review provided by Katie and Andrew
Title: High School DxD New: The Complete Second Season
Director: Tetsuya Yanagisawa
Studio: TNK
Author: Takao Yoshioka
U.S. Distributor: Funimation Entertainment
U.S. Release Date: November 11, 2014
Format and Length: DVD/Blu-Ray Combo / 12 Episodes / 321 Minutes
Genre: Action, Comedy, Demonic, Ecchi, Romance, Harem, Shounen
Industry Age Rating: TV MA
Overall Personal Rating: B-
Similar Series or Titles to Check Out: High School DxD or Rosario + Vampire
Synopsis:
Issei Hyoko and the rest of the Occult Research Club are back, only this season Issei has more power than ever before. The Excalibur swords and Michael the Archangel join Issei and the rest of the gang in battling against the deadliest of foes yet and only time will tell if the Occult Research Club will continue to thrive or if new leadership is needed to usher in a new magical era. Will Issei be able to survive these battles or will everything crash down around him? You will have to watch High School DxD New: The Complete Second Season and find out for yourself.
Commentary:
*Fair warning to those who are wanting to watch this series but are still on the fence about it…there is a large amount of fan service / ecchi scenes. However, High School DxD New: The Complete Second Season can actually pull off this amount of fan service and still have a decent plot line to be considered a good anime.* Also, why is it always an Occult Research Club?
High School DxD New: The Complete Second Season picks up soon after the end of the first season with hardly any change. This season focuses on the conflicts and interactions between the devils, angels, and fallen angels. I felt the plot was more interesting than the first season and the comedy undertones continue to reappear frequently. I did not notice the fan service as much as the first season because the story line kept my attention. This season was split up into two arcs, the Excalibur of the Moonlit Schoolyard and the Vampire of the Empty Classroom. I felt that the first arc, the Excalibur of the Moonlit Schoolyard, to be the conclusion to the first season and it was quite dark. The second arc, the Vampire of the Empty Classroom, really leaves the story line open to a third season and also includes the required beach episode that is needed in harem animes. I thought this arc went a little bit out there with all the mecha-like fighting that took place.
We finally see the character development that was missing in the first season and we also get to meet a few new characters. We learn how the characters were turned into devils and how their lives were prior to that. The new characters add to the story and created some interesting subplots. Plus they really added to the shenanigans between the girls and Issei. And yes, Issei is still obsessed with creating his harem, very much obsessed. Of course, it is slightly annoying for every female character to randomly fall in love with the main character for little to no reason but he is unable to act for whatever silly reason he comes up with.
The art work was average and they really focused on drawing the female characters. However, that is to be expected in this genre. They did a great job animating the fight scenes though. The voice actors brought the characters to life with their very real and refreshing emotions. The music was okay. By the end of the series I did find myself humming along with the opening and closing songs.
Extras:
High School DxD New: The Complete Second Season includes Yoko Hikasa’s Voice Acting School, clean opening and closing animations, promotional videos, Funimation Entertainment trailers, commercials, New Material from Ichiei Ishibumi! Fantasy Full-blast Gentleman’s Disc Club Promos and Not Seen on TV! Deleted Scenes as special features. This release is available with both English and Japanese with English Subtitles as language options.
Overall Grade: B-
High School DxD New: The Complete Second Season is a good anime for the genre it is. Just take the above warning to heart and give it a shot.
