Devil May Cry
Label: Manga Entertainment.
Certificate:15
Discs: 3. (12 episodes)
Running time: 296 mins approx
Video: 16.9 anamorphic
Sound: English 5.1, Japanese 5.1
Subtitles: English.
Release date: 19th October 2009
RRP: £24.99- Amazon – Play
Brief synopsis:
If you’re looking to save the world and make a quick buck then “Devil hunter for hire” may seem like a tempting job prospect. Unfortunately for Dante, adulation and riches are about the last thing that running his demon extermination agency, Devil May Cry, has ever brought his way. Held in contempt by demon-kind whilst never really fitting into the human world due to his own half demon / half human heritage, Dante’s a fearsome figure to all those who would upset the balance between the human and demon worlds. Wielding mighty twin pistols “Ebony & Ivory” and an immense sword he likes to call “Rebellion”, Dante’s only weakness is pizza, his rather erratic partners and his own inability to ever hold onto any money. Sometimes he hunts the demons, sometimes they hunt him, but there’s only one place his enemies are heading; Straight to Hell and Dante’s just the man to send them there.
Comments:
There’s been a number of adaptations of video games to the big and/or small screen over the last few years, running the gamut from the good to the bad to the downright ugly. This anime version of Devil May Cry is thankfully in the good – though not by any means great – category. It’s certainly not going to please every Devil May Cry fan, but then what adaptation ever did?. Thankfully it doesn’t take itself too seriously, but when your source material is a PS2 game from Capcom, you probably couldn’t take it too seriously even if you tried. While it helps to have already played the games in order to get the most enjoyment out of your viewing it’s not a necessity as long as you know the basics, which are: Down on his luck Devil hunter for hire – who happens to be a half human / half demon himself – hunts some demons, eats some pizza and saves the world… and that’s about all you need to know as all the other essentials are covered along the way.
The first ten episodes are the usual stand-alone action-horror “monster of the week” kind of fare and it’s only when you get to the penultimate episode that you realise that some of the side characters that have been hanging around in the background since episode one actually have a purpose or a point, so pay attention. Our moody hero shoots, stabs, slices and sarcastically retorts his way through a string of assignments in his trademark flappy red trench-coat and laconic style, well, once he’s been bribed, coerced or blackmailed into getting off his arse and launching into action that is.
On a side note, what is it with these big ol’ flappy red trench-coats? They’re not exactly conducive to keeping a low profile. If you were some kind of animated ne’r-do-well and you saw someone stomping towards you in one of these babies surely you’d realise that making a sharp exit, stage left, would be a good idea. Vash the Stampede had one, Alucard’s got one, hell, even Carmen Sandiego had one, though I don’t think that particular example’s helping me very much
Anyway, along the way he’s aided and abetted by a feisty pair of femme fatales; Lady – who does most of the coercing as Dante owes her a not inconsiderable amount of money – and Trish, Dante’s mysterious ex-partner. He also picks up (or rather, can’t get rid of) a young ward in the form of Patty, a headstrong orphan who plays Scrappy-Doo to their loose team of demon hunters. Patty’s an odd inclusion to the team as for the most part it seems like she’s just been added to make the series appeal to younger audience but she does have a purpose other than to grate on your nerves, honestly, just hang on and tolerate her ’till the end and all will be revealed.
The animation quality for this series is kept reassuringly high all that way through, but as it’s a Madhouse production that’s to be expected. Devil May Cry also boasts a great soundtrack, mainly comprising of guitar heavy rock tracks and sounding much of the time not unlike an episode of Black Lagoon. The audio’s been tweaked and tidied up a bit in general for the dub version which is most obvious during episode six. The original Japanese version has a collection of well known and capable seiyuus while the English language version, while mostly made up of Funimation’s more overlooked voice actors, is well crafted and eminently enjoyable. One notable voice to watch out for in the English version is that of Dante’s dub actor, Reuben Langdon – here credited as Justin Case – who provided both the Dante’s voice and motion capture modelling in the games Devil May Cry 3 and Devil May Cry 4. Langdon’s take on Dante usually has him sounding like a grizzled anti-hero from some old gum-shoe detective movie. At times you almost expect the animation to fade into grainy black and white as Dante pops an old trilby on his head and walks off into the night still delivering his closing monologue while a saxophonist plays some soft jazz in the background. Actually, I think they could probably have gotten away with it if they had actually done it.
Extras:
There’s the ever present textless versions of the opening and closing animation; an interview with Dante’s Japanese voice actor as well as a number of cut scenes, previews and trailers from Devil May Cry 4: The Game as shown at various game shows and expos across the globe.
Devil May Cry will be available on DVD from most high streets and online retailers from 19th October 2009. Coincidently it’s also released on Blu-Ray on the same day.
Berserk – Box Of War Box Set
Label: MVM.
Certificate: 18
Discs: 6. (25 episodes)
Running time: 695 mins approx
Video: 4:3
Sound: English 2.0, Japanese 2.0
Subtitles: English.
Release date: 7th September 2009
RRP: £49.99 – Amazon – Play
Brief synopsis:
In a medieval world where people live and die by the sword, Guts is a solitary warrior, known the those who fear him as The Black Swordsman, who walks the land taking small mercenary jobs where he can get them all the while searching for where his true destiny will take him. When he finds himself crossing swords with the notorious mercenary group, The Band of the Hawks, Guts has his ass handed to him on a plate and is convinced by the group’s leader that if he wants to grow stronger he should join them. Working his way up through he ranks, Guts fights alongside their leader and founder, Griffith, and his second in command and only female in the group, Caska, as they’re drawn into a bloody and brutal conflict between the lands of Midland and Chuder which has been raging for the last 100 years.
Comments:
The misty past of 1989 saw the first publication of new swords and sorcery manga by the name of Berserk. What set this manga apart from other swords and sorcery tales of the tie was that it tapped into the grim and gritty underside of the medieval fantasy world that many other authors do their best to gloss over or just sweep under the carpet. Almost from the outset Berserk was far more dark, twisted and gruesome then it’s counterparts. Try to imagine the evil twin of the Slayers universe, nasty little goatee n’ all, and you’re part way to the insanely brutal realm where Berserk resides. Indeed, as the next twenty years passed since it’s initial publication it’s taken dark fantasy manga to a whole new level. Then, back in 1997, eight years into the manga’s run, production company OLM Ltd animated the first major story arc which, though it required heavy editing in many countries in order to either be broadcast or sold, has remained a firm fan favourite ever since. 
Berserk is a epic tale of loyalty and destiny, revenge and redemption, set in a gritty, brutal, no holds barred – and adult in all senses of the word – medieval swords and sorcery universe. But for all that Berserk has been touted as being packed with “gory bloodshed, nudity and profanity”, and as previously mentioned did require quite a bit of editing – and a number of characters becoming *ahem* anatomically incorrect – to make it onto TV, when it comes to the “ick” factor, it can be out”ick”ed by pretty much any of today’s equivalent horror series. Even so, Berserk didn’t get it’s certification for no reason. For example, when you’ve got an 18 cert anime in which there’s a single female warrior constantly surrounded by a bunch of sweaty men and often a whole load of slavering demons as well – several of whom I suspect to have tentacles and we all know where that generally leads – then you just know that her future’s not what you’d call “rosy”.
Animation wise, even taking into account that this series is now over a decade old, it’s not that great. The animation quality’s OK but nothing to get excited about. The colour pallet for the first few episodes looks a bit skewed but this seems to have been sorted out before it became a major irritation. It’s interesting to note that this show came two years after 1995’s Neon Genesis Evangelion, and only six months before 1998’s Cowboy Bebop, but unfortunately looks a lot older, and a whole lot cheaper than either of these. Berserk may be many things but production company OLM’s finest hour it isn’t. This is somewhat of a shame as the Berserk manga has over the last two decades built it’s self somewhat of a reputation as having some of the best, and most intense, artwork seen in recent years
The soundtrack, though used sparingly, is effective and in-keeping with the mood of the story. Much of the time it sounds like something you’d expect from Satoshi Kon movie, which is no surprise as Berserk shares it’s composer, Susumu Hirasawa, with many of his works such as Paprika and Paranoia Agent. While the original Japanese language track is solid straight off the bat, the dub version starts off as one of the most unintentionally funny dubs I’ve heard for a long time. Luckily it settles down after a few episodes as the actors grow into their roles and those that had been going for a more “Camp as Christmas” approach finally figure out that this is a dark fantasy for adults and not an exercise in musical theatre.
This “Box of War” collection gathers all six DVDs previously released back in 2007 – 2008 and covers much of the “Golden Age” storyline, this being the first major arc comprising the first dozen or so volumes of the manga. Unlike many other anime based on an ongoing manga, this show doesn’t try to come up with it’s own nice, tidy little plot resolution at the end of it’s run. This leads to the assumption that the producers were hoping for a second series in which to continue the story which unfortunately never came meaning the anime’s left on a rather nasty cliffhanger ending that will probably now never be resolved on screen. In this case I’d suggest that, if you’re going to go into this series raw, i.e., if you haven’t read the manga yet, make sure that you can beg, borrow or steal (OK, not that last part) copies of the printed works afterwards as you will be left wanting to know what happens next. Luckily Dark Horse have been already published the first 30 manga volumes though due to demand they are becoming quite scarce and rather expensive to obtain.
Extras:
There’s text-less opening and closing animations; art galleries; production sketches; trailers; storyboards; “Paint in Berserk” promo; an interview with producer Toshio Nakatani and another with author/creator Kentarō Miura. My favourite extras on each disc however must be the “out-takes” which are just excuses for the dub cast to piss about and be silly. The highlight of these has to be when, in the midst of recording a rather grim scene, one of the actors is unable to restrain himself any longer and bursts into a spontaneous rendition of “Part of that world” from Disney’s The Little Mermaid.
Berserk – Box Of War Box Set is available from most high streets and online retailers now.
Reviewer: Penfold