Devil Survivor 2 – 02-04
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Hello guys! I’m so sorry for the delayed post, have been dealing with a lot of real-life stress and the heavy workload recently. Lots has happened in DeSu2 since the first episode, so let’s move on to that!~ |
4 episodes in and we already have a crapload of people dying. Unfortunately I don’t think we’ve had enough time to actually form emotional attachments with these characters before they got killed by random Septentrion, so to be really honest, I really didn’t care much about Keita death (sorryyyyy). It was like hi, nice to meet you in 1 episode and goodbye forever in the next. So far the side characters of this show haven’t contributed much to it, It dampened the mood, yes, but with aliens invading the Earth and bombing the whole of Japan, it just doesn’t seem very significant – people were dropping like flies all over the place like they didn’t matter. What it did do, though, was help to really let how hopeless the entire situation is sink in. You can really feel how desperate everyone is, having their families on the other end of Japan, having to live on rations in dubious shelters and having to worry when some killer-alien would arrive and who would have to die next. This apocalyptic, frightening and rather depressing world – that’s DeSu2.
And then you have to think about the group of kids who are expected to be the ones saving the world. Just a few days ago they were ordinary high-school kids going about the boring lives (bleh, I can relate) and then suddenly they’re the ones that have to deal with the very killer-aliens that everyone is trying to run away from. I liked Episode 2 because it really showed how our 3 main characters were stepping up to save others, even despite how so many people older, and supposedly more mature than them were scared not only of the demons, but also of them. It’s really discouraging to be doing things to help others and ironically be feared for it, and that last scene with the little boy saying thanks to Hibiki was a really sweet touch, because I could feel how relieving it must have been for him too c: Hibiki’s gone from being deep and contemplative to being really mature beyond his age, and I like this part of him, even if later events kind of ruined a little bit of their efforts here (more on that later). Nitta and Daichi, on the other hand, are pretty bland even after 4 episodes (Nitta’s just another one of your stereotypical weak, insecure female character and Daichi’s been really useless so far) and I really don’t feel any sort of connection to them. They’re not characters I can relate to and enjoy their presence (like in Persona 4), and to me they feel more like dead weight.
Also, Bridge isn’t being really consistent in handling the battle scenes. I thought Episode 3’s battle-scenes while retrieving prof. Kanno were pretty cool (but maybe that was just because we were getting to know more about the side characters’ demons, hmm) because of the team-play and cool demons and all, but Episode 4’s battle with Merak was hugely underwhelming. There was a lot of anticipation leading up to it because it is what you would call the boss fight of Monday of Upheaval, but the entire thing mostly involved countless of Summoners being obliterated like flies and Hibiki angsting over how he let Keita die (idek why he was so affected by this – it was obviously not his fault) and making all the wrong choices. There was a lot of the cliched main-character Hero-complex issues (as in, urgh why can’t I save everyone) from Hibiki and other scenes that fell flat (I mean, of course every unimportant side-character has to almost die/sacrifice him/herself to save him to make him feel more guilty – Hinako). And that scene where Nitta took over Hibiki’s place! Not the hero comes to save the day because his female friend (that also happens to have a crush on him) isn’t capable enough to save herself even when she came out intending to help him instead of, you know, getting herself almost killed. …sigh, anyway the battle with Merak wasn’t what it was made up to be, and I hope that future battles will be less of BANG BANG U DIE, and more of kick-ass teamwork.
And now we go on to the newly-introduced elements in the series. So we found out that Summoners can actually auction and buy new demons to add to their collection. I’m going to assume that the currency that they use to do so is based on their innate abilities (although innate abilities for what – demon summoning? is there even such a thing? – is something we don’t know). This again, raises a lot of questions like on what basis exactly is their power being judged on (spiritual strength?? hair color?? BOOB SIZE?) and also whether this currency is limited/can be earned in someway. So far the only person we’ve seen use the system is Daichi, and he ended up with pretty useless demons because he didn’t even know what he was doing. I’d like to see what good can come out of this (I hope someone buys an epic demon soon) and also find out more about who else is actually using the system – I mean, in a life-or-death situation like this, will people actually be interested in bidding for demons online? Next, Alcor and Ronaldo’s appearance! Who what why when huuuuh? Alcor just looks like Hibiki’s albino twin right now, and Ronaldo just suddenly appeared out of nowhere to kidnap Hibiki – what they’re up to is really anyone’s guess at this point.
Hmm… so, I would say that DeSu2 hasn’t really got much better at explaining things. All we know about the situation now is that the world will end in 7 days, there are people called Summoners who can summon demons and basically no one else is a match for the Septentrion. We don’t know what the Septentrion’s motive is, how the Demon-summoning app came about, and what Summoners actually trade when they make a “contract” with these demons. And also there are lots of new characters we know nothing about. Of course, all these will come with time, but now I think we have been getting a lot more questions and very few answers. :\ I hope the next arc (yay, Tuesday!) will have more to bring, because I’m admittedly slightly tired of seeing Byakko doing the same things all the time and the three of them just going around murdering demons, so let’s look forward to it!
About Miyu
A stressed-out jyoushi kousei doubling as Metanorn's loli with a soft spot for sappy romance animanga. She will watch anything with bishies in it. :3
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I thought Daichi was ending up with useless demons because he’s pretty useless himself. So the only ones he can ‘afford’ are pretty bad ones.
I’m hoping that Hinako didn’t really die, after she seemed to come back to life. I like her character, and not just for the fanservice parts of her character and outfit (although she’s a lot more realistic than Nitta’s ultra fitted uniform, where the hell do you get something like that?).
There was an awful lot of cannon fodder getting obliterated in this one. That was pretty unimpactful, for killing off what, hundreds of people? “Yeah, you guys all try to do something… and die for being completely ineffectual.” Merak was just on the line between an imposing scary force and a non-entity. Implacably sailing along “Oh, there’s some guys…”*zorch*. Could have had more impact on the audience.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 107 comments
I understand the problems you have with the Merak fight and I have to agree. I don’t understand why the anime doesn’t have the cell phones display the strengths and weaknesses of enemy demons. Instead of Hibiki using thunder attacks that Merak resists for the entire fight. The bird demons and Angels were using a smarter attack strategy by using wind spells.
Keita along with another character die early, so they never really get the chance to develop if you don’t save them in the game. I’m hoping the other guy gets to live though.
The currency used in the story is macca. Its demon money. Also, it’s edible. Well edible for demons that is.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
For a story that’s only now taking its first steps, one can’t help but shudder at the steep death toll, especially with apparently relevant characters like Keita. If people have to die first in order to become Summoners, isn’t there a way for them to come back to life again?
The three leads have stepped up despite previously being regular kids. In my opinion, Nitta has grown a bit. She doesn’t want to be a damsel in distress and is trying as hard as she can to contribute to the cause. However, in the long run, Daichi is showing to be the weak link both in power and personality (Very bland). In the earlier episodes, he wanted to pretend that things will go back to the way they were and sometimes looks like he’s refusing to accept the current reality. For his sake, he better start bracing up because it only gets worse from here and I really don’t care for dead weights.
The person of interest right now for me is that kid in red, the individual known as The Anguished One. I wonder what’s in it for him with all this destruction. He also has a very familiar voice. I’m starting to hear Takahiro Sakurai’s voice all over the place. There’s also that guy who said Yamato is dangerous. I’m sensing a plot twist on its way.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 131 comments
I think the reason why hundreds had to die for the Merak fight was to show how incredibly hopeless the situation is. It just wasn’t executed very well though. Maybe more reaction shots of the dying people? Also, I was disappointed with Nitta’s scene – it was setting up to be something cool until Merak opened it’s abyss of a mouth. I actually couldn’t tell if Kikuri-hime’s attack drove Merak to desperation or if it just made Merak angry enough to unleash its trump card. I guess you can’t tell with these entities that don’t speak the human language.
Still, poor Keita, huh? Dying in the same episode he was introduced. Also, why is Hibiki more affected about Keita’s death than Hinako? And what did Hinako do for a living before all this? Because I can’t tell what her costume’s all about, really.
Anyway, I’m not satisfied with the characterizations (or the plot) right now, they’re a little weak. Still, I like the fact that Hibiki was given enough personality to make a convincing anime lead, despite having migrated from a game where having no personality serves a better purpose. I also like the production so far – the animation and the BGM is rather consistently good.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
Dancer.
Most likely due to Hibiki couldn’t prevent the death clip from happening.
POWUH: 500-599 with 519 comments
One thing I’m wondering is if Hibiki will summon something else besides Byakko. The game itself promotes using many different demons and well…Hibiki has been using the same one.
And apparently Nitta is special too since she can summon Kukuri-hime? 0_o