Sometimes shows peg guys just right, like this one that opens with a group of them talking about how they simple want to touch some boobs.
What They Say:
Issei Hyodo’s first date with his new girlfriend ends poorly when she turns into a devil and stabs him in the stomach. Luckily, he’s saved by Rias, the buxom president of his school’s Occult Research Club. And then, things really start to get weird…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
In a school that has few men overall, Highschool DxD revolves around the character of Issei, a young man whose life is like many young men who just want to get some hands on time with women. With this school being weighted towards a lot of women, and a lot of foreign exchange students at that, it’s like having a massive harem at your fingertips but not being able to really take advantage of it well. So when you get a pretty boy or two in the mix, the girls are definitely drawn to them over your usual average guys, which is what Issei and his friends are all like. Average in a lot of ways, but very above average with imaginations as their views of what women look like under their clothes is pretty varied and detailed.
While Issei’s life has its fair share of troubles, such as when he alone gets busted for nearly peeping on some girls, he does have a bright spot when a girl named Amano asks him out on a date. Cute, bright and outgoing, she’s all for getting to know Issei and doesn’t mind that he calls her his girlfriend from pretty much the first minute, which is comical since she’s so cute. The date the two go through is just a lot of fun as it covers all the usual trappings of such things while bringing in the buxom nature of Amano, his leering ways and the potential for something more blossoming. Getting a show that leaps to the handholding in the first episode may not seem like much, but others spend their whole run trying to get to that point. Of course, this series wants to do something different, which is why Amano ends up trying to gut him with a magic sword after transforming into a skimpy outfit that reveals her wings, among other assets.
With the hint that there’s something important within Issei, he manages to do something that he doesn’t even properly remember by summoning someone to help him while covered in blood. That memory is there but he can’t believe it happened since he’s perfectly normal later on, but seeing Rias, the woman who saved him, as another student in the school triggers things for him. With the idea that everything that happened with Amano was nothing more than a dream, his coping mechanism is amusing since his friends just want to watch goofy anime smut. Oh, wait, isn’t that what I’m doing? Anyway, Issei’s efforts to discover the truth aren’t exactly intense, but the randomness of life and a sense of unease draws him to where things start to reveal themselves just a bit more.
In Summary:
The show plays to a bigger scale easily here with some interesting characters and hints at what Issei may be and it does it in a fun way, though he seems to have a penchant for getting stabbed. What works is the bit of help that he gets in the form of the very bouncy Rias and her whole occult style background. But there’s more to be explored there as she’s got a good little troop of girls working with her that are lightly introduced here and an ending that sets the stage for the general idea well. While there’s some serious bounce going on here at times and an overt nature, it’s not as blatant as it feels like it could be. Which is good and bad, cause I wanted some serious fanservice fun here based on the promos. That it may play a fun yet serious storyline helps to make it a show that has some story to it, which is something a lot of these shows tend to lack. With some cute panty flash moments, perverted guys, a decent amount of skin and a curious angle with magic and angels, Highschool DxD may have me engaged for its run. Especially sa it went with a pretty big Tenchi Muyo moment at that end that made me grin.
Grade: B
Readers Rating: [ratings]
Streamed By: FUNimation
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
