High School DxD is, without a doubt, one of the worst shows I’ve had the displeasure of watching in the past few years. The plot is little more than a vehicle to find ways to present the female cast members in their birthday suits. It desperately tries to be something charming and funny, but somehow manages to be little more than a creepy celebration of shame. This is a series where, within forty seconds of the first episode’s beginning, the main character blurts out “Ahh… I wanna squeeze some boobs,” which, oddly enough, is the least creepy thing to escape his mouth. If I were to make a comparison, I’d probably say that High School DxD a view of adolescence, if it were presented by John Waters. While the idea sounds interesting, High School DxD is the type of show that will have most people hammering on the “Stop” button midway through the first episode.

The series revolves around Hyodo Issei, a lecherous waste of space whose sole goal in life is to be the king of all harems. Every thought that goes through his head revolves around breasts, or staring at breasts, or squeezing breasts, or… well, you get the picture. Every girl in school recognizes Hyodo for the creep that he is, though, meaning that the closest he’ll get to a woman is anime porn. This all changes one day, when a mysterious beauty asks him out. After a seemingly perfect evening, Hyodo’s life is cut short. His dream girl transforms into a murderous latex-clad mistress, who proceeds to drive a blade through him. With his dying breath, Issei wishes to be nestled in the bosom of school heart-throb Rias Gremory. Hyodo’s wish is granted in the most peculiar way. Rias is a powerful devil, and she’s decided to bring Hyodo back as her demonic servant.

To be blunt, High School DxD’s plot is little more than perversion and bondage wrapped in a hackneyed high school romp. The jokes are unfunny at best, and downright disturbing at their worst. The creep factor is further emphasized by the show’s insistence on dragging the women’s rights movement back thirty years. Female characters are portrayed as archetypes, objects that exist only to serve some fetish from the soft-spoken sadist to lolita bait. At the same time, the camera seems to focus primarily on three factors of the female cast: the breasts, the backside, and the crotch. Even in scenes of conversation, where the character’s face should be front and center, the camera often sits square on the girl’s tits, which bounce and bobble like beach balls floating in a kiddie pool. The idea that they are walking talking toys makes itself blindingly clear in episode three, when a male priest literally strips and violates kind-hearted nun Asia Argento (no relation to horror master Dario’s daughter).

There is very little that one can find redeeming about High School DxD. From the poor characters, to the blatant perversion and generally stupid story, I found it hard to stomach more than four episodes. There are a number of fantastic alternatives on the market, such as Shakugan no Shana. Please, I implore you, do yourself a favor and pick up one of those instead of this dreck.

Thanks to FUNimation for providing a review copy!