Synopsis
"Would you mind dying right now?" are not the words that high school student and lifelong pervert Issei Hyoudou expects to hear from his first girlfriend, especially not before being brutally murdered on their first date. Luckily for Issei, he's saved when he summons the beautiful Rias Gremory, a high-ranking Devil, who reincarnates him as a Devil servant. As Issei learns more about the conflict that has raged between Devils and Angels, he discovers that his "girlfriend" was actually a Fallen Angel named Raynare, sent to destroy him because he possesses a "Sacred Gear," a divine weapon given to humans by the Gods.
Issei is then made a member of the Occult Research Club, the headquarters for the House of Gremory, where he meets the rest of Rias' servants. Given the rank "Pawn," Issei decides that he will rise through the ranks so that he can create his own harem of beautiful girls. However, many grave dangers lie ahead, as Issei must face the Fallen Angels and rogue Exorcists, whilst also trying to master the power of his Sacred Gear.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
tl;dr: A solid, though rushed, adaptation of a story with amusing and likable characters and decent action. This is the manga adaptation for the light novel that was also adapted into a number of popular anime seasons. I've already seen the anime version of the parts this manga adapts, some of its seasons multiple times, and thus it's hard to really judge the manga on its own and not in comparison to the anime so this will somewhat be a comparison of the two. This manga has the same cast of incredibly amusing characters who are all really likable and enjoyable just to see interact in variouscircumstances, especially the main character Issei who is absolutely ridiculous but hilarious and amazing. There were some differences though, such as that Rias felt like she came through as less majestic, which I wasn't fond of. It has the same solid plot with solid world building regarding factions, history, and such. However, it was paced much faster and a lot was removed or modified to shorten it, and with that pacing it manages to adapt approximately the first two and a half seasons, which is about 4.5 light novels, in 11 manga volumes.
The ending of this manga was completely different from the anime, in that this manga adapted a portion the anime didn't but modified that portion to serve as a more complete ending even though it was only the beginning of a longer story in the novels, which felt like a strange way to end things. I also think that as a result of the much faster pacing, character development and relationship development doesn't come through as well, even if it does manage to have all the major events, but at the same it's hard to judge because I'm already really familiar with the franchise and sort of have those events already ingrained mentally for lack of a better way to say it.
The art is pretty solid all the way through and fit well enough. The action comes across decently enough. The characters were more of a mixed bag wherein I'd say the anime looked better but the manga's art is still pretty good in and of itself. All in all, I think it's a solid go through of the story if you're already familiar with it and want to re-experience it, but I think the anime or light novel would be better as introductions to the franchise.
