According to Funimation Entertainment president and CEO Gen Fukunaga, the anime series was popular in Japan and the United States. Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network reviewed the first episode, calling it derivative with "absolutely nothing original" but not boring. Noting that Allen's use of the anti-Akuma weapon might seem clichéd, Todd Douglass Jr. of DVD Talk found its use in the anime entertaining. Active Anime's Sandra Scholes and UK Anime Network's Kevin Leathers enjoyed the anime series and, similarly to Douglass, found its small borrowings from other series appealing. Both reviewers praised Allen Walker's characterization. "Anime Insider" Kimberly Morales said that the series' animation quality varied and although the story was appealing, voice actor Travis Willingham was miscast as Kanda. However, Morales liked the series and its cast overall. Tom Tonhat of "Escapist" praised the cast due to how it inspired multiple cosplaying and noted the impact of the Earl's characterization as it involved about how the dead cannot be brought back to life.