The Rating Game is about to start and Issei needs to be… tweaked.
What They Say:
The time for the start of the Rating Game arrives, and the contestants are transported to a battlefield in an alternate dimension. While Asia and Rias remain at their base, Issei and Koneko face the opposition, and Issei reveals his new signature move.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With a good bit of rough, hard training behind him, Issei is getting himself into the proper mindset for dealing with the upcoming Rating Game. It’s good to see the way Issei is gearing himself up for this as he’s taking the approach that he has to do well, not because there’s any particular thing in the balance, but because it’s the right thing to do. Even the way Rias has approached the match has been pretty honorable when you get down to it as she wants to win and put Phoenix in their place, but she’s not going truly over the top in how she’s setting up the situation. It has a bit of a relaxed feeling in a way when you get down to it. Not mellow, but it’s not trying to drive things over the top which is a nice change of pace. At least for now because you know things are just going to boil over soon enough.
As events get set up for the alternate space where the Game will take place, a bit of new information does come out that changes Issei’s view a good deal as he learns that Rias’ older brother is “the” devil, Zechs Lucifer. It’s definitely an unnerving thing to realize the company you keep, but it’s useful bit to get about Rias herself and the way she does on some level feel trapped by the Gremory name and all it stands for. The alternate space isn’t all that different when you get down to it, at least with the building being the same, but the sky itself is a bit different. That’s the least of Issei’s worries though as he also ends up in a situation where things are just beyond what he could have expected when he gets to place his head on Rias’ lap as she decides to spend some quality time with him for her own purposes.
With the second half focusing on the Rating Game itself after Issei gets “tweaked” a little bit, it’s very reminiscent of what we got earlier in the series. In that it just feels very, very fun and lighthearted with its action but not in an insulting way. It has a good sense of flow even as it throws several characters at Issei at once, goofy characters when you get down to it, but it’s fun and silly without being stupid. Even when it goes to the whole idea that the girls he’s fighting against have to lose their clothes. It should be awful but it’s just done with such a silly side to it that you can’t help but to laugh with it rather than at it. At least if you’ve watched the show from the start and gotten into its particular sense of style.
In Summary:
Highschool DxD continues to be a fun show here as it well balances the silly side, the action, the sexuality and the story. And it does have a story, which some may be disinclined to believe based on the visuals that the show often generates. This episode gets us into the Rating Game well but wit h some fun little story elements thrown into the first half that help to change the dynamic a bit. Normally in these kinds of series it’s very easy to dislike, to say the least, the lead male character. But Issei continues to be just as fun as the ladies and brings a neat little dynamic to it that’s wholly enjoyable. This episode gets us moving along well and delivers on both the action and fanservice while getting the story elements just right. Guilty pleasure or not, it’s just a hell of a lot of fun.
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.
