Way back when I started this blog I mentioned that while I would not be reviewing hentai there was an anime I planned to review that came pretty close. I actually inadvertently told a falsehood there: there are actually two that fall into that category. The other has simply slipped my mind (And will be discussed in coming weeks). However this is the one I was thinking about when I made my first post.
Imagine you were the biggest perv you could possibly be legally while still being only in high school. Now imagine that you and your two openly perverted and tactless friends found out that a all girls school had recently decided to go co-ed.If you were like the three I just described your brain probably went: former all-girl school+ limited male population = instant harem!! Fortunately that is not what happens (or else I’d have stopped watching before I started). Instead, Issei Hyodou (arguably the least perverted of the three pervkaterrs in this anime) get killed by a fallen angel and revived by Rias Gremory: the hottest girl in school and also a devil. Thus begins High School DXD.
Let me start with something that is going to sound hypocritical coming from a heterosexual male anime fan. This show could have done with less nudity. For other fans this may have been a big selling point: the girls in this show are beautiful (and that is in no small part due to the animation being fantastic). But the girls seem to end up in a lot of situations where their clothes get destroyed or they end up naked for other reasons and to me that actually ends up becoming a negative point.
So if the nudity is a detraction for me, what is the draw? I can tell you that despite the rampant nudity, I do enjoy this anime. It is because of the story. Basically you have a harem romance anime hidden in there. Issei may be a perv, but he also has a degree of nobility to him and you see that as he works with the rest of Rias’ devils to save Rias from a marriage she did not want and engage in other activities. The other characters have character and all have their share of brokenness that make them both easy to relate to and likable. There are also some pretty good action sequences involving battles with fallen angels, rogue demons and other peerages. Finally Issei’s story is one of a person trying to find his way in a world that has suddenly and irrevocably changed.
Would I recommend this anime to another otaku? I’m not sure. If you are opposed to ridiculous amounts of nudity for little or no reason, give it a pass. If however you are willing to try to look past that: go ahead and give it a look. It is available in both an English dub through Funimation here in the U.S. But can also be found in Japanese on the web if you are so inclined. I have watched in both versions and found little to no fault with either.