Code 1: Dante

Devil May Cry 3 #1

by Suguro Chayamachi

Dante, a demon slayer with half-demon parentage, takes a missing child case that forces him to reflect on his past, his family, and his demon father.

Genres: Manga, Horror, Graphic Novels, Demons, Fantasy, Video Games, Comics Manga

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Suguro Chayamachi (茶屋町勝呂 Chayamachi Suguro) is a Japanese comic book artist, who works primarily with publisher Biblos. Her blood type is AB, her Zodiac sign is Gemini, and her favorite hobby is electronics.

Reviews

[Luci · Rating 5 out of 5]

i can definitely understand the opinion that this only really appeals to those who are already dmc fans, and that’s me so of course i enjoyed it. if you didn’t have prior knowledge of the events of dmc3 it may be difficult to understand though, and the characterisation of dante tries to portray him as more of a ‘tough guy’ than we know him to be. still giving it five though, love dmc and was just happy to get my hands on a copy.

[Levyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Borrowed. Put on the non-English shelf because I read it in Japanese.

I remember first reading this when it was new and liking it enough to buy it back then, but not enough to hang on to the English volumes. Tokyopop's translation was weird to me back then, and now that I've read it in Japanese, I can see why it felt so strange. A lot of the dialogue isn't even the same dialogue. This was a problem with a lot of the manga translated by Tokyopop in the mid-2000s.

Anyway. This is a nostalgia-read for me. Most of this manga isn't considered canon anymore, and it reads like your typical fantasy-action-manga with a bit of "unless you know the franchise, this'll make no sense" thrown in.

Either way, the art is nice (I do appreciate the sharp black and white with no screen tones), the story is cringy at best, but being a diehard fan, I still enjoy this. That's why it gets a 2/5. Nostalgia + being too deep in the fandom + good art, unfortunately does not give it much value for anyone not interested in the fluff around the games.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me forever to find this in paperback, ending up buying a second hand copy that I was extremely pleased with as it was pretty much brand new.

Anyway, I really enjoyed reading this one. The manga illustrations were quite raw compared to my usual manga reads. Brutal scenes that don't hold back in the blood and gore, and Dante's a fav for swearing. hehehe.

I am very intrigued with this one. But apparently there are only two volumes, the third volume never to be released. Which sucks because it's a good story to follow. Apparently the illustrator quit half way through making the third volume. Truly unfortunate. Sigh....

[Monsour · Rating 1 out of 5]

MIDNIGHT COMING!

THE NIGHT IS CALLING!!

TEARS IN--SIDE ME

CALM ME DOOOOWWWNNN!!!!

12-8-18 2:30 P.M Just finish rewatching the new DMC5 trailer for at least 4 times. So I decide reading this. A prequel to DMC3 that you actually didn't need to read. I don't like the art and the story is mediocre. BUT HEY! its Devil May Cry! So Im a sucker on this.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the story. Despite it being a prequel to DMC 3 it's better if you know the events of the game before jumping into this as it'll help, as usual Dante is as cool as ever, and Vergil still steals the show for me. As someone who's fairly new to the franchise (and admittedly watched both the anime adaptations before playing the games) I liked seeing how the different medias borrow ideas from each other, crafting a somewhat confusing yet connected universe. The art style is pretty cool too!

4/5 🌟

[Adrian Santiago · Rating 1 out of 5]

Otra versión de Alicia en el país de los aburrimientos; aunque con Dante hubiera estado bien pero es más discurso previo a la cinemática del inicio del juego, osea que los personajes desaparecen pero a la vez son "inmatables".

Demonios buscando la torre y demás, que después simplemente desaparecen.

[Shannon Rohrer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been well over a decade since I last read the DMC manga. I'd actually forgotten so much of what happened in its plot, so it was interesting to see that some of it made its way into the newest adaptation.

The storyline still holds up decently well, but it's not my favourite in the franchise. Still a decent read, though.

[Jake Brookes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's go back to 2005! **PS2 sound intensifies**

I think if you've never played Devil May Cry or are going into this blind without any prior knowledge of the characters then you most likely wont enjoy this read. However, if you are a fan of the games then I think you'll get something out of this book.

This is not a straight video game adaption either, this is actually lore set before the events of the games! We're getting Dante and Virgil before they knew of eachothers "living status". We get some demon slaying, we get some graphic content and we get some pretty cool kills - the standard Devil May Cry tropes that you want!

The artwork did get me lost at times, but it's not so bad that you can't get the grasp of what's going on, it just ain't the best artwork and at times it's very congested and muddy. Again, not enough to put me off and it still serves its purpose.

So, is this groundbreaking? No. Is it the best manga ever? No. Is it still worth my time? As a fan of Devil May Cry yes, it's definatelly worth a read!

[Wombo Combo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the Devil May Cry games, so I figured that this prequel might be a fun little read. Unfortunately, it's not great. The majority of this book is action scenes, which means there's not a lot of story. Basically, there are some things set up for the game, which are fine, but this book adds so little to the Devil May Cry lore that it might as well be forgotten completely. Dante is written well, though at times he comes off as a bit more vulgar and a bit less fun than he does in the games, which reminds me too much of the failed 2013 reboot of the series.
The art's fine for the most part, though it, along with the writing, do come off as a bit amateurish at times. There are a couple of weird things, like how Dante uses his devil trigger and grows something like three or four times as big as he is normally, which makes no sense.
Really, this book is a big pile of nothing. It's not the worst thing I've read, but I'd be okay with never having read it.

[Marco · Rating 1 out of 5]

mangas and graphic novels are often a quick read, but this one was ridiculous. Roughly 60% of this book consisted of action scenes which I can understand, but the only reason I got what was happening was that I played DMC3 in my younger years. All in all, I'd have to say this is a major disappointment to me as a fan of the series. Glad I only paid one euro for this travesty. Horrendous doesn't even cover the let down I am currently experiencing.

[B.L. Aldrich · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only reason I'm continuing on to volume 2 is it's putting me to sleep nicely.

[Kaleb Pérez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The characters are really fascinating.

[Ferdi Snyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic book and a fun read. Worthy of a second and third read

[kimmy j · Rating 3 out of 5]

freaking lol. of course both the togainu no chi and dmc manga adaptations have the same mangaka. dats just the kinda guy this fella is...... my jaw legitimately dropped several times just because omg i can't believe they let him say this stuff hahaahahaaa he's so crass for no reason. and he's freakin random bruv. fett random. but i am only human lord forgive me dante is cute at least pre-HD dmc5 era....god imagine if he had a bestie/rival he could fuck who was NOT HIS BROTHER!!!!!!!!!! wasted potential. life is pain. there are literally zero prospects on the shippin market for him that are not women (gay) or related to him (lame) the book itself is nothing. like the plot is literally who cares mode. this is rollin by limp bizkit and thats all it needs to be

[Somnium · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bet this Dante guy wants to be John Constantine, except he can't. This was really badly written. I should probably give it one star, but the art is solid - not great not terrible.

The only thing I like here is the name of the game - Devil may cry. And, bro, he surely will cry when he reads this.

[Tifa_fifa · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay yeah I was kinda confused and not really paying attention the entire time but I think it served as Lore confirmation

like yeah I basically know the whole story now it's cool it's fine Vergil is the best part like I get it

I just hope the DMC future is brighter and has a coherent storyline or smth

now we can judge the Netflix show more accurately fr

[Il mondo di Cry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Purtroppo l'ho dovuto leggere in inglese e non ho capito proprio tutto tutto, però l'ho trovato davvero carino.
Spero un giorno di poterlo leggere anche in italiano in modo da recuperare quello che mi sono persa.

[Tichina Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been a long time since I've read a Manga. This one was the best choice to come out of my hiatus. The movement of violence paired with Dante's always exceptional one-liners kept me entertained. This story is intriguing to me, someone who's only played DMC5. I can't get enough.

[Blaine Riesberg · Rating 1 out of 5]

The art, the panel layouts, the dime a dozen flat characters, the unfunny, cringey dialogue were all terrible which is a shame because given to someone else I could really see it being at least not bottom of the barrel. Sorry Gage, Berserk it is not.

[Klaudia Wiśnia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This manga was far more serious and had less of the “goofy silly” like in the games, but that’s not a bad thing at all. It added a lot more to the story and I believe this is the first time we see Eva hiding Dante away.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being a fan of DMC I had to try this.

[Avah · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was pretty good but i got very lost when the fight scenes were happening

[DavidO · Rating 3 out of 5]

A warning to anyone thinking of reading this: the series was never finished

[dl.bug ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

essay research incredibly smooth so far

[yana · Rating 4 out of 5]

really only for an existing dmc fan but i am that dmc fan hello

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve included both Code 1: Dante and Code 2: Vergil in this review since these are all that is when it comes to the Devil May Cry 3 manga series. (The artist quit in the middle of the three book and that was it for DMC3.) The story line between the two has enough continuance to truly consider them one book as it is.

To start, Devil May Cry has always been my favorite video game series. Dante has always been the perfect anti-hero and the lore is so amazingly well-imagined. There seems to be a polarization when it comes to how people feel about this manga. Some people love it and feel like it is a great addition to the Devil May Cry universal lore and others can’t seem to understand that this is a manga series that is based on some fairly violent video games.

Yes, it is violent and gory and sarcastic. Yes, there are demons and guns and giant swords. The artwork is dark and disjointed but still maintains a beautiful intricacy that any comic reader could enjoy. The art helped to present the same “feel” that the games gave you. Odd camera angles and dark shadows that made playing difficult also make reading and understanding what is going on hard to follow. The writing at some points was too small and in a font that was too difficult to read. And while it offered the typical snarky Dante dialogue, I felt like I was just looking at a psychotic break in manga format.

Like I said before, I’m an avid DMC fan. But these just fell flat to me. It could be because the story was cut short but honestly, I’m not sure if there truly is anything that could redeem them.

[Chels M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me lo he ventilado en nada. Es cortito, la verdad. El problema que encuentro es que su lectura ha sido un poco caótica, estaba perdidísima con Rabby y el Sombrerero, así como con Alicia, la chica a la que Dante debe encontrar para cumplir un trabajo que le han encargado.

Estaba en plan "qué paranoia, por Dios". Y eso que soy muy fan de todo lo que tenga que ver con DMC. Entre que el anime por ahora es normalito y que este tomo no está a la altura del videojuego (DMC #3, que es al que he jugado)...pues eso.

No está mal de todas maneras. Seguro que si lo releo con más atención me entero mejor y lo disfruto más. Dante es un fucker y le adoro. A Vergil también, pero algo menos, jorl.

Haré relectura y reseña cuando tenga el siguiente (y último) tomo. Ya os contaré qué pasa con estos señores :P

Claro que sí, campeona.

Reseña de los dos tomos en mi blog :P

[Lina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dante is a demon hunter (in my opinion). Apparently he's the son of a demon named Sparda and a human woman. He has a twin brother named Virgil that he believed was dead, along with his mother.

He gets a job: to find Alice, a little girl who actually wanted to stay in "Wonderland" and didn't want to leave. Dante draws out his two guns, Ivory and Ebony and starts blasting away at these demons. The white hare, the mad hatter and the "cheshire cat" make several creepy appearances.


This book was pretty confusing for me. Events happened all of a sudden, with no signal. I didn't like this book a lot.

[Nisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only fans of Devil May Cry would enjoy this book. It has great art, but the plot is a bit shallow.

[Theresia · Rating 2 out of 5]

*wince*

*wince*

So full of violence, twisted characters and Dante is not even a hero. A fine read for those who have played DMC3, but that's all.

And here scary Vergil is scary indeed.