Quote Originally Posted by Forsaken Lover View Post
I think the self-awareness varies wildly. Toriyama clearly intended you to take this seriously and to love his waifu.

Don't try and pull a DMC here and make excuses. The people who made DMC thought Dante was legitimately cool and they were oh so very wrong and stupid.
THANK YOU! DMC1 Dante was particularly awful in this respect because you could tell this isn't a character. This is a cool guy cliche sprouting off cool guy lines to try to convince you he's cool instead of just giving him a smurfing personality.

I think the self-awareness varies too because to my knowledge drama in Japan can easily turn melodramatic when it comes over here. Even Metal Gear Solid is guilty of this. They take it seriously, and I guess... good for them if they enjoy it.