Ao no Exorcist: A Review

Ao no Exorcist Review
(As well as an introduction to Anime and Manga for the less informed!)

Written by Olivia S.

What better way to open up my blog than to review the hottest (and most widely debated) anime series' of the year featuring Satan's charismatic twin children? It might sound crazy, but give this a read and decide for yourself.

In a time where anime is becoming more commonplace and less fringe, for the first time, Japan has been producing anime and manga with the idea of globalization in mind. It is no longer something that is made for Japan, by Japan, but rather a colorful exploration of their culture, with the influence of many others, and is being made to share worldwide. However, it is not as flowery and rosy as it may sound.

Ao no Exorcist is an adventure unlike any other in it's field at this current time, because anime has now been recognized as a brilliant and effective cash cow by western and eastern companies alike, meaning cheaper quality anime with less planning are being cranked out and translated by big time translation/adaptation companies; the demand is now higher than ever before. This type of mentality has bred two new entities in the anime world; low quality anime with gorgeous animation but no substance, and anime that breaks the mold of both it's classic predecessors, and current competitors. Ao no Exorcist, is very much the latter.

For those new or unfamiliar with anime and manga, the process goes a little like this; A manga (comic) is made, and if successful enough, is turned into an anime (an animated series). It is rare for an anime to be made without a manga behind it, but it does happen occasionally-- a perfect example of this would be the famed "Neon Genesis Evangelion", an iconic and classic series that revolutionized the anime scene and paved the way for future creators whose views are less run of the mill.

Kazue Katou's Ao no Exorcist (literally meaning "The Blue Exorcist"), is a story of self discovery, alienation, and what it is to fight in a world where oppression is order of the day in a world secretly run by the church. The story follows the lives of Rin and Yukio Okumura, a pair of orphaned twins who were found and raised by head priest Shiro Fujimoto in a well-known place of worship in their city. For all of Rin's life (the elder, less mature twin), he has fought with controlling his violent and impulsive ways while doing his best to be a model citizen, using his abnormal strength for positive pursuits, which almost always backfires. Because of this abnormal strength, Rin has lived a life of loneliness and rejection, happily accepted only by his family of hardworking monks. To Rin, life has always been hard when living in the shadow of his ever successful brother Yukio, quiet and reserved, talented and accepted by all. While the brothers are inseparable, they differ greatly from one another but do their best to balance each other out with their unique ways.

The Okumura twins' small world is turned upside down when Yukio leaves in lieu of a scholarship to attend the prestigious school of the True Cross Academy, and Rin Okumura gets caught up in a fight with a local gang. While protecting a helpless animal from getting killed, Rin is enveloped in blue flames which he soon learns do not burn him, and are in his control. They soon discover that not only is their church a church of exorcism and Father Fujimoto is the head exorcist, but Rin himself is the sought after son of Satan, hiding in a human shell. Father Fujimoto take Rin's hand and they run through fields of demons no one else can see, every one of them calling Rin their master.

Rin is introduced to the Kurikara, the blade that was imbued with his demonic powers, single-handedly holding them back for the past 15 years. Now, with armies of demons closing in on their only home, Rin is faced with a choice: Leave the blade sheathed and remain a human, or unsheath the blade and lose his humanity forever.

The story is beyond touching, and has a vast range of characters to relate to, with their own set of beliefs, dreams, and nightmares-- it is next to impossible to not find something lovable about each character, be it their flaws or their strengths. The writing is strong, and makes the show unique among the anime from its *season. The series is now complete (a mere humble 25 episodes), but there is now a bonus episode (aka OVA) and a full-length film feature in the works.

The series is quite controversial in that it contains endless biblical references, as well as references to practically every well-known religion under the sun. The fact that the series follows Satan's children and portrays them in a good light is controversial enough. Kazue Katou, however, pulls no punches and doesn't cater to anyone. As she said herself, "I should not run away from these references if I'm working in the Exorcist genre". She is not afraid of insulting anyone, and moves the series with a strong and steady flow, telling her story in the way she finds it most effective.

The story is said to have been inspired by a Grimm's tale about two brothers fighting monsters, though which tale I am unsure.

The animation is top-notch, mixing both CG elements with the beautifully cell-shaded animation. The art is very close to Kazue Katou's in that it is extremely detailed and stylized, redefining what people in western countries know as manga art. Alongside Takeshi Obata, she is definitely sending manga into a more mature hybrid of realistic and common anime stylization.



Of course, there is no way NOT to mention the soundtrack! The soundtrack is composed of beautiful orchestrated scores, most done by the arranger/composer Hiroyuki Sawano, best known for his work on anime soundtracks. Other anime that he has worked his magic for are Mobile Suit Gundam UC, Sengoku Basara, and Zombie Loan. He is currently represented by the company Legendoor.

Both the opening and ending themes were done by popular artists in the pop, and rock scenes in Japan and have small followings worldwide. ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D (who did the second opening theme for Exorcist) is famous for their song "Complication" for the hit anime Durarara!! that blew the **otaku scene away in 2010. Other influential artists who have done theme songs for Exorcist are Uverworld, Meisa Kuroki, and 2PM.

The anime has not yet been licensed by any western companies for translation and english adaptation, however the manga is now being serialized by VIZ media, one of the first companies to translate and publish english adaptations of Japanese manga.



For those who can't wait, the anime can be found on various anime hosting sites with english subtitles, and the manga is available on any popular scanlation hosting website.

Ao no Exorcist is slice of life, horror, mystery, and even a bit of romance. It has already gone down in the books as a series that has made it's mark in anime history.

 

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*Anime often runs in seasons, so in Fall for example, there would be one set of series that play, and in Winter there'd be a new set.

**Otaku is slang for someone who is active in anime, manga, Japanese gaming, and/or Japanese culture.