First Impressions / High School DxD

「行け! オカルト研究部!」 (Ike! Okaruto Kenkyū-bu!)
“Go! Occult Research Club”

You have got to hand it to Ishibumi Ichiei – the man behind High School DxD knows what he’s doing, especially when it comes to pure unadulterated entertainment value! The series has, no doubt, settled into a rather felicitous groove, not only are the action and thrills hitting it off, but the grand ideas of the story are starting to take root as well! High School DxD has had me hooked since the very beginning, and each successive episode has proven to be grander and more striking than the one before. You just know the show was going to bring out the big guns when it can’t even make time for the OP and as it turns out, we have not just one but two grand revelations this week, setting the stage for what should be a killer second half!  First off, Vali Lucifer (Ohsaka Ryota), Issei’s fated rival and the host of the Vanishing Dragon (Takeuchi Ryouta), has finally made his entrance into the big scene. Secondly and this is perhaps an even more fascinating one, the identity of Issei’s enigmatic client has been revealed, and the man in question is none other than Azazel (Koyama Rikiya) – a real connoisseur who is defined by his larger-than-life collectomania and of course, the revered top boss of the Fallen Angel!

Vali, the companion of the White Dragon Albion, has certainly made quite a commotion in his first appearance, and he is proving to be just as much of a suave badass as I have hoped. It would be a gross understatement to call him a force to be reckoned with, and without breaking so much as a sweat, Vali was able to bring Kokabiel to his knees – a feat that Rias and her peerage have failed to achieve, no matter how hard they strive! Similar to his Welsh Dragon counterpart, Vali also possesses a Sacred Gear of his very own – the Divine Dividing – which is, in effect, the antipodal of the Boosted Gear. While I’m sure Issei’s Longinus is just as powerful, Vali is evidently more adept at using his Sacred Gear and his mastery of such a power has made him a truly formidable opponent. Vali’s role in the story hasn’t been made entirely clear just yet – his eminence as a combatant should give us a rough idea of just how almighty Issei could become in the near future and needless to say, the ensuing showdown – one that pits the Two Heavenly Dragons against each other – is going to be a spectacle that nobody would want to miss!

Vali is, without a doubt, a bona fide badass, but let us not sell Issei short in this comparison – after all, our wannabe Harem King did have his moment of daredevil and if you can somehow overlook his lecherous ways, Issei is perhaps every bit as “GAR” as his White Dragon foil! There’s noticeably a wide divergence in Issei’s verdict as a harem lead – the sheer machismo that he displayed is a subject of intense debate, some applaud his unmitigated candor, while others are genuinely perturbed by his crude and lascivious pursuits! As for me, it should go without saying that I’m firmly in the former camp and if I needed any more persuasion, Issei’s valiant performance this week has unquestionably solidify his position as one the foremost, if not the best protagonist of any ecchi offerings! “You’re gonna die so I can suck buchou‘s titties” – both mind-boggling and inspirational at the same time, this is hardly the first time we’ve heard something so bizarre from Issei and I certainly don’t expect it to be the last! Clearly, I’m not the only one who’s impressed, and true to his reputation as an aspiring Casanova, Issei’s nerves of steel have caught the attention of more than one female lead. No matter how hard she tries to resist, Akeno sempai just can’t say no to Issei and it’s surely beyond doubt that she has fallen all over him – marking yet another great addition to Issei’s ever-expanding harem!

Speaking of Akeno sempai, her backstory was quite a bombshell to say the least! The blood kinship that she shares with Baraqiel, one of the Fallen Angel’s top brass, could have far-reaching implications, and there’s obviously more to their relationship than meets the eyes. For starters, the enmity that exists between the Devils and the Fallen Angel is no laughing matter, and as if that wasn’t complicated enough, Akeno has also shown an intense disdain toward the mere mention of her father! As Yuuto’s beleaguered past has patently displayed, there’s so much more about the main cast that remains an unknown, and such mysteries are, no doubt, a testament to the prevailing scale and breath of its big-picture narratives! I don’t think anyone should be taken aback by the emergence of a new recruit – Xenovia has now officially joined the ranks of Rias’ peerage and such an upshot has certainly been foretold more than once, both in the OVAs and the ED sequence! Xenovia’s addition is clearly a boon to Issei’s harem and now that we have a new girl on board, it’s only a matter of time before the ecchi madness is dialed up a notch! Then there’s Azazel who exists as one of the most intriguing element in the mix, and where his ultimate loyalty lies is still to be determined. The top boss of the Fallen Angel doesn’t appear to be nearly as menacing as Kokabiel, but his imposing presence is probably no fluke either – for one thing, he has Vali under his direct command and by extension, you could even say Azazel was the one who put a stop to Kokabiel’s carnage this week! I’m sure Azazel will have larger role to play in the overall story – but for now, that’s hardly the most pressing matter at hand. A venerable swimsuit episode awaits us next week and you can be sure I’ll be all over it like a cheap suit – open the floodgates and be prepared for the waves of nosebleed!

Random tidbits:

tl;dr: @SeishunRC – High School #DxD NEW 06: “You’re gonna die so I can suck buchou‘s titties” – a badass that is unlike any other badass, Issei is truly one of a kind! #Anime
 
Full-length images: 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 12, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39.

Epilogue:

 

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88 Comments

  1. I watched the episode fine, but the way you write about Akeno-sempai make me glance away from Rias for a moment. Now I can’t make up my mind. Your fault, Seishun! Aha.

    The narrative is better now that it has upped it’s ante. Keep em coming.

    Dunn
    Reply

  2. now, 1 bishop and 1 rook left right? honestly, i didnt see that xenovia will be converted into rias’ chess piece and that old man at the end, im pretty sure he will be a demon too the way he speaks but it turned out that he is actually azazel, nice twist. so the man that appeared before him while he is fishing is the white dragon’s medium?

    Ryuuzaki
    Reply

      1. It does have wings, you just haven’t seen them yet. But according to the descriptions, it seems they are classical dragon wings. I dunno, maybe it will be like the Gurren’s wings of light.

        Taiyo
        Reply

  5. If the users of Divine Divide and Boosted Gear were not Vali and Issei, Divine Divide is definitely the more powerful of the two, since it has the ability to 1shot anything it touches and is completely un-defendable.

    Taiyo
    Reply

    1. Divine Divider can half the opponent’s power and add it to the user’s. By definition, that will make the user stronger than the opponent after just one use. If the opponent has a total power of 100, then after one use it will drop to 50. Then 50 will be added to the user, so even assuming the user only had 10 to start with, he will now be at a power of 60.

      On the other hand, the Boosted Gear has to take longer in order to double the user power enough to overcome the opponent’s power. Using the same example, if the user starts at 10, then it will take 40 seconds to double enough to reach 160 to overpower the opponent of 100.

      So Divine Divider is faster and safer to use.

      Raijin
      Reply

      1. Boosted gear does have a greater potetial in the end though as it gets stronger the stronger you are at the start. Divine Dividing is also fairly weak against multiple opponents. If you divide one 10 guy to make you into 15, that wont make you able to face his many pals that are still 10 times many.

        Znail
        Reply

  9. The look of embarrassment on Rias’ face (especially considering how hard it is for to get sexually uncomfortable) and her “jeez” reaction upon hearing issei shout that he would suck on her tit was beyond priceless; the comedic timing was perfect (plus it was adorable)

    sonicsenryaku
    Reply

  10. Yeah, the turn of Xenovia, was a bit to fast and easy for me. Words from an Fallen Angel, and her Life Long Faith in God, just “Puff” in thin Air, and go Demon…

    She must have a weak Faith from the beginning, or was not deep enough..

    Well, they just wanted to add more to the Chess pieces

    Germanguy
    Reply

    2. I felt the same too. After all, Archangel Michael is still taking care of Heaven and the blessings are still intact.

      However, I think what caused her to leave the church is the various misdeeds by the church itself. So it’s not like she abandoned her faith as much as she does not want to be part of the corrupted church anymore. She even tried to pray here too, to the same effect as Asia did before.

      Raijin
      Reply

      1. I just go with this then..

        Love is God’s Blessing. Hate is Satan’s Food. But it seems we have here now a “Gray” World. Where there is more as only White and Dark. The Story plays in this mixed field of Both, RPGler would say the Gray world. But Is Rias Clan good Gray?

        Germanguy
        Reply

    3. Actually…
      Show Spoiler ▼

      Shikaze
      Reply

      1. Well, they could show this Important point of her. Or at last in a Flashback. So, right now i am not “amused” with her quick change of Faith.. Well, she stills believe in God. And it is Important what you believe in your Heart

        Germanguy
        Reply

  12. OK, that was unexpected… I was always thinking Irina with her childhood friend past with Issei will be the one to join our demonic posse, but to my surprise it was Xenovia that switched sides after the dust settled. I guess the more she was faithful, the harder the truth of God being dead hurt her. Not that I am complaining, given how she will definitely add to the comedy (her plea to God for guidance resulting in instant headache was golden!), and is pleasing on the eyes too…
    Last but not least, I bow my head before Issei’s unashamed, pure ecchiness… Who of all the male viewers (yaoi leaning ones notwithstanding) would not fight to the death for a reward like sucking on the breast of your favored girl? But Issei has the courage, foolishness or both to say it out loud!

    ewok40k
    Reply

  13. issei give boost power to rias to attack kokabiel but not enough then akeno’s electric attack still nope give kokabiel like not enough even called akeno a daughter of a fallen angel.

    then kiba & xeno go double attack on kokabiel to give time to boost issei’s arm even kiba summon sword from his teeth still not enough then kokabiel give WHAM speech that all 3 sides war so damage cause light side to lost it “main” that new in charge of michael got asia going no way.

    issei go like shut uo kokabiel cause want harem king get full doing rias to punch attack mode then barrier crack which the white armor appear aka vanish dragon appear total pwn’d kokabiel to end it.

    with that vanish dragon take both kokabiel & freed away cause got some answering to do with quick dragon to dragon to talk.

    happy end for all give kiba being sorry his (show stealing arc) & etc all good now for spank the kiba & xeno go join rias’ group with sorry with asia.

    & issei well back to usual meet with lots of gaming til his person he been mention is a fallen angel person.

    DxD_maou-sama
    Reply

  14. The Baka trio Asia,Irina and Xenovia aren’t really stupid, just due to how and where they where raised makes them extremely naive about how the world is and how to live normally, the show missed the best chance to show that in episode 3 when Irina and Xenovia where begging for money to feed themselves by not showing that they had no money due to Irina getting conned into buying a fake painting of a saint.

    Newhope
    Reply

  15. Seems like the eyecatches have a pattern:
    >Ep1: Rias/Asia
    >Ep2: Asia/Sona
    >Ep3: Sona/Irina
    >Ep4: Irina/Tsubaki
    >Ep5: Tsubaki/Koneko
    >Ep6: Koneko/Kiryuu

    I didn’t even notice this until someone pointed it out in another site. Which means we’ll get Kiryuu again next episode plus a new girl. We’ll probably get some of the girls on the Student Council as well as I don’t think they’d repeat the others. Still waiting for that Xenovia and Akeno eyecatch. Rias will probably be delegated to the last episode to make it a full round. Hoping for some Show Spoiler ▼

    belatkuro
    Reply

  16. Like I said before: Issei’s client is gonna play a great part in the series. But for the sake of not spoiling I’ve omitted the fact that he’s actually Azazel, the perverted/gadget-collecting/genius/bad-ass leader of the Fallen Ones.
    https://randomc.net/image/High%20School%20DxD/High%20School%20DxD%20NEW%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2045.jpg

    “Because of you, I’ve lost my chance of sucking Buchou’s Tits!” Issei never stop to amaze me with his erotic antics. Never stand between a man and the woman he loves (or desires, or fetishes, or sex, above all his desire of making a harem of beautiful willing to gobble him up with no questions ask starting with Rias Gremory), Seishuun you should put this line in the Random tidbits along with this picture:
    https://randomc.net/image/High%20School%20DxD/High%20School%20DxD%20NEW%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2031.jpg
    The Eroticism is Strong in this one

    GP00120
    Reply

  20. FINALLY SOMEBODY ACKNOWLEGDED THAT ISSEI’S ARM IS A RIP OFF OF KAZUMA’S. Except Kazuma was way more badass on an epic level. And yes people should watch Scryed it’s awesome.

    Haseo
    Reply

  25. The first arc of High School DxD New comes to an exciting conclusion, one that ups the ante considerably and brings huge revelations to the world Issei finds himself thrust in.

    Issei vs Kokabriel was short but sweet, as Issei gives the war nut a satisfying pounding where as the rest of the Occult Research Club could barely scratch him. Never underestimate the power of a man’s lust. And if it was evident of anything, it’s that the Club had a good chance of actually beating him even without the intervention of a third party. Had things continued, I could see Issei taking a chance and using his Balance Breaker which would have also shifted the odds considerably in their favor.

    As much as Issei is still the protagonist of DxD, this was very much an arc dedicated to Kiba. It was good to see him come to terms with his past and move beyond his revenge now that he’s found a new path to live to for with the Occult Research Club. Not only did he grow stronger as both a person and a devil, but the bonds between himself and his fellow Occult Club members, particularly Issei, were strengthened and cemented to a considerable degree. Kiba is still far from my favorite DxD character, but I can say for a fact that I have more respect for him now after this arc. My only disappointment? I was expecting a ton more bromance between Kiba and Issei in this arc than what was shown.

    We finally get to meet the Legendary White Dragon, Dividing Dragon Albion, and his debut far from disappoints. His design obviously takes many cues from the Lancelot Albion from Code Geass, though considering how awesome a design the latter is, I have no problem with it. Energy wings are always a win in my book! Power wise, the wielder of Albion seems leagues ahead of Issei though considering how Albion’s wielder has probably had way more experience than Issei has with Ddraig, it’s only natural. But I’m sure Issei will find a way to level the playing field between the two of them in much the same way he did with Raiser. Character wise, there’s not much to go on so far other than the wielder of Albion seems to like power and fully embraces the idea of he and Issei being arch-enemies though I’m expecting more info about him in the next arc.

    For supposedly having a rivalry that’s lasted centuries, Albion and Ddraig are certainly pretty causal towards one another, though the same can’ be said for Issei and Albion’s user. I wouldn’t be surprised if he and Issei finally go toe to toe in their next meeting.

    Looks like Akeno has finally officially fallen for Issei, no doubt because of how well he proved himself during the battle at the school and by defending her honor like a man, which makes her the third member of the harem and the third of the main four DxD girls that Isse’s won over. I’m definitely interested to see where this relationship goes, and I’m sure the issue of Akeno’s father being a Fallen Angel will come up again as it develops. I’m also very much keen on seeing how Rias deals with it, and I’m expecting things to start getting a little complicated on the harem side of things. It’s much different than how it is between Rias and Asia, because while their little war for Issei is playful, it’s only because Asia is sweet and innocent Asia and Rias sees her as a cute Kouhai. Akeno, on the other hand, is Rias’ fellow Onee-San and best friend, and even more daring than Rias is. I’m expecting their war for Issei to be much more serious, while also at the same time being hilarious.

    While I feel bad for Xenovia having her faith utterly torn apart, I’d say it arguably did her more good. She got to finally see the Church for what it truly is and apologize to Asia, and joined the better side in the long run. Now that she’s in Rias’ peerage, she’ll be as invaluable a Knight as Kiba, though I wonder if being a demon prevents her from using Holy Sword even though she has a natural gift for using them? Harem wise, it doesn’t look like she sees Issei in “that way” yet, but I’m sure she at least respects him and that’s a start. I’ll be looking forward to seeing more from her.

    With the reveal of Azazel, I’m expecting things to get a lot more complicated for Issei from here on in. You don’t have one of the leaders of the Fallen Angels monitoring you without some plan behind it. And with Akeno now officially in the harem, I’m hoping for Issei to start really winning over Koneko soon. I’ll be looking forward to swimsuits and harem hijinks in the next episode, as well as the new opening and ending.

    Frontier
    Reply

    1. I think, i begin to see the Story behind the Fog..

      Just 1 Question. How many “Dragoon” Wilder’s are out there?

      We have now 2, and 1 is under His Command.. the 2nd he Knows it…

      Germanguy
      Reply

  28. “You can do anything to me if you win, Issei”

    “Really? Can I….upgrade from touching to sucking your breasts?”

    Damit Issei! You got to shoot for higher!!!

    But LOL this episode cracked me up. Mere breasts was enough to motivate him to fight on par with a high class fallen angel that not even Rias and Akeno could take out.

    YanDaMan
    Reply

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