Devil Survivor 2 The Animation is from the game Atlus produced(Nintendo DS), which brought us Persona 4 The Animation(PS2 console).
Most of the game nowadays that's been turned into an animation don't pan out. Wonder why? I seriously think you can't cramp a 30+ hour gameplay RPG on a mere 12 or even 24 episodes. But let me tell you something, Atlus did just "THAT"! They've crammed 30+ hour games into 13 episodes! But worry not my dear friend, this time, it actually panned out. Of course they didn't include minor details in the animation, but its still worth watching. Oh, and in the game, there's a lot of options/choices to choose from(typical SMT game).. And of course, at the game, you get to have your privy time with the supporting characters! Yatta! Oops, forgot I was making a review about the "animation". Sorry about that. Back to the main topic, the retelling of the story in the animation is a lot different from what's in the game. So even if you played the game, you can still enjoy a quite different story in the anime. Like I've said, they've cramped a lot of hours into 13 episodes, so expect a fast-paced story when watching this. Unexpected things which weren't common in the game is always present in the anime version, and that's what made the animation good.
Although there have been slight difference on telling the story, the main plot doesn't change from where the game has led to. So I can safely say that what came out of the animation is on par within the game's story.
The story doesn't quite drift away from most shounen shows nowadays, we have our Protagonist stuck with a difficult problem. It's about friendships, fighting monsters, conversations of hot guys, and finally, conversations with hot guys.
Martyrs, martyrs everywhere. That's what I've noticed on most of Devil Survivor 2's characters. It's not a bad thing though, definitely not a good thing either. But what can you do? The world's ending and you want to do something for the sake of your friends, that's not bad. But getting help from others is waaaaaaay better. Shouldering everything is pure heroic BS, that's why humans were made weak, so they can rely on other humans.
Hibiki Kuze, O Sparkling One! Why the hell do you look like a rabbit(just kidding)?!
The series is chuck full of bishounens and bishoujous(most of any series are.)! But the most crucial part and disturbing thing that destroys my whole mind, is that THERE ARE NO PETTANKO(s) at all! How could they do such a cruel thing?! Didn't they know that FLAT IS JUSTICE?! They said they're fighting for justice and humanity; but they're not FLAT, they're just flat out lying! Well, I knew it was coming anyway, since the game didn't have one either. Don't mind me, I was just ranting some BS.
Devil Survivor 2 is a good series. It's not that great though, but it's not that bad either. It had its up and downs as far as entertaining the viewers. There were episodes that didn't make any sense(if you didn't played the game or any SMT game, you wouldn't quite understand what's going on.), well that's the hard part cramming up a long game to an animation. Like I've said, many games that were animated didn't pan out. But Atlus does a fair job doing it. All in all, Devil Survivor 2 is a good watch(especially if you've played the game). Not that long, has action-packed scenes, has great art, not so complicated plot. Plus you get bonus Yaoi materials on it, so feed your inner fangirl within you.
Let's all survive! Oh yeah, we need some chawanmushis too!
