Rewatching High School DxD: Season 3

Ach ja, new season, but mostly more of the same. Logo design is still good.

The plot thickens with the introduction of a large scale threat in the form of the Khaos Brigade. We also get to see more members of the non-main factions, namely from the norse mythology, Nekomata and Son Goku is also there.

The season starts with everyone going to the demon world, while on school break. Training arc ensues with a big cool bro of a dragon. We also get to see a bit more about Akeno’s background and her father plus stupid make up melodrama for good measure and Koneko’s past. Turns out Koneko is some kind of a cat spirit… who would have guessed with a name like that. Also, her initial name was Shirone and her sister’s Kuroka, in case the color scheme was not obvious enough already. Damn I’m good at japanese.

I might also have to mention that we watched up to episode three before taking a one month long break, so it was kind of confusing to go into episode four, which starts with a cold open, and both of us having no idea what happened in the last episodes anymore. Not remembering seems to be a common theme here, as I basically forgot everything sans one plot point, which is weird as I had remembered the third season to be the best of everything that got adapted up to this point.

Anyway, a big battle ensued and it was… kinda boring. While High School DxD will never win the big prize of a writing contest, it was always at least competently put together and able to pull its punches, but this and the next arc were underwhelming. It essentially hinges on several characters being told to be strong and of importance, only to see them barely mentioned or knowing what their deal is. Loki is responsible for a good chunk of what is happening in this season, but does he have the presence of… well, he was shown a couple of times. Same can be said about the two guys I forgot the names of, as they were mentioned maybe twice. There is no build-up to them, as to think, that they are not important at all and the events just happen to happen at the time.

To be honest, the only thing I got out from this, is that the Khaos Brigade is not as united as first thought. This, however, is represented all together better in the second half of the season with Diodora. The anime made it abundantly clear from minute one that this guy is up to no good and having him there for a few episodes actually gave him some kind of presence and established him as a thread, though I still blanked out a few times. His reveal was, well… predictable to say the least and the fighting was, compared to some of the other battles, not that interesting, though we finally get to know that thoughts are stored in the boobs (No, I didn’t make this one up. This is canon.).

On the other hand, High School DxD is still going strong with everything already established over its last two seasons. Isseis rivalry with Vali officially reached “We may kills each other one day, but we can still be bros”-status and most of the second half’s dramatic moments actually worked, as the main group genuinly feel like friends. I mean, the climax of the season was one big fat power of friendship moment played completely straight and felt like one of the strongest moments of the season, building upon what was already a conceptually strong premise for a conflict.

High School DxD is still good, but was this season just not that great for the most part. It did progress the actual plot a fair bit, though, and I am kinda excited to see it continued after all these years. The third season just feels so disappointing, as the first two seasons left a better impression on me, compared of what I thought about it over five years ago, while BorN is the complete opposite.

Production-wise, it is still the same as its earlier seasons, but I had a feeling that the (hair-) colors were a bt more saturated, though I doubt anyone will notice, since the style stays the same. Not that big a fan of both the OP and ED. They are fine, but doesn’t the OP emit the same hype, as the last three and the ED is, compared to its predecessors, simply boring. Still absolutely baffled that they got Yuuki Kaji to sing the Oppai Dragon-Song. What a legend!

Now, this post is barely 800 words long, so it is finally time to talk about waifus. I will stand by my word that Xenovia is best girl (I will still fight you on that!). But sometimes, it is not about being right, but about being correct. There are some universal truths out there, that not even I dare to go against… not that I have to, as they perfectly align with my taste professional judgement. As such, I will give you the facts straight: Cries about her age, despite being young, desperate to find a man, heavy abandonment issues, absolute disaster of a human being, a teacher, alcoholic AND she wears a suit? Add glasses and you got yourself a S-Rank Waifu!

Anyway, here is an image of Rossweisse crying. I wanted to use on of her eyecatches for the thumbnail, but hers just didn’t work that well.

Until next time ^^.