Review of High School DxD

With such series' like Rosario Vampire and Aki-Sora, the ecchi and harem genre has never been stronger. It is with such series going around that the genre being what it is that makes High School DxD an instant hit for fans of the genre. On the surface, it's an over-the-top, high-paced, fan-serviced spectacle that many fans of this genre love. With its rather cliche plot and possibly even more cliche characters, it'll capture you granted that you don't mind tits and asses. Storywise, it starts out slow. The build-up is slow and the way the overall premise is established is slightly faster, but still very muchslow. The story goes through two arcs in the first season. Possibly one of the highlights is the insults of the writing. Yes, I definitely think that the insults and the multiple ways of calling a person a douche and even the multiple terms for wanting to have sex with someone. Granted, sometimes the writing interferes with the story, but as I stated, the story itself is a bit cliche, but it catches on and somehow you'll find yourself being drawn to it.

I think one of the most impressive things about this series is the art style. It's with the art that one is drawn to an anime or manga first. We look with our eyes before we read and delve into the universe presented to us in the visual form. The fluid animation brings an added bonus to the art itself. It just might be the best thing about the series.

The musical score and other such sound effects really brought the series to life. With a brilliant composer such as Ryosuke Nakanishi, it's hard not to just fall deeply in love with the music. I will admit that at times it slightly felt out of place, but that's only in the smallest of ways.

As stated beforehand, the characters took a while to build and some of them had cliche moments, but there definitely was a good amount of heart put forth into them. As much as the series is fan service, the characters showed surprising development in the twelve episodes. That's not to say that there weren't moments where I had my doubts — cause there were. There were even some characters that I felt that could have been left out. Hell, there were even some characters that I felt were wasted opportunities. Still, with that being said, I felt the main characters, at least, were handled well.

So, overall the series is good for those who like harem, ecchi, laugh-out-loud moments, and over-the-top action that makes one question their sanity. It's a good time and the heart is there. My final score is 7/10.