 Zac Bertschy of Anime News Network, in his preview guide of winter 2012 anime, found "High School DxD" to be "a fanservice show, one that yet again plays with the master/slave relationship", except unlike most others, the female (Rias) is in the "master" role.Despite this, since Rias is "naked for what seems like most of her screen time [...] and is introduced to us by stripping in front of the camera and showering", Bertschy writes that perhaps "this is the fanservice show that caters to dudes who want to be dominated.