History Anime / DevilSurvivor2

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Devil_Survivor_2_The_Animation_2202.jpg]]

-->''[[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor Let's]] [[MythologyGag Survive]].''

[[http://ds2a.jp Anime adaptation]] of the sequel to ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Animation]]'' follows [[CanonName Hibiki Kuze]], an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent who gets thrust into a conflict between humans, demons, and {{Eldritch Abomination}}s from the stars above.

He is first introduced to Nicaea, a "dead face delivery site" ([[ObviousBeta in beta]]) that can show users other people who will die in the immediate future via videos, by his friend Daichi Shijima. Later on, they go to the subway and look up the newest video from Nicaea.

The video is a high quality depiction of a train crash in the same tunnel, with their videos depicting each other's deaths.

In a rush, they attempt to leave the station, but fail. Fortunately, they are saved by Nicaea and are allowed another chance to live. They team up with Io Nitta, a fellow high school classmate, to help fight against the aliens known as the "Septentriones". They also meet others and make friends along the way, including those from the shady [[GovernmentAgencyOfFiction JP's]].

TheWikiRule [[http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Devil_Survivor_2_The_Animation_%28Manga%29 states that]] the manga writer (where the anime takes its storyline from) was [[Manga/MyBrideIsAMermaid Makoto]] [[VisualNovel/SchoolDays Uezu]].

''Note that the adaptation may contain some spoilers from the original game, '''so beware.'''''
----
!!In addition to those from [[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2 the main page]], ''[=DeSu2=]: The Animation'' provides:
* AdaptationalVillainy: While he was an antagonist, Botis was portrayed as someone doing his job rather than one who just KickTheDog ForTheEvulz like Bifrons. Here he butchers humans, [[spoiler:kills Keita with Ziodyne]], and [[spoiler: [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness abandons Fumi to die in the collapsing building]].]]
** Yamato as well. The anime has been building him up as the main antagonist, rather than Polaris and the Septentriones.
* AttackAttackRetreatRetreat: [[spoiler:Phecda is initially immune to all non-Almighty attacks before splitting into two of itself, but Ronaldo and the others attempt to go full force against it. Io joins in with Kikuri-hime, and Otome with Sarasvati, [[GeniusBonus the latter using Drain, an Almighty skill]]. However, Phecda uses [[ShockAndAwe Dark Thunder]], which completely annihilates all demons on the field. Everybody except Hibiki has to retreat since they don't any other demons left.]]
* AnyoneCanDie: Just as it is possible to have happen in the game, [[spoiler: Hibiki and company fail to prevent Keita's death face clip from happening.]]
** [[spoiler: Ronaldo, Otome, AND Joe die fighting Megrez, leading into one hell of a TearJerker. Moreover, unlike Keita's death, none of these three were anywhere close to where they could have died in the game. Though since they ''can'' die, their deaths are still within expectations.]]
** [[spoiler: What truly sets the anime for this trope is the battle against Benetsnatch where not only Jungo dies, but ''Airi, Hinako, and Fumi'' (the game's default route characters that won't die at all) as well! Meaning everyone is officially fair game.]]
** And now at the end of Episode 12, [[spoiler: only Hibiki and Yamato remain alive. Fair game, indeed.]]
** Although not focused on too much until the closing scene of Episode 12, [[spoiler:all of humanity and Earth has been consumed by the void. Yeah, so ''everyone on Earth died'' except Hibiki and Yamato.]]
* {{Badass}}: Since this anime can now focus on fights between demons, the demons now [[TookALevelInBadass take a level in badass]]. In fact, it's comparable to Franchise/{{Pokemon}} in the same sense as fights in-game compared to fights in the anime.
* BadassDecay: The summoners themselves don't contribute to the fight anymore, instead just running around behind their summoned creatures. Some of the demons suffer from this as well. Demons who took many hits to down in the game instead get slaughtered in one or two hits...which is technically TruthInTelevision when you have over-leveled monsters and what you ''should'' be doing [[NintendoHard in the games themselves]].
* BigBadFriend: [[spoiler: Yamato is one to Hibiki and he has no problem killing his ''friends'' to get what he wants, even though he never directly did.]]
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: Yamato comes in to save Hibiki from certain death at the hands of Phecda in episode 6.]]
** [[spoiler: Daichi finally [[TookALevelInBadass takes a level in badass]] and saves both Yamato and Hibiki from Benetnasch in episode 11.]]
* BloodierAndGorier: Due to [[TechnologyMarchesOn certain limitations]] being bypassed, the video clips can now be viewed in true high-quality.
* BullyingADragon: Botis attempts to kill Alcor in episode 11 and quickly learns how bad of an idea that was.
* ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler: Alcor at the end of the series, having decided that humanity has finally shown its will and that he is no longer needed, departs the current world for another.]]
* ButtMonkey: Daichi, with his low-level demons and high-level confidence, often plays this role.
* CherryTapping: [[spoiler:JP's believes that they can slow down and potentially kill Merak by using a tank forward and four advance flanks consisting of thousands of JP's members against it with demons that primarily use Garu. The tank forward and the first forward gets killed by its spawn, while the rest gets killed by Circumpolarity. Note that in the games, [[NintendoHard you're not supposed to do this]], since bosses in most ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games usually have high armor, and the games are made on the philosophy that you're supposed to hit hard and fast with extreme preparation.]]
* CompressedAdaptation: Since it would be difficult to adapt every story option from the game into just 13 episodes, much of the storyline had to be streamlined or changed. Some of the changes include:
** In general, party members that you are introduced to and recruit throughout the game are already in play and actively working offscreen by the end of the first episode.
** Joe was one of the first party members to be met and recruited in the game on Day 1. He makes his first appearance in the anime only on Episode 5, on Day 3. His [[spoiler:girlfriend has already passed on, when it should have been the last day. He also joined Ronaldo much earlier than in the game]].
** Hinako is already a JP's member instead of convincing the party to let her join.
** [[spoiler: Keita was killed in Episode 3, meaning any storylines involving him are gone]].
** Other than an ex-detective, Ronaldo is also an ex-JP's member, and thus has knowledge of the Septentriones early on.
** [[spoiler: The group finds out about the whole "Defeat the Septentriones, Rule the World" thing right after Phecda's defeat, instead of near the end of the week. Granted, just about everybody who would normally be in the party at that point (minus poor Keita) was present when this was revealed.]]
** Episode 7 compresses the majority of endgame spoilers into an entire string of them in the first half [[spoiler:and TheStinger]].
** Episode 8 sees [[spoiler: Ronaldo and Otome get killed FAR before the point where their deaths would occur in the game. Joe dies with them instead of earlier in the day.]]
** The Anguished One revealing himself as a [[spoiler:Septentrione]] is one of the last big reveals in the game. In the anime he reveals this fact on Day 4.
** In Episode 9 [[spoiler:The Pasupata destroys Ailoth instead of simply shooting it down, although its fragments crush Sapporo regardless.]]
* ConspicuousCG: Dubhe looks like his animation is 3DCG in front of a 2D landscape.
* CoolVersusAwesome: First major fight: Ogre vs Dubhe. Ogre was already established as a {{Badass}}, but this one took it further. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, Dubhe has Agi attacks, and Ogre is weak to fire. Not really recommended to fight like that [[NintendoHard in a game like this]].]]
* CurbStompBattle: Most of the attempted attacks on Merak end quickly, with no survivors. [[spoiler:Hibiki manages to kill it just before it destroys the tower.]]
** [[spoiler:Alcor vs. Botis. Botis barely even has time to raise his knives before Alcor, with a single gesture, crushes him into nothingness.]]
** Benetnasch in Episode 11. In-game, he floats around and makes himself invulnerable from your party but doesn't do much before you figure out how to defeat him. [[spoiler: In the anime, he wipes out Sapporo, Osaka and Nagoya in seconds despite the JP's barriers, and kills the game's ace in the hole, Trumpeter, in one hit. He would probably have ended the anime there and then if Yamato wasn't defending Tokyo with his magic circle, and if he kept his Pacify Human ability.]]
* CutTheJuice: When the JP's headquarters come under a hacking attack, the group [[StatingTheSimpleSolution suggests they just cut the power]]. Unfortunately they can't do that since if they did it would also kill the barriers protecting them as well leaving them horribly exposed to attack.
* DarkerAndEdgier: The Septentriones are ''far'' more menacing and threatening, characters die by the boatload, [[RealityEnsues often in realistically abrupt ways]], and nearly all of the game's humorous moments are either deconstructed to be PlayedForDrama, or omitted entirely.
** In some cases its inverted concerning the Septentriones. [[spoiler: Dubhe is no where near as strong as his game counterpart, and both Alioth and Mizar are taken out easily.]]
* {{Deconstruction}}: Most of the game's humorous moments get this treatment. Hibiki's CloudCuckooLander antics are treated as a psychological defense mechanism of a broken, desperate man, Daichi's bumbling very nearly gets the team killed multiple times, Yamato's CrossesTheLineTwice treatment of his minions is taken to its [[BadBoss logical]] [[WeHaveReserves conclusion]], and more.
* DemonicPossession: In contrast to the game, [[spoiler:Io is forced by JP's to become the vessel for Lugh in episode 10. She only maintains her self-awareness for about 160 seconds before Lugh fully takes over. Hibiki calls her back to reality at the end of the episode.]]
* DeusExMachina: [[spoiler:It turns out Hibiki has the power of the Dragon Stream.]] It's also really convenient: [[spoiler:it can defy ''death''.]]
** [[spoiler: Hibiki getting the others demons sent to him ''with no explanation of this being possible previously''. Even when they've all been deleted from existence and there's nothing left. He then fused them all to make Lucifer, [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext who defeats Satan with a hug.]]]]
** [[spoiler:Even before that, Yamato has no explanation as to how he even survived the suicide attempt.]]
** [[spoiler: The ending itself. Almost none of the characters changed and were barely developed to begin with. Yet the Triumphant ending still happens. It ultimately feels ''very'' shallow as a result.]]
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: Hinako is seemingly killed by Merak in the fourth episode. Though fairly badly wounded, she makes a recovery (as [[PlotArmor she's needed to summon Shiva on day 5]]).]]
* DullSurprise: The actors in the English dub have trouble emoting. Hibiki in particular is very flat.
* EldritchLocation: The "Akasha Stratum", the...''place'' beyond the Terminal, is represented like this, with a myriad of gears and stars. Comes equipped with an EmpathicEnvironment as well.
* EvolvingCredits: Dead characters are removed from the ending credits. [[spoiler:By the end of the series there's a giant gap in between Hibiki and his classmates and Yamato. As of Episode 12, it's just Hibiki and Yamato after Makoto was stabbed by Alcor's tentacles, Alcor himself attempting to take Yamato out in a suicide attack, and both Io and Daichi are consumed by the void.]]
* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler:After Benetnasch spots Fumi disrupting its Healing skill, it annihilates her demon and kills her. She wishes Makoto good luck with the rest, briefly expresses disappointment over missing the end of the world, and realizes that she finds death ''boring'' before being vaporized, in monotone.]]
* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath:
** In the original game, only a few sprites got hit with the Septentrion's attacks. In this adaptation, ''there's a high body count.'' They also use their signature move from the games to [[KillEmAll kill an insane number of civilians]], [[TechnologyMarchesOn which was something that was not accurately portrayed in the games due to limitations]].
** Dubhe's introduction in the game consisted of him striking a few random civilians. His special skill is a spreader that kills an entire populace in one go as if a bomb went off.
** Merak's [[WaveMotionGun Circumpolarity]] is stylized along a six-by-however long the stage was, and was essentially a big freaking laser. Don't underestimate the power of the move, as it can hit very hard. The adaptation has [[spoiler:Circumpolarity having a charge-up time, a much more stylized animation, a freaking Ice Magic circle, and an after-effect of snow, the latter of which was not present in the game. On top of this, it killed three advance flanks.]]
* {{Fanservice}}: The [=DVD=] covers, except the first and the last one, which just features Hibiki and the Anguished One, respectively. The other five covers feature Io putting the focus on her GagBoobs; Fumi in a BoobsAndButtPose showing of her DangerouslyShortSkirt and SideBoob; Hinako dressed as {{Stripperific}} as ever, winking and playing with her glasses; Airi [[ACupAngst holding her breasts]] and [[BareYourMidriff baring her midriff]]; and Makoto showing ample cleavage, and ClothingDamage on her thighs. Io, Fumi and Hinako seem rather [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl indifferent]] about it, while Airi and Makoto don't look entirely [[ReluctantFanserviceGirl comfortable]].
* FeatheredFiend: An Itsumade kills the one who summoned it and then summons more to attack a shelter with people.
* FriendlyEnemy: Yamato and Alcor are pretty polite to each other, even when it's clear that they oppose each other. This contrasts their hostility towards each other in game.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: 64,399. It's underneath Hibiki's name in the Nicaea app. If that's Macca, that's ''impossibly high'' for the beginning. By episode 5, the number is at a much higher 537,830[[{{HSQ}} (!)]]. A later episode shows it reacting to stress, making it something of an indicator for Hibiki's deteriorating mental condition. That [[SerialEscalation 3.4]] [[{{HSQ}} million]] in episode 6 becomes something of an OhCrap moment in hindsight.
** For some reason, Alcor also calls Yamato "Shining One", a name that was reserved for the Protagonist. Episode 6 has him mentioning ''multiple'' "Shining Ones".
** Also, in episode 7, Joe comments on Airi's "cute bellybutton". [[spoiler:Which becomes a major role in the 5th day in the game when Kama appears because of Airi's "cute bellybutton".]]
-->''[[InsaneTrollLogic There's no accounting for a demon's tastes]].''
** In episode 8, "Brionac" is Lugh's Spear, and JP's needs a person to wield it. [[spoiler:Io eventually does exactly that.]]
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: [[spoiler:Yamato performs a fusion which summons]] Satan, who has six boobs not even ''bothered'' with the censoring. ''[[RefugeInAudacity Not even]] {{Ecchi}} [[RefugeInAudacity can get away with that]]''.
* HollywoodHacking: Episode 3 involves JP's ExtremeGraphicalRepresentation of firewalls being broken down layer by layer.
* ImAHumanitarian: Mentioned by JP's scientists that if you aren't a skilled enough summoner, then the demon will decide to make food out of them.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler:Makoto, which doubles as TakingTheBullet, to protect Yamato from Alcor's metal limbs]].
* InconsistentDub: The official subs show several cases of this; for example, Hibiki's first demon is Byakko (in the games it goes by its Chinese name, Baihu), and Yamato channels the Ryumyaku (translated to "Dragon Stream" in the game).
* ItCanThink: Demons are portrayed as being silent beasts, in contrast to the game where the first ones seen speak immediately. [[spoiler: Then Botis shows that he's fully capable of speech after the group was celebrating their victory too early.]]
* ItMakesSenseInContext: "The world would just disappear." Not quite as straightforward as it sounds. [[spoiler: Or perhaps to be more precise, ''more'' straightforward than it sounds.]]
** [[spoiler:TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: The Void is a removal of absolutely ''everything''. What makes this perplexing in Episode 8 when compared to the video game is that it is represented as if ''the screen itself'' is being erased.]]
* IWasJustPassingThrough: [[spoiler: Yamato takes this attitude after saving Hibiki from Phecda. A few minutes later, Alcor reveals that Yamato saw the death clip, and Makoto reveals that Yamato ''risked his life'' activating the transporter to get there in time.]]
* {{Kaiju}}: Merak is called this by a bystander, though it's more like a surreal homicidal spaceship with a WaveMotionGun.
* KaizoTrap: Megrez [[spoiler:kills Otome, Ronaldo, and Joe by sending off its bombs as it was dying.]]
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: Keita by the end of episode 3.]]
** [[spoiler: Otome, Ronaldo, and Joe follow in episode 8.]]
** [[spoiler: As well as Airi, Fumi, Hinako, and Jungo in Episode 11.]]
** [[spoiler: Even Io, Daichi, Makoto, and Alcor in episode 12.]]
* LargeHam: [[spoiler: Black Frost, a giant evil snowman, made all the more awesome for being the most powerful demon the heroes have personally summoned, as well as being summoned by ''Daichi'' of all people.]] "'''HEEEEE'''...ho."
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler: Everyone save Hibiki, Yamato, and Alcor. The explanation for the other two is that they still most likely physically existed and Alcor is a Septentrione. The others being deleted before this explains why they don't remember.]]
* LastBreathBullet: As Merak starts to literally fall apart at the seams it attempts to fire of Circumpolarity one last time.
* LastOfHisKind: Lampshaded with [[spoiler:Hibiki and Yamato near the end.]]
-->[[spoiler:Hibiki: The world is just you and me.]]
* LostInTranslation: [[spoiler:The subs mistakenly translate ''Jaaku Furosuto'' as Jack Frost. The demon's name is "Black Frost" in the English games to preserve the "Jack"-''jaaku''/"evil" pun.]]
** [[spoiler:As such, his Race was also mistakenly assumed to be Fairy instead, despite the anime literally saying it was Jaki.]]
* {{Magitek}}: The barriers are shown to be maintained by praying monks and various computers.
* MatchCut: With a black king chess piece and a spire on top of the Kyoto Hospital in episode 5.
* MidSeasonTwist: Several of the game's big plot twists concerning what the heck is going on are revealed in the seventh episode.
* MoodWhiplash: Very apparent with the intersplicing of death clips and breathers. Especially bad in episode 11, where Io, Daichi, Airi, Jungo, and Hinako share a cheery moment with each other and exchange email addresses...[[spoiler:only for them to all immediately receive dead face clips of each other]].
* MoralDissonance: The JP as a whole outright ''refuse'' to help others. Even worse, they become angry and defensive when people tell them that they are capable of helping other people. Not necessarily even asking them for help, just pointing it out. Sure, their actual mission is admirable and important, and the anime justifies it thus, but the prevailing opinion even within the anime is that they don't need to be asshats about it.
** [[spoiler: This makes a scary amount of sense once you learn of Hotsuin's motivations and feelings on the weak.]]
* MythologyGag:
** "Meritocracy", briefly discussed in Episode 5, is actually an ending in the [[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2 video game]], and it's also labeled as such on ThisVeryWiki. The same goes for "Egalitarianism" in Episode 6.
** In Episode 6, [[Creator/DaisukeNamikawa Jungo]] and [[Creator/MitsuakiMadono Joe]] [[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} face off]].
** The orientation of the four characters (Yamato in front, Ronaldo in back, Daichi to the right, and Alcor to the left) mirror the four ending paths in the game proper.
** Daichi and Io sneaking onto the train inside boxes is a reference to an infamous scene in the game where Io plans to save Daichi the [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Solid Snake way]].
** Airi teams up with Jungo and they attempt to [[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor perform (great) justice against Ronaldo's resistance in Nagoya while using cats, the former using Cait Sith]].
* NeverFoundTheBody: [[spoiler:Otome, Joe and Ronaldo.]]
* NotQuiteDead: Powerful demons tend to be this when they appear to be defeated.
* OffWithHisHead: The first thing Ogre does after being summoned? Knock a Kobold's head clean of it's shoulders.
* OhCrap: The typical reaction to a newly-added death clip. [[spoiler:Even ''Yamato'' of all people gets one in Episode 5 when he receives a clip of Hibiki's death.]]
* OnlyMostlyDead: [[spoiler:Fumi and Hinako. But not Keita, Otome, Ronaldo, or Joe.]]
* PantheraAwesome: Byakko, one of the Ssu-Ling [[PowerGlows glows with blue lightning]] and is Hibiki's first demon.
* ThePromise: In episode 9 [[spoiler:Yamato makes Hibiki promise to stay by his side until the end and pass judgement on him if he decides his existence is a sin.]]
* RealityEnsues: Most of the deaths are abrupt, sudden, and without warning, just like they would be if a similar invasion happened in the real world.
* ResetButton: [[spoiler: The anime's ending, which is also the Triumphant ending. Small changes that show the difference include Hibiki having his hood already down at the beginning and his phone out before even meeting Daichi, being more optimistic during their talk, changes to Nicaea into a joke site and even the sites page having minor differences, and speaking to Io. The changes start getting much more different from there.]]
* {{Revenge}}: [[spoiler:Lugh against the Hotsuin family for imprisoning him and turning him into a tool.]]
* RunningGag: Daichi trying to help out against an enemy, only to for his demons to be [[CurbStompBattle Curb-Stomped]] or [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere running away]].
-->'''Daichi''': ''[[ButtMonkey My demons are so weak!]]''
* ScrewDestiny: Technically possible, you just need to never, ever give up and have the strength and willpower to fight fate. [[spoiler:If you don't have even a single one of these up to the standard you need...you're screwed. Especially if you get a Dead Face clip.]]
* ShownTheirWork:[[spoiler: episode 13's fusion of Lucifer by Hibiki is possible in the actual game.]]
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Yamato, who had challenged Alcor to a few games of chess in the past. He also likes to never admit he loses when Alcor beats him.
* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:Megrez launches one final attack on Ronaldo, Otome, Joe, Jungo, and Airi as it dies. Only the later two survive the assault.]]
** [[spoiler:Despite the fact Alcor tried to take down Yamato with a kamikaze attack during Episode 11, the only good thing that did was kill...Yamato's vest.]]
* ThemeNaming: The firewalls are named after [[CthulhuMythos Lovecraftian horrors]]. And they "duplicate" Nyarlahotep's layer by referencing those within that mythos itself.
* ThereCanOnlyBeOne: Taken to ''the'' LogicalExtreme. [[spoiler:By episode 12, Hibiki and Yamato are literally the last two humans alive, and only one of them will get to meet Polaris.]]
* TookALevelInBadass: Daichi in episode 11 when he summons his first strong demon [[spoiler:Black Frost, who is in fact said to be the strongest demon the heroes have ever had access to,]] and gets his own serious fight scene.
* TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler: Hinako begins using Keita's Berserker in episode 8.]]
* WhamEpisode: Happens early on with episode 3 of the anime [[spoiler: Keita's fate shows that here the best route with (almost) all characters surviving will not happen.]]
** [[spoiler:Episode 8: [[TearJerker Ronaldo, Otome, and Joe all getting slaughtered]] by Megrez, and at the end we see the Void rapidly devouring Japan.]]
** [[spoiler:Subverted with Episode 10. Everything is set up to look like Io will die...and then it seems like she does, but comes back to life. Of course, considering the tone of the show, this may as well be a WhamEpisode just since it has a happy ending.]]
** [[spoiler:Episode 11. Fumi, Airi, Jungo and Hinako all die.]]
** [[spoiler:Episode 12: Alcor, Io, Daichi and Makoto all die. The void consumes the world, and Hibiki and Yamato are the last of humanity, preparing to fight in Heaven.]]
* WhamLine: Episode 9.
--->[[spoiler:'''Makoto''': Io Nitta, tomorrow you will die for us.]]
** Episode 10.
--->[[spoiler:'''Hibiki''': Nitta-san!]]
--->[[spoiler:'''Yamato''': That is not Nitta. That is Lugh.'']]
* WhatTheHellHero: In episode 6, Hibiki calls out Yamato for using people as pawns for his own goals.
** Hibiki himself gets yelled at by Daichi earlier in the same episode for always going off on his own.
** Makoto, Fumi, and Yamato get called out by everyone else for making tough decisions to preserve the human race. Except everyone is catching on the fact that JP's are only preserving the competent elite, meaning they have the audacity to pretend they're serving the greater good while sacrificing people for their own agenda. Yamato isn't making a big secret out of it, and Fumi is being her typical trollish self, but Makoto staunchly sticks by the company line of having good intentions and bears the brunt of their attempts to convince them to save [[spoiler: Io]].
* YouAreNotAlone: Daichi tries to impress this on Hibiki during his WhatTheHellHero moment, even leading it off with a ManHug.
* YouCantFightFate: [[spoiler:Most of the Death Clips are set in stone, and it is ''close to impossible'' to change them, short of really strong forces or demons. [[AnyoneCanDie even if the person shown can't actually die in the original game]].]]
* ZergRush: Employed by both JP's and Merak during Monday's battle.

** BadassDecay: The summoners themselves don't contribute to the fight anymore, instead just running around behind their summoned creatures.
*** Some of the demons suffer from this. Demons who took many hits to down in the game instead get slaughtered in one or two hits...which is technically TruthInTelevision when you have over-leveled monsters and what you ''should'' be doing [[NintendoHard in the games themselves]].

* CherryTapping: [[spoiler:JP's believes that they can slow down and potentially kill Merak by using a tank forward and four advance flanks consisting of thousands of JP's members against it [[GeniusBonus with demons that primarily use Garu]]. The tank forward and the first forward gets killed by its spawn, while the rest gets killed by Circumpolarity. Note that in the games, [[NintendoHard you're not supposed to do this]], since bosses in most ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games usually have high armor, and the games are made on the philosophy that you're supposed to hit hard and fast with extreme preparation.]]

*** [[spoiler:"God out of the machine", eh?]]

** MythologyGag[=/=][[spoiler:YouAreTooLate: In the game, this would be the title for the relevant mission.]]

TheWikiRule [[http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Devil_Survivor_2_The_Animation_%28Manga%29 states that]] the manga writer (where the anime takes its storyline from) was [[MyBrideIsAMermaid Makoto]] [[VisualNovel/SchoolDays Uezu]].

** [[spoiler: Ronaldo, Otome, AND Joe die fighting Megrez, leading into one hell of a TearJerker. Moreover, unlike Keita's death, none of these three were anywhere close to where they could have died in the game. Though since they ''can'' die, their death is still within expectations.]]

** [[spoiler: Ronaldo, Otome, AND Joe die fighting Megrez, leading into one hell of a TearJerker. Moreover, unlike Keita's death, none of these three were anywhere close to where they could have died in the game. Though since they ''can'' die they're death is still within expectations.]]

* AdultFear[=/=]FamilyUnfriendlyDeath:
** In the original game, only a few sprites got hit with the Septentrion's attacks. In this adaptation, ''there's a high body count.'' They also use their signature move from the games to [[KillEmAll kill an insane number of civilians]], [[TechnologyMarchesOn which was something that was not accurately portrayed in the games due to limitations]].
** Dubhe's introduction in the game consisted of him striking a few random civilians. His special skill is a spreader that kills an entire populace in one go as if a bomb went off.
** Merak's [[WaveMotionGun Circumpolarity]] is stylized along a six-by-however long the stage was, and was essentially a big freaking laser. Don't underestimate the power of the move, as it can hit very hard. The adaptation has [[spoiler:Circumpolarity having a charge-up time, a much more stylized animation, a freaking Ice Magic circle, and an after-effect of snow, the latter of which was not present in the game. On top of this, it killed three advance flanks.]]