High School DxD review

I've seen quite a few harem animes over the years and none of them are perfect.  Let's be honest, you don't watch this stuff if you are looking for something intellectually stimulating.  Fatal flaws in harem series include really wimpy male leads, no plot development, and way too much gratuitous nudity to be taken seriously.  I was quite surprised to find that High School DxD has actual depth and tries to make itself worth the viewer's time.  

The story revolves around a second year high schooler at Kuoh Academy named Issei Hyoudou who is the most perverted guy at school.  Naturally, all the girls at school despise him.  Imagine Issei's shock when a beautiful girl named Yuma Amano asks him out on a date.  In the back of Issei's mind, he can't help thinking that this is too good to be true.  It turns out that it actually is.  At the end of their date, Yuma reveals herself to be a fallen angel named Raynare and fatally stabs Issei with a spear of light.  Leaving him to die, Issei is revived by Kuoh Academy beauty Rias Gremory who is actually a devil.  Issei turns out to be in possession of a Sacred Gear housing the Red Dragon Emperor, which caused the fallen angels to perceive him as a threat.  Rias also sensed Issei's power, and wants him to join her group of devils at the school.  All of them are members of the Occult Research Club, where Rias is the club president.  During the rest of the series, Issei, Rias, and the other devils in the club make contracts with humans, participate in ratings games with other devil clans, and solve conflicts that involve the school and the underworld.  Issei's goal is to one day be a harem king with a number of female devils in his care.

One of the things that first hooked me into the show was its brutal honesty about what it is.  Whereas other harem shows try to make the lead male into a Dudley Do-Right where he is unwillingly the object of affection for a number of girls, Issei makes no attempt to hide that he wants a whole group of girls crawling over him.  At the same time, he seems unsure of what to do when he gets exactly that.  Despite his perversion, Issei is not a sex fiend.  He cares about his friends and wants to treat them the right way, even if it means refusing their sexual advances on him.

Issei is a very interesting character unlike any I have seen in other harem animes.  As already mentioned, he makes no attempt to hide that he is a pervert, yet he is far more admirable and caring than his initial impression would lead people to believe.  This is something that the devil girls grow to like about him.  You can sense his concern when one of his friends is in danger, and his anger when he encounters whoever threatens to is responsible for harming his friends.  More importantly, Issei is not without his own inner demons (no pun intended).  After his experience with Raynare, he is afraid of getting too close to the girls on the chance that they might reject him.  As a result, he is reluctant to call Rias by her name, instead referring to her respectfully as "President," even when they are alone together.  This insecurity regarding relationships is something any teenager can understand and instantly sympathize with.  Issei is also capable of laying down some serious hurt on a number of supernatural enemies.  The sacred gear he possesses first materializes as a gauntlet, and later becomes a full suit of armor when he activates his Balance Breaker.  The Red Dragon Emperor, Ddraig, who resides in the armor communicates with and mentors Issei throughout the series. 

Character development is another of High School DxD's merits.  Each young devil receives a rounded back story at some point helping explain where they came from and why they act or think the way they do.  None of them are perfect, and the series does a good job examining the chips each carries on his or her shoulders.  The story itself is also quite good.  The first season provides a strong introduction to the main characters with plenty of funny moments and intense action scenes, cumulating in a memorable season finale.  The second season uses the format established in the first and introduces a few more main characters and backstory regarding the conflict between angels, fallen angels, and devils.  The third season, which has just about wrapped up, flounders a little bit near the end as it tries to establish a more serious tone, but I would say it's still decent.  The universe that this series creates is really intriguing.  The devils break stereotypes by being portrayed as very honorable individuals.  At the same time, figures and creatures from other mythologies around the world are included, giving the series truly global scope.

Don't get me wrong though, this show is not without its over the top use of fan service.  At least one female character is topless or completely naked every episode.  Even Issei's devil powers revolve around perverted means.  But at the same time, it is refreshing to see the show try to be more than just raunchy eye candy, and it largely succeeds at that.  The characters are likable and the story is quite entertaining.  Time constraints and budget limits do require shortcuts leaving some characters and plot points left unexplained.  You would have to read the manga to learn more about each of the characters.  However, the anime does a good job with what it has.  I recommend High School DxD to anyone looking for a harem series that goes above and beyond its brief to create an entertaining story complete with a rich cast of characters who viewers will enjoy spending time with.