Adi Shankar’s ‘Castlevania’ Follow-Up Is Even Better Than the Games

Thanks to live-action television hits like The Last of Us and Fallout, it’s probably safe to say that the epidemic of poor video game adaptations has officially ended. Sure, not every one has been a winner, but the game-inspired movies and shows being made today are a far cry from the abysmal offerings we were subjected to. Somewhere in between the box office bombs of yesteryear and the Emmy-winning shows we have today, Adi Shankar was among the first to make real progress in this astronomical leap in quality with Netflix’s Castlevania — the animated vampire-hunting delight that perfectly emulated the spirit and storytelling of a long-running and beloved franchise.

Now, Shankar and his Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix collaborator Alex Larsen aim to do the same thing again with Devil May Cry. Up until recently, with the release of the highly acclaimed Devil May Cry 5, this series has long remained dormant, with even a well-received yet controversial reboot failing to spark much interest. After watching all eight episodes of the new series, however, odds are viewers will follow the example of Fallout fans and want to learn everything they can about this cult-classic franchise, as Netflix’s Devil May Cry is just as good, if not better, than the games that inspired it.

What Is ‘Devil May Cry’ About?

Devil May Cry begins in a world not dissimilar to ours, with the only key difference being that demons walk among humanity in complete and total secrecy. While the majority of the United States is blissfully ignorant of this fact, that hasn’t stopped a small contingent of demon hunters from taking on freelance scores for the highest bidder. The most notorious of all of these hunters is a gun-slinging, pizza-loving jokester named Dante (voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch, who actually plays a different character in the Devil May Cry video games). While Dante may look like your average Hot Topic customer, he’s actually much more significant to both the human world and the demon world than he thinks. This all becomes apparent when Dante gets caught up in a shadowy war between the human-led demon-hunting government shadow op DARKCOM and a sadistic anthropomorphic monster known only as the White Rabbit (Hoon Lee).

Unlike Castlevania, which was primarily based on Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, Devil May Cry isn’t based on a single game from the series, but instead incorporates a wide variety of elements from the entire franchise. The White Rabbit, for example, never actually appeared in any of the games, but instead originates from the manga adaptation of Devil May Cry 3. Even though it doesn’t directly follow one game beat for beat, Netflix’s Devil May Cry demonstrates a remarkable reverence to the source material when it comes to tone and characters, particularly through some A+ worldbuilding.

The glorious ’80s/’90s-inspired aesthetic only scratches the surface of the deeper world Devil May Cry takes place in. Both the human world and the demon plane are approached with a remarkable level of detail and nuance that easily sets them apart from other demon-slaying stories that are abundant in other action/comedy/horror hybrids. The result is something far deeper than one would expect from a white-haired punk rocker fighting an evil talking rabbit. This even translates to the Netflix series’ impeccable character designs. Even the most minor of supporting players are designed as if they’re going to be mains, with everything from their wardrobe, body language, and more helping to tell a story just through visuals alone.

Dante Has Never Looked This Good in ‘Devil May Cry’

Devil May Cry is and always will be an action series at its core, whether in video game or animated form, and the Netflix show delivers on every level. The new adaptation absolutely relishes its over-the-top action sequences, with Dante gleefully chewing up the scenery despite his corny one-liners. Dante himself manages to have the same immature tendencies without ever becoming unlikable or annoying. If anything, much like the show itself, Dante has more depth as a protagonist than he has ever had before in the games, and the thrilling action sequences as well as Bosch’s charismatic performance as a younger, more naive Dante certainly help.

It also helps that Dante has a great supporting cast to bounce off of in Devil May Cry. The most prominent of all of them is Agent Arkham, otherwise known as Lady (Scout Taylor-Compton), who has just about as much urgency in the plot as Dante does — and to great success, at that. The White Rabbit earns a massive overhaul that greatly establishes him as a true threat to Dante and the wider globe, and he doesn’t waste one second onscreen. Devil May Cry even features a brilliant posthumous performance from the late great Kevin Conroy, with the best Batman of all time injecting his unparalleled charm into a fascinating depiction of a mysterious and powerful Vice President.

The only place where Devil May Cry stumbles in its story is the allusions to an essential character in Dante’s history. Fans of the games probably already know who this character is, and he has been referenced in the marketing, but given that the character’s role in this inaugural season is rather minimal, that may have been a mistake. This character might have greatly benefited from being kept as a total surprise as opposed to being frequently brought up, only to result in an admittedly predictable twist.

‘Devil May Cry’ Is So Much More Than Mindless Hack and Slashing

With stunning animation and great game-accurate music, Devil May Cry soars when it comes to its visual storytelling. Most of the series is balls-to-the-wall action that is consistently a visual treat, but the moments when the show slows down aren’t worth scoffing at either. One episode in particular does a deep dive into not one, but two of the show’s characters and does it all with almost no dialogue and varying animation styles. It is a true masterpiece that further shows that Shankar has a deep reverence for meaningful and methodical storytelling.

Amid all the blood, gore, and demon slaying, Devil May Cry has so much more to say than simply “humans are good” and “demons are bad.” It has a world that immerses its viewers in a place that might seem very different from our own, yet is one that deals with the same moral dilemmas that we face. The show is locked and loaded with meaningful themes of imperialism and prejudice that ring eerily similar to what the real world is experiencing today, particularly as it pertains to the United States.

To put it simply, Adi Shankar and Netflix have done it again with Devil May Cry. This is a show that could have easily gotten away with being just a fun and simple action romp with a few good jokes and action setpieces. Instead, Devil May Cry goes above and beyond to deliver a brilliant animated series that is as thematically rich as it is wildly entertaining. Right alongside Creature Commandos, Devil May Cry isn’t just one of the best new animated shows of 2025, it’s one of the best shows of the year so far overall, and one that’s deserving of the same level of success that Castlevania has rightly enjoyed.

Devil May Cry premieres April 3 on Netflix.