Devil May Cry3, Code: 2, “Vergil”

The Devil May Cry 3 manga is a series chronicling the events leading up to the Devil May Cry 3 (DMC3 for short) prequel video game. The first manga follows a very young, very immature Dante as he takes on jobs fighting demons and solving mysteries; all while half naked. In the second manga, we watch Dante’s twin brother, Vergil- also very young, but very mature- descend into darkness and embrace his demonic half in order to gain the powers of Hell.

plot summary

Vergil, like his twin brother Dante, is the son of the legendary dark knight Sparda. However, unlike Dante though, Vergil whole heartedly accepts his darker nature and quests for ever more power. He has thrown his lot in with the equally power hungry human, Arkham, and together the two explore ways to break the seals of the under world and raise the dark tower, Temen-ni gru.

Interestingly, Alice, the damsel in not-quite-distress from the previous manga, is “living” with Arkham and Vergil in the haunted mansion, also from the previous manga. Alice still hasn’t given up thoughts of becoming an adult and hunts down Dante for some obscure purpose.

Dante meanwhile, has more and more jobs to handle as Vergil’s dark quest unleashes new demons into the human world. Dante suspects his brother of the recent demonic activity and eventually confronts him after Alice steals something precious to Dante and brings it to Vergil.

Dante however, must confront more than his brother, and will need to come to terms to with what it means to be the son of Sparda.

review

“Dude, someone else did this manga!” was what came to mind halfway through reading the second installment of the Devil May Cry 3 manga. The first manga, “Dante” didn’t get a glowing review, mainly because the art was too muddy and the dialog was too cheesy.

The art for “Vergil” is still a bit sloppy, but there are some panels that really stand out and look as if they were inked by someone other than Suguro Chayamachi, the mangaka behind the DMC 3 series. The dialog actually improved as well, with only a touch of cheese, and that only when Dante shows up. Hmmm, gee, I wonder if there’s a connection between Dante and bad dialog? I seriously got up from my reading halfway through the book to compare manga covers; it felt that strongly like a different mangaka wrote and illustrated ‘Vergil”.

Maybe it felt different because this manga was primarily about the more mature and more stoic Vergil, or maybe it was because the subject matter of the second book actually got close to offering something resembling an explanation, or it could have been the feeling of “plot” that cropped up halfway through; whatever it was, Code: 2 didn’t feel like the first manga.

The story focuses on Vergil and his attempts at capturing the powers of the demon world. We don’t see much motive behind his actions, or much development of his or other characters. However, there is something approximating a plot in Code 2; something more sturdy than the flimsy one the first manga had.

The Wonderland crew from Code: 1 makes an appearance halfway through the story, sans Rabbi. Yet, Alice’s involvement in the manga isn’t necessary and there isn’t an explanation as to why she’s in the story to begin with. Alice’s appearance in “Vergil” could have been done without.

There’s a none too surprising walk-on in the manga by DMC3’s leading lady along with a touch of human interest and character development to boot! We get a small feel of what Lady was like before her daddy went totally psycho and she was scarred forever; emotionally and physically.

Action and ass-kicking abound once more in the follow up to “Dante”, with the added allure of seeing the cool-headed Vergil strut his stuff. Dante has new demons to fight and new ways to cause pain as his powers begin to stir and awaken. But his lame one-liners ruin what should be impressive scenes:

“If I wanted to be nagged endlessly, I’d get married.”

Take a page from your bro Dante, and let your inner demon devour inner comedian.

Character designs were about the same as Code: 1 and weren’t terribly impressive. Most of the designs are from the game anyway, so nothing new had to be invented as much if there were no game to base designs from.

Though the art was an improvement over ‘Dante”, it still wasn’t as good as it could have been. Some panels were absolutely fantastic while others were messy ink stains; the quality was all over the place.

Overall, the manga felt unfinished. Even though the manga is a lead-in to the third game, it felt as if the loose ends weren’t tied up the way they should have. There’s a rumor- rumor, mind you- that there’s a Code 3: Lady being made, but I cannot attest in any way shape or form that this true. But if it is, then the manga series could actually end on a high note.

Code: 2, “Vergil” is a definite improvement over its predecessor and was entertaining, but still fails to be conclusive or tidy.