High School DxD New [Anime Review]

I must have been in a rather off mood last time I reviewed High School DxD. That or I was in a much better mood for this review. Something changed... I can't exactly put my finger on it. Perhaps it became better with age? I dunno.

The ending song is both cute and sexy... and one of these dancers is a guy.

I really do wonder what was up with my last review. I gave the first season of Highschool DxD a mere 2.5 stars. I remember liking it more than that. Perhaps I was down grading it for the excessive amounts of sexuality?

4 out of 5 stars

Not this time. If I did down grade for that, I'm not going to this time. It is a part of the story, considering our erstwhile hero is a very libidinous high school student who has more imagination than brains, and more perversions than brawn.

They call these mid-episode stills 'Eye-catchers.'
I cannot disagree with that term in this series.

It is a huge part of his character - not all of it, but the lion's share. And it is the basis for much humor.

Coming from your own parents, that's harsh.

There is also a pretty strong plot. It shares some elements with A Certain Magical Index II. There is a very strong animosity towards organized religion. In this one, it is easy to understand, our hero's faction is a house of devils. Well technically he is in a house of devils that are part of the devil faction. There is also the holy faction (the church), and the faction of fallen angels... and... something more.

The second series, New, introduces several new characters. They even play off the childhood friend potential romance thing, but use it in a rather unexpected way. It has some obviously cliche elements in it... but still it is not used in the expected way for a risque anime series.  

One of the more hillarious new characters is a...

Nope. Not Solid Snake...

Wait.

Massive Spoilers. 

Nor Charlie Brown...

Highlight to read.

Ok. One of the more hilarious new characters is a vampire who is shy, hides in a box, wears a paper bag on his head, and is either afraid of blood, or frightened of drinking it from a person. He is a shota trap. He looks all feminine, wears a girls school uniform... he is the epitome of a trap. But he really wants to help our hero create his devil harem... 

I didn't make that up.

Ok. Spoilers over. You can stop highlighting text now.

There is actually a significant level of plot in the season.

I have no idea why I liked this series more than the first one... or if I actually did. My ratings of the first one seem off. For one thing, I still own it. I tend to get rid of most series if I score them as low as I did the first season... why hang on to something you have little to no chance of watching ever again?

I feel that my rating for this season is more accurate.

So I'll just leave you with an image gallery today.

Lots of .gifs so you can get a sample of the series. Click to enlarge them.

This is either a sign that you have no shame,
or you rely heavily on online shopping.
BTW: these are available on Amazon. Just an FYI.

An indecent proposal?

Heaven or Hell...

Do you envy him, or pity him?

Well now...