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EP. REVIEW: High School DxD Hero


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GhostD



Joined: 07 May 2016
Posts: 998
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2018 7:50 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
The result is the beginning of what I'm assuming will be a multi-episode story arc involving the fox girl shown prominently in the opener and a senior goddess who has been kidnapped by the Chaos Brigade.


Actually it was stated that it was the leader of Kyoto's youkai, not a senior goddess. Plus she has a daughter. Inari isnt known to have a child but rather is a collective of various deities. You actually get to see her in the opening too and she's more akin to Tamamo no Mae than Inari
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#844391



Joined: 09 Sep 2015
Posts: 517
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2018 10:11 pm Reply with quote
Xenovia felt different to me when she first showed up at the start of the episode, I thought it was a different character for a sec. I just remember her being rather loud and straight forward previously, and usually trying to get Issei to have babies with her.

Anyway, I'm not sure if I missed something but what was the significance of that flashback to the pawn piece being removed from him? Was that explained at some point? He just said he had to go through trials or something.
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AsuraTheDestructor



Joined: 24 Dec 2013
Posts: 466
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2018 10:47 pm Reply with quote
VanGosroth wrote:
Who cares about the story as long as there are naked girls. If I wanted plot I have 20 something other shows I can watch. I'm here for the PLOT.


Someone who blatantly misses the point of the series.

Its not Just PLOT, it has a good actual plot, too.

You can have both.
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SWAnimefan



Joined: 10 Oct 2014
Posts: 634
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2018 11:56 pm Reply with quote
So far I'm enjoying the start of the series, though two things bother me. One, the art style. The second, the skipped content.

While this season's artwork is obviously reverting to the original light novel art style than the art style of the previous anime seasons, I personally felt the girls stood out more individually with the anime style of the first three seasons. Just looking at Rias and Akeno, they look identical with their body styles. And in episode 2, instead of seeing Xenovia, I swear I was seeing Rem from Re: Zero.

As for the skipped content, it tends to show itself. In the dialogue of Episode 2 with Roseweisse's comment regarding Saji. If I didn't happen to read the light novels, it wouldn't know how significant that was. I'm guessing they might revisit this in a future episode as a flashback, because of how important Saji is later on.
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GhostD



Joined: 07 May 2016
Posts: 998
PostPosted: Wed Apr 25, 2018 1:27 am Reply with quote
#844391 wrote:
Xenovia felt different to me when she first showed up at the start of the episode, I thought it was a different character for a sec. I just remember her being rather loud and straight forward previously, and usually trying to get Issei to have babies with her.

Anyway, I'm not sure if I missed something but what was the significance of that flashback to the pawn piece being removed from him? Was that explained at some point? He just said he had to go through trials or something.


Yes it was explained at some point but thanks to the major screw up of Born we never got to see that.

Quote:
While this season's artwork is obviously reverting to the original light novel art style than the art style of the previous anime seasons, I personally felt the girls stood out more individually with the anime style of the first three seasons. Just looking at Rias and Akeno, they look identical with their body styles. And in episode 2, instead of seeing Xenovia, I swear I was seeing Rem from Re: Zero.


More like the last 3-4 vols of the light novels. In a DAnime hyper Hero related article several weeks back I actually posted pics from the LNs to compare the old and the new. Miyama Zero just modified his style for the last few vols. The differences are subtle because the art is more detailed now than before but try putting images of the Rias or Issei as far back as vol 1 and vols 22 and above side by side[/quote]
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kevruth
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Joined: 12 Nov 2013
Posts: 27
PostPosted: Wed Apr 25, 2018 7:55 am Reply with quote
Episode 2 also may eventually trigger some future new flash backs. Issei mentioning to Kiba that he met the other Mao members dressed as Power Rangers. That's when Beelzebub made the adjustments to Issei's pawn pieces. This all happened at the end of novel #8. I'm curious if they might show that whole part.
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Izanagi009



Joined: 20 Oct 2014
Posts: 464
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2018 10:50 am Reply with quote
Well, after being disappointed by DxD season 3, i tried to watch the first two real episodes of DxD Hero

Emphasis on tried for multiple reason, one of them being the censorship; while i understand it being needed, the way Crunchy does it is obstructive and very immersion breaking to the point of me looking for less reputable sources as it were

This leads to my second reason, and this is probably going to start an awkward discussion if this goes wrong, but I'm finding the basic subtext, metanarratives and archetypes typical of Harem to be, for a term I will have to elaborate on, inhuman.

When I say inhuman, i refer to how the interactions and character personalities feel as Miyazaki might say based on the tropes of the medium rather than human observation. I started thinking about this during the small scene with Issei staring at Rias's mom. It's presented as a simple gag for only a few seconds but I started to question what the equivalent situation in reality would play out as. I started realziing that the situation would be much more messy and more anger inducing for the girlfriend than the show portrays.

I then started applying this thought process to the rest of the show and well, to go point by point

-The characters are constructed archetypes rather than actual characters. Akeno is a big example as in the LN, she is stated to be spoiler[dependent on men] but the character personality isn't intricate enough, elaborated on besides the tragic backstory, and the detail isn't played with enough. In reality, that type of detail would result in a lot of issues and discussion in a relationship but here, it's played off as a reason for Akeno's attachment to Issei.
-The basic idea of the girls not having any harsh feeling or contention between them feels very odd given that most people outside of relationships or romantic interactions don't interact this well.
-Iseei being dedicated to Rias while still wanting a harem feels off as human desire and lust can form attachment to others in a way that would disrupt the single monogamous relation

I could go on but the long and short, the characters and situation are not human and that pulls me out of the proceeding at my age and time of life.

I will admit that i'm overthinking but this is an issue i've had with harem and to some extent anime as a whole for a while. I really do wish that there was a counter or decontruction to harem though I heard Scum's wish might do that for me.
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AsuraTheDestructor



Joined: 24 Dec 2013
Posts: 466
PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:06 am Reply with quote
Izanagi009 wrote:
Well, after being disappointed by DxD season 3, i tried to watch the first two real episodes of DxD Hero

Emphasis on tried for multiple reason, one of them being the censorship; while i understand it being needed, the way Crunchy does it is obstructive and very immersion breaking to the point of me looking for less reputable sources as it were

This leads to my second reason, and this is probably going to start an awkward discussion if this goes wrong, but I'm finding the basic subtext, metanarratives and archetypes typical of Harem to be, for a term I will have to elaborate on, inhuman.

When I say inhuman, i refer to how the interactions and character personalities feel as Miyazaki might say based on the tropes of the medium rather than human observation. I started thinking about this during the small scene with Issei staring at Rias's mom. It's presented as a simple gag for only a few seconds but I started to question what the equivalent situation in reality would play out as. I started realziing that the situation would be much more messy and more anger inducing for the girlfriend than the show portrays.

I then started applying this thought process to the rest of the show and well, to go point by point

-The characters are constructed archetypes rather than actual characters. Akeno is a big example as in the LN, she is stated to be spoiler[dependent on men] but the character personality isn't intricate enough, elaborated on besides the tragic backstory, and the detail isn't played with enough. In reality, that type of detail would result in a lot of issues and discussion in a relationship but here, it's played off as a reason for Akeno's attachment to Issei.
-The basic idea of the girls not having any harsh feeling or contention between them feels very odd given that most people outside of relationships or romantic interactions don't interact this well.
-Iseei being dedicated to Rias while still wanting a harem feels off as human desire and lust can form attachment to others in a way that would disrupt the single monogamous relation

I could go on but the long and short, the characters and situation are not human and that pulls me out of the proceeding at my age and time of life.

I will admit that i'm overthinking but this is an issue i've had with harem and to some extent anime as a whole for a while. I really do wish that there was a counter or decontruction to harem though I heard Scum's wish might do that for me.


Not only are you overthinking this, but you're wrong on alot of levels.
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AsuraTheDestructor



Joined: 24 Dec 2013
Posts: 466
PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:07 am Reply with quote
Izanagi009 wrote:
Well, after being disappointed by DxD season 3, i tried to watch the first two real episodes of DxD Hero

Emphasis on tried for multiple reason, one of them being the censorship; while i understand it being needed, the way Crunchy does it is obstructive and very immersion breaking to the point of me looking for less reputable sources as it were

This leads to my second reason, and this is probably going to start an awkward discussion if this goes wrong, but I'm finding the basic subtext, metanarratives and archetypes typical of Harem to be, for a term I will have to elaborate on, inhuman.

When I say inhuman, i refer to how the interactions and character personalities feel as Miyazaki might say based on the tropes of the medium rather than human observation. I started thinking about this during the small scene with Issei staring at Rias's mom. It's presented as a simple gag for only a few seconds but I started to question what the equivalent situation in reality would play out as. I started realziing that the situation would be much more messy and more anger inducing for the girlfriend than the show portrays.

I then started applying this thought process to the rest of the show and well, to go point by point

-The characters are constructed archetypes rather than actual characters. Akeno is a big example as in the LN, she is stated to be spoiler[dependent on men] but the character personality isn't intricate enough, elaborated on besides the tragic backstory, and the detail isn't played with enough. In reality, that type of detail would result in a lot of issues and discussion in a relationship but here, it's played off as a reason for Akeno's attachment to Issei.
-The basic idea of the girls not having any harsh feeling or contention between them feels very odd given that most people outside of relationships or romantic interactions don't interact this well.
-Iseei being dedicated to Rias while still wanting a harem feels off as human desire and lust can form attachment to others in a way that would disrupt the single monogamous relation

I could go on but the long and short, the characters and situation are not human and that pulls me out of the proceeding at my age and time of life.

I will admit that i'm overthinking but this is an issue i've had with harem and to some extent anime as a whole for a while. I really do wish that there was a counter or decontruction to harem though I heard Scum's wish might do that for me.


Not only are you overthinking this, but you're wrong on alot of levels.

Polyamory and Polygamy are not only a thing in the real world, but out of all the harem anime and genre out there, HighSchool DxD is actually the most realistic Because it acknowledges that those concepts are a thing, and don't shy away from them like just about most other Harem series out there do because the authors don't have the balls to go through with it (To Love ru is a big example).


Last edited by AsuraTheDestructor on Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:10 am; edited 1 time in total
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Izanagi009



Joined: 20 Oct 2014
Posts: 464
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:08 am Reply with quote
AsuraTheDestructor wrote:
Izanagi009 wrote:
snip


Not only are you overthinking this, but you're wrong on alot of levels.


Care to explain
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18137
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:13 am Reply with quote
Izanagi009 wrote:
Emphasis on tried for multiple reason, one of them being the censorship; while i understand it being needed, the way Crunchy does it is obstructive and very immersion breaking to the point of me looking for less reputable sources as it were

But is it CR's censorship specifically or what's provided to them? (IIRC, this series usually only airs uncensored on one pay cable channel in Japan.)

As for the censorship being a cumbersome distraction, I am in 100% agreement. That should be considered implicit in all episode reviews this season, as bringing it up in every episode review would be just beating a dead horse.

Quote:
This leads to my second reason, and this is probably going to start an awkward discussion if this goes wrong, but I'm finding the basic subtext, metanarratives and archetypes typical of Harem to be, for a term I will have to elaborate on, inhuman.

The problem here is that you actually stopped to think about it, and you're not supposed to with harem series. I don't disagree with anything else you said, but this whole genre is pure fantasy rather than anything meant to be realistic - and that's even if you discount all of the crazy metaphysics going on in this particular case. If you can't accept it at that wish-fulfillment level then harem series probably aren't worth your time anymore. And besides, it isn't like there haven't been jealousies running amok in Issei's harem.

That being said, IRL cases of fully cooperative polygamous relationships are hardly unheard of and are found in many other works of more serious literature and film. (Jane Auel's Earth Children series had examples of this, for instance.) Structures where a first wife is effectively head of household and thus reigns over the other wives also wouldn't be unusual, and that's the role that Rias seems to be falling into.
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Izanagi009



Joined: 20 Oct 2014
Posts: 464
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:15 am Reply with quote
AsuraTheDestructor wrote:
Izanagi009 wrote:
snip


Not only are you overthinking this, but you're wrong on alot of levels.

Polyamory and Polygamy are not only a thing in the real world, but out of all the harem anime and genre out there, HighSchool DxD is actually the most realistic Because it acknowledges that those concepts are a thing, and don't shy away from them like just about most other Harem series out there do because the authors don't have the balls to go through with it (To Love ru is a big example).


While I understand that Polygamy and Polyamory are real, I have a feeling that there is a lot more drama than what happens here. Plus, again, the characters still feel like archetypes and not whole people with personalities.
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Izanagi009



Joined: 20 Oct 2014
Posts: 464
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2018 11:18 am Reply with quote
Key wrote:
Izanagi009 wrote:
Emphasis on tried for multiple reason, one of them being the censorship; while i understand it being needed, the way Crunchy does it is obstructive and very immersion breaking to the point of me looking for less reputable sources as it were

But is it CR's censorship specifically or what's provided to them? (IIRC, this series usually only airs uncensored on one pay cable channel in Japan.)

As for the censorship being a cumbersome distraction, I am in 100% agreement. That should be considered implicit in all episode reviews this season, as bringing it up in every episode review would be just beating a dead horse.

Quote:
This leads to my second reason, and this is probably going to start an awkward discussion if this goes wrong, but I'm finding the basic subtext, metanarratives and archetypes typical of Harem to be, for a term I will have to elaborate on, inhuman.

The problem here is that you actually stopped to think about it, and you're not supposed to with harem series. I don't disagree with anything else you said, but this whole genre is pure fantasy rather than anything meant to be realistic - and that's even if you discount all of the crazy metaphysics going on in this particular case. If you can't accept it at that wish-fulfillment level then harem series probably aren't worth your time anymore. And besides, it isn't like there haven't been jealousies running amok in Issei's harem.

That being said, IRL cases of fully cooperative polygamous relationships are hardly unheard of and are found in many other works of more serious literature and film. (Jane Auel's Earth Children series had examples of this, for instance.) Structures where a first wife is effectively head of household and thus reigns over the other wives also wouldn't be unusual, and that's the role that Rias seems to be falling into.


I don't disagree with Polygamous relationships existing, what i am against is how dramaless this seems for the start of one. but yes, i did stop to think when i shouldn't but honestly, the TnA is not distracting me enough from the thoughts, not even the fight animation is enough to distract me

I do appreciate the response though, still feel like it's possible to make a harem drama instead of a harem comedy
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AsuraTheDestructor



Joined: 24 Dec 2013
Posts: 466
PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2018 1:23 pm Reply with quote
Izanagi009 wrote:
Key wrote:
Izanagi009 wrote:
Emphasis on tried for multiple reason, one of them being the censorship; while i understand it being needed, the way Crunchy does it is obstructive and very immersion breaking to the point of me looking for less reputable sources as it were

But is it CR's censorship specifically or what's provided to them? (IIRC, this series usually only airs uncensored on one pay cable channel in Japan.)

As for the censorship being a cumbersome distraction, I am in 100% agreement. That should be considered implicit in all episode reviews this season, as bringing it up in every episode review would be just beating a dead horse.

Quote:
This leads to my second reason, and this is probably going to start an awkward discussion if this goes wrong, but I'm finding the basic subtext, metanarratives and archetypes typical of Harem to be, for a term I will have to elaborate on, inhuman.

The problem here is that you actually stopped to think about it, and you're not supposed to with harem series. I don't disagree with anything else you said, but this whole genre is pure fantasy rather than anything meant to be realistic - and that's even if you discount all of the crazy metaphysics going on in this particular case. If you can't accept it at that wish-fulfillment level then harem series probably aren't worth your time anymore. And besides, it isn't like there haven't been jealousies running amok in Issei's harem.

That being said, IRL cases of fully cooperative polygamous relationships are hardly unheard of and are found in many other works of more serious literature and film. (Jane Auel's Earth Children series had examples of this, for instance.) Structures where a first wife is effectively head of household and thus reigns over the other wives also wouldn't be unusual, and that's the role that Rias seems to be falling into.


I don't disagree with Polygamous relationships existing, what i am against is how dramaless this seems for the start of one. but yes, i did stop to think when i shouldn't but honestly, the TnA is not distracting me enough from the thoughts, not even the fight animation is enough to distract me

I do appreciate the response though, still feel like it's possible to make a harem drama instead of a harem comedy


There is going to a bit of drama amongst the harem later on in this season, in fact. I wasn't gonna say it because its a spoiler, but you leave me no choice but to say so.
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Joshua Zarate



Joined: 12 Jan 2017
Posts: 2061
PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2018 3:27 pm Reply with quote
I pretty much agree with Key’s response to the poster struggling to watch Hero and that I would also like to say that anytime this genre puts in devils and angels fighting each other (also dragons), realism is all but thrown out the window and the product should never be thought about too much.

AsuraTheDestructor wrote:
Polyamory and Polygamy are not only a thing in the real world, but out of all the harem anime and genre out there, HighSchool DxD is actually the most realistic Because it acknowledges that those concepts are a thing, and don't shy away from them like just about most other Harem series out there do because the authors don't have the balls to go through with it (To Love ru is a big example).


I’m not entirely sure I’m reading this correctly. If you’re saying To Love-Ru doesn’t acknowledge the harem concept, in To Love-Ru Darkness, there’s a character that explicitly tries to set up a literal harem for the main character and that character is determined enough about her plan that she doesn’t shy away from it. It feels like the authors of To Love-Ru do have some balls to go through with it, but it’s approaching it in a different manner than what’s being done here. More of a slow boil there than in here, which is understandable since To Love-Ru feels more reminiscent of a slice-of-life with its pacing, at least more so than High School DxD. By the way, I’m not arguing which one is more realistic. I’m just perplexed as to why you would say To Love-Ru doesn’t acknowledge its genre.
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