Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 96%, based on 25 reviews with an average score of 7.9/10.[23] The website's critical consensus reads, "Honoring its source material's flair for the bombastic, Devil May Cry slices and dices its way into the animation medium and makes a bloody memorable first impression." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 77 out of 100 based on 7 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[24]
Aidan Kelley of Collider gave the series a score of 9 out of 10. He dubbed the series "one of the best new animated shows of 2025", comparing it favourably to Shankar's previous work on Castlevania and that it "goes above and beyond to deliver a brilliant animated series that is as thematically rich as it is wildly entertaining."[25] Daniel Kurland of Bloody Disgusting gave the series a score of 4 out of 5. He praised the action sequences and wrote, "There's strong enough artistry behind the action and battle choreography that makes this adaptation a sheer delight." Kurland then commented on the art style by stating, "There are some really creative art direction and stylistic choices that make the series a visual triumph."[26] Kambole Campbell of The A.V. Club gave the series a rating of B−. He noted that "Shankar's spin on Devil May Cry is mostly a fun love letter to the qualities that made it popular" and praised the soundtrack, specifically mentioning its licensed music and the original song "Afterlife" by the rock band Evanescence that plays during the sixth episode, which he described as the "show's best episode."[27] Rendy Jones of RogerEbert.com similarly praised the episode and wrote that "Everything pays off in the sixth episode, a chapter guided by silent visual storytelling that incorporates various animation styles and some aptly fitting needle drops. It is one of the year's best TV episodes to date, a bold move that proves why these studios hire Shankar for their adaptations."[28]
Rafael Motamayor of IGN gave the series a score of 8 out of 10. He concluded his review by stating, "Adi Shankar and Studio Mir craft a fun video-game adaptation that doubles as a deranged, bonkers, and bold homage to and indictment of '00s Americana. If nothing else, it contains some of the best animation you're likely to see this year."[29] Brett Cardaro of CBR gave the series a score of 8 out of 10. He commended the performance of the voice cast, stating that Dante's voice actor Johnny Yong Bosch "is actually the perfect person to play him in the anime" whose "cocky one-liners are often as genuinely entertaining as they are in the games" and that the White Rabbit's voice actor Hoon Lee gave a "standout performance" and was a "surprisingly amazing character." However, Cardaro was critical of the use of CGI animation and noted that "The action is mostly great, but one way it's held back is by the appearances of some of the demons created using CGI. The fight choreography is consistently solid, but the CGI models just don't do it justice."[30] Isaiah Colbert of io9 criticized the depiction of Mary, or "Lady", but praised voice actress Scout Taylor-Compton for her performance and wrote "There's a lot to love about Lady, which is why its so disappointing to witness any sense of poignancy of her quieter contemplative moments or badassery being upended by her cursing so god damn often."[31]
Joshua Fox of Screen Rant was more critical of the series from the declared perspective of a Devil May Cry fan. He commented on the quality of the writing, stating that "my issues with Devil May Cry's writing are compounded by what became the biggest sticking point: the political elements" before elaborating on how the series' commentary on the war on terror was "completely out of place" for the franchise. Fox also noted that the series "doesn't work because of how poorly it portrays old and new characters alike", specifically mentioning how Dante and Mary compare unfavourably to their video game counterparts.[32] David Opie of GamesRadar+ in contrast was critical of the series for being too devoted to the games. Opie rated the series 2.5 out of 5, stating that though the series was able to capture the spirit of the games, "there's little depth beyond that" and that the greatest issue was that the show was "very much stuck in the past, rather than paying homage to it", failing to update the series for modern audiences. Opie was similarly dissatisfied by the series undermining its more positive moments through lacklustre presentation, claiming "it feels like Devil May Cry is trying to convince you of Dante's coolness, rather than simply showing it" and found the action to be a "run-of-the-mill scrimmage" when compared to the choreography of Castlevania.[33] Evie Rivas of In Between Drafts claimed the show is antithetical to the source material, stating it "possesses a nihilistic need to strip the identity of the franchise in favor of a cynical reconstruction" and that "a thick layer of cynicism covers all traces of heart. Irony consumes all sincerity. Adi Shankar’s anime adaptation seems to be trying to philosophically murder Devil May Cry." The character of Mary was labelled shows the greatest issue with Rivas criticizing her excessive narrative importance and unlikability, describing her as "a theocratic Nazi that eventually builds a concentration camp" while claiming that Shankar's exploration of politics was "in extremely poor taste."[34]
With the announcement in June 2025 of Devil May Cry 5 exceeding 10 million sales and a report from Capcom in September 2025 revealing that the game was the company's best selling game between the period of March to September, many attributed the boosted sales and success over more recent games such as Monster Hunter Wilds as a result of the Netflix show bringing additional attention to the series.[36][37] In April 2025 Brett Cardaro of CBR claimed in regards to the initial boost in sales "whether fans liked the anime or not, there’s no denying that it had a positive impact on the franchise’s popularity."[38] Lincoln Carpenter of PC Gamer similarly attributed the boost in sales to the show, though noted that the frequent discounts for the games on Steam were likely another contributing factor.[39] Carpenter's interpretation are corroborated by information released by Capcom on June 13th 2025, which states that the game's price being reduced to 7.99 USD alongside the shows release allowed for increased sales, along with the clarification that the game cleared 10 million sales in March prior to the shows release in April.[40][41]
