User blog comment:Gary299/High School DxD BorN episode 4 review/@comment-27989561-20150426034303/@comment-4829046-20150426122317

"reminds people that if the "proper" order of events happened, they'd be minimal characters"

Personally, that's how I adapted to it. Let me explain it this way under the theme of harem-building

LONG POST AHEAD!

Okay, so in harem series in general, there is the cliche 'start' which begins by introducing 1-2 females. Then comes the bit where the audience is shown that one female is interested in the MC. Next there are hints of the other one falling for MC as well though this won't be elaborated for some time. And 'now' is when the harem expands. Enter girl 3, possibly 4, 5 etc. and usually within their own arcs. In LN series, this is often done within the first 1-4 volumes. At some point, this is established as the main 'harem' and only now does the series start picking up with longer arcs and more overarching plot in contrast to the shorter ones at the start and the MC's relationships with harem members improve as time goes by, usually involving the development of 'crush' to 'love' and so forth.

Then you have the deviation, where the 'start' isn't done the usual way or is neglected. This is a hit-or-miss bit. Sometimes it is handled well, other times it is downright annoying. DxD tread on a thin line and my only reason for accepting it is due to my respect for the writing that sets it apart from other similar series.

So anyways, the deviation. It's when 'more' harem members are introduced 'outside' of the start and on top of the existing members. Now this happens alright, but I find so much issue with it. Especially so in to-love-ru. You got an entire manga series establishing a regular harem and then you get that doubled in the sequel series Darkness for no apparent reason. Let me explain the issues. As mentioned, 'minimal characters'. Anyone that appears waaaaaaay after the 'start' is either going to be a minimal character or going to take the place of an existing member due to trope and popularity reasons and thus make the replaced character become minimal. Where the hell is the depth? I know that not everyone cares beyond stereotype when it comes to harem heroines, but I myself connect with characters and thus like to take them as serious pieces of the story and can't stand them getting sidelined, especially in slice-of-life type series where focus isn't always some mystery or conspiracy. I'd take a small harem with well-developed members any day rather than a massive harem with minimal development. DxD is an exception and I'd adapted to that. Campione! series for example is the complete opposite, It fucks it up with the increase or possible increase to harem. I'm glad the romance in the 'main' harem of 4 is going somewhere, and there are visible results, but doesn't change the fact that 'additions' are only there as bait.

Don't get me wrong, this 'can' and has been well implemented. Authors that genuinely care about characterization dedicate entire sections to each member and give each one an equal chance to be in the spotlight with the MC. Ishibumi does this as much as he can within the action and all that and many other authors do it as well. My beef is with harem authors that make this a 'btw' feature rather than compulsory. They just add a character, make them go through embarrassing situations with doki doki and then move back to the 'established' harem.

I hope that made any sense or was even relevant....   Moving back, I had already adapted to the fact that the 'main' harem included Asia, Rias, Akeno, Xenovia, Koneko, Irina and Ravel, with Asia, Rias, Akeno and Koneko being the leading ones. Rose becoming a permanent member came as a shock to me but I could live with it but only because this is DxD. Personally, she was indeed a minimal character, meant to be a power-house but also a figure of authority laced with comedy, like Azazel, so her gaining harem prominence was like, 'WTF?' Sure, Ravel doesn't get too much either, but her reappearance marked her harem entry anyway, same with Irina.

All that incoherent babble said, when it comes to this season giving prominence to Irina and Rose, well done, but it broke the way I had adapted when it comes to the harem aspect. As of now and till end of the season, in the anime-DxD universe, they(Irina and Rose) are on the same footing as the rest in terms of spotlight. Still, I loved the pacing in the LNs, and even though I technically started the anime first, I just can't accept it. Sure, it isn't 'complete shit'(unlike some other TNK productions), far from it, but it goes down the path of Tokyo Ghoul anime, where I watch the anime without expecting total unconditional immersion. Examples of series that cause me to apprehend total unconditional immersion regardless of deviation from source, would be ones like Oreimo and Haganai. They omit some details alright, but I can still appreciate them wholeheartedly. DxD unfortunately, as much as I want it to, does not fall into that. Damn shame really. Too bad LN adaptations don't get remakes T^T