Directed by Tetsuya Yanagisawa, the third season wastes little time to get straight to the point. In fact, the title itself suggest the tone with the word ‘Born’. For those who can guess it, it’s basically an indirect reference at the way boobs sounds like when they bounce around. I guess by anime logic that means we’ll see a lot of that both to satisfy fans’ needs and plot purposes. With all the buildup and events that leads from one point to another, the third season tries to seize the moment to capitalize on the story. The key word here is “try”.
Starting from the first few episodes, there’s already a lot going on. Discreetly, we can see that there’s something going on with Koneko that’s bothering her. Similarly enough, the show also reveals more events relating to Chaos Brigade as well as new antagonists. For Koneko, we also see a new girl that wants to take her back by any means until Issei and his group intervenes. Then, there’s other ominous foreshadowing with characters such as Akeno. To say the least, the show can actually be thrilling when it develops these little bits and bits of scenarios like pieces to a puzzle. And any fan of High School DxD can expect, fan service returns as well with boobs, ass, and seductiveness.
While the series has a promising start, it wavers down as the story progresses. I have read the light novels and the adaptations is not something that should be impressed by. Not only does the anime omits some appealing elements, it also fails to capture the point of the show especially in the second half. For what’s worth, the series went backwards on itself when it comes to story focus. While the first half of the series adds excitement with the conflicts in the supernatural world, it loses steam almost entirely later on. I say this because the show’s story turns messy with too many events happening and rapid resolutions. The plus side is that characterization retains a somewhat decent degree. But when it comes to storytelling, the third season pummels down the drain. For fans eager for some comedy though, you’ll probably get a good dose out of it from one of Issei’s new bizarre abilities that really emphasizes the ‘Born’ part of the title.
The main success of the third season is probably the characters. We have a very diverse and colorful range of characters. Ranging from the return of Issei and the Occult Research Club members to newly introduced characters such as Rossweisse, Odin, Kuroka, and Loki, the show captures the interest of its viewers when we want to see how their roles in the story. As some may guess though, Issei is still the main interest of the show as almost every episode still gives him a prominent role. This includes but not limited to saving from Koneko from her own self despair, giving Akeno the support she needs, or fighting against those he perceives as evil. As stereotypical as he can be, Issei does attract a good degree of honor as even characters such as Vali sees his purpose. However, the characterization doesn’t grow beyond than that as there’s too much happening for this one cour adaptation. Characters such as Ravel returns but hardly gains any spotlight. Rossweisse also makes little impact because of her sensitive personality (notice how she always thinks about how she may never get a boyfriend?). It’s things like this that doesn’t make first impression about a character. Although for perverted characters like Issei, her Valkyrie outfit is another story.
What’s really holding the series back though ultimately comes down to execution. In terms of buildups, the show knows what it’s doing. The characters introduced all show a degree of their personality that let anime only viewers anticipate what they may do next. However, the execution is cheesy. Remember the events of the first season about Asia nearly getting killed? Or the time when there’s fear that Issei’s feelings may never reach Rias? Yeah, we’ve seen that before and the third season wastes time again to exploit these themes. Also for whatever reason, the third season ultimately takes a route that is very cliché to the core. As gimmicky as High School DxD Born already is, this season really just doesn’t seem to keep up the momentum it has built. This isn’t just based on adaptation content but also the way the final few episodes are structured. It’s the lack of fun that results from this season’s experimentations that ultimately doesn’t live up to the hype. On the plus side though, there is still uncensored fan service for the fans. The emotional angles can be touching on occasions as High School DxD still retains a level of interest with its other characters. In retrospect though, this season is a very hit or miss for fans. For me, it’s much more of the miss.
As for technical aspects, there’s not much improvement for artwork. TNK Entertainment still handles the visual quality although there are hardly any changes to the environment of the show. The action is fun to watch on most terms with fine degrees of clever coordination. Unlike previous seasons, High School DxD born features much more of the supernatural world that is decorated to a fine degree to spark the fantasy atmosphere. The dragons, devil, demons, and all sorts of species you wouldn’t find anywhere is convincingly appealing. Then, there’s also the designs of the new characters such as Rosseweisse with her business-like and attractive Valkyrie battle outfit. Kuroka’s catlike dress is also alluring with its suggestive features while we also get modified and enhanced versions of Issei’s Boosted Gear. And at the center of it all, it’s the fan service. Surprisingly, it’s tamer than the previous season although it still seizes opportunities to show skin when it has the chance. Bedroom scenes, dress break, and clever camera angles are its trademarks. Any fan of the franchise shouldn’t be surprised by now as fan service has always been this series’ flagship.
The soundtrack is moderate and there’s nothing really to say much about it. In fact, the ED theme song that fans hope to see an improvement on really doesn’t live up to its expectations. I guess it’s perhaps the first season set the bar too high? Then again, soundtrack is one of the lesser noticeable features of the show. By OST context, the series delivers on most parts with its action features. When it comes to the emotional scenes, it stays honest and has the vulnerability that is convincing. However, that’s pretty much the only impression about it. Character voice mannerisms aren’t really impressive for our new characters. It’s gimmicky to the core with Kuroka’s ‘nya’, Odin’ ego, or Rossewisse’s nervousness. There’s even less of the suggestive moans and ahhs fans may be eager to hear out of the headphones.
High School DxD Born tries far too hard to make it look cool. Fans wants to see a fun, thrilling, and story that matches the momentum it has built. But what do we get instead? A clump of mess that digs itself deeper with inconsistency. Rushing and omitting parts is one thing but following down another road is another. As a 1 cour adaptation, it’s hard to salvage from its mistakes. From my perspective, the show tries to be far too serious as it should be. High School DxD has always been a show that mixes together plot, characters, and most importantly adding fun excitement. It’s almost if it’s self-aware and a main point of the third season never focuses on that point. That being said, you may still get some satisfaction out of the comedy (mostly fan service parts) or battle elements. Admitting, I have to say that some of the action bits improved while technical features such as visual quality died down. But ultimately, High School DxD Born is only a sporadically fun ride. It’s not even half entertaining as the previous season and is designed to be quoted than watched.
