High School DxD NEW – 12 [END] [NSFW]
Do NOT threaten Buchou’s oppai!
We’re finally at the last DxD and everything’s set up for the big fight. I think we all know who will win, but how will they do it?
Gasper Steps Up
Gasper freeing everyone gives Sona and Tsubaki a chance to join in
The one whose power got them into this mess is Gasper, even if it’s not his fault that he was used against his will to set up the weird time stop. But seeing the example set by Rias, Issei, Kiba, and Xenovia, Gasper wants to be helpful, and make up for his prior transgressions, which he does by unlimiting himself and getting rid of the time stop.
And after everyone’s free of the field, it’s pretty easy work to mop up the rest of the invaders. Even Katerea doesn’t put up much of a fight against Azazel, after he busts out his homemade Sacred Gear. But he does end up losing an arm, which he’s not too worried about. And Akeno, Sona, and Tsubaki get in on the fun too. In fact, everything’s going great until they find out who the traitor is: Vali.
Issei: The Determinator
Half-Human, Half-Devil, All Smug
Vali’s pretty much a jerk, but we do find out that he’s not just a human jerk, he’s a half human / half devil jerk. In fact, he’s the son of a Lucifer, one of the four Maou families. And he just happened to be the Hakuryuukou as well. And he doesn’t spare anything in taunting Issei about it. But we all know that Issei’s not the type to take anything lying down, especially when Vali says he’s going to kill Issei’s parents. That instantly brings Issei up to something approaching Vali’s power.
Azazel is the king of motivation
But the real motivation for Issei comes later, when Vali goes overboard and decides to halve everything around him. Azazel, a guy who knows Issei through and through, points out the real things of concern here: If everything is halved, all the boobs will be halved. And once again, we get Issei doing the right thing for the wrong reason. But this one’s not even that wrong. If that’s what it takes to motivate him, then that’s what it takes. And like a true defender of oppai, he kicks Vali’s ass (and nuts) for a while. Thankfully, tho, the fight is ended by the arrival of Son Goku, another member of the Khaos Brigade, who’s taking Vali away. Otherwise, Vali wouldn’t stop, so Issei wouldn’t stop, until one of them was incapacitated.
Meet your new advisor
And with it being the finale, we get a little bit of after-action information. Azazel, the most knowledgeable person about Sacred Gears, is going to be the ‘advisor’ for Rias’ group, and Sirzechs has decreed that Rias’ peerage is all to live with Issei (well, at least all the girls, but given how Kiba has been showing his feelings for Issei, he’ll probably join them soon). These are definite setups for any future continuation of the series, and again follow the actions of the LN.
Bonus DxD Fanservice!
So What Did We All Think of the Series?
Azazel in his Balance Faker Armor
I’ve made no secret of my enjoyment of this series. I definitely think it was the third best series of summer (slightly eking out Servant x Service), and as we talked about in Metaverse 35, probably the best combination of heavy ecchi fanservice and plot in anime. I love the measured pace of the show, using 2 light novels per season, and adapting them very faithfully. And I think Kaji Yuki is at his best in this role. It allows his overacting to fill out the character of Issei without inappropriately taking over the whole show. The rest of the cast performs ably, although the other standout I’d say is Koyama Rikiya as Azazel, portraying a great know-it-all attitude along with a rather careless and nonchalant bearing.
The fighting animation is good, but not great. The character designs are top notch, tho.
I don’t know if anyone would say that DxD has great animation, but I think credit has to be given for it being good enough to never be what you complain about. The battle scenes aren’t the best, but they work with the material and never pull you out of the show. Where DxD really shines as an anime is character design, with at least one girl that everyone can get behind, and two or three runners-up. Everyone is unique, in both look and personality, and noone has a personality that doesn’t match their look.
Even Akeno and Koneko warm up to Issei
And yet, they all end up liking Issei. And best of all for a series like this, I think it does a great job showing us WHY they like Issei. What does Issei do that makes them all think he’s worth – let’s be honest – being with Issei? That factor is his growth as a character. He has shown that he is reliable (enough), determined, caring, tenacious, and a steadfast friend. I think that Kiba’s story shows this as much as anything. Kiba and Issei are fundamental opposites as men. And Issei really is jealous of Kiba, his good looks, girls flocking around him. But when Kiba gets himself in trouble, and isn’t sure what he’s going to do, it’s Issei who steps up to support him, to bring him back to their group, to help him. It shows what Issei is really interested in, and it’s not just boobs. And it’s not just ‘of course he’s a good guy’. It takes some effort on Issei’s part, but he’s always willing to put in the effort.
As far as music and OP and ED’s for the show, I think people were probably a bit disappointed with the first ED, since it wasn’t anywhere near the level of the first season’s top-notch ED. And that’s a bit of a shame, because since the Ending and Character Song Collection has come out, I’ve come to really enjoy the first ED song. But of course, that was overshadowed by the second ED, which was everything anyone wanted and then some. There might be more nudity in the first ED, but the second was just outright sexier, more fun, and a better song. Definitely a worthy successor, and in my opinion a better ED than the first one.
I’ve really enjoyed DxD NEW this season, watching and covering it. I’m glad I decided to blog it, and thanks to Kyokai for letting me pick it up a little late. I think it’s been a better series than the first one, and hopefully it will be successful enough to lead to a third series (all you Koneko fans, that would be your cue, if they keep on the same pattern). It was a good adaptation of the Light Novels, and even the changes it made, I thought were good changes – to move Koneko to a more active role, and to bring Irina back in contact with Xenovia. It’s been a lot of fun, and thanks for reading!
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: Metanorn Lover with 175 comments
good news well at least know Funi will be dub s2 on wonder who casting for s2 characters they got?
& now ask for a YES YES YES for season 3 of DxD to see?
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
Man i gotta say i loved funi’s dub of highschool DxD (i actually preferred their take of it over the sub oddly enough; Scott freeman’s take on Issei fantasizing about what he’d do to Rias’ boobs in ep 6 pretty much sold me on that) as it was balls-to-the walls hilarious but at the same time keeping it grounded (as grounded as HSDxD can be) when it came to the serious moments.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Ah, all the Konkeko I need. She is Justice. But, I don’t think she is really warming up to him. Kuudere is about it.
I thought everything was good music until the anti-climax. Yep, a ham fisted, cliched, “oh, someone new comes along and interrupts the fight”. I pretty much think that is weaksauce storytelling right there. Sure it gives us a bridge to a new story, but it takes the current arc and cuts it down.
All in all I give HS DXD New very high marks. Unlike a few other sequels I’ve seen this year, it really did develop the plot, characters, and setting to an appreciable, and sustainable degree.
Looking forward to more. I hope the physical media release has the extra the last series had. I really want a sequel to the Koneko drinks the magic tea story….
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Well, the problem is that the dragons won’t stop once they start fighting until one of the hosts is dead. That’s the way they’ve always been, that’s the way they’ll continue to be. And there’s no way that Issei could win right now. So it’s either interrupt the fight, or kill off the main character.
I personally think the current arc was well served, and pretty much finished before that, and that was just more of a ‘let’s add some action that we’ve been hinting at’. Vali wasn’t interested in fighting the entirety of the leaders of the demons, angels, and fallen angels on behalf of Katerea. He wants to fight strong people, but not for anyone else’s agenda. The fight with Issei was more of a “See how far Issei has come, and see how far he still has to go” thing.
Plus, if Vali uses Juggernaut Drive, he’ll destroy everything around him, plus himself. It’s really not something to take lightly.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
But doesn’t that just make the dragons an overpowered concept in the middle of concepts that draw upon a great deal of power themselves? It’s a good idea, but it does paint a creator into a corner where asspulling, such as I described, becomes the only option….
I’m pretty critical here. But I am that way because, like you, I found a very good story and incredible character development in a series that could just be written off as ecchi.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I agree it does make the dragons an overpowered concept, but because they rely so much on their hosts, that’s a bit of a leveling aspect. But it’s definitely Battle Interruptus. That’s just something that will happen fairly repeatedly, like both story arcs this season.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
What did I think of the series? Obviously it’s a great ecchi show that stands above the rest because it doesn’t focus on just fanservice. There’s a lot of contribution to the story along with a lead every guy in the world would envy and he doesn’t hold back on what he wants. Yuki Kaji has in and out roles in his career but him playing Issei is his best work ever.
The battle was good but I was bummed when it got cut anti-climactically but no doubt Issei and Vali will run into each other again. I’m pretty sure Vali would have lost if that guy hadn’t shown up. Never underestimate Issei when he’s defending his ladies.
Having Azazel around for a more permanent role among the characters is going to raise a lot of interest. For a fallen angel who was previously supposed to be an enemy of the demons, he’s a cool guy though one will always have to look over their shoulder wondering what he has planned. And that last message Sirzechs made give out hurt the most. Having all the girls move into Issei’s house? As if it wasn’t painful enough watching him attract girls from all directions.
Overall, I wasn’t disappointed watching the second season and I’m going to take that “See you later” tag at the end to heart. I’m begging for a third season to come along.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
And something it’s hard to remember, given how much Issei is around him, and how cool Azazel seems to be, is that he’s still a Fallen Angel, and Issei still hates Fallen Angels. Well, except Akeno. And probably except Azazel soon, maybe, sort of.
I’ve read through the 5th LN, and just keep imagining one of the things that Azazel tells Issei being put in the show: Show ▼
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
Dear Highway,
Just would like to point out that the guy who came to get Vali isn’t Sun Wukong himself, but a descendant of Sun Wukong, named Bikou(Mĕi Hóu if you are more pinyin-aligned).
I was always under the impression that Azazel’s military intelligence was always 10 steps ahead from everyone else
but chose only to reveal at the last minute to troll everyone else…A questions about the Khaos Brigade’s motives,
My impression is that the factions involved are in for different motives. Demons like Katarea wanted power, while Vali wanted the thrill of the fight.
But what of Bikou and Ophis? Especially since Vali said Ophis’s motivations for founding the Brigade wasn’t power-motivated.
Just worried how the plot will progress if somehow no more seasons are made in the future like Haruhi SuzumiyaPOWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Ah, I’ll admit I’m not up on who is who in that kind of sphere. I knew it was “Bikou”, but thought it was also “Son Goku”. Thanks.
Azazel certainly does give off a trollish air. “Oh, yeah, I knew about that, but wanted to see what they’d do.” Some of it might be more that a lot of the ‘bad guys’ come from his faction, so either he knows about it and has to pass it off like that, or he doesn’t know about it, and looks like a clueless idiot.
The plot’s pretty well advanced in the Light Novels. As I mentioned, this season animated #3 and #4. The current one is #15. So there is a ton of material out there, but I’m certainly not expecting anything like 10 seasons of High School DxD. I’d love to see it get 48 episodes + OVAs, which I don’t think is too much of a stretch, I mean, Zero no Tsukaima had 49 episodes over 4 seasons, Railgun and Index are both up to 48+ episodes, Shakugan no Shana had 72+ episodes. Even Da Crapo has had over 90 episodes, and it’s terrible (at least Da Capo III was extremely terrible, maybe the others are better?). The majority of the LN’s have been fan-translated, if you’re interested, and like I mentioned in the Metaverse Podcast, the anime is a pretty straight up adaptation of the LN’s.
POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
No Xenovia in the Bonus DxD Fanservice section?
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
For an ecchi show this had a lot of character development and action. And we get a harem show where the hero isn’t some non-entity where the best that can be said about him is “he’s a nice guy.” Issei is a harem lead where you can understand why girls are drawn to him. Sure, he’s got a pervy mind (as do most high school boys), but he’d do anything for his friends, including putting his life on the line for them.
One of the best ecchi series out there and I hope there’s more seasons to come. Now that they’ve taken the story up through LN#4, it’s time for me to start reading the light novels starting with #5.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Huzzah! 13th episode OVA Raw is out! Subs when?
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’m making the same inquisition.