Devil Survivor 2 The Animation Full Review
By James U.
Review at a Glance:
Rating:
3 out of 5
Highest Point:
The monster fights are fantastic. The choreography is pretty decent, the effects are awesome, and it’s coupled with some of the best music I’ve heard since Guilty Crown.
Lowest Point:
Most of the cast is unsympathetic, with little background on them and even less character exploration. The pacing didn’t help, but certainly wasn’t the only cause since there were enough filler scenes that could’ve been used to flesh them out.
Recommendation:
Devil Survivor 2 is a decent anime adaptation. What it lacks in story-telling it makes up for fantastic fight scenes and potentially deep lore. It’s got a very tight pace which makes it easier to watch, but it also means there’s not that much time to look around. I give it a recommendation on the grounds that it’s decent overall without any deal-breaking issues.
Overview
Devil Survivor 2: The Animation is an anime adaptation of Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei video game series of the same name. It’s directed by Kishi Seiji who also did the anime adaptation of Persona 4, another SMT game from Atlus, which was actually pretty good. It aired from April 5 to June 28, 2013 and ran for 13 episodes.
Premise
Japanese high school students Kuze Hibiki, Nitta Io, and Shijima Daichi find themselves caught in a devastating train wreck inside an underground station. During what seems to be their final moments their cellphones suddenly activate the Nicaea application which gives them a second chance at life. In the ensuing chaos, several demons start appearing, and with the help of demons that the kids summon from their mobile phones they successfully escape with their lives. What they find on the surface isn’t very different from the chaos of the station: ruined infrastructure, panicked people, and more demons. Yep, Japan has been ruined. Again.
*Sigh* I’ll go get a broom.
They eventually get contacted by JPs (read as “jips”), a secret organization that prepared for this event for hundreds of years, headed by one Hotsuin Yamato. The kids are told that if they want stop the coming apocalypse they’ll have to defeat seven demons called the Septentrione using their demons, and meet with Polaris to spare the humans... or something. Polaris is a bit of a dick. What follows is a series of demonic Pokemon fights, and a hell of a lot of deaths.
Flashed me with a plot
First off, this is an anime that goes on for only 13 episodes, and it’s supposed to be a complete story. The staff had to compress a lot of things to ensure that most of the plot threads get resolved. That means they have to keep the pace tight, or else they’d have to cut down on a lot of things.
Luckily the pace is pretty solid; great fights all throughout, with just a little bit of time left to appreciate the scenery. Of rubble. And corpses. In spite of its short run, the story takes the time to lightly touch upon the consequences of a demonic cataclysmic event. It’s no different from your typical disaster movie, but at least that point was addressed. For good or ill, this societal aspect of the impending apocalypse gets sidelined in favor of demons hurling lightning bolts at each other.
“Oh god, it’s the plot! Quick, establish the story’s social climate!”
Still, I can’t help but feel like they wasted an opportunity. Also, there are several questionable things in the story that are never answered or even acknowledged. These things are pretty much related to the main plot, but from the societal perspective rather than a personal one. That point of view could’ve been really interesting side stories. Had the anime been given a lengthier run, it might have been able to explore the world (or what’s left of it anyway) and resolve several issues with the story.
“Hi there.”
On the bright side, it does make it open to interpretation. There are enough clues lying around to be able to piece together a decent picture regarding those questions. What the story lacks in details, makes up for the fun creative exercise, and it does a pretty good job at providing enough bread crumbs to be able to lead you to your own conclusion.
Oh no, they killed Jim!.. That’s his name right?
If there’s one thing DS2 fails at, it’s with its cast. While the series has several characters of varying importance, most of them are never really given much in terms of characterization. They’re usually just a name with a very distinct face who happens to own a mobile phone that lets them summon demons.
Though the summoning app only works if your iPhone is jailbroken.
I get that the writing staff didn’t have the luxury of time, but it’s not like they made good use of the filler minutes of each episode either. There were several opportunities to flesh out the side characters, few of which were utilized properly. Also, given the nature of the setting, you just know a lot of these guys are gonna die. What happens is that when certain characters die, you think to yourself “Oh crap!... Wait, I didn’t even know him/her.” It feels like another wasted opportunity to hit those sweet emotional lows that could’ve made the audience feel an actual sense of loss and reflect upon the future of the cast. Character deaths are often senseless, and have no emotional impact, making the main protagonists’ reactions a bit out of place. It’s the difference between “Oh gods, he’s dead!” and “Oh, he’s dead”.
“Nooooooooo! How dare you kill... um, him!”
The main characters aren’t any better either. They don’t develop as much as they should over the course of the series, they don’t really drive the plot, and there’s very little information on them to establish an emotional attachment other than the fact that they were “friends since the beginning”. There are a few good flashbacks here and there, but in the end it adds little to the flimsy connection it has with the audience.
It’s such a shame too. The side characters were pretty distinct, and it would’ve been nice to have seen them in action more. Sadly, that isn’t the case. Maybe in the game they’re better fleshed out, but that doesn’t have a place here in this review.
Yeah, yeah, I get it.
A comparison I had to make
DS2’s fight scenes are one of the high points of the series. As I mentioned earlier, the characters use a mobile app that allows them to summon demons. It’s a lot like a typical “mons” game in anime form, and it translates pretty well as an anime. The effects are nothing short of fantastic, and the scale of every major confrontation is pretty epic. It also helps a lot that the accompanying background music that plays during battle is really good. It’s not as good as Guilty Crown, but it’s definitely up there.
“We’re supposed to fight THAT!?”
Unfortunately, there’s still a bit of a downside to this. Perhaps it’s the nature of the genre, or maybe it’s due to personal taste, but it feels like the characters have no place in the battlefield, and any active participation ends in death or injury. It’s never explicitly shown what the users really “do” in combat other than shout at the enemy while their monster does all the work. Sure, there’s an explanation about how a monster is connected to the user, but it’s not immediately apparent.
They’re almost as useful as this guy, is what I’m saying.
This is probably another wasted opportunity on the part of the writers. It would’ve been nice to expand more on the summoning system. If they had incorporated more of the game’s system into the story, then the summoners might have had a much bigger presence on the battlefield, and maybe even add some much-needed depth to the characters by showing their connection with their monsters.
“Ohmygod why are you riding me!? You do know you can die right!?
On the bright side, there are enough context clues peppered throughout the series to be able to get a decent picture of the summoning mechanics. The summoners show enough activity to hint at how the system works, and there are several throw-away lines that could support or debunk whatever theory you’ve already established. It’s another creative exercise; which is fine, but it might put off some viewers.
Conclusion
For all its faults, Devil Summoner 2 is a decent anime. While It’s got a lot of elements that could’ve been used better, and a lot of wasted potential, it’s still an entertaining title. It’s got a cool, if shallow cast; interesting, if underutilized setting; decent, if predictable plot; and excellent fight scenes. The creative exercises can either engage you further in the story or pull you out of it. If you could look past its many missed opportunities and have fun with filling in the blanks yourself, then you’ll have a blast.
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