User blog comment:Striker10/High School DxD BorN episode 7 review/@comment-26209278-20150519211336

Ok, time for my review/thoughts! Skip to the end to hear my thoughts.

We start off with the guys watching the clip of the Sairaorg/Zephyrdor RG. I enjoyed it, made Sairaorg look like a bad ass, but it would of topped the cake if it showed Zephyrdor cowering in fear instead of being knocked out, like the LN shows. It would show that he inspires fear against those he fights, instead of just being incredibly strong.

Then that ass Diodora appears, trying to trade Bishops. Gasper stupidly thinking it was about him was a funny addition to the "seriousness" of the scene. Rias immediantly declines, scolding Diodora for trying to obtain "the woman he loves" through a trade. I like how TNK did Diodora's eyes, they add a real "devilishness" to him, which i find creepy yet great.

Anyway, Just before he leaves he confesses to Asia once again, where Issei tries to pull him off. Diodora slaps his hand away, telling Issei he does not want a "filthy dragon" touching him. Asia then slaps Diodora for what he said, where he proclaims that he will defeat Issei in the RG. I enjoy this part as it shows Asia isn't just a little pushover (and she hit Diodora, woop!).

I like the change to the Vali scene, where Kuroka reveals she wants Issei's children, as Vali rejected her. They fit it into the scene nice and smooth. Although, Vali saying they should thank him for taking Fenrir away was odd in a little way, he wasn't as much of a threat as he should of been. Anyway. The seductiveness of Kuroka was good, it was more comical than sexual, which suits this series.

Then comes the greatly anticipated cosplay scene. It was pretty funny, adding comedy and a bit of good ol' fan service. Rias wearing the devil costume was great and ironic, and Akeno wearing the bikini was..... revealing? That's what Issei loves anyway. Then the fight between Akeno and Rias, as always, gave me a few chuckles. And i swear, every Nyan from Koneko gets cuter each time.....

A nice little heart-felt moment between Rias and Issei again, gotta enjoy those. And the request for Issei to appear on the underworld TV, not sure how they'll pull it off, but hopefully it's good! Still wondering how the Oppai Dragon song is going to come out....

Then there's some eyecatchers of Kuroka. That girl.....is flexible. I'm sure some people are happy.....

Anyway. We are then shown some guy saying he hoped Sirzechs (or Sir Zechs, according to Funi....) and Odin would of been killed by Loki. Is this Shalba? I hope so.....

Then Issei finds Xenovia training with her two-sword combo, but with a wooden sword, and after giving her a confidenced boost, gives her Ascalon. She then asks Issei to consider taking her with him when he finally goes independant of Rias. Now, to the LN readers, this was no problem at all, as everyone knew what they were on about. However, to a anime-only person, this is kinda confusing, as this has not been really covered properly in the anime. I didn't know he could become indepedant until i read the LN, so this may cause confusion.

Xenovia then gives Issei a kiss on the cheek as a thank you for helping calm her. Not sure why he freaks out, but i guess it was a little funny, so i'll let it slide. Then we get another cofession to Asia, saying they won't give her up, bla bla bla....

Then we see Azazel telling Sirzechs that the accidental death of the Glasya-Labolas heir and Diodora's growth in demonic power (which is only just been brought up now) are related, and that Azazel's "plan" we be put to action, but that he feels bad about it. More on this later.

Rias and her peerage teleport to the RG arena (just noticed Xenovia is missing the green dye from her hair at one point, woopsie TNK!), and Azazel brings Irina and Rossweise to the underworld, as part of his plan.

Rias and co. arrive, but are surprised there is no announcement or anything. Suddenly, they are attacked by the Old Mauo Faction (not sure why they all look the same, i guess so it makes them look more evil?), and Asia is captured by Diodora. Bit of a weird position to hold her in, but i guess it adds fanservice to those who want it..... Again, Diodora's eyes are pretty creepy, adding to the evil devilishness i said earlier. Xenovia tries to attack him, but he uses Asia as a shield and teleports away with her. Issei gets mad as he couldn't protect her again, as he feels he can't save anyone. I enjoy the voice acting, both actors have done a good job conveying their roles.

Just before they get attacked by the Khaos Brigade, Odin arrives, in his perfectly perverse way. Love his voice acting, it makes me laugh. He tells them they found out about Diodora dealing with the Khaos brigade, and taunts them into attacking him. They attack, and Odin wipes the floor with them with a nice little barrier. He tells them about Azazel's plan, and the ORC realise they were used as bait.

Found Odin hitting Issei on the head hilarious, found it a funny scene. But unfortunantely, thanks to Gary, Gungnir looks like a banana whenever i see it. They could of made it look a little better. But it was still a badass scene.

Azazel tells the ORC about his plan, saying that he would give up his life if something happened to them. Find this a little touching, just like i did with the LN. I found the rocket arm scene hilarious, that was just great. Not actually sure how they're speaking to eachother, but i'll ignore that. I'm sure they have communicators in their ears.

Issei tells Azazel that Diodora took Asia, and they are going after her. The episode ends with Azazel telling Issei to go get Asia back, as they start the ascent towards the shrine Diodora is at.

End of the part/unfulfilled-summary of the episode

I enjoyed this episode, it was nice and faithful to the LN. However, people who haven't read the LN might be a little confused on some points, such as Issei going independant from Rias. I enjoyed the changes they made to keep the anime original. The Cosplay scene was funny, they covered everything from the LN, but it might of been funnier if it was longer, instead of "rushed". It wasn't "rushed", they are just getting through the volume pretty quickly.

Looking forward to the next episode, can't wait to see Freed one more time (but it'll be sad after that scene, and by the look of it, we will still see the Rias/Akeno fight over Issei. Can't wait for that, that was the most funny scene from that volume. Not sure why there are women jumping around Koneko, Issei and Gasper, but i'm assuming they are Diodora's Pawns, and the reveal of Bilingual. Woop!

Feeling like next episode will end with the "death" of Asia, to create the epic cliffhanger, or a little after that, with Issei entering JD, then the episode finishing. It's going to be a good episode! Sorry if i bored people with my big ass review, but here's my ratings.

Animation: 9/10. Little slip ups like with Akeno's side view, Xenovia's hair, just little things that need correcting.

Plot: 10/10. Nicely faithful to the LN, yet keeping it original still. Looking forward to more!

Fanservice: 10/10. Lot's to goggle at, just what certain fans like to see. Although i question the purpose of the last one with the pants shot of Asia.....

Fights: 8/10. I mean, there wasn't really a fight scene, but the fighting at the end was funny, so it deserves that at least....

Total: 9.25/10. Great episode!