozen guys, but that’s just a joke. In the second season, the characters act as if they’re continuing already established relationships, which feels odd. It’s also repeatedly said that Dante is an uncontrollable joker. But it’s only said—he neither jokes before nor after these moments. As I mentioned, he hardly resembles a fun-loving guy—not only compared to the games but even to the first season. The same goes for Vergil. All his training and experience seem to vanish when Dante shows up, and they end up as equals. If we recall the third game, during their first meeting, Dante couldn’t do anything against Vergil.

Here’s another observation that will appeal to those who saw an “agenda” in the first season. When the anime came out last year, it was criticized for basically making Lady the main character, while Dante appeared more like a guest star. I mentioned this in my review as well, though I never thought Lady’s character was overly agenda-driven.

Now, the creators have added another central male character. It was critically important to develop Vergil not just as Dante’s opponent, but as a complex and conflicted anti-hero. As a result, Lady has naturally moved into the background. But the final image of Vergil turned out, frankly, not as one would hope. At one point, the character himself declares that he won’t let anyone push him around, but that’s exactly what happens. The blue one changes sides and opinions so often that it’s unintentionally funny.

The rest of the characters can only be described as forgettable. Lady’s boss has finally turned from a leader into a fanatical fool, ready to ignore even the obvious out of his righteous hatred for demons. If such a person existed in real life, he’d hardly rise to a high position. Arius is cartoonish and looks so villainous that his betrayal is only a surprise to the heroes. He’s positioned as an uncompromising threat the entire season, yet ends up sitting in a demon’s belly, and that’s it.

At one point, a completely new old wizard appears and brings… his granddaughter into the plot. The girl is absolutely useless to the story and serves only two functions: to show that Vergil doesn’t kill absolutely everyone, and to help Lady at a crucial moment. Yet, an entire chunk of an episode is devoted to this child, meant to be funny, which is a lot considering the short runtime. What’s more, in a cartoon that freely shows fountains of blood and guts, this feels out of place. Meanwhile, a supposed sex scene between Lady and Dante is tactfully cut, leaving only a hint: Dante kisses the girl, then gets out of bed half-dressed. What’s going on in the creators’ minds regarding the target audience is a big mystery.

Only Mundus pleased me. In the games, he was always pure evil. Now the demon has motivation and even some kind of personal truth. His appearance as a giant winged statue is quite canonical, and the battle between Mundus and Argosax is impressive. For the first time, the villain really looks like someone who could have led a rebellion and won—not just through strength, but by cunning and intelligence.

Still, the second season has undeniable strengths that make it worth watching. I’m talking about the action and the music. These two pillars carry the entire show, including the plot. The fights are still staged with high quality, so watching the fun action montages never gets old. Fans will notice many moves straight from the games, which is, of course, a delight.

As for the music, well, it seems the creators have turned the show into a series of music videos. Every episode features at least one well-known track, and when combined with the action, it works brilliantly. You’ll hear both iconic tracks from the games and global hits like Drowning Pool’s “Bodies.” The synergy between action and music is fantastic, bringing back the drive of the first season. Each song matches what’s happening on screen, creating the illusion that the characters are moving almost in rhythm. By the way, for fans and enthusiasts, we’ve make DmC: Devil May Cry review

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The second season of Devil May Cry left me with far more mixed feelings than I expected. The show has its share of problems, and the handling of the main characters could have been deeper. Nevertheless, the series is still captivating thanks to its spectacular battles and great music, which makes you want to forgive everything else. If you’re a die-hard fan of the original games, you probably won’t like it—although, to be fair, you were probably disappointed back in season one. Everyone else will be able to enjoy it, albeit with some reservations. However, if you're looking for something else, we recommend checking out this list: What to watch in May 2026.