Hey guys, for this first Throwback Tuesday, I’ll talk a bit about my second anime of all time- Ao no Exorcist! Especially considering that Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Impure King Arc was announced only a few months ago, I think it’s an appropriate choice!
So. Ao no Exorcist, or Blue Exorcist, follows the story of one Rin Okumura, and his path towards becoming an Exorcist- someone who fights demons. With his brother, Yukio Okumura, and a whole host of other characters, he continues to learn to become an Exorcist with the hope of someday being able to defeat the ruler of Gehenna- Satan. However, there’s a catch- Rin and his brother are actually the sons of Satan, and as such, are gifted with demonic powers. Naturally, such a concept does not mesh well with being an Exorcist, but despite this, Rin remains adamant in defeating Satan, and throughout the series, continues to grow with this goal in mind.
Ao no Exorcist, taking inspiration from Christianity and Judaism, introduced to me the things that anime was capable of depicting. At the time, I only knew of shows like Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, which were ridiculous and creative in their own right, but felt far too long and unrelatable at first to even consider reading or watching. So, this 25 episode anime about the sons of Satan and their quest to beat him, spoke to me instantly as something interesting, and what’s more, something I could actually conceivably make my way through. And so I did. And so begins the tale of how I got hooked on anime.
Short story aside, Ao no Exorcist to me was a unique anime, action-packed, dealing with many smart concepts, but taking them and stylizing them in its own way. With a relatively large focus on characterizing Rin and his interactions with his peers, I find that many of the other characters, save Rin and his brother, have faded from my memory. Now, the truly memorable moments in the show for me were in his demonic powers. Rin’s powers, and the action scenes that came about as a result were awesome to watch, and those scenes hold quite a bit of nostalgia for me.
So, what do you guys think about the series? By any chance, are you looking forward to the Impure King Arc as much as I am? Write a comment down below!
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