Hello there. This is review number twenty one and it’s also part of the Winter 2012 line up. An ecchi anime called Highschool DxD. Be warned, this anime is super ecchi. It’s like I reviewed Freezing again. The ecchi genre has truly evolved, hasn’t it? Back in the 90s, ecchi only serves panty shots and naked girls but convenient camera placing hides the good parts. Now all I see is boobs and nipples. Ugh. I’m old. What’s next? Full on hentai level nudity?

Anyways, Highschool DxD. It’s twelve episodes and it’s perverted. Let’s read on.

Story

Issei Hyodo is a second year high school student. He is a sexually frustrated normal boy who gets a chance to have a girlfriend when a girl from another school asked him out. On his very date though, Issei was killed by his girlfriend. She is a fallen angel out to kill Issei in the first place.

He was saved by an upperclassman, the school’s idol, Rias Gremory. She is actually a demon who used her demon power to resurrect Issei. Now she tells him that she is now her master. Issei is now plunged in a world where demons and angels fight each other.

Taking the Pants Off

Highschool DxD is another typical ecchi harem anime and if you’ve seen one then you’ve seen them all. The weakness of the ecchi genre is its generic-ness. You’ll see the same old thing in this anime. Some panty shots, girl’s gets their clothes ripped off, exposed breasts, plump nips, some ass shots and girls in their underwear. It’s all here in this anime. Some people might be put off by these kinds of anime and I know a lot of people who has disdain for it. Thankfully, the plot of this anime is interesting enough to watch the show.

The first half of the anime is about character introductions, establishing the plot and grasping the status quo. Issei is a super perverted guy who wants to squeeze some boobs. Seriously, that’s the first line of the anime. He and his equally perverted friends long to have a girl so they can squeeze the meat out of their boobs. They are overly perverted and it got annoying because some things are better kept inside. They have no luck with girls and they know in the campus for their perversion. So Issei is in cloud nine when a girl from another school would ask her out. He went to his first date ever and it turns out that the girl is a fallen angel out to kill her. He was devastated but was luckily saved by a demon with big boobs and red hair. Issei is now a demon who works for the school Occult Club’s leader, Rias Gremory.

The story is all about Issei learning to be a demons and fallen angels. Issei is a new demon so he is weak but with a chance to get stronger and to get a demon slave of his own, Issei aims to be Harem King. The first half is all about Issei accepting jobs and trying to be strong. He eventually meets a nun named Asia Argento who has taken a liking to her. She is a nun who unknowingly working for the fallen angels. Issei, being the cool guy that he is, decides to take Asia away from those rotten fallen angels.

There are really only three notable characters in the series. Issei, Asia and Rias. There is a huge cast of characters but they are all one sided and one dimensional. That includes the other member of the Occult Club that Issei is in. They are comrades but there is nothing special about them. They are only fun to watch when they battle enemies but they are very generic. Their generic look and personality actually makes up for their lack of depth as they do serve a purpose in the story and the viewers would later cheer for them.  Wouldn’t you cheer knowing a kuudere with a frail body has herculean strength?

The villains aren’t that impressive too. There isn’t really a notable villain that we see at every episode. There are two clear villains in the show but they aren’t that great. I would’ve loved a super evil villain that they fight in the end given that the anime is about demons and angels.

Actually, the first half is about demons and angels. The second half of the anime, with character introduction out of the way, is all about Issei trying his best to become a powerful demon and the dastardly arranged marriage of Rias to an arrogant demon. The whole demons versus angels are forgotten and it all became internal focusing on the demons and their problems. The story is actually good. I wouldn’t believe I’d write something this long about the story when I first watched it.

The anime has a nice pacing and, something more impressive, a good build up. Issei is pathetically weak and he only gets powerful using a special weapon hidden deep inside him. Most of the time, he is just a punching to the enemies and he died twice in the anime. He got impaled a bunch of times and even when he has a moment of brilliance, he would often get a bad beating in the end. So it was nice seeing this guy transform into a bad ass demon in the end.

There are a lot of ecchi moments though. It was the main element of the anime so some scenes are hard to watch. When the girls fight and takes damage, their clothes gets ripped and their boobs are shown. The school uniform apparently doesn’t include bras and there was even a scene where an enemy used her nipples as a laser beam. I couldn’t get a proper picture to add to this blog because most of the good ones have exposed boobs in them. This anime is super perverted but it also has a strong serious story so if you can block out the perverted stuffs, then you will enjoy the anime.

The final episodes of the anime are best parts as it was packed with action. I kinda wish the anime would just focus on the action instead of over serving us perverted things. Oh well. It has a strong story nonetheless so the anime had a decent balance to it.

Sight and Sounds

Yes, the “sights” of the anime. Let’s just say every character gets a chance to take their clothes off. That includes Issei too. The character design is generic and even though there are a lot of characters, nothing really stands out as amazing. The design is utilized to effectively deliver the ecchi element of the anime.

The action in the anime is really amazing. When two characters would clash swords, the anime would spin while zooming in and out. It makes the anime exciting to watch. The animation is very smooth and there is story telling in the fights so I find that superb.

Some scenes are done in CG but only a handful. The fights aren’t CG except for Issei’s sacred gear and some of the swords. The rest is just your average animation.

The opening, “Trip -innocent of D-” by Larval Stage Planning, is your typical Jpop song. It does fit the anime nicely but for me, it’s just your average opening song. The opening sequence nicely summarize the anime so if you aren’t sure of picking the anime up, just watch the opening. It also has some panty shots, nipples and naked girls in it that truly embodies the anime.

The ending sequence was just insane. The song, I wasn’t even listening. The sight of the girls dancing half naked in a stripper pole is just crazy intense. See for yourselves:

Overall Score

6/10 “It’s an action paced anime with a heaping amount of fan service.”

I watched it for the story but if you’re a fan of ecchi anime then the anime is made just for you. There is a nice story here with a smart pacing so if you can stand the ecchi elements then I’m sure you can also enjoy the anime.