High School DxD Fans Agree This Is The Best Season 1 Character
Though it's without a release date and its production was delayed by the ongoing pandemic, Season 5 of supernatural harem anime "High School DxD" is currently in the works. In a review of the DVD release of its first season for Anime News Network, author Theron Martin describes the series as "remarkable for not just being a fan service vehicle; it has an actual story and distinct character development, too, enough so that one might even be able to appreciate it without being enamored with the fan service content." In short, then, Martin notes that objectification of its numerous female characters as a major focus of "High School DxD," though not all the show has to offer, as is the case with some similar series.
At the center of "High School DxD" is male protagonist Ichiei Ishibumi (whose English-language voice actor may sound familiar). Early on in the show, Ichiei is killed by a fallen angel named Yuuma Amano and subsequently revived by the devilish princess Rias Gremory. The process of revival, though, means that Ichiei becomes Rias' loyal servant. Soon Ichiei is surrounded by numerous other girls with similar supernatural secret identities.
Since "High School DxD" is a harem anime, one poll online set out to determine which of its numerous female leads viewers like the most from its first season, revealing the Season 1 character fans landed on as the consensus best.
Rias is the fan favorite
On a "High School DxD" board on the MyAnimeList forums, user BlueCloud5 started a thread with an accompanying poll asking other users to vote for the "S1 best girl," the latter term commonly used by anime fans to refer to their favorite female characters (via Urban Dictionary). While former fallen angel and reincarnated devil girl Akeno Himejima garnered a significant number of votes, the winner of the poll was none other than Rias Gremory, Ichiei's first proper love interest in the series, with 44.84% of all votes out of its four options.
Outside of her role as a romantic prospect, Rias is the princess of a powerful devil family — a fact indicated in the series' fiction by her hairstyle. Furthermore, Rias is the most prominently featured character aside from Ichiei, suggesting that in the case of "High School DxD," prominence corresponds with popularity.
Subsequent seasons of "High School DxD" introduce plenty of additional characters to the mix, so the possibility of Rias' reigning popularity beyond Season 1 would require further investigation. Nevertheless, Rias appears to be far and away the consensus pick for viewers' favorite character from the first season of "High School DxD."