by Stephanie H., Staff Writer, Inside AX- Anime Expo

Blue Exorcist finally makes its US anime debut courtesy of Aniplex USA. Due to be out on shelves on October 18, 2011, Inside AX takes a closer look at Blue Exorcist Vol. 1 on DVD.

Covering the first seven episodes of the series, Volume One introduces us to a young teenager named Rin Okamura who seems like a typical high school student plagued by the typical coming-of-age problems: destructive habits, anger management issues, and the tendency to get into brawls with other students. Even though Rin is considered a “demon child” in the eyes of others, his younger brother Yukio Okamura is the model student, having earned a scholarship to the prestigious True Cross Academy. Rin’s life is turned upside down when he starts to see demons and other supernatural things. Eventually Rin learns a terrible truth: he is in fact a demon child. The son of Satan to be precise. The awakening of his demonic side has attracted hordes of demons determined to bring Satan’s son back to Gehenna, the demonic realm. Father Fujimoto, the priest and father figure that both Okamura siblings had been living with turns out to be an exorcist from True Cross. Sadly, he dies valiantly trying to defend Rin. Now to avenge the death of Father Fujimoto, Rin vows to attend True Cross Academy to become an exorcist and defeat Satan!

Blue Exorcist has the feel and the look of the typical shonen action anime series at first glance: a young youth who struggles to fit in finds himself awakening a forbidden power for a greater purpose and is thusly ostracized from the rest of society because of it. There is also the aspect of finding out that the main character is a demon of some sort. But despite these shortcomings what made me drawn into this series? The relationships. Although slightly predictable (you have your typical foil character and whatnot), the relationships seem natural and have an honest quality. Each character or rather classmate has their own personal problem that they have to deal with, and through that they are able to connect with Rin Okamura. Shiemi, the daughter of a herbal shop, strives to make new friends when she has never made any before. Yukio is now troubled by and expresses concerns for his brother’s true nature as the son of Satan. The stubborn and hot tempered Ryuji, the son of a priest, soon becomes rivals with Okamura. Izumo, a prideful exorcist and tamer, hides her weaknesses with a prideful and confident outer appearance. I expect that most of these characters will come to terms with their problems soon enough in later episodes, and as such get closer to the young exorcist-in-training. I look forward to watching all of the characters grow in later volumes.

The first volume does a good job of familiarizing the audience with the cast of characters and the general premise, even if events may be slightly predictable at times. At a first glance, the plot may seem rushed but things smooth out for the better once Rin gets to True Cross Academy. The episodes stay true to their manga counterpart with the exception of Episode 6, which is a filler episode. In my opinion this episode felt a little out of place as it focuses on the rather silly cooking-related antics of Rin and the demonic familiar that runs the kitchen at the dorm that Yukio and he stays at.

Animation wise, A-1 Pictures does a fantastic job. The animation is crisp and the background designs for True Cross Academy is really unique. Over the top fantasy/school designs galore much? The uniforms that the characters sport are quite interesting as well. Rendering and action scenes look excellent and smooth. The color palate used by the studio gives the animation a slightly softer look, but it’s easy on the eyes. Character designs done by the animation studio stay true to the designs put forth by the manga’s original author, Kazue Kato. I could clearly see the manga author’s unique drawing style in the frames themselves. The music, however, I found the most enjoyable. The soundtrack by Hiroyuki Sawano is laden with the usual heavily arranged rock-heavy riffs and orchestral pieces of his style. Sawano’s style of music is so well-known to me I was able to figure out who the composer was after only a few songs. Combined with enchanting arrangements containing vocals, Blue Exorcist has a truly unique soundtrack that I enjoy greatly.

Aniplex’s release for this title does not have an English dub, but I found the Japanese dub to be enjoyable anyways. Extras on disk include three “Ura-Eku” omake animation shorts (a must watch!), clean OP and ED, web teasers. As with their Oreimo release, the case cover is reversible and includes a mini-poster for your enjoyment.

Pros:

• Stays true to manga for the most part so far
• OST by Hiroyuki Sawano
• Solid start to series
• “Ura-Eku” animation shorts
• Textless OP/ED
• Web Teasers
• Mini-Poster (always cool!)

Cons:

• Slightly predictable
• Episode 6
• English subtitle with Japanese audio only

Tags: Aniplex USA, Aoi no Exorcist, blue exorcist, review