High School DxD New – 10 [NSFW]
How can anyone resist a cute face like that?
We’re moving into the second half conclusion of High School DxD New, and this week, we’ve got the final preparations for the summit between the three factions: Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels. After the lightheartedness of the Class Observation, will things turn too serious?
Keeping to the Plot
It’s a really shiny sword
Once again, I’m impressed with how well High School DxD New does keeping fidelity with the light novels. The adaptation to the anime is just about the perfect length for the books, and they hit on every major point, most of the smaller points, add a little bit of flair, and move just a few things around to help it fit the storytelling. I talked a few weeks ago about them moving Akeno’s attempted seduction of Issei from the first episode to the seventh, and I think it did fit better there on reflection. It certainly fit the mood of that episode a lot more.
The implementation is kind of awkward, tho
And keeping to the novel this week, we have Issei’s first encounter with Michael, now known to be the leader of the Angels following the death of God. And on the face of it, the whole scenario is kind of kooky: Michael works with Akeno to keep and prepare Ascalon, a Dragonslaying sword, so that Issei, the host of the red dragon, the sekiryutei, can incorporate it into his sacred gear. Not to mention that they’re doing all this in a former Shinto shrine which is now Akeno’s home. But with help from Ddraig, Issei successfully integrates Ascalon into his sacred gear, although I have to say that that’s really an inferior method for wielding a sword, losing the action of the wrist.
Akeno shows her wings of shame
And after Michael leaves, Issei gets some time alone with Akeno, and finally brings up what Kokabiel said during their fight, that Akeno is the daughter of a Fallen Angel. Of course, Akeno is somewhat ashamed of her heritage, moreso because of events in her past, but also scared that Issei finally knowing the truth will make him hate her. But of course, Issei’s far more individualistic than that, and just like he cared for Asia before she became a demon, he still likes Akeno for being Akeno. And isn’t she just so cute when she falls in love with him? It’s just such a shame that Issei doesn’t understand what she means by third place (and I find it interesting that she puts herself after Asia, but ahead of Xenovia).
But the person feeling the hurt is Rias, who despite all of us knowing how much Issei cares for her, is still unsure about it. And seeing sad Rias is painful, especially because it’s so unnecessary. But in Issei’s mind there’s still too much of a status difference, one that he feels makes it impossible for him to be the one Rias cares for above all others. He just thinks she’s being nice to her servant demon. And in that, she’s partly right when she wonders why everyone thinks she’s in first place, when she feels farthest away of all. I guess it’s the achilles heel of anime relationships, where they can’t just be plain about their feelings.
The Summit Begins
Kiba apologizes on behalf of all males everywhere for Issei
The training session with Gasper took a little bit more time than I would have liked, but I thought Koneko’s observation about Issei’s look, and where she’d seen it before, was pretty amusing. Once again, this is Issei doing mostly the right thing for the entirely wrong reason. And I think Asia knows exactly what’s going on, but she’s very tolerant of Issei’s perverted nature, as long as she gets to stay with him.
If you go by power level, looks like Michael’s way down
But finally, the conference begins, and Rias and Sona have to give a report about what happened with Kokabiel. And throughout, Azazel’s pretty darn relaxed, I think because he figures that’s all done, no real harm happened, and now Azazel’s on ice. One thing that was definitely different in the show from the LN was that I don’t remember Irina there at all. It seemed like she was just kind of thrown in to make it all characters that we already know. But ultimately, I don’t think that change will have much of an effect, since all she does is scoff at Xenovia.
Pictures of the summit are boring, but lap pillows are not
Speaking of the Angels, am I the only one that thinks Michael needs to grow into his armor a little? He’s got those huge shoulder pads, and all that cloak, and that skinny little neck, and you can see all of him with his arms nowhere near the edge. How do those giant shoulders not just slide down his body?
Rias isn’t too happy about Akeno’s liberty-taking with Issei
Azazel keeps his nonchalant attitude the whole way through. Not really interested in war, just kinda let Kokabiel have room until he showed what his objective was. He even goes so far as to just blurt out the whole point of the Summit meeting: To declare peace between the three factions. Of course, this kind of thing wasn’t too hard to figure out, since Azazel and Michael have both been really friendly with Issei and the other demons, so it’s not hard to believe they’re not interested in fighting any more. Azazel even says as much, even if Vali seems to be disappointed by that.
I have to agree this would be a nice view
But maybe the fighting’s not over, because back at the club room, Koneko and Gasper seem to be getting some unexpected visitors…
Akeno-san! I really did enjoy this episode, and like I said last week, I’d been looking forward to it. And Akeno’s falling totally in love with Issei reminded me of earlier this season in Servant x Service when Lucy ‘dealt the final blow’ to Hasebe nearly the same way. He did treat her nicely, and his separation between her and her lineage was good to see. His insistence that she wasn’t the kind of person to take advantage of him just to get closer to him, and her countering that she definitely was (because that’s exactly what she’s doing, wanting to be closer to him) was both humorous and touching, because even if she thinks she’s being a bit scheming and stealing a march on Rias, really she knows that Issei’s a nice guy who does like her for being her. And how can anyone resist that “onegai?”
Once again, it’s kind of hard to write about stuff knowing what’s going to happen (I don’t know how Karakuri and lvlln do it with all their shows). The significance is crushing me! But everyone will see what happens next!
About Highway
Proving that you don't have to be young to love anime, I enjoy all genres and styles of shows. If it's not hurting anyone else, you should never be ashamed of what you like!
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Where is my cute little trap?
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Sorry, I had to go with the Akeno bias this week. Besides, Gasper was only in a couple scenes, and they 1) weren’t that important (especially when he was on screen) and 2) weren’t very photogenic.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Yeah, that was my question too. And I thought as much HWY…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Honestly, I took some screenshots of Gasper and Issei training, and of Gasper and Koneko at the end, but none of them had a hook into what I was talking about, nor did they look very interesting (I mean, Koneko and Gasper not paying attention to each other on the couch? Not much of a narrative there). I will try to get more included next time.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Sword is a plot device, they could have stuck it to his head…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
It’s one of those things I complain about in other shows, and just because I like this show doesn’t mean I should like it here. I would have liked it better if it was ‘integrated’ but as a sword associated with the gauntlet. Then you could do stuff like have Kiba and Xenovia train him on basic swordsmanship. As it is now, it’s a James Bond gimmick. Just wishing for a little more.
Plus: Show ▼
It’s cool that he’s got another weapon, I just didn’t think the execution was that good.
POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
Well if you read further, Ascalon will definitely be used a lot. If you know its legend, it’s pretty easy to know when and where it will be used. It’s the powerup for this volume I guess.
But yeah, there could have been another way for him to meet Michael in here rather than this. Just chalk it off to the list of complaints I have in the overall story, and I have a whole lot more to complain about than you.
I still like the whole show though, else I wouldn’t bother reading all the volumes and watching the anime.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
As a device for him to meet Michael, I think it works as well as anything. My biggest quibble is the stupid “Sword-hand!” Strongbad-esque weapon.
There are definitely things you can complain about, Issei being too afraid of Rias’ status the main one, but I think that, in general, the story doesn’t have huge plot holes or conveniences (unlike some other shows this season and last), has a good trajectory for character development, and is being adapted well.
POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
Would you have liked it to be on the other side ala Hidden Blades in Assassin’s Creed? 🙂
I guess you haven’t read past this volume because Show ▼
And Issei doesn’t use it in that form in the episode, as you may know later on when the fight starts. So yeah.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yeah, I haven’t read LN 5 yet. I just finished 4.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I bow to your superior knowledge.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 175 comments
well now issei got dragon slayer sword & learn of akeno’s past yet she want issei too.
oh rias get more worry give bit jealous on akeno yet wonder who true “1st” for issei?
issei & gasper doing well improve give agree facepalm with kiba cause of their “plan”.
& now peace talks going yet vali want a challenge?
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
In my opinion, Vali wants to do something that proves his existence. He has the attitude of someone who’s been abandoned so he doesn’t really care what happens around him.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Akeno is my favorite character in this show, so I love episodes like this that focus so much on her. Great to be learning some of her background.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I think my favorite exchange was (like I said):
“Maybe I’m just using my knowing you to get unnecessarily close to you.”
“Akeno-san isn’t like that!”
“Oh, I’m sure I am. I’m the worst type of person.”
But I also really love a bit of the “Everyone else knows you two love each other, just get on with it!” kind of thing that Issei and Rias have. That’s the same kind of thing that Sasameki Koto was, and that was really enjoyable. If they waffle around too much with it, it can get frustrating, but they can keep making progress and it works.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I love Sasameki Koto!
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
It was fun to watch the anime, and I liked the story so much that I actually read the rest of the manga (I never read mangas). I think it actually helped to have Tomoe and Miyako there to lampshade it and voice what the audience was thinking about the four-eyed giant and boobie monster. 😉
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I, too, read the rest of the manga. I was glad to see they finally got together.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I’ve moved on to Aoi Hana now, where Fumi looks almost exactly like Sumi-chan, but is a very different person. I’m enjoying it, too, but can tell it doesn’t have nearly the lighthearted feel that Sasameki Koto did.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I’ve watched the Aoi Hana anime and enjoyed it. Yeah, Fumi and Sumi are easily confused physically, but totally different personalities.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The episode was heavy on character development. A nice move from recent stuff we’re accustomed to in this show. There’s really more to Akeno than meets the eye. So basically she was a Nephilim before becoming a demon. A Nephilim and a Dhampir (Gasper). Rias sure has a way of finding unique people for her family.
Michael giving Issei the dragon slayer sword is a flag indicating he’s expecting another fight between the dragons and I’d say he’s betting on Issei to be the winner.
I wonder where things go from here if the three factions sign a peace treaty. The lines dividing each of them have already been blurred what with people being able to blend holy and demonic elements without consequence.
More importantly, I want to see how things will go with Irina. With her supporting Michael, it’s a safe bet she’s aware of what’s happened, that she knows Xenovia’s a demon and what lead her to become one.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Well, my impression was that part of the reason Michael gave Ascalon to Issei was because Issei is so weak. I think they’d rather have a balanced Hakuryuukou and Sekiryutei, not the current state where the Sekiryutei is tremendously weak, and the Hakuryuukou is obscenely powerful. And I think they especially like having the two of them on different sides.
Well, there are plenty of other factions. Something that’s interesting about the DxD ficton is that while it doesn’t really follow any particular mythos of our world, it allows for most of them. So there are Norse gods, I think Hindu gods, and as we move to future stories, maybe the greek and roman gods as well. So there’s always the chance for problems. Plus there’s always rating games, since Rias is graduating soon (she was kept out of rating games while in school, the one with Riser Phenex was a special case to try to get out of her engagement to him).