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Even
though Dante's look may change, there are certain
qualities that stay constant across all mediums:
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...White
Hair
Dante has
white/silver hair which, combined with his icy blue
eyes and pale complexion, immediately jolts your out
of the mundane and into the exotic. It has the
ethereal, otherworldly quality that contrasts advanced
age with a youthful appearance. Someone timeless and
immortal, and obviously supernatural. In this case,
Dante's lovely silver locks are a by-product of his
demonic heritage - a pretty common trend in Japanese
pop culture. Unlike his brother Vergil, Dante's hair
falls onto his face rather than being brushed away. It is short and straight in
DMC3, slightly longer in DMC1, and even longer
and fluffier in DMC2.
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...Red Coat
Dante's
signature color is red. He wears red and he bleeds
red... very red. Red being the color of passion and
good fortune in Japan, as well as the traditional
color of the hero. He favors trench-coats, often with
a lot of random straps and silver fixtures hanging off
of them. He must also have a large supply of spare
trench-coats, because they keep getting torn to shreds
every other scene. Dante appears to progressively lose
clothing from game to game. In DMC1 he had a full
trench-coat and shirt ensemble, in DMC2 he wore a
black vest on top of the trench-coat, and in DMC3 he
lost the shirt/vest altogether, settling for a lone
strap across his bare chest. The latter has come to be
known as the "nipple-warmer outfit" in some
circles.
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...Demon
Blood
Dante is
half demon, which means his body reacts to pain and
injury differently from a mere mortal. Whereas if a
regular human were to get skewered by multiple scythes
from several angles they would likely fall over, Dante
shrugs it off and puts the shiny pointy things
sticking out of him to good use against his foes.
Though typically a sword dislodging itself from a
statue to fly at you and impale you through the heart
would mean certain death, Dante understands that this
is simply the sword's way of saying "Hallo there,
friend! You can wield me now! :-)" This isn't to
say that the results aren't messy. Dante bleeds
gallons of blood (and is fashion-conscious enough to
wear matching colors), but his body is designed to
take great amounts of damage and heal it very quickly.
Still, he seems to be quite sensitive to being run
through with his brother's slender katana.
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...Devil
Trigger
Though
Dante looks like a (really hot) human on the surface,
the demon blood bubbling underneath sometimes boils
over to unleash his darker form. It is called Majin
form in Japanese and Devil Trigger in English. A verifiable
powerhouse of demonic might, Dante becomes even more
impervious to damage, he runs faster, his attacks
become exponentially stronger, and his natural
regeneration goes into overdrive. The potential to
trigger this unholy adrenaline rush builds up with the
amount of pain he gives and receives. It is a kind of
fight or flight response, typically saved for getting
out of extreme situations. If charged up beforehand,
it releases a devastating demonic blast that damages
and knocks down any enemies in the vicinity. The story
of how Dante awakened to this form is told in the
prequel DMC3, where after losing his first fight with
Vergil and being left for dead, Dante springs back to
his feet pulsing with renewed vitality.
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...Style
Everything
Dante does he does with an impeccable sense of style.
His renowned agility, dexterity, and grace is
breathtaking to behold. His every movement is
perfectly balanced and in complete harmony with his
intention. His extraordinary skill with every weapon
he gets his hands on reveals a flawless union of mind
and body. The light-footed dance with which he
traverses the screen, the smooth sleight of hand which
which he maneuvers his guns, the trail of wafting red
coat and bouncing white hair that follows him creates
a mesmerizing spectacle that I can not tear myself
away from. I can watch it all day, all night, take
breaks only to sing his praises to others, and always
come back for more.
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DISCLAIMER: All artwork,
characters, stories, music, video, and books are Copyright CAPCOM
and ATLUS. They are NOT of my
making.
No copyright infringement is intended. |
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