Blue Exorcist

***Blue Exorcist*** (Japanese: 青の祓魔師, Hepburn: *Ao no Ekusoshisuto*) is a Japanese supernatural action anime

    series based upon the manga of the same name created by Kazue Kato. The anime was created by A-1 Pictures of *Black Butler* and *Fairy Tail* fame and spawned two seasons. Season 1 aired from April 17, 2011 to October 2 of the same year in Japan. The original premiere date was April 10, 2011, but it was unfortunately delayed a week due to the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. The second season, with the subtitle *Kyoto Saga*, was aired from January 6 to March 24, 2017. Three direct-to-DVD specials have also been released; the first being released on the fifth DVD/Blu-ray volume (along with Episodes 12 and 13 of the first season) on October 26, 2011, the second bundled with a limited pressing of the 19th manga volume on April 4, 2017, and a third set for an October 4 release date with the 20th manga volume. A feature film was greenlit on September 30, 2011 and released on Christmas 2012 in Japan. The English dub was streamed to Hulu weekly from October 2, 2012 to March 23, 2013, and the first special on July 9, 2013, included in the Season 1, Part 1 DVD/Blu-ray sets along with the first 12 episodes.

The franchise has been well received by fans, and the anime helped to significantly increase sales of the manga. Anime and manga critics compared the franchise with other shonen series, but praised its story and art.

## Plot

The story revolves around Rin Okumura, who, along with his younger twin Yukio Okumura, was raised by Father Shiro Fujimoto, an Exorcist. One day, Rin learns that he and Yukio are the sons of Satan. Witnessing Shiro dying to protect him, Rin draws the demon-slaying sword Kurikara (倶利伽羅), which restrains his demonic powers. From that moment on, Rin not only gains demonic features like fangs and a tail, but also the power to ignite into blue flames that destroy almost anything they touch.

Rin wishes to become an Exorcist like his guardian to become stronger and to defeat Satan. He enrolls at the prestigious True Cross Academy (正十字学園 *Sei Jūji Gakuen*), an exorcist cram school, which is actually the Japanese branch of the True Cross Order (正十字騎士團), an international organization dedicated to protect Assiah (human realm) from the Gehenna (demonic realm). Much to his surprise, Rin finds that Yukio is already a veteran Exorcist and is one of his teachers. Thus begins Rin's journey to become an Exorcist, accompanied by his brother and his fellow students who quickly become his close friends.

## Manga

1. Blue Exoricst
2. Salaryman Exorcist: The Sorrows of Yukio Okumura

## Why it rocks

1. The art style is **AMAZING**, especially the blue flames emitted by Rin and Satan. It reflects what a modern cartoon or anime should look like, and surprisingly, it gets even better in the movie and the second season.
2. The music is awesome and greatly reflects the moods of each scene the music cues come on. It was composed by none other than Hiroyuki Sawano (*Attack on Titan*, *KILL la KILL*, *Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign*), who is a living legend in the world of music.
3. All three intro themes [uverWORLD's *Core Pride* (Eps. 1-12 and first special) and *Itteki no Eikyo* (Eps. 26-37, Specials 2-3), and ROOKIEZ is PUNK'D's *In My World* (Eps. 13-25)] and all three outro themes [2PM's *Take Off* (Eps. 1-12, Special 1), Meisa Kuroki's *Wired Life* (Eps. 13-25), and Rin Akatsuki's *Kono te de* (Eps. 26-37, Specials 2-3)] are masterfully performed. A little bit of trivia: the first outro theme marked the Japanese debut of South Korean boy band 2PM.
4. The voice acting is an auditory treat in not only Japanese, but also in its English, French, German, and Korean dubs as well. It feels like every single casting choice was handpicked by Kato herself. They're *that* good.
5. This was the show that let then-relatively-unknown voice actors Nobuhiko Okamoto and Bryce Papenbrook, who both voiced Rin, rise to stardom. Most fans of these actors agree that Rin was their best role to date.
6. It's very well written. The story is so suspenseful that waiting for the next episode or even season seems like an eternity, and the characters feel like they were based on real people.
7. Mephisto Pheles's motives can be a little shady and serves as the franchise's token neutral character. He doesn't hate Rin like most Exorcists do, but doesn't fully trust him either. He's the mediator between the two.
8. Rin is one of the most lovable heroes in fiction. Instead of just wanting to avenge his adoptive father, the one person he has loved and respected his entire life, he even risks his own life defending what he thinks is the right thing. Yukio provides him a necessary foil, as he is more studious and knows how to keep a leash on Rin to prevent him from doing something rash. Anyone who has siblings can relate to them.
9. Some episodes have emotional appeal, like when some other True Cross students distrusted Rin simply for his half-blood status, and Igor's vendetta, where he first attacked Rin and later revealed that his family was killed by Satan, and when he resurrected his dead wife to exact his revenge a second time.
10. The action sequences were beautifully choreographed. One might think the characters were rotoscoped from real actors enacting these sequences.

## Bad Qualities

1. The first season seems to lower in quality by the conclusion. Keep in mind that, while this anime was produced, the manga was still ongoing, so at around the seventeenth episode, the story deviates from the manga's and leads to an anime-exclusive ending.
2. Amaimon can be an annoying antagonist at times.
3. Even one of the greatest heroes of all time has bad qualities: Rin has a little too much fatherly love in his heart and isn't the sharpest tool in the drawer.

## Reception

As of November 2016, Blue Exorcist has sold over 15 million copies.[32] The manga has been popular in Japan with the seventh volume receiving first print run of one million copies becoming the first *Jump Square* manga to reach such milestone. The release of the anime also drastically increased the manga's sales to the point that Shueisha decided to increase the print run for the seventh volume.[30] Critics have praised the *Blue Exorcist* manga with Comic Book Bin reviewer Leroy Douresseaux feeling the first volume had potential, enjoying the comedy in the work and the characters and their interactions, recommending it to teen readers.[33] Danica Davidson from Otaku USA felt that while the series employs disturbing storytelling, Rin's heroic traits despite being Satan's son make the plot more appealing to the readers.[34] Kato's artwork has been praised by Anime News Network's Carlo Santos for the way each character has distinct traits while background images are well designed.[35] Despite noting that the story uses several clichés, Carl Kimlinger from the same site emphasized how the execution was well-performed, resulting in entertaining episodes, especially its fight scenes, which were noted to be one of the anime's strongest points.[36]