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

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Fourteen years ago this week, a particularly scandalous anime series premiered and significantly impacted the anime landscape. While explicit anime existed for years prior to the 2000s, it was mostly confined to hushed whispers and obscure corners of video stores. However, as anime gained mainstream popularity in North America and beyond, production increased, leading to a wider range of genres and content.

This week marks the 14th anniversary of the anime High School DxD‘s release in Japan. While not the first or most explicit anime of its kind, High School DxD became incredibly popular and is still considered a landmark series in the genre. Fans have been eagerly awaiting a new season for years, and continue to hope for its return.

What Is High School DxD?

High School DxD began as a series of Japanese light novels by Ichiei Ishibumi, with illustrations by Miyama-Zero. The story centers around Issei Hyodo, a typical Shonen protagonist with ambitions for the future. However, unlike many heroes who strive for strength or to save the world, Issei dreams of becoming a “harem king” – he wants to be surrounded by women and will do anything to achieve this goal. His life takes an unexpected turn when he meets Rias Gremory.

Rias first appears as a normal student council president, but she’s actually a powerful devil princess. When Issei is unexpectedly killed by a fallen angel, Rias revives him and makes him her servant. This pulls Issei into a larger conflict between angels, devils, and other supernatural creatures, which unfolds over the course of the series. As they fight for Rias, Issei gradually attracts a group of women who all develop feelings for him.

I’ve been watching High School DxD for four seasons now, and the fourth season felt quite different – it was made by a completely new team after a significant delay. What always struck me about the series is how Issei gets stronger. It’s not really about wanting to help Rias, but more about his attraction to her. He’s driven to become powerful enough to be with her, and surprisingly, his strength seems to increase the more he indulges in those thoughts. It’s a really unusual, and frankly pretty wild, power system for what is ultimately an action show.

What Happened to High School DxD?

It’s been a while since new episodes of High School DxD aired – the TV series concluded in 2018. However, fans have consistently requested a continuation. The original light novels, which the anime is based on, now span 25 volumes and extend the story significantly beyond where the fourth season left off, with a sequel series also underway. While the franchise has been very popular for over ten years, the anime remains particularly well-known among fans.

High School DxD was a provocative series, and it gained notoriety partly because similar anime weren’t as common when it first came out. It frequently used revealing character designs to attract viewers, hoping they’d watch again. However, since then, many anime have pushed boundaries even further with more explicit content. Surprisingly, compared to these newer shows, High School DxD actually holds back a bit and isn’t as overtly sexual.

Anime fans’ tastes have evolved, and today’s market includes shows with much more explicit and diverse mature content. Compared to some of the newer series, High School DxD feels surprisingly mild, even considering what its creators have produced since then. However, that’s also part of its appeal. It originally attracted viewers with its fan service and, in a way, paved the way for the even more daring shows we see now.

Even after 14 years, High School DxD still has a following today. What are your thoughts? Share them in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-01-07 21:11