LA will be straight with you, LA had obvious reasons to try and NOT watch this anime for Summer 2016, however Masou Gakuen HxH still surprised LA for even ecchi standards...it was still awkward, hell yes, but still for the people thinking this anime is nothing but a borderline hentai...well yeah...but even a hentai has something of a plot...."something" being the emphasis.
Like just from reading the premise, this anime is like Infinite Stratos but ramp up the fanservice levels to GODLY, then just add in the borderline hentai sex scenes and you have Masou Gakuen HxH, but Masou Gakuen HxH has even a sliver of a plot LA can get interested (omitting the sex scenes anyways). What's the sliver of plot LA was soo interested in?.
It was the entire mystery to Aine Chidorigafuchi voiced by Akari Kageyama, as to who she is and why the mystery connection to the Magitech and the more dangerous Commanders of the Magitech, why are the invading Magitech forces want, the significance of Hida Kizuna the main protagonist and his "only one man's special powers" along with his mother issues, all these questions link Aine and Hida together. LA did say a silver you know, however that "silver" of a plot is what makes this anime move forward and it becomes intriguing as long as you see behind all the borderline-hentai.
The fanservice...well considering that this anime got out uncensored was quite baffling but all the more, LA did say that the fanservice was in GODLY levels, everything from uncensored boobs to foreplay and even threesomes and BDSM...don't ask why LA knows these. *cough* either way, Masou Gakuen HxH's focus on it's borderline hentai scenes as it encompasses a rather minority of the anime where even though it has "hentai scenes" once every episode, the main focus rather goes to developing the main cast of the Heart Hybrid Gear users and Hida Kizuna voiced by Kenji Akabane. But seriously you SHOULD know what your going into when watching this anime...it's on the PREMISE people.
In terms of characters, you'd think most of them are pretty much spank material, however as LA said that there IS a plot to this anime, there is at least a bit of character development from most of the Heart Hybrid Gear members, Aine who LA already talked about, Yurishia Farandole voiced by Chinatsu Akasaki the US candidate of the Heart Hybrid Gear had some development with her past and another minor character as well as her weaknesses in battle, Hauyuru Himekawa voiced by Juri Nagatsuma a moral committee member (quite ironic by the way) who also had some backstory to a failure that drives her to protect more people as well as the main male protagonist Hida Kizuna with his transference into the academy as well as his problems with his mother and the obvious development with his relationship to the Heart Hybrid Gear members. There is one more cast members involved in the main cast who is Sylvia Silkcut voiced by Hina Kino who helps Hida whenever she can and really she was the least developed *cough* character in the anime (though she does get some sweet upgrades in terms of HHG and "some form of development"). If there was a character LA liked in this anime, it would easily go to Hayuru as her mature yet tsundere personality and her even being a moral committee member becomes quite the irony for her, sure Aine has the better backstory and development and central focus but Hayuru was interesting for what screentime she was given. As for our main male protagonist Hida Kizuna, he actually isn't your typical dense main male protagonist and actually has a crux to the plot quite early in the anime and yes the obvious borderline-hentai scenes is more or less a by product as to WHY he's so important to the plot, but from his own problems with his own mother (which becomes a plot point later) to finding more about the HHG and making the plot more and more intense (NOT THAT WAY...Jesus LA is NOT intentionally making sexual innuendoes, it's just coming off like that) and driving the stakes of the plot further. Hida's obvious involvement with the other HHG members also adds to his development as an actually well-defined character albeit typical of the "wants to protect everyone" theme. For "main male protagonist" goes, he's actually pretty well done and from an excessively ecchi anime at that...what is this anime Highschool DxD <LA laughs then slowly stops>...
The animation, done by Production IMS, is no stranger to the rather ecchi genre *cough* Shinmai Maou no Testament and really even though it is uncensored for the most part, the hentai scenes is "ok" at best and even though the animation derps here and there except in the hentai scenes, the background work and even the character designs do falter in it's animation derps, the fight scenes were ok at least but even the battles were struck with the janky animation, facial derps and off-handed vibrant yet blurry character palette to the dull backgrounds. The focus on the animation really went to the borderline-hentai scenes, as they were much more detailed and had less errors than the rest of the animation, it's kinda obvious where the focus Production IMS were looking at and LA really can't fault them in putting effort in the "star attraction to this anime", BUT can for the rest of the animation derps scattered throughout the anime. The animation overall was nothing to talk about though...
The voice acting, well for a borderline-hentai anime, you'd think LA would be drooling over the "great" voice work, but in general, the voice cast just did decently fine across the board and LA really didn't have any problems with squeakiness either (yes even from Sylvia). LA's favorite voice actor?...well it's gonna be default but it's gonna be tie between Juri Nagatsuma who voiced Hayuru and Iori Nomizu who voiced Kei Shikina one of the central tech-hands of Amaterasu.
The ending by all means gave...a mediocre final battle and sure it FINALLY tells us who Aine really is and really the two main fighters in the final battle is Hida and Aine with the rest of the HHG trying to have a psychological battle with their baggage that were previous plot points to each character...hmmm Sylvia didn't get one, LA wonders WHY. Ultimately due to the few janky animation moments it made the final battle felt mediocre, but thankfully the ending gave compensation by finally revealing Aine's mystery behind her, however with the few plot threads left dangling and even more questions being brought up after the aftermath of the final battle (and to be precise the final scenes), alludes to a second season?...an OVA?...the ending overall was ok and really LA kinda expected the "read the manga-ish ending" considering the missing plot threads not told yet with Hida's mother and the various villains still on stand-by, so LA expected this.
Masou Gakuen HxH caters to two niches in the anime community for this kind of anime, those who want to see the "ecchi more than the plot" and those who REALLY wants to see an ecchi anime with "actual plot" like how Highschool DxD did before and more tamer than this and LA is squarely on both ends on this, it's disguised as a typical overblown ecchi fest but under it's layers it actually has some pretty decent plot to it and sure the animation falters in the battle scenes more than the ecchi scenes (yeah wonder why) but Masou Gakuen HxH is more or less an odd surprise for LA in the Summer 2016 lineup, ohh it's not the worst anime nor is it the "best", but in terms of it's genre and what it caters to, then that's where it really does shine.
