14 Years Ago, Anime’s Most Notorious Show Changed the World Forever (And Fans Are Waiting for Its Return)

14 years ago this week, one of the most notorious anime shows made its raunchy debut and the world really was never the same. Although there have been lots of explicit anime releases over the decades long before the 2000s, they had largely been relegated to the back corners and hidden rumors of video shops and more. But when anime got a lot more widespread in North America and other territories, the amount of shows produced started to increase as well. And with the increase of shows came the variety of types that we would see in action.

14 years ago this week, on January 6, 2012, High School DxD made its official debut in Japan, and kicked off a whole new raunchy era of anime. Though there have been wilder shows since, and much more explicit shows long before, High School DxD remains one of the most iconic because of its widespread popularity compared to the others around it. And after all these years, fans of the anime are still eagerly waiting for it to come back with another season.

What Is High School DxD?

High School DxD first got its start in Japan as a series of light novels written by Ichiei Ishibumi with illustrations provided by Miyama-Zero. The series introduced fans to Issei Hyodo, who is a main character like many Shonen protagonists and has a goal for the future. But rather than just being strong, or reaching some kind of notable goal that would help the world, Issei wants to be a “harem king.” He wants nothing but to surround himself with women, and will do whatever is necessary in order to fulfill his perverted desires. And then his life changes when he meets Rias Gremory.

First introduced as the Student Council President at his school, it turns out Rias is a high ranking devil princess and revives Issei when he’s suddenly killed by a fallen angel. Issei is then recruited by Rias to become her service, and is then thrown into the wild fight between the angels, devils, and many other mystical beings revealed across its multiple seasons. And through it all, Issei does steadily gather a group of women who all adore him while they are fighting for Rias’ sake.

High School DxD has gone on for four seasons, with the fourth season of the series being produced by a much different studio and team than with the others (and after a long gap in between). Each season saw Issei grow stronger not through his desire to help Rias, but his physical attraction to her. He wanted to do things to her, and thus strengthened himself to the point where he could fight by her side. Going even further, Issei started to draw all of his strength the more he started to dive into his erotic thoughts. It really was a wild power system in place for an action series.

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What Happened to High School DxD?

High School DxD hasn’t been seen on screens since the fourth season of the TV series ended back in 2018, but fans have been asking for it to return ever since. High School DxD’s original light novels have gone on for 25 volumes that continue the story far beyond where the fourth season had ended, and has even started an official sequel series. It’s a franchise that has been a massive success over the past decade, but its anime is still one of the most notorious fans have ever seen.

High School DxD was a rather wild series that might have been notorious because there just wasn’t as much competition in its particular area. The series was not afraid to share bare looks at each of its characters, and would use that fan service to encourage repeat viewings. But in the years since it debuted, there have been much wilder and much raunchier anime that have since come to screens. Funny enough, High School DxD is much more reserved in its erotic content compared to a lot of the others that have just transitioned into full blown debauchery.

The appetites of the current anime market have changed to such an extent that there are series that do completely different kinds of wild eroticism and scratch different itches. High School DxD seems rather tame when looking at some of the other things that its anime studios have produced, and what has also made it to air. But that’s also part of the charm too. It was using its fan service to draw fans in, and sort of led the way to even wilder shows to come.

That does mean that even after all this time, there’s a place for High School DxD in the modern era after 14 years. What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!