The Angels (天使 Tenshi) are one of the Three Factions in High School DxD, alongside the Devils and Fallen Angels. There are two major types of Angels in the story: the Pure Angels (純粋な天使, Junsuina Tenshi), and Reincarnated Angels (転生天使, Tensei Tenshi).
Summary
Originating from Heaven, the Angels are powerful beings who serve the Biblical God, and have the powers to inflict pain upon Devils and by extension the Fallen Angels, due to their Light-based Powers. After the death of the God of the Bible in the Great War of the Three Factions, the Angels were incapable of increasing their numbers normally until the creation of the Brave Saint system which allows Humans to be reincarnated into Angels. The pre-war systems they rely on are heavily influenced by the faith of God's believers, so it was important for them to conceal God's death. During the peace conference of the Three Factions, Michael explained that the reason for Asia and Xenovia's excommunication from the Church was because of the possibility of them affecting humanity's faith in God which was necessary for the Angels' survival.[1]
Unlike Devils and Fallen Angels, Angels need to purify themselves when making love to avoid Falling, needing to undergo an hours-long purification ritual with their partner. They must also need to do it inside a specially crafted barrier and they both must not harbor any kind of possessive or lustful feelings while doing it, rather it must be done out of pure love.[2]
There were also traitors in the Heavens who were giving out information to the Khaos Brigade. Ironically, these top-class Angels were able to do so without falling due to a loophole in Heaven's system. These Angels, however, became Fallen Angels after leaving Heaven and escaping to the Khaos Brigade.[3]
Angels have jobs within the Church. These include "Angel Counselling" where they hear the confessions of people who have sinned and forgive them for their sins, naming children at the request of their parents, and regular work from file management to cooking classes and reception.[4]
Appearance
Angel Warriors as they appeared in the anime.
Angels look similar to humans except with them having white feathered wings and a halo positioned directly above their head; the only exception being the Archangel Michael who has golden wings and later Dulio. Also, their power is denoted by the number of wings they have (Irina, for example, initially only had one pair of wings but gained another pair in Volume 17 for her increase in strength as well as Dulio upon activating his Balance Breaker, his power increased to the point where he gained twelve golden wings, similar to Michael).
They are often seen in white-colored clothing, mostly priest attire.
Abilities
Irina attacking the Annihilation Maker creations with her Light Powers.
All Angels can utilize Light Power that can cause severe damage to Devils and Fallen Angels, which can produce numerous Light-based Weapons such as spears, arrows, swords, whips, balls and rings, that can be used to grab hold of or restrain a foe with the size/power of a Fenrir pup. Spears appear to be the most commonly used weapons for Angels. Their Light-based Powers can also be used in different ways, but it is dependent on the individual Angels, such as a Light barrier or use Light to enhanced physical attacks such as punches and kicks. A certain number of powerful high ranking Angels also have special abilities unique to themselves, like Uriel's ability to control Holy Fire and Baraqiel's power of Holy Lightning by combining an element with light.
Angels also have the ability of flight through their feathered wings. Like Devils and Fallen Angels, their wings are capable of retracting into their backs as if they've disappeared completely.
Like Devils, all Angels have a unique ability that allows them to communicate with different people from around the world without the language barrier. All Angels also have increased physical abilities, such as superhuman strength, endurance, and speed.
After the peace treaty between the Three Factions, the Brave Saints system was created by the Seraphs using the technologies of the Devils and Fallen Angels, to increase their lost numbers by reincarnating humans into Angels. Reincarnated Angels can also use their traits better when acting as a group.
It's shown that Angels in Heaven can monitor the Brave Saints, and can either remotely bestow greater power upon them or detect their growth before even the Brave Saint in question knows, though it's implied to be the former, with Michael calling to inform Irina of her promotion, and only after did she discover her second pair of wings and new strength, which she declared as "a blessing from Lord Michael."[5] In certain cases, particularly powerful Humans who undergo the reincarnation process immediately obtain more then one pair to indicate their greater power, with Dulio sprouting ten and Griselda six.
Weaknesses
It's implied that, much like they're set by God of the Bible to have extreme difficulty reproducing on their own, natural Angels, Pure or Fallen, cannot increase in baseline strength, with only the Reincarnated showing the ability to gain new wings and there being no indication thus far of natural Angels "rising in the ranks," in contrast to the Devils producing new powerhouses through both birth, such as the new Four Satans, and training, such as Sairaorg Bael.
Types of Angels
There are two major variations of Angels (including one sub-variant) in the story:
Michael, a Pure Angel Seraph and an Archangel.
- Pure Angels (純粋な天使, Junsuina Tenshi); who are the original Angels created by the God of the Bible and include powerful Angels like the Four Great Seraphs.
- Seraph (熾天使, Serafu, plural Seraphim), also known as Burning Angels (熾天使, Oki Tenshi), are Angels who are guardians of the Throne of Heaven. They are the ones maintaining the system used by God in the Bible following His death. The members of the Seraphs are the Archangel Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel, who were titled the "Four Great Seraphs". The significance of this title, however, is unknown at present but are known to represent the Kings of respective cards: Michael is Spades ♠, Gabriel is Heart ♥, Raphael is Club ♣, and Uriel is Diamond ♦. In Volume 6, it is revealed that there are other Seraphs, numbering ten in total, but were not named. The Seraphs that have appeared so far in the series are Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael. One of the Ten Seraphs, Metatron, appeared in a short story titled Nekomata☆Ninja-Scroll living as a ninja in the human world due to his fascination with the craze. Metatron showed the Seraphs all have twelve wings.
- Archangel (大天使, Dai Tenshi) is the highest ranked Angel that was closest to the God of the Bible and His favored creation. The only known Archangel is Michael, the former leader of the Angels and Seraphs.
Irina Shidou, a Reincarnated Angel.
- Reincarnated Angels (転生天使, Tensei Tenshi); which are created by using Brave Saints to reincarnate Humans and other species into Angels.
- Miracle Children (奇跡の子, Kiseki no Ko): which are half Angels, born from a union of an Angel and a member of another race. Miracle Children are born as the offspring of an Angel, who became physically intimate with a member of another race without falling. Due to the Angels vow of purity and chastity, only certain people could become physically intimate with an Angel. To start the procedure of making love, a barrier has to be placed on the location where the act will occur, as the Angel and their mate also have to pray the night before engaging in the act to purify your body. During the intercourse, the Angel and their mate aren't allowed to have lecherous thoughts while engaging in the act, as they must remember the teachings at all times and have the mind of a Saint, as the intercourse must be initiated out of pure love. With the creation of the Interdimensional Room, Angels are allowed to breed normally without the need for lengthy praying rituals and suppressing impure feelings and desires while also preventing them from becoming Fallen Angels, as the room is designed to prevent angels from falling when engaging in sexual intercourse.
Population
The population of Angels consisted of the Four Great Seraphs, Ten Seraphs, and various pure Angels who were created by the God of the Bible. During to the Great War, many Angels were killed along with the God of the Bible, thus preventing any more Pure Angels from being created as only the God of the Bible could create Pure Angels with his power.
While Angels are capable of breeding with each other or other species, due to the strict rules enforced by one of God of the Bible's systems, if they give in to their desires, they will turn into Fallen Angels. While there is the possibility of Angels conceiving children, it is noted to be an extremely difficult procedure and only certain individuals can become intimate with Angels.
After the Three Factions signed the Kuoh Treaty, the engineers of Heaven were capable of creating the Brave Saints cards with the help of Grigori technology and the unique attribute crystals found in Agreas which are used to create Evil Pieces. Each of the Seraphs is given a set of Brave Saints cards in order to reincarnate other species into Angels, choosing believers of strong faith.
Due the Ace of Michael's, Irina Shidou's desire to become physically intimate with Issei Hyoudou, the engineers of Heaven developed the Interdimensional Room, which allows an Angel to become physically intimate without falling. After bestowing the original room to Irina, it is noted that Angels are capable of reproducing without falling due to the rooms effects.
Angels, like Devils, have exceptionally long lifespans and cannot easily conceive children with other supernatural species without falling.
Factions
Four Great Seraphs
The Four Great Seraphs (四大セラフ, Yondai Serafu) are the current leaders who lead the Angels after the Biblical God died in the Great War.
Ten Seraphs
Beyond the Four Great Seraphs, there also exist several more Seraphs who are collectively known as the Ten Seraphs (テン・セラフ, Jū Serafu).
| Name | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Metatron | Ten Seraph | Alive |
| Sandalphon | Ten Seraph | Alive |
| Raguel | Ten Seraph | Alive |
| Sariel | Ten Seraph | Alive |
| Remiel | Ten Seraph | Alive |
| Raziel | Ten Seraph | Alive |
Brave Saints
The Brave Saints (御使い, Bureibu Seinto), also known as the Royal Users (御使い, O Tsukai), refers to Reincarnated Angels created by the Brave Saint system, a collection of unique Angelic Attribute Crystals in the form of a set of 13 playing cards.
| Name | Title | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Dulio Gesualdo | Michael's Joker | Alive |
| Irina Shidou | Michael's Ace | Alive |
| Griselda Quarta | Gabriel's Queen | Alive |
| Mirana Shatarova | Gabriel's Ace | Alive |
| Diethelm Waldseemüller | Raphael's Ace | Alive |
| Nero Raimondi | Uriel's Ace | Alive |
| Ryuu Heikan | Raziel's Ten | Alive |
| Jessica Largerkvist | Sandalphon's Queen | Alive |
| Kiyotora Shinra | Metatron's Jack | Alive |
| Caesar Villiers | Uriel's Jack | Alive (Sealed) |
| Lint Sellzen | Unknown | Alive |
Trivia
- There is a weekly magazine named "Weekly Brave Angel" that seems to feature only female members of the Brave Saints.[6]
- The Heaven also has developed a masked hero show, Captain Angel, to rival the Oppai Dragon show in the Underworld, with Uriel's Ace; Nero Raimondi in charge of the leading role. It seems that it is quite popular among believers.[7]
- The Church also made Humans who have been artificially created for certain purposes. The Sigurd Institution aimed to create the "true descendant of Sigurd" and succeeded with the creation of Siegfried, Lint Sellzen, and Freed Sellzen. The person who comes from this Institution is characterized by having gray hair. It seems that Sigurd Institution is now being reorganized.[8]
- Heavenly bicycles are produced in Heaven with the Light Power. They are harmful to Devils even by touching them.[9]
The light of an Angel's halo illuminating a wardrobe.
- The light produced by their halos is bright enough to light up a narrow room like a wardrobe.[10]
References
- ↑ Light Novel Volume 4, Life.4 The VIP Conference Begins!
- ↑ Light Novel Volume 14, Life 3 Part 1
- ↑ Light Novel Volume 12, Life 1
- ↑ Light Novel DX.1, Life 5
- ↑ Light Novel Volume 17, Life 1., Part.2
- ↑ Light Novel DX.1 Life.5 Love Song to the Reincarnated Angel
- ↑ Light Novel Volume 23, Life.1 A [King] From Now On
- ↑ Light Novel Volume 23, Life.3 Before the Decisive Battle
- ↑ Delusion Magazine ☆ Night Material Collection Volume 1: Red-Haired Camel ☆ Princess
- ↑ Light Novel Volume 9, Life.3 The Group of Heroes has Arrived
| High School DxD | ||
|---|---|---|
| Species | ||
| Non-Supernatural Species | Human | |
| Supernatural Species | Devil • Angel • Fallen Angel • God and Buddha • Dragon • Vampire •  Walkure • Grim Reaper • Youkai • Nekomata • Kitsune • European Monsters
| |
| Species by Origin | ||
| Human World | Human | |
| Christianity | Devil • Angel • Fallen Angel | |
| Divinities | God and Buddha | |
| Norse Mythology | Walkure
| |
| Greek Mythology | Grim Reaper | |
| Youkai | Nekomata • Kitsune | |
| Other Species | Dragon • Vampire • European Monsters | |