WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. Overall, I really liked this High School DXD Episode 2. There was lots of good content in it across multiple areas. I especially like the taboo nature of the anime. In many media, it is very politically incorrect, socially unacceptable, and deeply offensive to many groups to make the main hero a devil of all things. The fact that the anime is openly embracing such a taboo and controversial religious nature is very refreshing. This is a welcome change from what is normally acceptable in media. I’m impressed that the show writers were willing to embrace such a socially unacceptable route.
For the plot, it’s staying very intriguing and there are plenty of unanswered questions going forward. High School DXD Episode 2 did however answer some of the questions in the show. It also really laid the groundwork for how the show is developing. In addition, Issei is continuing to face threats and attacks. This shows this series is keeping the plot active and exciting instead of just building for the future.
The humor was also very well done in High School DXD Episode 2. There was nice comic relief sprinkled throughout. It’s nice to know this series is developing to be humorous and comedic. Much of this humor is sexual and perverted. I know not everyone likes perverted humor, but such humor does appeal to certain audiences. Much of the humor is also relying heavily on Issei’s personality, not just his pervertedness, but also his lovable loser personality and clumsiness.
We also got some good character development in this episode. We clearly are seeing Issei develop as a character. It is good Issei was challenged toward the end and was able to fend off this challenge by himself. This shows he is learning and getting stronger as a character. It is also nice Issei is now a devil, as this opens many possibilities. It is much more interesting having him as a devil than simply as a human.
Rias’s also had some nice character development. We are seeing that she cares for Issei, is nice to him, and is going to go out of her way to both protect and push him. She is clearly taking Issei’s role in the show seriously and is showing herself to be a strongly willed and focused individual. We also got to see a bit more of the other characters, but have only seen their personalities sparingly so far.
Another positive with the episode was the outro. The music for it was good and it had nice fan service and sexualization in it. I know not everyone likes fanservice, but given what kind of a show this is, it is clearly one that embraces it openly, and it is doing a great job with it so far. Looking forward, it will be interesting to see who this girl Issei meets at the end is and to see how the plot and characters continue to develop. I am looking forward to watching and reviewing the rest of the series.
High School DXD. Funimation, 2012. Web.