Ao no Exorcist - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

is a manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

written and illustrated by Kazue Kato. The manga has been serialized in Jump Square
Jump Square
is a Japanese monthly shōnen manga magazine with a circulation of over 300,000. Published by Shueisha, the magazine premiered on November 2, 2007 as a replacement for Monthly Shōnen Jump, another manga anthology that Shueisha discontinued in June of that year. The magazine is a part of the Jump...

magazine by Shueisha

Shueisha

is a major publisher in Japan. The company was founded in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The following year, Shueisha became a separate, independent company. Magazines published by Shueisha include Weekly Shōnen Jump, Weekly Young Jump,...

since April 2009, with individual chapters collected into six tankōbon

Tankobon

, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

volumes as of April 4, 2011. The one-shot of the manga was first featured in the September 2008 issue of Jump Square
Jump Square
is a Japanese monthly shōnen manga magazine with a circulation of over 300,000. Published by Shueisha, the magazine premiered on November 2, 2007 as a replacement for Monthly Shōnen Jump, another manga anthology that Shueisha discontinued in June of that year. The magazine is a part of the Jump...

and was titled . As of August 9, 2011, 27 chapters have been released in Japan. It was adapted into an anime television series and it will be adapted into an anime film.

Viz Media

VIZ Media

VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...

has licensed the manga

Manga

for North American production, with the first volume released in April 5, 2011 and the fifth volume scheduled for release in December 6, 2011. The North American book distributor Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...

listed the first volume of Kazue Kato's Blue Exorcist manga for release by Viz Media

VIZ Media

this April 2011.

Plot

The story revolves around Rin Okumura, a teenager possessing anormal strength and endurance who, along with his younger twin brother Yukio, was raised by Father Shiro Fujimoto. Soon after Yukio departs to study at the prestigious True Cross Academy, Rin learns that he is the son of Satan, the strongest of all demons. Witnessing Shiro dying to protect him, Rin ends up doing what his guardian asked him never to do: draw the demon-slaying blade Kurikara, which restrains his demonic powers, from its scabbard. From that moment on, Rin not only gains permanent demonic features like fangs, pointed ears and a tail, but also the power to ignite himself into blue flames that can destroy anything they touch.

At Shiro's funeral, Rin has an encounter with Mephisto Pheles, who agrees with Rin's wish to become an Exorcist like his guardian to take revenge on Satan. Rin enrolls at the True Cross Academy, which is actually the Japanese branch of an international organization dedicated to protect the human realm, Assiah, from demons and other creatures from the demon realm, Gehenna. Rin takes part in a special Exorcist course, the existence of which is known only by a few. Much to his surprise, he finds that his brother Yukio is already a veteran Exorcist and will be one of his teachers.

Main characters

The fifteen-year-old protagonist of the story, Rin is the son of Satan born from a human woman and is the inheritor of Satan's powers. His powers were sealed at birth into the demon-slaying blade Kurikara by Mephisto Pheles the True Cross Acadamy principle, allowing him to live a normal human life for about 15 years. Rin became aware of his true identity after Kurikara could no longer seal the blue flames he inherited from Satan, setting off a chain of events that led to the death of Shiro at the hands of Satan, who attempted to drag Rin back to the demon realm, Gehenna. Mephisto Pheles confronted Rin after Shiro's funeral with several exorcists, giving Rin the option to kill them all or die. Rin instead demanded to become an exorcist, an idea that amused Mephisto. Rin was then enrolled personally by Mephisto into the True Cross Academy, where he has since been pursuing his goal to become a Paladin and to defeat Satan. He is currently an Esquire and attempting to gain the title of Meister as a "Knight".

Rin can access the power he has inherited from Satan through drawing Kurikara. The sheath acts as a portal to Gehenna, which, when the blade is drawn, returns Rin to his demon form. While in his human form, Rin exhibits a number of physical traits that are signs of his demonic nature, such as sharp canines, slightly pointed ears, and a black, fur-tufted tail (which he keeps hidden in his shirt). In his demon form, Rin gains two horns as blue flames that float above his head, long elf-like ears, and his pupils turn red while his irides remain bright blue. In both forms, Rin can control incredibly destructive bright blue flames, the trademark sign of anything related to Satan. However, when he draws Kurikara, the magnitude of the flames dramatically increases and often leads to Rin being "consumed" by his own flames and losing his mind. Rin also has a Cat Sith, Kuro, who was initially Shiro's, as his familiar. Rin has been shown to have a talent for cooking, notably due to the fact that he had started cooking at a young age.

Rin's younger twin brother. When it was discovered that the woman impregnated by Satan was going to have twins, it was believed that Satan's powers would be split between them. Due to the weakness of Yukio's body, however, he did not inherit any of Satan's powers, thus being born fully human with the full extent of Satan's powers going to Rin. Yukio did, however, receive a spirit wound at birth from his brother, which allowed him to be aware of demons for as long as he can remember. Yukio secretly trained to become an Exorcist from the age of seven in order to protect Rin (through the help of Fujimoto). While both Yukio and Rin are in their first year at True Cross Academy, Yukio is already an instructor at the Exorcist cram school teaching Anti-Demon Pharmacology to Rin's class.

It is often stated that Yukio is a genius, having already acquired the title "Meister" in both the Dragoon and Doctor class, while ordinarily most people would aim for Meister in only one class (both are still fully qualified exorcists). He is currently ranked a Middle First class exorcist. Even though he and Rin argue a lot, Yukio truly cares about his brother. Fearing Rin will be consumed by his demonic nature, Yukio often berates him for his impulsive actions and reckless attitude.

Later on in the anime, he becomes a demon just like his brother although this was not mentioned in the manga itself.

Mephisto is the Chairman of True Cross Academy's Japanese branch. He is portrayed as a man with more money than sense but is very cheap when it comes to spending on others. After Fujimoto's death, he was ordered to kill Rin but instead accepted Rin's proposal of becoming an Exorcist and enrolled him into True Cross Academy. Mephisto is a powerful exorcist (holds a Meister in Honorary Knight, was able to subdue Amaimon while holding a berserk Rin off) and claims that he desires to "bring peace to both Assiah and Gehenna". Despite having served the True Cross for at least two centuries, elements of the Order still consider him suspicious.

It has been heavily implied that Mephisto is the son of Satan along with his brother, the Earth King, Amaimon and in episode 5, he referred to Rin as his little brother. He possesses the unique and peculiar ability of transforming into a small dog and conjure a giant cuckoo clock

Cuckoo clock

A cuckoo clock is a clock, typically pendulum-regulated, that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo's call and typically has a mechanical cuckoo that emerges with each note...

and other, which could imply that his abilities are Sorcery

Magic (paranormal)

Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...

. He goes by the name Johann Faust the Fifth in public, a further pun on the play Faust

Faust

Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...

. Also, his name is very similar to Mephistopheles

Mephistopheles

Mephistopheles is a demon featured in German folklore...

Ryuji (nicknamed "Bon") is a stubborn and hot-tempered individual. Despite his delinquent appearance (blonde streak in his naturally black hair, piercings) and attitude, he is very hardworking and the best student in class. Ryuji is the heir to the Cursed Temple in Kyoto. Because of the destruction of the temple in the Blue Night and his anger towards his father Tatsuma Suguro, he swears he will defeat Satan (a goal he claims Rin stole from him) and rebuild his Temple. When Rin's identity was revealed, he refused to speak with him at all. After a confrontation with his father and Rin, Ryuji and his classmates helped Rin escape impending execution and he reconciled with him, claiming that he only blames Rin for not trusting his friends with his secret. Ryuji is currently an Esquire, and trying to achieve Meister in both Aria and Dragoon.

Shiemi is the daughter of the woman who runs an Exorcist-only shop. She is kind and has an abiding love of gardening, but often lacks confidence in herself. Before the series, Shiemi never went out of her home and tended to the garden with her grandmother. After her grandmother died, Rin and Yukio exorcised the demon that was leeching her life force and she decided to become an Exorcist.

Shiemi is close to Yukio and Rin, and on amicable terms with Ryuji, Konekomaru, and Renzo. She was devastated when she discovered Rin and Yukio hid that they were sons of Satan, taking it to mean that she was not trustworthy. However on the Kyoto mission, she reconciled with Rin when he was imprisoned and joined with his other friends to help him escape. She is also friends with Izumo despite how Izumo initially used her. Shiemi has the talent to become a Tamer and can summon a reliable Greenman spirit that can produce healing herbs and barriers. She is currently an Esquire.

Izumo is easily one of the best students and she's aware of it. She has a tsundere

Tsundere

is a Japanese character development process that describes a person who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing their warm side over time. The word is derived from the terms , meaning to turn away in disgust, and meaning to become 'lovey dovey'...

attitude and is offensive towards everyone except her childhood friend Noriko Park, a Korean living in Japan, who was the only one in her elementary school who would talk to her. Very prideful and often difficult to talk to, Izumo does care about her fellow Esquires and was the first of Rin's classmates to accept Rin after his identity as Satan's son was revealed. Izumo's reason for becoming an exorcist is still unknown, but connected to an incident that happened when she was a child. Izumo is attempting to achieve a Meister in Tamer, and can summon two Byakko

Byakko

Byakko may refer to:* White Tiger , one of the divisions in the sky in traditional Chinese astronomy* Byakko , an anthropomorphic white tiger demon character in YuYu Hakusho...

(foxes) to fight for her.

Konekomaru is a timid but brilliant individual, able to come up with complex strategies in a short window of time. He is very loyal to Ryuji and Renzou, since they grew up together at the same Temple in Kyoto. He is kind to everyone and the last to reconcile with Rin after discovering Rin's identity as Satan's son, seeing Rin's true good intentions. He is an orphan and the surviving head of the Miwa family. He plans to achieve the Meister in Aria.

Renzou is a very carefree yet fearful character. He's very loyal to Bon and Konekomaru, since both grew up with him at the Cursed Temple in Kyoto. Renzou is the second of the cast who accepts Rin after discovering his identity, finding ignoring Rin to be troublesome. He is infatuated with Izumo, obsessed with women but afraid of bugs. In elementary school, he was referred to as the "Erotic Demon". Now that he is in high-school, he is trying to be more refined. His hair is naturally black, but he dyed it pink (to the chagrin of his father). Renzou carries a K'rik (Khakkhara) staff to fight like his two brothers and plans to achieve the Meister in Aria.

Shura is an Upper First Class Exorcist and Rin's mentor. She trained under the guidance of Fujimoto to obtain the title "Meister" in Knight and can draw a demon sword from a symbol above her chest when she states, "Devour the Seven Princesses, slay the Serpent". Her sword skills allow her to fight on par with upper level demons like Amaimon. Frequently chipper and obnoxious, Shura is carefree about her job, as she drinks alcohol in excess and oversleeps. She appears to harbor a dark past, as she claimed Shiro "came and rescued" her.

Disguised under a hood as Yamada, one of Rin's classmates, Shura revealed herself when Amaimon attacked Rin, saving Rin from Amaimon's attack before taking him into custody. A Senior Inspector, Shura had orders to investigate the Japanese Branch and eliminate anything she discovered related to Satan. She also held a grudge against Shiro (who asked her to teach Rin how to use Koumaken) for "casting her aside". Shura intended to dispose of "her master's mess", Rin, after verifying that Rin was Satan's son, but Rin convinced her he would become a Paladin and prove Shiro was right to let him live.

Shura decided to teach Rin how to control his powers in accordance with Shiro's wishes, leading to a bond akin to an older sister-younger brother relationship between them. Yukio and Shura are also familiar with each other since Shiro trained both of them. Shura nicknamed Yukio "four-eyed chicken".

Minor Characters

Shiro Fujimoto was a priest at the Southern Cross Monastery, a Paladin in the True Cross Order (the title awarded to the strongest exorcist), Shura Kirigakure's mentor, and foster father to Rin and Yukio Okumura . He was qualified as an Aria, Dragoon, Knight and Doctor, and had a cat sith familiar, which he called Kuro. Shiro was a man dedicated to his duties and was considered the strongest exorcist. He stole the demon-slaying sword Kurikara, or Koumaken, from the Cursed Temple in Kyoto under orders. Shiro and Mephisto ultimately used the sword to seal the demon heart of the son of Satan and Yuri Egin. Shiro then adopted Yuri Egin's children, Yukio (who did not inherit Satan's power) and Rin (full inheritor of Satan's powers).

Shiro was thought to be the only man in the world able to sustain possession by Satan himself and thus Satan was constantly after his body. He fought off Satan's attempts at possessing his body through sheer willpower, but after receiving a mental shock from Rin accusing him of "playing father" and not caring, Satan took over his body. After Satan summoned the Gehenna's Gate to retrieve Rin, Shiro regained control of his body temporarily and committed suicide in order to stop Satan.

One of the Eight Demon Kings, "King of the Earth" and another son of Satan. Amaimon has vast control over the land, e.g. being able to create earthquakes. He is eccentric and hates being laughed at or ignored. Unlike his father and elder brother Mephisto Pheles, Amaimon initially had little interest in Rin, instead wishing to tour Japan upon arrival, but quickly became obsessed with his younger half-brother after fighting him. Amaimon mentioned he has a cousin who has an interest in the occult and even goes on to say that she would be happy if he brought her a human eye. His name is derived from the demon Amaymon

Amaymon

In Demonology, Amaymon is a Prince of Hell, and, according to some Grimoires, the only one who has power over Asmodai....

An Upper First Class Exorcist as well as lecturer in the Academy, who obtained the titles of Tamer, Doctor and Aria. He wears an eyepatch over his left eye, and has Aria incantations and magic circles tattooed on both arms. He had a run-in with Satan when he was younger, which robbed him of his family and the sight in his left eye, which is why he holds immense hatred for Satan and demons that are related to Satan. Yet ironically, he is extremely loyal to Mephisto, willing to listen to his every command, which is why he stopped his attacks on Rin prior to the latter becoming an Exorcist.

The newly appointed Paladin. He was ordered by the Grigori to interrogate Mephisto and captured Rin as evidence. Arthur is a respected exorcist with dubious ethics, as said by Shura to be like a saint on the outside but really a devil inside. He uses the sentient demon sword Caliburn. When speaking, Caliburn shows extreme affection towards him and talks like a love-struck teenage girl. His name is a reference to King Arthur

King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...

and his sword Excalibur

Excalibur

Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...

Manga

The chapters of the Blue Exorcist manga

Manga

series are written and illustrated by Kazue Kato and have been serialized by Shueisha

Shueisha

in the monthly manga magazine Jump Square
Jump Square
is a Japanese monthly shōnen manga magazine with a circulation of over 300,000. Published by Shueisha, the magazine premiered on November 2, 2007 as a replacement for Monthly Shōnen Jump, another manga anthology that Shueisha discontinued in June of that year. The magazine is a part of the Jump...

since April 2009. As of July 2011, the serial chapters were collected into six tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

, with the first volume released on August 4, 2009, and the sixth volume released on April 4, 2011. As of July 4, 2011, 26 chapters have been released.

Viz Media

VIZ Media

has licensed the manga

Manga

for the North American production. With the first volume released in April 5, 2011 and the fifth volume scheduled for release in December 6, 2011. Blue Exorcist has also been released in the Shōnen Jump Advance magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

starting April 5, 2011.

The series is also licensed in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

by Kazé Manga, with the first volume released on May 27, 2010.

Production

Inspired by a Brothers Grimm

Brothers Grimm

The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...

fairy tale, Kato tried to work the angle of brothers fighting monsters into a story. She eventually decided on making the story about demons and exorcists, thus conceiving Blue Exorcist. 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

Anime News Network

Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...

, Kato said, "I should not run away from these references if I'm working in the Exorcist genre."

Anime

An anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

adaption for the manga was announced on November 27, 2010 on Shueisha

Shueisha

's Jump Square
Jump Square
is a Japanese monthly shōnen manga magazine with a circulation of over 300,000. Published by Shueisha, the magazine premiered on November 2, 2007 as a replacement for Monthly Shōnen Jump, another manga anthology that Shueisha discontinued in June of that year. The magazine is a part of the Jump...

official website. The anime was produced by A-1 Pictures

A-1 Pictures

is a Japanese animation studio, a subsidiary of Sony's anime production firm Aniplex.-History:The studio was established by Sony's animation production division, Aniplex, on May 9, 2005, to animate its anime series and productions. In 2006, it co-produced the original production Zenmai Zamurai,...

with Hitoshi Okamura as the producer. Originally, the series was scheduled to air on April 10, 2011 on MBS

Mainichi Broadcasting System

is a broadcasting station in Osaka, Japan, affiliated with Japan Radio Network , National Radio Network , Japan News Network and TBS Network, serving in the Kansai region. MBS is also one of the major stockholders of Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, Inc...

, however due to the March 11 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...

the series' broadcast was delayed until April 17, 2011. The anime ended on October 2, 2011.

Four pieces of theme music

Theme music

Theme music is a piece that is often written specifically for a radio program, television program, video game or movie, and usually played during the title sequence and/or end credits...

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

Uverworld

Uverworld is a Japanese rock band consisting of five members originating from Kusatsu, Shiga, Japan. Releasing six studio albums and several singles, which went on to achieve massive success, they went on to become one of the most influential rock bands in Japan to this day.-2000–2005: Beginnings...

, 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

2PM

2PM is a South Korean boy band, originally a seven-member group, but currently consisting of six members due to the sudden contract termination of leader Jaebeom following an Internet controversy in September 2009. They are managed by JYP Entertainment...

, while the ending theme from episode 13 onwards is "Wired Life" by Japanese singer Meisa Kuroki

Meisa Kuroki

, better known by her stage name , is a Japanese actress, model and singer born in Nago, Okinawa, Japan. She is represented by the agency Sweet Power and is signed to Sony Music Japan. She made her acting debut in 2004. She has modeled for the popular Japanese fashion magazine JJ, among others, and...

.

Aniplex announced they would simulcast the series in North America through video sites Hulu

Hulu

Hulu is a website and over-the-top subscription service offering ad-supported on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, webisodes and other new media, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from NBC, Fox, ABC, and Obstacle on October 20th 2011 Nickelodeon and CBS and many other...

, Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll is an American website and international online community focused on streaming East Asian media including anime, manga, drama, music, electronic entertainment, and auto racing content...

, and Anime News Network

Anime News Network

starting on April 20, 2011. Aniplex of America will release Blue Exorcist on DVD in four sets, starting by releasing the first DVD on October 18, 2011.
- An OVA has also been released in 2011 Ao No Exorcist: Kuro no Iede.

Reception

Comic Book Bin reviewer Leroy Douresseaux felt the first volume had potential, enjoying the comedy in the work and the characters and their interactions, recommending it to teen readers.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.