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Year: 2011 and 2017 for the Kyoto Saga
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Episodes: 25 plus 12 for the Kyoto Saga
Rating: 4 out of 5
Satan, the Devil, or Lucifer, is the prince of evil spirits and adversary of God. If you go the Lucifer route, this being was God’s brightest and most powerful angel who rebelled against God. After the war, Michael threw Lucifer into Hell, where he reigns. Lucifer has stated that he rather rule in Hell, than serve in heaven. In Christianity, Satan has become the symbol of everything evil in the world. He has divine influence over the bad influences of souls. If you are evil, then your soul will go to Hell. In Dante’s Inferno, in the center of Hell, Satan resides as he committed the ultimate sin (personal treachery against God).
Overview
In the world of Blue Exorcist, the human world and the demon world are separated by a thin mirror veil. The humans live in Assiah, and the demons live in Gehenna. The demons are ruled by the evil lord Satan. Journey and contact between the two worlds are impossible except through possession. Demons can pass through to Assiah by possessing humans. Yet, demons have been wandering among humans. They are only visible to those who have had contact with demons before. Humans fight demons through the means of Exorcists. Exorcists are trained humans who set out and destroy demons who act in a damaging manner in Assiah. Exorcists have existed for more than 2000 years. They have branches worldwide, with the Vatican as the main headquarters.
Blue Exorcist revolves around Rin Okumura and his younger twin Yukio Okumura. The siblings were raised by Father Shiro Fujimoto, an Exorcist. Rin has been having problems holding down a job and learning that his younger brother will attend a fancy school. With no place in the world, Rin starts seeing strange creatures. When the creatures attack, Rin learns that he and Yukio are the sons of Satan. When Satan finds his one missing son, he possesses Shiro. As Shiro dies, protecting Rin, Rin draws the demon-slaying sword Kurikara, which restrains his demonic powers. From that second, Rin not only gains demonic features like a fang and tail but also the power to ignite blue flames that destroy almost anything and is the trademark of Satan.
With nowhere to go, Rin decides to become an Exorcist with the goal of defeating Satan. With the help of his half-brother Mephisto Pheles, Rin enrolls at the prestigious True Cross Academy. This exorcist cram school is also the Japanese branch of the True Cross Order, an international organization dedicated to protecting Assiah. When Rin goes to his first exorcist class, he finds that Yukio is an instructor and already a veteran Exorcist. Rin’s journey to becoming an exorcist has just begun, and the quest to defeat Satan will push him to his very limit.
Review:
The first go-around with Blue Exorcist was fun to watch and intense. The story revolves around Rin and his twin brother Yukio. That may be wrong. It revolves more around Rin and how he has the powers of his father. Satan. The first couple of episodes is freakin intense. When Rin gains his powers and Shiro is possessed by Satan, you knew you were about to be in an intense anime. If only that was true. Many of the episodes are fun to watch, with a bunch of comedy. That doesn’t mean each episode doesn’t have an intense part to it, but overall, it is fun to watch.
Several episodes are straight-up the best. The first one I loved was the phantom chef. I had never laughed so hard when Rin and Ukobach had an epic cook-off. Another episode was Black Cat. In that episode, Rin tames Kuro, a former familiar of Shiro. To call him, Rin uses his head by headbutting the giant cat.
Many of the episodes revolve around Rin learning how to be an exorcist so he can punch Satan in the face. He goes to an exorcist school where he is absolutely the worst student but has the rawest power. Many students in his exorcist class had terrible dealings with Satan or the blue flame that represents Satan. Rin came from a world where he was raised as a human but seemed to not have a place by doing awful at school or constantly getting fired. In the exorcist world, he doesn’t have a place as he is the son of Satan. During his time, he starts gaining friends, but his powers do leak out. One of the craziest scenes was when the giant ass frog bit Rin, and he gave him the look. Most of all, he fights for his friends and tries his best.
Even with this, some people seem to have their own agenda. One of them is Mephisto Pheles. To be the half-brother of Rin but seems to have a different plan. He unleashes his brother against Rin and always seems to have something up his sleeve. It is crazy because he is a demon and also the son of Satan, but the church allows him to stay and wants to kill Rin. On a side note, Mephisto really be dropping those iconic quotes.
The story splits in two different directions. In the original, Rin and Yukio manage to push back Satan’s invasion, and everyone seems to accept Rin’s demon heritage by the end. Yukio also unleashes his blue flames even though it was said he had none. In the Kyoto Saga, which follows the manga far more closely, many characters avoid Rin. This saga confused me because I thought it was a continuation, but it cleaned up the last half of the first anime. The Kyoto Saga was even more intense than the first season and should be watched. You really see Rin being outcasted, but he also shows emotions when Bon doesn’t forgive his pops because he remembers the last things he said to Shiro.
The fight scenes are intense, especially when Rin is involved. The fight between Rin and Amaimon was insane. Rin was getting his ass handed to him until he lost control of his powers. Rin whips the shit out of Amaimon. The ending battle of the first season was insane. Everyone went all out to defeat Satan’s forces. The same thing is true in the Kyoto Saga. The end was insane as Rin went all out with his flames to defeat a famous demon.
The animation of the series is strong. The first season is decent, but you can tell the difference in artwork between the first season and the Kyoto Saga. Either way, it was fun to watch. You would think this would be an anime that would air on the side of dark colors dealing with Satan and demons. The colors were actually pretty fun to watch. Rin’s blue flames illuminate and don’t seem evil. Mephisto is the most ostentatious one with his pink outfit. All the characters are drawn with crazy hair or distinct features.
There is one character I have to talk about first: the one and only Rin Okumura. Rin is a freakin badass, and I love this character and his development. Rin had a hard childhood because he never really found his place. His life completely changed when he found out that he was the son of Satan and his blue flames. What I like about Rin is that dude gives zero fucks when fighting. Scratch that. He cares for his brother and friends, but when it comes to fighting demons, dude goes all out, even if he is a novice, and fights with pure adrenalin. My favorite episode with Rin is the cook-off. That shit had me rolling. As I said, Rin is the Son of Satan, and when Shiro died at the hands of Satan, he took it upon himself to punch the shit out of his dad. Rin enrolls in True Cross Academy, where he is an outcast because he is very different, but he soon gains friends. Rin has a good side as he believes that all should be helped. Case in point, when Kuro cried over Shiro.
I will be the first to say that I really didn’t like Rin’s fraternal twin brother, Yukio Okumura. Yukio didn’t inherit any of Satan’s powers but became a prodigy in the exorcist world. Yukio started training to be an exorcist at the age of seven and, in turn, became an instructor at the Exorcist cram school, teaching Anti-Demon Pharmacology to Rin’s class. Even though Yukio is protective of his brother, he comes off as an overbearing parent. He also has extreme jealousy of his brother, which gets really annoying throughout the series.
The supporting characters are also pretty good in this anime. First, let’s start off with Shiemi Moriyama. Shiemi is a cute girl who is kind, loving and has an extreme knowledge of plants and their healing effects. The only thing is that she really lacks confidence in herself. She is also somewhat of an airhead because she grew up in an isolated world. I would say that I would get annoyed with this character, but I highly respect her because she tries her best. That is what I love about her. She gives it her all when she puts her mind to it. Seeing her and Rin flirt is funny because she has no idea what she is doing or going on.
Let’s take a moment to talk about Mephisto Pheles. Mephisto is the Chairman of True Cross Academy’s Japanese branch. Still, I want to say that he is also a secret antagonist. Everyone mistrusts Mephisto, and if you ever meet him, you should also. He is one of Satan’s sons and the second most powerful son ranking behind Lucifer. He is one of the Eight Demon Kings, known as Samael, and is the King of Time. Apparently, Lucifer could destroy him with a whisper. Mephisto seems to have some secret agenda when it involves Rin, as he lets in his other brothers and watches from the sidelines when he could help.
Finally, there is Shura Kirigakure. Were the animators thinking of Yoko from Gurren Lagann because this character would give her a run for her money. Shura is an Upper First Class Exorcist who trained under Shiro and obtained the title Meister” in Knight. She can draw a demon sword from a symbol above her chest. Homegirl runs around in a bikini top that almost leaves nothing to the imagination with her large breast and short shorts. Homegirl is also a drinker but one that can whip ass. Her sword skills are top-notch and on par with upper-level demons like Amaimon.
Blue Exorcist is a great anime to watch. If you can get past the Satan stuff, you will really enjoy this anime. The story is excellent, the action is fantastic, and the characters are memorable. Rin is an underrated anime character in the anime world. I love how a third anime series adaptation has been announced. It will be tremendous and epic if it stays close to the manga and continues off the Kyoto Saga.
BONUS CLIP!!!
