Dante

Dante is the fictional protagonist of the Devil May Cry video game series published by Capcom. The character and Devil May Cry are one of Capcom's flagship game franchises, which has sold over nine million copies worldwide as of 2008 and currently spans four video games. Dante has been featured as the main protagonist in the first three games of the series and is a playable character in the fourth game. The character also appears in several Devil May Cry novels and manga volumes, and is featured in a 2007 anime.

Dante is a mercenary dedicated to exterminating devils and demons, a mission he follows in pursuit of those that killed his mother and corrupted his brother. He is the son of Sparda, a demon of great power that rebelled against the demon emperor and defeated his army. As a result of his devilish heritage he possesses numerous superhuman abilities which he uses in combination with a variety of weapons to accomplish his goals. The character was designed to fit Devil May Cry game developer Hideki Kamiya's vision of a "cool and stylish" man, and his personality was based on the titular character of manga series Cobra. The character has been well received by gamers, and has often been listed as one of video gaming's coolest characters.

Dante debuted in Devil May Cry, a game originally intended to be a sequel of Capcom's Resident Evil franchise. Series' creator Hideki Kamiya has said that the titular character from the manga series Cobra by Buichi Terasawa served as the basis for Dante's personality. Kamiya based his idea of Dante on what he perceived as "Stylish" -- with a long coat to make the character "showy", witty like a "British guy", and a non-smoker since Kamiya sees that as more cool. The character wears red because in Japan it is a traditional color for a heroic figure. Kamiya has also stated he perceives Dante as "a character that you would want to go out drinking with", someone who wasn't a show-off but instead would "pull some ridiculous, mischievous joke" to endear audiences to him. He added that this aspect was intended to make the character feel familiar to audiences.

Dante is a mercenary and private detective who specializes in paranormal cases, preferring those that call for demon slaying. He is muscular, has white/silver hair,electric-blue eyes and is usually seen wearing red leather jacket/trench coat. Dante's arsenal usually consists of firearm and melee weapons, including "Ebony and Ivory", twin handguns that never have to be reloaded, as well as a variety of swords such as the "Rebellion" and "Force Edge",