Demon Lord Dante Vol-3: Dante Agonizes (2002)
Animation Production: Magic Bus
Released by: Geneon Entertainment
Running Time: 75 Minutes
Official Website: Demon Lord Dante
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

After checking out the second volume of Demon Lord Dante I immediately went right into this 3rd DVD in the 4 disc series by Geneon. So far the show has been an escalating series that gets better with each outing and with this these episodes the trend continues to hold true. In fact with this one we go into some very unexpected directions that took me completely by surprise with their unpredictability.

So with that let’s get right into Demon Lord Dante volume 3: Dante Agonizes.

Story

"The secret organization "D" employs the Four Demon Kings and the man-made monster, SX, and massacre numerous innocent people. The horror and loathing toward demons become implanted in people’s minds as the organization planned. Seeing the organization’s atrocious deeds in the name of God, Sosuke, a member of the organization, becomes skeptical of its belief. In the meantime, Lamia captures Saori and Ryo seeks the help of Saeko. Although Saeko rescues Saori, Saeko gets trapped in the labyrinth herself by the Four Demon Kings instead. Ryo, together with demons, fights to save her. Rescued by Ryo, Saeko brings him back to the past to show him the forgotten history of demons and God. What fate awaits Ryo as his memory comes back and his real identity as the Demon Lord Dante is rekindled? " -- Back of DVD Box

Review

The third volume in Geneon’s release of Demon Lord Dante contains episodes eight through ten in the series, which include:

Episode 8: Disbelief
A Devil show!? At midnight Ginza will be the host to a large gathering of Devils including the four Demon Kings! They are setting up a trap to capture Demon Lord Dante, but will the most powerful of devils make an appearance and support his fellow demon fighters and supporters? Then when Ryo learns that his father is involved with the genetically engineered SX Devils questions begin to mount as to really are the good guys in this battle between the forces of God and the demon armies.

Episode 9: Labyrinth
There is one thing in the mind of thousands of people across Japan, Lamya’s Labyrinth, but just what is this strange place that people talk about in such a cryptic manner? When Ryo’s sister falls prey to it and Saeko goes in to save her, it looks like our hero has no choice but to venture in and see for himself, but what will he learn inside?

Episode 10: Encroachment
A million years ago the peace that reined over the Earth came to a sudden end when a strange energy being, God, came to the blue planet, intent on ruling all through the use of sheer force. Unfortunately the advanced civilization that lived during these days was unable to resist him and fell prey to his power, that is except a couple of exceptional humans, including Dante, who go on to become more than they were by absorbing God’s powers.

With episode eight, “Disbelief” we get started right where we left off as the four Demon Kings continue on their destructive journey to locate and fight against the Demon Lord Dante. Assisted by the forces of God and armed with their SX man-made devils, they try to bring out Dante by publicly killing hundreds of people, but unfortunately for them their plan doesn’t work and in fact results in our hero finding out about his father’s secret life as the leader of the army of God and the leader of the SX project.

This development fuels the theme that fist came to the surface in the last volume of the series, which was the questioning the labels typically attached to those we refer to as “evil” and those known as “men of god’. There was a definite blurring of the definitions that we typically apply to these groups and perhaps even a reversal, which comes to full fruition here as the men of God engage in more deeds that could be considered of questionable intent, while the demons are more actively taking part in protecting people from the wrath is being brought about by the forces of God.

As this theme fully matures and we come to see what the people of God are doing in the name of humanity, we are finally taken to the distant past and shown the history of the devils and how they came to be God’s enemies. This glimpse at the people of Sodom and how they came to confront God puts quite a spin the biblical accounts that we’ve all come to know so well and manages to surprise with its take on the archetypes of good and evil and how humanity distorts history over time (within the context of this anime universe). This is without the highlight of the series and well worth the time it took to get there and witness this “secret” or forgotten history of Earth. In addition the series gets another injection of science fiction via the introduction of the advanced sciences of the people of Sodom, in particular the vehicle that Dante managed to put together as a hobby and which is crucial to the Demon Lord Dante’s birth.

This sci-fi angle was probably the biggest surprise this series has thrown at us and managed to add several layers of depth and insight into Go Nagai’s other popular works (I could not help but think that Dante’s ship was a harbinger for other Go Nagai mecha that followed Demon Lord Dante such as the Jet Pilder that docked with Mazinger-Z’s head, Great Mazinger’s Brain Condor or even the main Getter machine). So more than a super natural creature we come to learn that Dante is really the result of a scientific/genetic accident that was born out of God’s powers. So now as we near the conclusion of the series we learn that as with both of the camps struggling for power Dante himself is not what we thought he was and the Demon label may not be as applicable in the traditional sense.

The only real problem I had with the introduction of this idea is what they fail to explain exactly how all the other demons came to be or who’s head it was that occupied Dante’s body before Ryo fused with him to become the Demon Lord himself. It was confusing to me after seeing Ryo play the role of Dante a million years in the Earth’s past, yet he was a separate part of the behemoth’s body for that period and there was a completely different person in the monster’s consciousness prior to his absorption. Perhaps these are questions that will be answered in the final episodes of the show. I would also love to learn just how it is that Medussa is not only able to take herself and Ryo to the distant past, but also float in space with no protection or visible means of life support!

On the production side again we have a very consistent show that is similar in quality to the previous seven episodes. Smooth animation and a healthy mix of traditional hand drawn cels and CGI effects are the order of the day. The color palette used is quite dark (which is fitting given the theme of the show and the central “hero” character), but there are some scenes where lighter pastel colors are put to good use. The soundtrack is a good listen, but nothing that will stick in your head for long outside of the opening theme (maybe). The voice acting is up to par in both soundtracks.

On the DVD front this was similar in quality to the other discs. Inside the box there’s a small insert with the artwork that’s featured on the cover on one side screencaps from each episode on the other. Extras within the DVD included episode highlights, character profiles and previews for other Geneon releases. Sadly this release didn’t include any GO Nagai interviews or features as the previous two did, which needless to say was solely missed. The video and audio transfers were quite sharp and left nothing to be desired.

Final Thoughts

As any good show should do Demon Lord Dante keeps getting better and better with each installment. Here the surprises keep coming fast and furious and the writers waste no time in further developing the characters. If they can keep this momentum going right into the series’ conclusion this will end up being one heck of a roller coaster ride and another notch in Go Nagai’s long string of memorable and entertaining series.

Very, very recommended for all anime fans, even those who are not into dark or devil/demon oriented releases.

Jeffrey Couto