Highschool DxD New Episode 10
What They Say:
Issei meets Michael, the Chief of the Angels, and continues training Gasper in the days leading up to the Leaders’ Summit.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Though the addition of Gasper didn’t exactly frustrate me since I know a series like this will add more characters as it goes on, it also didn’t excite me. I liked the addition in that we get another boy, and one with some really deep problems when it comes to his upbringing and sense of identity that should play well for many, but I also don’t expect a lot out of him for this particular season of the series outside of being very useful in whatever final arc we get. A final arc that, going by the end of the last episode and the prologue here, should be quite interesting since it brought in Michael for Issei to talk to. Issei has certainly proven to be a unique soul when it comes to the people that Rias has drawn around her, but you also get the sense that depending on what happens, he could easily eclipse them all.
The time with Michael is interesting overall as we get him talking about the dragon slayer aspect of Issei’s weapon, his potential role with things and a general sense of grandeur as well. But it also takes a nice turn of pace as it provides for some quality time between Issei and Akeno as she talks about her own past and heritage and what it means when it comes to the fallen angels and the way she’s sure that he feels about them. Which is problematic for her since she is one herself, which she shows him with her wings out in plain fashion that also shows off her chest a bit. There’s no real surprise here that because he knows her, he doesn’t hold her to the same things since he’s really only known her as his senior and he has a certain respect (and lust) for her that overrides any potential complications with his feelings towards fallen angels in general.
While the episode focuses heavily on the time between the two, and capping it off with some atmospheric and seemingly jealous moments from Rias catching them, we also get to continue to see Gasper’s training, which Issei has a real perverted use for. There’s some really hilarious bonding time between the two as they go on and Gasper does grow on me a bit as it progresses since we see how he’s sitll got his box and how Issei is being very sensitive and caring towards him, even if there are ulterior motives at times. But for the most part, it really does feel like an honest approach on Issei’s part and that helps a lot. All in all, it’s a decent episode that focuses on all of this until, once again, we get that background edge of things as it all cycles back to Michel at the very end to tease what will be coming up next.
In Summary:
Highschool DxD New again hits something of a transitional episode where there are things going on here, but it’s mostly character based and not larger story based. That doe come in at the end as we see more of the “adults in the room” getting together and seeing where things stand while the kids are watching around the side with their own intentions and emotions bubbling up just under the surface as they figure out how to deal with what Kokabiel did. The first half of the episode is definitely a lot of fun with Issei and Akeno, making me wish she had a larger role in the series, while the second half starts to make Gasper even easier to work and deal with as a newly added character. The series has only a bit left to do things with, but it’s making for some fun episodes here that has me excited to see what it will do next.
Grade: B
Streamed By: FUNimation
Review Equipment:
Sony KDL70R550A 70″ LED 1080P HDTV, Apple TV via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.