Blue Exorcist

Blue Exorcist
The cover of 'Blue Exorcist' volume 1 as published by Shueisha, with a picture of the main character Rin Okumura with his sword and his blue flames
青の祓魔師
(Ao no Ekusoshisuto)
Genre Adventure,[1] dark fantasy[2]
Manga
Written by Kazue Kato
Published by Shueisha
English publisher
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Jump Square
English magazine
Original run April 4, 2009 – present
Volumes 21
Anime television series
Directed by Tensai Okamura
Produced by Hiro Maruyama
Kozue Kananiwa
Satoshi Adachi
Shin Furukawa
Takamitsu Inoue
Written by Ryōta Yamaguchi
Music by Hiroyuki Sawano
Studio A-1 Pictures
Licensed by
Original network JNN (MBS)
English network
Original run April 17, 2011 – October 2, 2011
Episodes 25 + OVA
Anime film
Blue Exorcist: The Movie
Directed by Atsushi Takahashi
Written by Reiko Yoshida
Music by Hiroyuki Sawano
Studio A-1 Pictures
Licensed by
Aniplex of America
Manga Entertainment
Released December 28, 2012
Runtime 90 minutes
Manga
Salaryman Exorcist: The Sorrows of Yukio Okumura
Written by Kazue Kato
Illustrated by Minoru Sasaki
Published by Shueisha
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Jump SQ.19 (until February 2015)
Jump Square (since April 2015)
Original run October 2013 – present
Volumes 2
Anime television series
Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga
Directed by Koichi Hatsumi
Written by Toshiya Ōno
Music by
  • Hiroyuki Sawano
  • Kohta Yamamoto
Studio A-1 Pictures
Licensed by
Aniplex of America[3]
Original network MBS, TBS, CBC, BS-TBS
Original run January 7, 2017 – March 25, 2017
Episodes 12 + OVA

Blue Exorcist (Japanese: 青の祓魔師（エクソシスト）, Hepburn: Ao no Ekusoshisuto) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazue Katō. The manga has been serialized in Jump Square magazine by Shueisha since April 2009, with individual chapters collected into twenty tankōbon volumes as of January 28, 2018. The story revolves around Rin Okumura, a teenager who discovers he and his twin brother Yukio are the sons of Satan born from a human woman, and he is the inheritor of Satan's powers. When Satan kills their guardian, Rin enrolls at True Cross Academy to become an exorcist under Yukio's tutelage in order to defeat his father.

The series was adapted into an anime television series by A-1 Pictures in 2011 and into an anime film (Ao no Exorcist Gekijouban) in December 2012.[4] Viz Media has licensed the manga for North American production, with the first volume released in April 5, 2011. Aniplex of America also released the anime's DVDs in English regions. A second season, titled Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga, premiered on January 7, 2017.

The series has been well received by readers with sales having received a boost thanks to the anime's release. Publications for manga and anime compared the series with other shonen manga but still praised the series' story and artwork.

Synopsis

Setting

The world of Blue Exorcist consists of two dimensions, attached to each other as a mirror and its reflection. The first is the material world where humans live, Assiah (物質界), and the other is Gehenna (虚無界（ゲヘナ）), the world of demons, which is ruled by Satan. Originally, a journey between the worlds, or even a contact between them, is impossible. However, any demon is able to pass to the dimension of Assiah through the possession of a living being in it. Even so, in history there are demons wandering among humans and only those who can see are those who have had direct contact with a demon of any level.

In contrast, there are those called Exorcists, people who train to destroy demons who act in a damaging manner in Assiah. With more than two thousand years of existence, this group has several branches all over the world, being secretly under the command of the Vatican itself and acting in a subterfuge way to the masses.

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.

Production

Kazue Kato took inspiration from the 2005 film The Brothers Grimm, as she tried to work the angle of brothers fighting against monsters into a story. She eventually decided on making the story about demons and exorcists, thus conceiving Blue Exorcist.[5] Due to exorcists being the main idea of the story, the manga features a lot of Biblical references. In an interview with Anime News Network, Kato said: "I should not run away from these references if I'm working in the Exorcist genre."[5] An ending was planned by Kato but the exact length of the series has yet to be decided based on the manga's popularity in Japan.[6]

Media

Manga

The chapters of the Blue Exorcist manga series are written and illustrated by Kazue Kato and have been serialized by Shueisha in the monthly manga magazine Jump Square since April 2009.[7] The first tankōbon volume was released on August 4, 2009;[8] eighteen volumes have been released as of December 31, 2016.[9] The one-shot of the manga was first featured in the September 2008 issue of Jump Square and was titled Miyamauguisu House Case (深山鶯邸事件, Miyamauguisu-tei Jiken).[10]

The series was licensed by Viz Media for release in North America, with the first volume released on April 5, 2011;[7] sixteen volumes have been released as of December 6, 2016 and a 17th volume is scheduled for July 4, 2017.[11] Blue Exorcist has also been released as part of the Shōnen Jump Advance imprint starting April 5, 2011.[12]

The series is also licensed in France by Kazé Manga, with the first volume released on May 27, 2010,[13] and in Poland by Waneko.[14]

A spin-off focused on Rin's brother Yukio is running on Jump SQ.19, titled Salaryman Exorcist: The Sorrows of Yukio Okumura (サラリーマン祓魔師 奥村雪男の哀愁, Salaryman Futsumashi Okumura Yukio no Aishū). It is also written by Kazue Kato, but with illustrations by Minoru Sasaki.

Anime

An anime adaption for the manga was announced on November 27, 2010 on Shueisha's Jump Square official website.[15] The anime was produced by A-1 Pictures with Hitoshi Okamura as the producer. Originally, the series was scheduled to air on April 10, 2011 on MBS, replacing Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto; however, due to the March 11, 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami the series' broadcast was delayed until April 17, 2011.[16] The anime ended on October 2, 2011.

Four pieces of theme music are used for the episodes: two opening themes and two ending themes. The opening theme for the first 12 episodes is "Core Pride" by Japanese rock band Uverworld,[17] while the opening theme from episode 13 onwards is "In My World" by Japanese rock band ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D. The ending theme for the first 12 episodes is "Take Off" by South Korean boy band 2PM,[18] while the ending theme from episode 13 through episode 25 is "Wired Life" by Japanese singer Meisa Kuroki.

Aniplex announced they would simulcast the series in North America through video sites Hulu, Crunchyroll, Anime News Network and Netflix starting on April 20, 2011.[19] Aniplex of America released Blue Exorcist on DVD in four sets, starting by releasing the first DVD on October 18, 2011.[20] An Original Animated Video (also known as an OVA) has also been released in 2011, called Ao No Exorcist: Kuro no Iede. The series began broadcasting in the United States and Canada on Viz Media's online network, Neon Alley, on October 2, 2012.[21] The series began airing on Adult Swim's Toonami block on February 23, 2014 and finished airing on August 10, 2014.[22]

After six years, a second season,[23] titled Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga, was announced in June 2016 and premiered on January 7, 2017.[24][25] Koichi Hatsumi directed the sequel, while Toshiya Ōno wrote the scripts, Keigo Sasaki designed the characters, and Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto composed the series' soundtrack. A-1 Pictures returned to produce the animation.[26][27] It was also announced that there would be five new characters in the sequel. The opening theme song was "Itteki no Eikyō" (一滴の影響, lit. "Drop's Influence") by Uverworld, while the ending theme song was "Kono Te de" (コノ手デ, lit. "With This Hand") by Rin Akatsuki.[28]

The plot of the anime contains anime-exclusive story arcs since the anime and the manga diverge significantly starting with episode 16 of the first anime season. The original ending contained within the first season's final nine episodes is ignored in the second season, with the anime story timeline once again following the narrative of the manga. The story events which take place in the second season correspond to volumes 5 through 9 of the manga.[29]

Other

A stage play based on the series titled Live Act Ao no Exorcist ~Mashin no Rakuin~ ran for nine performances at the Nippon Seinenkan hall in Tokyo's Shinjuku ward from May 11 to 17 during 2012. Satoshi Owada directed and wrote scripts for the play. Main characters Rin and Yukio Okumura were portrayed by Ryou Kimura and Kimito Totani respectively.[30] A light novel titled Ao no Exorcist: Weekend Hero was written by Aya Yajima and illustrated by Kato. It was released by Shueisha on September 2, 2011.[31] A visual novel for PlayStation Portable, Ao no Exorcist: Genkoku no Labyrinth was released on April 26, 2012 by Bandai Namco Games.[32] Ao no Exorcist Movie is based on the manga and anime series and was released on December 28, 2012 in Japan.

Reception

As of November 2016, Blue Exorcist has sold over 15 million copies.[33] 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.[31] 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.[34] 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.[35] 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.[36] 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.[37]

References

  1. ↑ "The Official Website for Blue Exorcist". Viz Media. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  2. ↑ Komatsu, Mikikazu (August 4, 2017). ""Blue Exorcist" 4th Stage Play "Shimane Illuminati Arc" Set for This Fall". Crunchyroll. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Aniplex USA Licenses Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga Anime Series". Anime News Network. October 15, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Blue Exorcist/Ao no Exorcist Anime Film Green-Lit". Anime News Network. September 30, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  5. 1 2 Aoki, Deb (July 22, 2016). "Interview: Blue Exorcist Mangaka Kazue Kato". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Interview: Kazue Kato". Manga News (in French). November 18, 2010. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  7. 1 2 "News: Blue Exorcist Manga Listed by Viz's Distributor". Anime News Network. October 19, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  8. ↑ 青の祓魔師1 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  9. ↑ "青の祓魔師18". Shueisha. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  10. ↑ "One Shot of Blue Exorcist" (in Chinese). Retrieved 2009-09-16.
  11. ↑ "Blue Exorcist, Vol. 17". Amazon.com. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Viz Media Announces New Manga Acquisitions for Spring & Summer 2011". Anime News Network. November 15, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Blue Exorcist – Tome 1" (in French). Kazé Manga. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  14. ↑ Melmothia (October 1, 2013). "Ao no Exorcist tom 1". Tanuki.pl (in Polish). Małgorzata Kaczarowska. 240 (2905). ISSN 1898-8296. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  15. ↑ "News: Blue Exorcist Manga Gets TV Anime Green-Lit". Anime News Network. November 27, 2010. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  16. ↑ "News: Anime/Manga Releases Delayed After Quake: Part III". Anime News Network. March 19, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  17. ↑ "UVERworldの新曲が、注目アニメのテーマ曲に決定" [Uverworld's new song to be featured as an anime's theme song]. Oricon (in Japanese). April 5, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
  18. ↑ "アニメ｢青の祓魔師｣テーマソングはUVERworld&2PM" [Anime Blue Exorcist Theme song by Uverworld & 2PM] (in Japanese). Natalie. March 9, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2011.
  19. ↑ "Aniplex to Stream Blue Exorcist In U.S., Canada". Anime News Network. April 8, 2011.
  20. ↑ "Aniplex of America Adds Madoka Magica, Blue Exorcist on Home Video". Anime News Network. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  21. ↑ "Viz Media to Stream Dubbed Blue Exorcist on Neon Alley". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  22. ↑ http://toonami.tumblr.com/post/67805823907/this-weeks-toonami-announcement-hey-guys-over
  23. ↑ Green, Scott (June 29, 2016). "2017 "Blue Exorcist" TV Anime Announcement Spotted". Crunchyroll. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Impure King Arc Anime Reveals January Premiere, More Cast". Anime News Network. October 2, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
  25. ↑ "Ao no Exorcist Kyoto Fujouou-hen Confirms January 2017 Air Date, Releases PV and Key Visual". Nagame Digital. October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  26. ↑ Green, Scott (June 30, 2016). "Different Writer/Director Team To Lead New "Blue Exorcist" TV Anime". Crunchyroll. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  27. ↑ "New Blue Exorcist TV Anime's Returning Cast, New Staff, Plot, 2017 Premiere Revealed". Anime News Network. July 3, 2016. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga Anime's TV Ads Preview Theme Songs". Anime News Network. December 20, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  29. ↑ "'Blue Exorcist' Season 3 Release Date: 'Ao no Exorcist' Manga Spoilers For Illuminati, True Cross Academy Festival Saga". Inquisitr. March 24, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Blue Exorcist Stage Play Cast Photographed in Costume". Anime News Network. April 25, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  31. 1 2 "Blue Exorcist's Latest Manga Book, 1st Novel Top Charts". Anime News Network. September 7, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  32. ↑ "Blue Exorcist: Genkoku no Labyrinth PSP's 3rd Promo Streamed". Anime News Network. March 13, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
  33. ↑ http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2016/11/26-1/leading-ladies-featured-in-latest-blue-exorcist-kyoto-saga-promos
  34. ↑ Douresseaux, Leroy (March 24, 2011). "Blue Exorcist: Volume 1". Comic Book Bin. Toon Doctor. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  35. ↑ Davidson, Danica (May 13, 2011). "Blue Exorcist vol. 1". Otaku USA. Sovereign Media. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  36. ↑ Santos, Carlo (December 11, 2011). "Blue Exorcist GN 5". Westmount, Quebec: Anime News Network. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  37. ↑ Kimlinger, Carl (June 3, 2011). "Blue Exorcist Episodes 1–6 Streaming". Westmount, Quebec: Anime News Network. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
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