Ao no Exorcist/Blue Exorcist: Review

Ah Friday, the day that finally ends the week on a high note! As well as another review, I'm starting to get more people to check out the site and give their opinions. I'm also doing link trades as well. Good alternative news all around. Other than that, so much anime has been watched and there's a ton more out there. If you'd like to suggest an anime from Fall 2012, feel free to comment below. Hopefully I'll also have time to spruce the space up as well, so expect some visual updates as far as the review site is concerned. Speaking of which...

Ao no Exorcist! You know, looking back at Spring and Summer of this year, I feared that I was in for a ride. I had just gotten back into anime, had started noting the changes and realized that there was some hits for the year. At first, I wanted to include this title as well. I may sway on it towards the end of the year when I do a review of the titles in a quick blast (look for that in December guys and gals!) but as the episodes went on, there were some common themes that I noticed and some great spins. In other words, Ao no Exorcist falls under "Didn't I see this before?" but in a good way, and quite frankly should be given a bit more credit.

So here's the skinny: Ao no Exorcist (Blue Exorcist for the US fans), written by Kazue Kato is a story about Rin Okumura, a rough around the edges teen who can't seem to get a break. Things begin to change when he gets an opportunity to hold down steady work at a grocery store. After a couple of strange incidents, we're introduced to some rather interesting points. 

1. For some odd reason he can see some rather strange things that look like monkeys or spirits?
2. There seems to be a thug that's out to get him that has a tail?
3. It seems that there's something that no one is talking about.

After a small battle and some truth telling, we get to the heart of the matter. Rin and his brother are the spawn of the blue flamed king of demons, Satan himself. Though it takes a lot of liberties on what that entails, he eventually gets an opportunity to pursue his father's profession as an exorcist, which happens to be hosted at True Cross Academy. This is where things almost go wrong.

Is there a Private High School for higher education? Check. 


Is there classroom hijinks? Check. 


Is there some weird, goofy and strange teachers? Check. Is there a beach episode? Check. 

Do you see where I'm going with this? I hope you do. It's the same formula for a lot of high school anime stories you've seen already. I mean seriously, you've seen this already. So why watch it? Why would you bother to spend time watching something that you've seen before? 

Simple, because it's not the same as the stuff you've seen before. Just bare with me on this.


 For example, the older brother concept is flipped since Yukio is the better brother. Happens to be younger too. The class atmosphere is actually designed for Rin and his classmates to learn about exorcism and how to properly exorcise a demon. It also goes into some of the other characters, and what their talents are. By the end of the first 13 episodes, you're hooked and invested in the story, it's well written characters and pacing. You're in for the full ride. But before you buckle up, watch out for that nail on the ground. 


What nail?

PPPPPPPPPSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The second portion of the show starts to get into the meat of the story. More plot revealing secrets are about Rin, his father, his past, his brother and his connection to Satan come to light. The other classmates also go through their trials and then in the last 2-3 episodes you get the climax and the end of the series. The unfortunate problem that this anime and many others like it have is that the anime was made before the manga was completed. Certain elements are left unresolved. A love triangle hangs in the air like a stench of mold. You don't have resolution. The ending feels like another episode is coming, however it really is over, which I feel is a really big shame.

Ao no Exocist isn't complete. Great story, very fun to watch, but it's just not finished. I don't feel like it's finished and well it reminds me of the Sacred Swordsmith in this regard. 

Should you watch it? If you're fiending for some high school drama with some mysticism, then absolutely. Watch it. Because it's great for that and I personally enjoyed it. But if you're looking for something polished with a story arc that finds a great paced ending, you may wanna hold off on this title.


If you want to check this out and see if you want to purchase it on dvd, here's some links that might help you out!


http://www.hulu.com/blue-exorcist
Hulu's page for Ao no Exorcist. All the episodes are hosted here for the time being.

Rightstuf's page for the first DVD
Rightstuf's page for the second DVD

No box set available for the series just yet.

Have comments? Feel free to leave some comments about what you thought of the show. Try not to spoil the story. Got a title you want me to check out? Post below! Thanks again and I'll see you next week with a review on Birdy the Mighty OAV and the newer Decode as well! Look forward to it.