Devil Survivor 2 THE ANIMATION - 01
[gallery columns="5" ids="11437,11442,11435,11439,11443,11441,11440,11438,11436,11444"]
Following the trend of Atlus games to be animated, Devil Survivor 2 is next offering courtesy of the studio Bridge and the man who gave us Persona 4, Kishi Seiji. With just that you knew this was going to be a good first episode.
Being a non-gamer - visual novels aren't exempt - I'm not one to get excited about anime adaptations coming from games. For the most part, games that get adapted don't make it onto my radar with the only exception being the Shin Megami Tensai ones. The games themselves have been well-received and because of that I placed higher than average expectations on Devil Survivor 2. Did I place to many expectations on this series?
Short answer: no. I'm actually really pleased with this first episode and whilst it didn't blow me away, it did set up the series to get into some interesting and fun territory. Unlike Persona 4, we're thrown straight into the fray with no heads up, and are instantly immersed into a world of chaos and destruction. Immediately we're confronted with the mystery of the whole set-up as well as introduced to a group called Jips, who are just as shrouded in the mystery of all this. Whilst the mystery dominates the episode - till the end with a quick shot of Ueru Mono - the premise remained simple and straightforward; in a Gantz-esque manner, our main trio are given a second chance at life and must now fight with an application that summons various creatures.
OP 1
[gallery columns="5" ids="11430,11431,11432,11433,11434"]
Not a lot that was surprising with the episode, which is nice to see once in a while. The heightened pacing may be brought into question, although I'm willing to bet that has something to do with this being a 1-cour series and as such not having the luxury of building up or goofing off for an episode or two. Devil Survivor 2 does retain a lot of what its spiritual predecessor had going for it in terms of music and overall style, with different animation. Speaking of animation, I wasn't too impressed with what I saw considering the high quality of the preview. That said, I'm hopeful we'll see a hike production values in later episodes. As for the story, there's definite potential. I doubt it'll be anything out of the ordinary, but fun nonetheless.
ED 1
[gallery columns="5" ids="11425,11426,11427,11428,11429"]
There's not a lot I can really say about the episode. It was a good showing which introduced the main characters and scenario as swiftly as possible. We're given most of the large cast of characters from the start, and if the ED is any indication, we have yet to meet more of them. Devil Survivor 2 does feel like another Shin Megami Tensai game adaptation, and that's not a bad thing. As I mentioned, I have not played the game so I'll be anticipating the surprises as they pop up along the way; anything from action to romance is on the table. I suspect the majority of the series will focus on the mystery and we'll be learning about the other characters and the world setting in the upcoming episodes.
So how does Devil Survivor 2 stack up against the other new series of the season? Quite well. It like the others hasn't done anything incredible yet but at least you can tell it's good.
Devil Survivor 2 THE ANIMATION Episode 02 Preview
[gallery columns="5" ids="11445,11446,11447,11448,11449"]