Dante Shrine: Psyche

Going purely off the games, Dante's personality leaves much to the speculative imagination. Though most everyone can agree on the superficial simplicity of his character, the depths of his soul are uncharted territory. One thing we can be certain of, however, is that he likes pizza. He prefers the night and tends to sleep clean through daylight.
...Showoff Dante is best known for his flamboyant arrogance and reckless abandon in battle. He will tease, mock, and downright provoke enemies regardless of size, shape, or rank. This startling lack of fear has been attributed to either complete confidence or suicidal tendencies, possibly both. Dante is certainly not afraid to die, but he also doesn't issue empty threats. He has yet to meet an enemy he could not defeat. From lowly demonic puppets to the mighty rulers of Hell itself, Dante has felled enemies that even his legendary father had trouble with. He is very proud and would never ever beg or show weakness to an opponent, no matter how tight of a spot he's in. Remarkably, for all his cockiness, Dante has never actually started a fight himself. Though he certainly enjoys hunting demons, he almost prefers lounging around alone in his office and coming out only when forced into action by supernatural invasion.
...Protector But being a trash-talking attention-whore does not constitute a personality. To quote the novel, "his

ironic smile and theatrical red coat were mere props, protective masks, to put his enemies on the defensive and himself at ease." Dante is very much about protection: protecting himself from others, protecting others from himself. In his rare instances of sincerity, he strives to protect those he cares about at the cost of his own life. But he does not let them close. Those that get close to him wind up getting hurt and hurting him in the process. He knows he can not change the past, but he still seeks to avenge those he had lost, even if he has to plow through all of Hell to do so.

...Mama's Boy
Dante is haunted by deep childhood trauma of being powerless to save his mother who died protecting him from demons. Ever since then, he had devoted his life to honing his mind and body through the path of a fighter so that one day he could find the ones responsible for her death and serve as her champion. He loved his mother very much and, in a way, his fixation with her untimely demise had stunted his emotional growth and made him unable to adequately relate to other women. It doesn't help that they keep trying to kill him, either. Nevertheless, he seems to have a great respect for women since, whenever he's not trying to protect them, he follows them without question.

...Father's Heir
His relationship with his father is conflicted at best. Growing up a half-blood, he was shunned by humans for his unnatural abilities and looked down upon by demons for lacking raw power. The pressure to dispel accusations of his inadequacies was always in the back of his mind. But no matter how hard Dante fought to prove himself, always he lived in his father's shadow. Demons from across the realms sought him out to settle old grudges or to try their luck against a spawn of the traitorous demon knight, and Dante was rightfully bitter about that. However, given time, he came to accept the responsibilities of his heritage.

...Innocent
When you strip away all the oppressive layers weighing down on his soul, I believe you will find a fundamentally innocent, sweet, carefree, and perhaps even naive little boy who has been dragged through too much blood. He shows glimpses of this side by trusting people he shouldn't, giving them second chances, staying loyal to those he cares about, and being nice to those that didn't give him a reason to be mean. Even his own brother, who explicitly tried to kill him on several occasions, Dante tried to save. There is a deeper logic for many of Dante's actions. To quote the novel, "few people would ever consider him quiet or thoughtful, but they didn't know his true nature." Back when he was a freelance mercenary, he revolutionized the underworld by making it unpopular to kill needlessly. Perhaps this is the self that Dante protects from the harsh world he is part of. Perhaps it is his link to his humanity.

...Wild
But it would be unwise to forget that he is also part demon. Wild and unpredictable, with spontaneous urges alien to mankind. If his human side is what he seeks to protect, then perhaps his demonic side is what he seeks to protect others from, which goes a long way towards explaining why he prefers to work alone. Of course, practically speaking, few could keep up with Dante. He does not want them to get in the way as much as he wants to avoid them becoming a liability. He asks for no favors and expects to give none in return.

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.