Devil May Cry is a series of video games set in the present, created by Hideki Kamiya, a video-game designer and developed by his employer Capcom and Clover Studio. The series' success has led to comic books, novelizations, two anime series, guides, collectibles and a variety of action figures. The first game focuses on devil hunter Dante's mission to avenge the death of his mother, Eva, by exterminating demons. In the process he encounters his long-lost twin brother, Vergil, with whom he has a dysfunctional relationship. As the story progresses, Dante encounter his father's nemesis, a demon emperor, Mundus, who is found to be responsible for the murder of Dante's mother.

Years after the first game, Capcom developed new Devil May Cry games with new characters. In Devil May Cry 2, an older Dante aids a woman named Lucia in freeing a town from the demons. In Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, a younger Dante awakens his demonic powers when confronting his brother and matures upon seeing Lady, a woman struggling to redeem her family. Devil May Cry 4 and Devil May Cry 5 focus on a young demon hunter named Nero who is related to Dante, as well as V, a young man who contracts Dante to hunt down a powerful demon, and later himself becomes entangled in a struggle to save Red Grave City and its inhabitants from the demon Urizen, which comprises the events of the latter game. Ninja Theory also created a reboot titled DmC: Devil May Cry that follows an alternate version of Dante as he learns of his heritage while confronting demons controlling Limbo.

The series has been adapted into animation twice, the first time in 2007, as a canonical anime series developed for Madhouse, as a sequel whose events are set between Devil May Cry and the then-unreleased Devil May Cry 4, and the second time in 2025 as Netflix series, set in a new continuity portraying new versions of these established characters.

Nero and several characters in Devil May Cry 2 and the later games were conceived by several staff members, most notably Bingo Morihashi with designers Daigo Ikeno and Tatsuya Yoshikawa, taking over. While each game changes the cast's designs, the RE Engine was used for Devil May Cry 5 to give them a more realistic look. Dante's characterization and role in the games was well received by game journalists with the recurring cast being praised since Devil May Cry 3 because of the handling of the narrative.

Conception and influences Series creator Hideki Kamiya said that the title character from the manga series Cobra, by Buichi Terasawa, was the basis for Dante. Dante wears a red cloak to make the character's actions more eye-catching; red is the traditional Japanese color for a hero. The game is very loosely based on the Italian poem the Divine Comedy by its use of allusions, including the game's protagonist Dante (named after Dante Alighieri) and other characters like Vergil (Virgil) and Trish (Beatrice Portinari). Dante and Lucia dressed in Diesel fashions appealed to the developers.

Shortly after the release of Devil May Cry 2, Hideaki Itsuno decided Capcom's staff should develop a new video game, Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening. Morihashi was once again employed, but this time took on a bigger role during the game's development. As he had no experience planning, he was given the role of writing the scenario. The game's main character, Dante, was given a different characterization than in the first Devil May Cry because his original creator, Hideki Kamiya, was not going to be involved with the project. While feeling his own take on the character did not equal the popularity of the original one, Bingo Morihashi enjoyed Dante's role in the game. Morihashi felt challenged creating the character of Vergil since he had no prior design experience yet he had to come up with an entire new one for the artists. Dante and Vergi's Devil Trigger forms were designed by Kazuma Kaneko of Atlus. The Capcom staff was impressed with Kaneko's work, and Daigo Ikeno felt that it was not difficult to model.

Devil May Cry 4 producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi said before the game's release that he wanted to make Dante appear more powerful than the other protagonist, Nero, to contrast the strength of a "veteran" with that of a "rookie". The series' storyline also required Dante to demonstrate his power after the first game and its prequel, Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening. Kobayashi said, "When creating a sequel, you don't want to make a character weak again from the start for no good reason. Everyone wanted to see Dante be just as powerful as they remembered him," emphasizing that playing as Dante without his previous abilities would otherwise feel "very strange". Both main characters' capabilities were part of the series' early development.

Several weapons in the series are character-specific. Character designer Tatsuya Yoshikawa said, "When working on this sort of game, the design doesn't come from just one person, it is necessary to take the history of the series and the feelings of the fans into consideration." Before designing the characters in Devil May Cry 4, Yoshikawa consulted staff members who had previously worked on the series to familiarize himself with previous elements. The characters were designed to emphasize their motion, and some demonic antagonists in Devil May Cry 4 resemble angels. These characters were designed to be attractive, while providing a contrast to other demons in the game. Yoshikawa noted that several main characters were somewhat difficult to design, but Nero was one of the greatest challenges of his career since the character would have to be accepted by the public and fit in the series' universe.

With regard to Devil May Cry 5, because the game's narrative was focused on Dante, Nero and V, Lady and Trish could not appear as playable characters again. In addition, Capcom's Matt Walker claimed Vergil would not be a playable character in the game, leaving "a bitter taste" in fans mouths. Itsuno explained the development team aimed for a "photo-realistic" graphics style. The returning characters' designs involved slight alterations to their Devil May Cry 4 iterations to fit their personalities. However, while few of the ideas for Dante and Nero were scrapped, V underwent nearly twenty redesigns. The new designs were also inspired by Carol Christian Poell as well as Daniel Craig and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Capcom used an older incarnation of Nero, so he would be "at the top of his game in body and mind". Because the game's graphics are meant to be as realistic as possible, each character is modeled after an actor. The staff wanted to generate a major emotional scene when Vergil reappears in the climax confronting his brother. As a result, Nero stops the brothers' feud and awakens his demonic powers to face his father. Itsuno said that Dante has a more mature personality and still wishes to protect humanity and honor the legacy of his father, Sparda.

Protagonists Dante

Dante, the series' primary protagonist, is a mercenary specializing in the paranormal and the main playable character in the first three Devil May Cry games."Demon's Legacy: Dante,". Game Informer. 179 (March 2008): 112–113. He is one of the twin sons of Sparda, a demon knight who sided with humanity and drove back an invasion of the human world by demons about 2,000 years before the series' events.Narrator: Two millenniums ago there was a war, between the human world and the other, the underworld, but somebody from the underworld woke up to justice and stood up against this legion, alone. His name was Sparda. Later he quietly reigned the human world and continued to preserve harmony until his death. He became a legend the legendary dark knight, Sparda. — The character was voiced by Drew Coombs in the original Devil May Cry and Matthew Kaminsky in Devil May Cry 2. Reuben Langdon voiced Dante in all subsequent appearances. Dante's Japanese voice is provided by Toshiyuki Morikawa. In the Netflix series, Dante is voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch.

Nero

Nero was introduced in Devil May Cry 4. An orphan adopted by the Sparda-worshipping Order of the Sword, Nero grew up to become a Holy Knight of the Order. He does not get along well with others and prefers to work alone, so he is usually given the Order's "special assignments". He is the son of Vergil, which also makes him the nephew of Dante and the grandson of Sparda. The character is voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch in English, and by Kaito Ishikawa in Japanese. Nero returns as one of the primary protagonists in Devil May Cry 5.

Trish

Trish is a demon created by Mundus who strangely resembles Dante's mother, Eva. She has enhanced strength and agility, accelerated healing and the ability to use lightning. As a playable character in Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition she also fights using unarmed strikes, pistols and the sword Force Edge. In English, Trish is voiced by Sarah Lafleur in Devil May Cry, and Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble, Danielle Burgio in Devil May Cry 4 and Marvel vs. Capcom 3/Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Wendee Lee in Devil May Cry 5, and Luci Christian in The Animated Series. In Japanese, she is voiced by Atsuko Tanaka.

Lady

Lady is a freelance demon hunter. A human, she is skilled in acrobatics and armed close quarters combat. Lady has black hair, eyes of different colors and a signature weapon, the Kalina-Ann (a customized missile launcher, similar to a real-life MANPADS weapon that has a grappling hook launcher and a bayonet attached to it.) When fighting, she also uses a CZ75 pistol with a compensator and a VZ61 submachine gun equipped with a bayonet. She was named Mary by her father, Arkham, but she renounced the name when he murdered her mother in a ritual to obtain demonic power, an act which drove Mary to psychosis and obsessive vengeance. Lady first appears in Devil May Cry 3,"Demon's Legacy: Lady," GameInformer 179 (March 2008): 113. and when she refuses to identify herself to Dante; he replies, "Whatever, lady!"Dante: You're right. So tell me, what's your name? Lady: I don't have a name. Dante: Oh, then what should I call you? Lady: I don't care. Whatever you want. Dante: Whatever, lady. I'll leave this to you, because I don't want to miss the party. (Devil May Cry 3) Capcom, 2005 Lady formalizes her name in the game's denouement when she shoots Arkham, telling him that "Mary" is dead.Lady: Mary died a long time ago. My name is Lady. Devil May Cry 3 Capcom, 2005 Although she is not a villain, her role in Devil May Cry 3 is that of an antagonist, as she seeks to deter Dante and even fights him twice before finally coming to terms with him. Lady also appears as a playable character in the Special Edition re-release of Devil May Cry 4, added alongside Trish and Vergil. In the Netflix series, Lady is voiced by Scout Taylor-Compton.

Lucia