Of Oppai and Dragons
High School DxD has been a powerhouse of the harem ecchi genre for years. It’s combined a rich, expansive lore with meaningful action scenes that put it beyond most other shows in the genre. It’s also had some amazingly memorable scenes further accented by the uncensored releases. Hyoudou Issei has been the most direct and lovable harem MC ever, and the three year break between the last season has gone noticed by fans.
Season 4 has brought a lot of changes to the series. New relationships are forged and old ones are strengthened. Issei has powerful new rivals and he can’t hope to defeat them without unleashing new power. Beyond a shounen protagonist, Issei doesn’t just power up, he uses oppai to do so. If oppai is your calling, then High School DxD Hero will become your new favorite show. Here’s our review.
The Retcon of the Older Seasons
The first thing the introductory episode does is take us back to the tail end of season 3, where Issei unleashed an imperfect juggernaut drive to crush Beelzebub and avenge his fallen comrade. Things are a bit different this time around than we previously saw. These changes fall more in line with the rest of the season and apparently the source material as well. Without spoiling too much, if you’ve seen the previous season, you will notice.
Forward Progress
One thing that has plagued harem ecchi comedies is the hesitation of cementing firm relationships. Why make them a couple and shut down the potential other relationships? High School DxD has never faced this issue. Issei has openly desired to become the “Harem King” since early days and is his driving force. Similarly, the girls he has become close to have accepted this and love him regardless. There’s more open affection between the lead characters than has ever been shown previously, and this is a positive change.
Animation Changes
Even a cursory observer can spot the difference in art styles between the previous seasons and Hero. It’s jarring and can be incredibly difficult to accept. As major fans of the series, it became less grating as the season went on. The return of the principal cast alleviated some of the issues, and the cuteness of new Rias Gremory is just as enjoyable as her dignified, beautiful depiction from previous years. We won’t tell you it’s better, but if this is how the series has to proceed to deliver this level of entertainment, it’s an acceptable compromise.
Final Thoughts
Hyoudou Issei will face new challenges and even more oppai along his journey, and we hope to join him for years to come. Are you a fan of High School DxD? What’d you think of Hero? Let us know in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!
Author: Hercule SSJ
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