Highschool DxD New (Season 2) Anime Review

Alright, let's head to the second season of the probably best ecchii anime of all time. This time round, I think I am going to keep it short. I will probably just add in a few stuff from what I had already written for Season 1. Mainly, I will focus on what hit or miss the mark this time round in Season 2.

Highchool DxD New is the continuation of the original Highschool DxD and it continues to follow the story of Hyoudou Issei and his journey as a devil. The second season of Highschool DxD focus on the next two story arcs covered in the Light Novel and it introduces new characters some of which were already teased in the previous season. It also further delves into the perspectives of the third huge faction in the world of DxD, which is the Church. Season 2 follows up with a thickening plot for the main story itself, introducing the main antagonist of the entire series entirely.

What do I like about Season 2?

I like that the anime keeps up with a good plot. In fact I believe that this season is more plot-focused than the first, which I really enjoy. The stakes involved are also higher than that of the first season. I believe that this is a great thing because they learn a lot from the first season that a good plot makes successful anime regardless of the genre, which in season 2, they successfully follow this trend and play to their strength.

I also like that they touch on more characters that lacks development in the previous season such as Kiba. It adds on depth on the characters and makes you realise that there are more backstory to Rias's servants. It keeps you on edge, asking for more on what happened to the rest of the crew. I would commend this season for this because, marketing wise, it is a successful strategy as it leaves you wanting for more. In my previous review of season 1, I mentioned how unique the characters in Rias's peerage are. Knowing that these characters and their backstory will be explored on further eventually really makes you look forward to future installments.

Season 2 also follows with some terms that are already teased in season 1 which really adds on to that satisfaction. It introduces more characters that we already hope to look forward to in season 1 and gives us more information on characters we already caught glimpse at in season 1. It makes everything clearer from what had already happened in season 1 (not that it was not clear before) and adds more breadth in the world of DxD.

What do I not like about Season 2?

Sadly, I believe that almost every flaws season 1 had was kind of repeated in season 2. First of all, those overly used shounen cliché moments are still present in season 2. In fact, sometimes there are moments where you feel that the plot gets simplified to achieve this. It doesn't feel weird when it happens but you kind of feel that there should be more into it.

Of course, I would say that the one-sided emotion still exist here. It's really apparent on the first arc when it concerns Kiba. I really feel that some moments are rather wasted simply because the emotion isn't there.

Last but not least, I really feel that the coherence from season 1 is not replicated in season 2. I feel that there are moments that feels rather rushed without much explanation. It may be heavily affected dude to the fact that there are oversimplification of plots here and there. There are important terms that I feel is really important and it is not really explained as much as how Sacred Gears are explained in Season 1. There are also moments where you feel that things just happened out of nowhere.

Judgment

Overall, I feel that the second season of Highschool DxD is an awesome continuation of the first with thickening plot and more character developments. However, the story, unlike the first season, suffers with some incoherency and it affects the understanding of some important terms as well as moments where you are left with "wait what?". I am giving this season an A-.

From this point onwards... SPOILER ALERT!!!

Let's head into the discussions for this second season. I will briefly go through the plot, and what I like about it. I will briefly explain Issei's role in this season but unlike the first season, I won't go much into Rias's because she just don't play as much role as the first. I am putting more space for Kiba as well as the coherence section because it is very important to discuss.

Plot

First Arc: Adapted from "Excalibur of the Moonlit Schoolyard"

The first arc of the second season started off with two visitors from the Church named Irina and Xenovia visiting Rias's peerage asking for a permission to conduct a mission in the Gremory territory. It involved the retrieval of stolen Holy Sword Excalibur which Kiba has a dark past with. It then follows mostly on how Kiba was driven by revenge after hearing the name Excalibur so much so as quitting Rias's peerage entirely. Issei, who considers Kiba as a friend then tried his best, along with Koneko who was probably bonded with Kiba the most, to help him get back to his usual self. 

It then involves a small fight between Kiba and Issei versus Irina and Xenovia in the schoolyard (thus the name) whom both possess a type of Excalibur. This particular fight showcase how powerful the church are being able to defeat both Kiba and Issei easily. Eventually, in an attempt to get Kiba back to his normal self, which involves destroying the Excaliburs, Issei, Koneko and Kiba decided to help the Church duo in their mission. It was eventually discovered that a rogue Fallen Angel was involved in this and the story ended with a boss fight against a Fallen Angel and a revelation of the White Dragon Emperor which was very briefly mentioned in the end of season 1. Oh, and Xenovia joined Rias's peerage and defected from the Church after learning that God of the Bible is dead.

This story arcs follows the perspective of the Church on the world of DxD. It has previously been mentioned in the first season but was never followed on. This time round, they are dedicating an entire story arc for this particular faction and how powerful they are compared to our protagonists. I find it amazing because it adds on more depth to topics already discussed in season 1 as well as adding on breadth to the entire world effectively.

It is also important to say how much development Kiba gets in this particular arc. Here, we get to learn the dark past of Kiba which involved him as an experiment of the church. It also gives Kiba the spotlight he deserve to have by giving that power up equivalent (ok maybe less) to what Issei had back in Season 1.

Second Arc: Adapted from "Vampire of the Suspended Classroom"

The second arc of the second season follows the aftermath of the first arc. After the appearance of the rogue Fallen Angel known as Kokabiel (which was one of the three leaders of the faction), the three great faction of power anticipates another war. Furthermore, Kokabiel also revealed in the end of the first arc that God of the Bible is already dead (yes literally dead) due to the Great War, which threw the entire world into astonishment and it indicates that the balance has indeed been broken. Here, the big boss of the Fallen Angel named Azazel was revealed and it turns out that he had been spying on Issei all this time, acting as one of Issei's regular customers in his Devil Job.

The story covers the preparation for the huge meeting that is going to be held in Kuoh Academy (the school Rias's peerage is from). There are reasons for it to be held in the Academy, firstly because the incident happened in the town, secondly because the school is owned by the Gremory household and thirdly, because there is a parent class visit during that time. Yea it's weird, I will explain this further in the coherence section. 

Anyway, the second story arc also introduces Rias's first Bishop (the second was Asia) who was never introduced in the first season. He comes under the name Gasper Vladi and he is a vampire who was locked in a classroom in the old school building where Rias conducted her meeting. The reason was because Gasper possess power Rias won't be able to control before. They also introduces the term Mutated Evil Piece which, sadly, they don't really explain much on.

This arc ended with the introduction of the true antagonist of the DxD series, a terrorist group known as the Khaos Brigade which will play a huge role in future installments. It also ended with the long awaited face off between Issei and Vali, in other words, the Red Dragon Emperor versus the White Dragon Emperor.

This story arc was more on introduction to the big players in DxD as it introduces the bosses of each factions. It also explains more on Sacred Gears due to Kiba's sudden discovery of his new unnatural power. I believe that this story arc is rather content heavy in information which heavily affect its coherence mainly because it is unable to explain everything clearly. It also gives more development on Issei's character, mainly on how he explores his power.

Characters

Issei Hyoudou

Alright, in Season 2, Issei is being the Issei I loved him to be. He kept the series fun and entertaining with his perverted nature. Here in season 2, it also further shows the caring nature of Issei as he strived to bring back Kiba from his path of vengeance. In the first arc, I really feel that Issei also steps down from the spotlight. He was not the person who gained that shounen cliché power boost and he was not the person who beat the crap out of the antagonist. It is also important to take note on how Issei interacts with Ddraig, now that he is aware of his existence within his Sacred Gear. I would say that the character development of Issei in season 2, is how he explores his power through his interactions with Ddraig. Once again, it is shown that Issei is a caring individual, even wanting to talk to a dragon who was known to be an evil being in the past, so much so that other characters, particularly Azazel named him as a unique Red Dragon Emperor of the generation.

It comes to a time where Issei need to fight Vali Lucifer, who was the White Dragon Emperor. It was the second time where Issei summoned Balance Breaker and revealed the red armor that actually came with his Sacred Gear. This is the same power that was revealed and slightly introduced in the end of the first season. Now, however, the story explained on it more and what it truly means to achieve Balance Breaker. In this aspect, Issei's character is developed.

Yuuto Kiba

We don't get much Kiba in season 1, mainly seeing him as a supporting character who was just an ally to the main character. This time round, however, we finally get a backstory out of his character. We learn that Kiba had a dark past and how it complements to his sudden change of character at the beginning of the season. Initially, it was kind of annoying to see why Kiba suddenly changed out of his cool demeanor as seen in the first season, however the story managed to tell Kiba story and I feel that it is justified. 

Kiba is also given a huge power up here when he attained Balance Breaker for his Sacred Gear which as a plus side not only acts as a clichéd power up to defeat a boss, but also as one of the driving factor of the second story arc in the season.

Overall, this season portrayed d Kiba in a new light, and it provided us with a proper start of arguably the best protagonist in Highschool DxD.

The Church's Agent

I don't exactly have a proper term for the duo, but I am referring to both Xenovia Quarta and Irina Shidou. They were both new characters introduced in the first arc of the season. Initially, they are kind of portrayed as the antagonist, but eventually it was revealed that they are not. I don't have much to say except for the fact that Xenovia is probably the best girl in DxD.

Xenovia was also revealed to possess a powerful Holy Sword that is Durandal which is different from Excalibur but has a much stronger destructive power. Xenovia, along with Asia (who were part of the church before) were the two church-related people who heard that God of the Bible is dead. This was the turning point for Xenovia for which she decided to cut herself from the church and join Rias's Peerage instead.

As for Irina, she's more towards technique. Irina is also revealed to be Issei's childhood friend. I kind of feel that this part is not really significant particularly in this part of the story. Irina also left the group after the first arc to return to Europe, leaving Xenovia behind and seeing her as a traitor to the church.

Left: Xenovia Quarta, Right: Irina Shidou

Rias's Peerage

There's just no way we can leave them behind, so I will briefly mention their roles in Season 2.

1. Rias Gremory is the King of Rias's peerage. She doesn't play as much role as in season 1 and instead she fills in with many diplomatic roles in the second arc, particularly because the meeting between the Faction Leaders are to be conducted within her territory. One good thing that comes from her is that we get to see her interactions with her family members, that is Sirzech Lucifer.

2. Akeno Himejima is the Queen of Rias's peerage. Her role is pretty much the same as in season 1, more towards a supporting cast.

3. Koneko Toujou is the Rook of Rias's peerage. Koneko's character is slightly developed in season 2 in the sense we finally get to see how much she actually cares for Kiba who she sees as a senpai both in school and in Rias's peerage.

4. Yuuto Kiba is Rias's 1st Knight. He took the spotlight in season 2, there's just so much character development put into him in this season.

5. Xenovia Quarta is Rias's 2nd Knight. She started off as someone from the church but becomes a devil instead. Newest member of the team.

6. Asia Argento is Rias's 2nd Bishop. She was a relatively new member and was introduced in season 1. She don't exactly play much role in season 2, except maybe for the fact that she showed much connections towards the Church. That way, she was one of the few who opened up more towards Xenovia when she entered the peerage.

7. Gasper Vladi is Rias's 1st Bishop. He had actually been a part of Rias's peerage for a while now but was "sealed" away in a classroom due to his powerful Sacred Gear, the Forbidden Balor View which allows him to stop time of an object of interest just by looking at it. He was sealed primarily because Rias could not control his power, until Sirzechs allowed him to be released. Though, he did not really mind being imprisoned due to the fact that he is a really introverted individual. Oh, and he's a trap.

8. Issei Hyoudou is Rias's only pawn. The main character of the series and is the Red Dragon Emperor.

From the left: Akeno Himejima, Gasper Vladi, Rias Gremory, Yuuto Kiba, Koneko Toujou, Issei Hyoudou, Asia Argento, Xenovia Quarta.

There are other characters that does not make this section, I believe that they play a smaller role in this season. It's very frustrating for me because some of these characters will eventually play a very huge role in the story as it goes down the road. So, I want to make special mentions to these characters: Azazel and Vali Lucifer.

Left: Vali Lucifer, Right: Azazel

Coherence

Unlike the first season of DxD, I really feel that there are moments in this anime that feels rather rushed, choppy, and full of loopholes. Firstly, I have to bring up the fact that there are so many terms in DxD that was introduced but was hardly explained. One example is Mutated Evil Pieces, it was briefly introduced by Sirzechs when he explained the nature of Gasper and Azazel seemed to understand it more that us.

It is commendable with the fact that the story is still coherent in the sense that they know how to connect the dots that joined one arc with another. In the case of Season 2, it's most apparent in how they treat the Sacred Gears, which by the way will be the main focus of the entire series. They also introduce the real threat which is the terrorist group known as Khaos Brigade which cement that there is still more to come, and opens up many possibilities in the future. 

There are also moments where I feel that they are forcing to connect the first arc and the second too much. Particularly regarding how Sirzechs went to visit Rias for a classroom visit in the school. It was one of the reason why the diplomatic meeting was to be conducted in the school the protagonists are studying at which feels rather simplistic. I kind of understand that it was meant for a fun episode and at the same time it can increase the depth of Sirzech's character, but it feels unnecessary to tie it in to the meeting.

Oh and there are also a few episodes that are meant to be "fun", like one in particular that involves swimsuit. But it's fine honestly. I just don't like that there are two arcs in the season, however it is leaning more towards the first arc because the second arc involves a lot of information being bombed into you and introduced a lot of new faces. The two arcs get an equal 6 episodes but the second arc has 2 episodes allocated to these fun episodes, making the information bomb being squeezed in within 4 episodes, which feels kind of rushed.

Effects

Nothing much to say, TNK studios keep their formula the same as how they do season 1. They also keep the original soundtracks which as I said previously, is really iconic of DxD.

Emotions

Let's keep this short, I really feel that it is another miss in this season that they did not manage to pull of any emotional feeling. Kiba's backstory is one of the sadder story that ever told in DxD, truthfully it feels painful when I was reading the Light Novel, but once again I didn't feel as much in the anime. I have been thinking about it but perhaps, there is another reason for this other than the fact that DxD throw out oppais here and there. I do think that, when reading the novel, you can truly imagine the situation Kiba was in, but it doesn't happen in the anime as it was drawn out to you. Another reason is the pace these scene is being shown. Due to the constraint of fitting an entire volume of Light Novel into 6 episodes, some scenes that I believe deserve more screen time, doesn't get it as they need to fit everything inside the 6 episodes. 

Although, I have to say, that battle scene between Issei and Vali, is one hell of a blood rush. For those who limit themselves into watching the DxD anime, it is probably one of the most awaited fight in the series. When it happens, there is a lot of emotions poured inside, though it ended abruptly. Even when some, ecchii jokes are thrown in between, their first fight is still memorable and will definitely be dear in my heart.

That's all from me guys, do look forward for my review on season 3, which I do think I have a lot more to say, because truth be told, that season is rather disastrous.