The Series (3/5)

    It's not often I get an anime series in the mail that I've actually played the game it's based on before reviewing the anime, but with Devil Survivor 2: The Animation I had actually done so when the game received a release on the Nintendo DS stateside a number of years ago.  The DS even in the U.S. during it's lengthy run became a home for excellent RPG releases from older games getting re-releases like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy IV to new RPG properties like Devil Survivor and it’s sequel, The World Ends with You, and the PC labyrinth throwback the Dark Spire. As I have spent my gaming time obsessed with RPG's especially of the classic JRPG variety I got Devil Survivor a little why after it came out, and was so impressed that I had to pick up the sequel.

    The series follows 2 students Hibiki and Daichi. As the series begins they discover an app called Dead Face has been circulating that shows the death of the user. As the pair are waiting in a subway station after school the app is sent to Hibiki's phone and shows his death.  The roof of the station collapses and the pair dies. However, death is just the beginning (to be cliché) for these 2.  Another app appears on their phone, this one offering the chance at resurrection, which they take. They exit the station to discover 2 things, the world is now overrun by demons, and the world will also end in 7 days. In the subway with the pair was another person a young woman named Io Nitta, who will join the pair as they begin to navigate the last days of the Earth. They soon discover that the app that resurrected them has the power to call demons to fight, and they are recruited by a secret society to use this ability to fight and defeat seven creatures known as Septentrios who will bring upon the apocalypse unless destroyed.

    I loved the 2 Devil Survivor DS games, so knowing that I loved the world already I had high hopes for the anime. Unfortunately, they were not met. I am a big fan of post-apocalyptic cinema and shows, and there were enjoyable elements like the design of the world that our characters dwell in. Although, it is a tad cliché, it does work. There are some decent action sequences, but overall the series tries to cram too much into it's 13 episodes, and at the same time the material that's there isn't always that interesting. The character designs look pretty much like most modern anime, but the animation itself is quite fluid and gorgeous, and I did find myself enjoying the overall look of the show even if I didn't enjoy the show as much as I had hoped.

Audio/Video (3.5/5)

    Once again Sentai Filmworks gives anime viewers a very nice Blu-ray transfer. Devil Survivor 2 is presented in the shows 1:78:1 AVC encoded 1080p transfer. The transfer has very nice colors, and excellent fine detail with only a few soft moments to really complain about.

    There are 2 audio tracks a DTS-HD MA 2.0 Japanese track, and the same in English.  I can't stand dubbing, so I stuck primarily to the Japanese track for my viewing.  The dialogue, music, and FX came through clearly. I could detect no issues with the audio.

Extras (1/5)

As per usual a clean opening and closing are all that's included.

Overall

Having played the DS games I had high hopes for the Devil Survivor 2 anime, they were not met. However, the animation was solid, and there was the occasional interesting action sequence. The Blu-ray did look and sound great, no real extras to speak of. RECOMMENDED.