Ao no Exorcist Movie

Note: This review assumes that you have at least some insight or knowledge with the original TV series or the manga.

So what would you do if you discovered that you were born as the child of Satan? Well for starters, you probably would view your life a bit different than the way it was before. For a particular kid named Rin Okumura, his life is never the same again. Then, enters even more troubles with the demons themselves. Well, who you going to call to exterminate these demons? An exorcist of course! Otherwise, welcome to the world of Blue Exorcist. Only this time, it's adapted ... as a film running 88 minutes and fans of the original series gets to experience the fun once again. It's going to be a wild ride on the Phantom Train so buckle your belts.

Well, it's here. This is the movie that fans from the original series was waiting for. I wasn't too impressed with how the original Blue Exorcist series went in the second half especially since for some reason, the adaptation went on a filler route. Otherwise, this movie is original material not based off the manga so don't expect filler but rather a brand new experience.

The movie itself is handled by A-1 Pictures so expect similar production values as the original TV series but likely also a high price tag for the BDs. (thanks to Aniplex) Is it worth paying for? Perhaps this review may or may not convince you open your wallet.

As for the movie, it blasts off in full action mode with no time wasted. In fact, the premise immediately comes to fruition with the Phantom Train. The ride is a tough one though for Rin and the others especially since it's not like anything they've faced before. Luckily, we can see that Rin and his abilities has not gone to stale and is able to fight effectively alongside his brother Yukio. The movie itself is also pretty straightforward. What you see is what you get a – fun supernatural ride, or at least in the beginning. The setting still takes place in the same place as the original series so don't expect any certain twists in terms of the location.

Most of the main characters makes their appearances in this movie including the shy Shiemi, the confident Yukio, the hot-headed Shura, the stubborn Izumo, the wise head Konekomaru, the prodigy Bon, flamboyant Mephisto, easy going Shima, and among others. Even a familiar demon makes his cameo. One new character viewers might not be familiar with though is Usamaro, a strange kid with a pair of ears and curiosity. Voiced by the famous Kugimiya Rie, aka the queen of tsundere, she plays the role of this character. However, the kid has some secrets than meets more than the eye.

The movie still feels like the standard shounen type of anime just like the original series. There's the action. There's the humor. Then, there's the bonds as well as the flashbacks we see here and there. There's not much change to Rins' character. He still remains himself throughout the film as cheerful and willing to help others. In fact, most of the characters' personalities remains generally the same. Then lighthearted backgrounds of the movie also contrasts greatly in comparison to its beginning. The mood in fact is much more pleasant when the students are in their casual wear and enjoying life through sports and hanging out. But of course, we can't forget our newest member Usamro. He brings that certain feeling of cuteness towards the movie. Despite not being human, the kid displays human behavior through interactions with Rin as the movie is progressed. However, there's definitely something mysterious about this child. In particular, there are certain scenes where the camera focuses on him with enhanced visuals for more than just aesthetics purposes.

For the plot itself, it begins to unravel itself later on so expect to have some patience. Blue Exorcist is known to have a backbone to its plots and often or not strives to make the most of it through some form of development. Perhaps some of this comes from memories as there is sense of memories flowing back to a particular character's head. Then, there are the other paths the movie tries to follow through the usage of certain flashbacks and what goes on in the present time. The interactions between the main characters throughout the film is a bit lackluster though. Besides some of the heartwarming moments between Rin and the new kid, there's hardly any brotherly bonding between the two brothers throughout the film. The original series' presentation of the family theme is scarce. Instead, it plays on what's present as well as ways to make more of those happy moments in the wrong way. Then, there's a problem with the supporting characters as only a select few gets highlight moments. And even so, they are easily forgettable.

By shounen standards, the movie does maintain a good execution of action. As mentioned before, the movie gets into the action mode right away with little time wasted. Thus, expect some good full throttle movements in the beginning. The movements are fluid accompanied by a strong soundtrack to give that feeling of intensity. As intense as some moments it gets though, it still falls under a typical mindless shounen standards with nothing too special to boost about. The weapons remains generally the same as well with the chants, swords, and guns. Well after all, it's what exorcists needs in order to fight off the bad guys – the demons of this movie just like the original show.

Visual wise, the movie has a good composure. In terms of character designs, everyone are dressed in the way they should be as exorcists rather than out of their style. During some of the more lighthearted moments, their casual designs shows that they are also ordinary students. Unlike the ordinary though, the demons are abnormally designed with twisted body figures and shapes. It gives them a dangerous look in which viewers should take seriously. The architectures also gives off a fantasy like feeling with its standards.

The soundtrack of the movie is strong. It's safe to say that the movie should be watched with the volume on HIGH with headphones especially during some of the more intense moments. The movie reuses some of the OST from the original series so perhaps that might also bring back some nostologia. Most of the VA does their work well. Rie's performance in this movie should be given some attention to with her character not being tsundere but rather as someone who cares about the memories they make.

Blue Exorcist is one of those shounens where you're going to have get really into it to enjoy the experience. For a particular character in this series, they sure enjoyed the experience they shared with someone. As for potential viewers, this can have various results. If you're coming completely fresh into this film, be aware that some things might not make 100% sense at first stances. Therefore, it's recommended from my perspective to watch the original TV series first before venturing on this adventure. Overall though, this was a shounen adventure of 88 minutes. It's not a ride of masterpiece but does have its fun moments here and there.

Woo! I waited 2+ hours in a super long line in a cramped room to see this today! WORTH IT. I was extremely skeptical about a movie adaption of Blue Exorcist like many of you probably were when you first heard the announcement. I must say it was VERY well made in ever aspect imaginable, great story and art especially. Getting into the story a bit more the movie opens as a story book read by Father Fujimoto to the Okumura brothers and throughout the movie this particular little book is explored, talked about and experienced by the characters as the movie progresses, later Rin ... Yukio and Shiemi go on a mission to destroy a Ghost and possessed train. There is also the side story of the 11 year festival and a seal that is needed to be set by Shura, we also have to True Cross Academy students preforming missions that end up very "sticky" continuously throughout the movie.All of these sub-plots converge later and very well I might add. Overall It was an adorable, funny and touching movie that I deeply enjoyed very much. The "new" characters include Cheng-Long , a strong (and gorgeous) exorcist with an interest in a particular myth and the Okumura brothers and an ADORABLE little demon named Usamaro by Rin in the movie. These two characters were good add on's that did not seem out of place, in fact they made the movie better. The story mainly revolves around Usamaro, a demon Rin is charged with taking care of when he is suspended due to an accident that is caused earlier in the movie. He appears to be half bunny in appearance and about 4 in human years (although he is 1000's of years old in actuality). He is an extremely cute kid and Rin is such a good father/big brother to him. There relationship is rocky at first although everyone grows to love him. This move was good and worth the pain of waiting, I give it a 8.6 , an amazing movie...although the ending did not make me feel happy I would gladly watch again

The ideals of two brothers clash, as the lines between demon and human fades before their very eyes. A diverse journey of fun, exitement, amazing animation, beautyful music, feelings and mild symbolism? This movie is one of the few side story movies I could recommend for anyone, fan or not!

Normally, I don't waste my time with movies attached to anime series. Lately though, I've been seeing alot of them, and it truly is like discovering one pearl after another, very much like discovering anime for the first time all over again.

I will not waste your time with a lenghty synopsis, as summarizing the movie ... is not my intention. Nevertheless, the movie takes place somewhere between Rins classmates discovering his identity, and the end of the anime. A festival for a historic exorcism is about to be held and Mefisto puts the care of a demon, sentensed to exorcism in the care of Rin, for reasons I will withhold in this review. Rin ends up spending time with the demon and uncovers a side to demons he has never seen before.

Most of the cast from the anime return for this film, from Rins classmates, to Mefisto and his brother and even Rin and Yukinos father in more than one flashback. The voiceacting cast returns as well, and right there you have a plus in the movies favor.

The producers are mostly the same as in the anime as well, with some of Aniplex finest at the helm. The best description I can demiver on the animation is "cool and colorful". As those who have taken a look at my anime list, I drive a mostly unjustified crusade against the use of CG animation in my anime, but in this movie it is onky used as polished, and only when animating beings supposedly from a different world, something I actually can get behind.

It would be a crime to review this anime without a segment avout the music. Being composed by Hiroyuki, Sawano (Aldnoah.Zero, Attack on Titan) you know you can expect some over the top quality, and he does not disappoint. Being not only well orcistrated but also well delivered in terms of timing and corespondance with the art style, it brought a little tear to my usually stern, cold, eyes at the more crirical moments of the movie. Something I found bothersome as I was traveling on a public transport at the time, and what my neigbours saw was a 21 year old man crying over some cartoons.

Was there something lacking in the movie? Yeah sort of... An aspect I enjoy about sidestories, is when two or more characters that don't normally interact get to explore their relationship, prominantly seen in the Fullmetal Alchemist specials, where Winry and Hawkeyes relationship is explored. This movie didn't take this approach, but rather focused on strenghtening the already existing relations, and exploring the unique characters for the movie.

The film sould also profit from some finesse though as the "big reveal" is something that's already quite obvious from the get go, and with the movie "holding your hand" about it, this revelation just feels slightly

I mentioned "mild symbolism" in the introduction of this review, but I will not delve into that here, but rather let you figure it out yourself, if you are interested.

Are you a Blue exorcist fan? By all means, watch the movie! If you have not seen the show, I would rather recommend you watch the movie without having seen the show, I am not saying that the show is weak, it is a strong 7 in my book, but it's nothing substantial enough to make me go door to door about it.

Ao no Exorcist Movie, was a solid watch that pulled my heartstrings, and it might just pull yours. Still, there is actually room for improvement to be had. And for that I I'll give it a nine in this review, though In my book it's a ten, because every anime is better, if watched on a train.

I was expecting something more action-packed and thrilling, but this was by no means a disappointment. This movie was perfectly fine. Just a-okay. It's a lovely chocolate cake smeared with some questionable cream and devoid of the cherry on top. And when you haven't had a cake for a while, it's a bit of an 'oh-well' sort of downer. But if you've had your fair share of sweets- from revolting, stiff wedding cakes to drool-worthy masterpieces- you will find this cake to be an ordinary dish, its expiration date a bit too soon, but far off enough to leave you munching in contentment.

STORY (7)

The ... movie starts off by relaying a cautionary tale (which is repeated several times throughout) of a demon who was found by a villager. She fed him food, and the demon stayed and spent time with everyone. Soon, because they became busy in laughter than in their work, the villagers forgot the village. To solve this problem, an exorcist was brought in to seal the demon. However, the village remained lost. Thus, this tale was passed down for thousands of years, so that once every 11 years, a festival is celebrated for the demon.

You'd think with such a simple, straightforward tale, that it'd be easy to patch together what needs to happen and display it in the best possible manner. Instead, we get jumbled amounts of detail on action that does not seem to be going anywhere nor following any sort of pattern. The plot-line is laid out, you can guess what role the main characters play, and you do know what happens. Nevertheless, instead of being content with meeting the watchers' expectations, the producers try to overdo it by adding in some random mission at the beginning of the movie. Missions are commissioned throughout the whole movie. And you see a bunch of 'exwires' and exorcists going around, chanting stuff, shooting blobs of neon colored monsters, and wielding swords equipped with a classical battle cry. It's not even well-done action that slightly interests us- it just sort of drags itself on for a minute or two before flopping. It doesn't help that the city looks like a downtown slum to begin with.

Besides that, the main parts are executed well enough. Rin finds a little boy who turns out to be a demon. He befriends him after offering a bottle of water which is soon followed by a peeing session. They play games together, take baths, and basically Rin takes over the role of surrogate father/older brother. Either way, it's pretty cute and I laughed and aww'd quite a bit during the baseball scene. Then the kid's eyes start dilating. And even if you've never watched anime before, you know shit's bout to hit the fan. We're then faced with zoomed in faces, people staring, and a drunk act. You can bet your lucky stars it's the village story happening all over again. This time, however, there's a little twist. The ending is unexpected- but you expected it already. It's slightly tear-jerking at some moments (if you know the back story of the characters) and overall provides closure.

ART (6)

Characters look normal (except the fact that Yukio's moles are missing...) and sane besides the ones that clearly aren't. The drawing and coloring style from the anime was utilized and resulted in a faithful animation except for one detail. Why does the city look like a slum town? How is that even sanitary? Was that green swamp water we just saw?! Why are they performing magic in the sewers? Why is there no real explanation for any of this? The anime series didn't make it look dirty and grotesque at all. Everything was clean and vibrant despite the crazy architecture. But in this movie, even the festival was slightly disturbing- what with it's flashing lights and glowing-eyed rabbit faces. It's like a mixture of ancient Rome and Istanbul gone through dust showers, mud storms, and some shitload of hurricanes requiring practically everything to be rebuilt and what's left standing looks like it'd better to put it out of it's misery.

SOUND (7)

If you've seen Ao no Exorcist, you know the soundtrack is spectacular. The battle music injects adrenaline into your veins, the piano tracks make you sniffle into shedding a single tear, and the vocals encourage head bobbing. In the movie, you get some rip-off artist rapping while the characters are mid-discussion. No worries, you think, subs will do. But the subs are butchered beyond belief. I swear to God that if some grammar nazi was shown those sentences (one was, "How are understaffed, we with you, the division of Kyoto!") the poor soul would kneel over and scream "STOP IT! SPARE ME! PLEASE!" before erupting into a sobbing epileptic fit. It's as though the subber started out eager to learn the English language and halfway through decided, "You know what, screw this! I'll just stick it in Google Translate! Known by difference no one!"

The voice actors did their jobs, but the subber just stabbed their efforts straight in the gut. More importantly, the translators aren't the only pet peeve. The sound specialist has a nasty habit of incorporating a radio 'technique' at random intervals of a scene. Deciphering the subs is annoying enough but having to hear normal sounds being murdered through transmitters just made the process dreadful.

CHARACTER (7)

For those of you who haven't seen the anime before, here's some general info about the characters' personalities:

The main character (Okumura, Rin) is easy-going, open-minded, and easily convinced. He cooks really well, is the son of Satan, and breaks out in blue flames and a tail when he unveils his sword. His twin brother (Okumura, Yukio) is the younger of the two, but you wouldn't know it from his mature, dutiful, and serious manner. He wields two guns, wears a trench coat, and has wonderful glasses that compliment his face structure.

There's a blond chick in a pink school uniform (Moriyama, Shiemi) who has a green little palm tree bud who sits on her shoulder and whom, for some odd reason, she dubs as 'nii-chan'.The green thing wields magical powers of herbs, medicine, and saving dead people's souls in peaches. Another female character is a purple haired chick with a reverse ombre look (Izumo, Kamiki). She's a pretty normal girl- ignoring the fact they all have some sort of exorcism powers.

The main character's good guy friends are: the carefree one who's afraid of insects (Renzou, Shima), a bald smarty-pants with glasses (Konekomaru, Miwa), and a hardcore looking dude (Ryūji, Suguro) who goes by Bon and is serious about work/studies. Though seeming a tad cliche, they're highly amusing when hanging out together.

We've got a snake-sword wielding, bra-wearing, drunk-loving gal (Shura, Kirigakure) who's pretty laidback and loose except for when it comes to getting the job done. There's also the new Paladin (Arthur Auguste Angel) who is in charge of the festival and you can assume to be powerful and grand by his stark white clothing, lustrous golden locks, and ridiculous last name. You'll meet a Taiwanese exorcist, the cute demon kid (who's named later on), and the main character's cat (Kuro) who can turn into godzilla.

All the characters are tolerable, one or two provide endearing moments, but they still feel distant, so when the unexpectedly expected ending plays out into a dramafest, it can be received with little to no response. It all really comes down to how much emotional piano you can take before breaking down in tears.

CONCLUSION:

Obviously, if you haven't seen the anime, it may be frustrating trying to understand what's going on, what's what, and who's who. If you have seen this anime, this is nothing exemplary. It's not spectacularly majestic nor is it worthlessly contemptible. This movie is such a blandly neutral display of work that I'll just hold my peace on this one.

The Blue Exorcist movie is well-made filler.

To fully appreciate what's going on, you may want to be knowledgeable with either the manga or the anime since the film wouldn't do the introductory work for the characters and world. Speaking of which, the film really brought the world of Blue Exorcist to life. In the anime, they only showed some parts of the academy and town but the movie showcased a tour on a larger scale. Because it's set during festival time, the academy and city surrounding it are full of lights and color. It's definitely amazing during the scenes that took place at night. Everything ... was so well detailed that it gave me a bigger grasp of what the world of Blue Exorcist is.

The film's story may not be considered as original or groundbreaking, but it's still well executed and tugs my heart strings with its message. The film-only characters are also well done, though one is more well-rounded than the other due to who takes the most priority with the movie's themes. The characters are also fun to watch and the film confirms to me that Rin definitely has a heart of gold.

As I mentioned previously, the artwork of this film is so well done and beautiful. The animation is great as expected for Blue Exorcist and the OST is great.

Watch the anime or read the manga first, but definitely don't miss out on this film. It's a great addition to Blue Exorcist and you won't regret it.

Just a perfect movie for an Ao no Exorcist fan like myself. The characters are introduced in such a good way, simply said i was blown away by everything! Now some of you might be wondering:" Dude get real, everything in this world has flaws. Even this movie!". Well you are right but for an anime lover like myself every anime that has a good storyline is watchable. Now back to the point Rin Okumura has been one of my favorite characters for a long time, i really cant explain it but he has that main character aura that just makes you like him. I've ... been seeing other reviews of this movie and most of them are positive thank god...but i just have one question for the people who gave this anime low ratings, why the hell did you watch the whole movie? Just to hate on it? HELLO PEOPLE if you want to hate someone at least have a good reason. Other characters in this movie are great also, we have seen all Rins friends and some other Exorcists along the way. But the new character Usamaro is the one who surprised me the most ! When the movie began he was scared and aggressive towards everyone but time shows he is one great guy even if he is a demon! And who changed his little demon heart? Who other then Rin, he acted like an older brother or more like a parent towards him and gave him alot of love and attention. The thing i predicted in the end actually happened...little Usamaro gave his life to save everyone, it was a tear dropping scene for me i was like: "NOOOOO USAMAROOOO!!!"... Anyway the movie is a masterpiece in my eyes everything was planned out great. Don't be too harsh on me its my first review, i waited so long for this movie cause i wanted to do my very first review on it, good thing is the movie didn't disappoint!! Who didn't watch it i strongly recommend either download it or watch it online, i hope you enjoyed my little review! If it turns out good i will write more often! :D

Most Anime movies involve the usual characters fighting against a new threat. This one is very unique.

The anime is an action packed adventure, where Rin, Satan's son, fights against demons as an exorcist. The movie is almost completely different. While it starts with some action, it quickly turns into a more emotional movie. True Cross Academy is in the middle of holding a festival, meanwhile Rin, Yukio and Shiemi are busy exorcising a demon train. During the exorcise, something goes wrong and a small demon named Usamaro is released. The exorcists decide to deal with Usamaro after the end of the festival, and he is ... placed in Rin's care for the duration of the festival. Rin comes to love the small, trouble making, innocent demon as a brother. What he doesn't know is that the festival is actually the resealing of the prison meant to hold Usamaro, the demon from a ancient story who once destroyed a village by making its inhabitants forget about work and only play games all day, except Usamaro believes he was only having fun, and nothing bad really happened. He begins to 'help' Rin and his friends by making everyone forget about their work. As a result, demons begin to invade the city, destroying everything. Rin is faced with a tragic decision, whether to kill Usamaro, his close friend, or protect him from those who would kill him.

How to make a typical Shonen anime movie expansion:

STEO 1: Introduce a new, misunderstood, character for the main character to befriend/fight/rescue.
STEP 2: Have the seemingly new good guys swerve to bad guys so the main character and the viewers can question what's right and what's wrong.
STEP 3: Have the tough to tougher to toughest battle scenario and include all the characters in the fights.

The Blue Exorcist movie took the first step and made it interesting again and completely avoided the second step(which is a VERY good thing). As for the third step, it was also avoided; and depending on the viewer that's either a huge ... positive a huge negative. Still this isn't a like it or hate it film. The fans and newcomers are likely to enjoy it for what it is.

The story makes the wise decision to focus n the characters instead of making a weak, forgettable plot. We're introduced to Usamaro, a demon that befriends Rin and the others. A good portion of the movie is getting to know Usamaro, and building his relationship with Rin. This is definitely a positive to the movie because it's not forced, well paced, and is satisfying to watch. Moreover, his ability is what drives the main plot of the story and it's very interesting to watch.

Remember STEP 2? Another new character is Cheng-Long Liu and despite what movie history cliches have taught us he actually stays a good guy. Now considering his rank and background story he might have made a good villain but that surely would have turned him into someone more annoying. He gets his character fleshed out in one scene so that more or less makes up for it. This also prevents the character from going into a dreadful debate about Good vs Evil. There's nothing worse than a story that tries to provoke though and instead makes the audience cringe at it's ineptitude. In other words, it doesn't attempt something that it will fail miserably at. STEP 3 being avoided is something really noteworthy. There aren't many action scenes in this movie. There's no big bad final battle scene and for me that made the resolution so much better. Still a few more fiery sword slashes from Rin wouldn't have hurt.

The art and animation are a step up from the TV series which already had a lot to brag about. The character designs look more like the manga and the visuals are marvelous; especially in the parade scenes and Usamaro's magic sequences. The music is kind of disappointing because it's very low and uses the same tracks from the TV series. The emotional scenes could have benefited from sew new, powerful tracks. Overall this movie is very good and might be better when rewatched. Fans will enjoy and I can recommend it to newcomers. 8/10

DON'T YOU DARE SEE THE MOVIE BEFORE FINISHING THE SERIES FIRST! cause you wont understand that important parts of the movie, (kinda exaggerating a little but you get more into it when you had seen it completely) so yeah:

This movie I must say its great, although I was expecting a little bit more, it's still a good movie.

The story is not that badass action experience I was hoping for but well it has its moments. Its more sentimental at least for me, not in a "cliche" kinda way but as "it gets to you" kinda way, especially the memories from their past.

They characters they look ... good I love the art work in them since ever, there are 2 new character which play big roles and I had no arguments about them.

The Music I don't know about you guys but I do like the sounds and the music and yeah Overall I gave it a 9.

Anyways it was enjoyable and fun and is not a waste of time, so if you're a fan of Ao no Exorcist and haven't watched it yet then go and watch it, and enjoy the little things in life.

Well that is all, a short review I know, didn't explain myself properly but if I do I will start going on and on about it and I don't want to give spoilers. Jā na!

First of all let me explain the conditions I was under when I watched this movie.
-It was 1:51 AM
-I was a bit tired
-I had super high expectations.

I loved ao no exorcist. I would even go as far as to say that every night I would pray for there to be some sort of second season. This anime was, as expected nothing short of interesting, but did not meet my expectations.

Let me explain, I will try my hardest not to spoil anything, some characters were very ambiguous! as opposed to the series. I know that they don't necessarily have to agree, but that ... completely threw me off.

Next, I would be completely insane not to mention the fact that the ending was VERY expedited. I will use an analogy, I challenge you to understand it. imagine if Ichigo from Bleach spent spent half of a season only using his shikai abilities, then in the last 5 minutes of the last episode of the season he uses his bankai...
WATCH THE MOVIE AND SEE IF YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I MEAN

by no means am I saying its not great. I gave it an 8, it is awesome.
I believe, however, that the mindsets differ from movie to series. just be prepared for that.

other than that have a great watch!! enjoy

The core reason this particular movie scored so high with me was the art. While the character animation could have used some polish here and there the backgrounds were simply amazing, and probably the film's most memorable part. With Shinji Kimura as the art director the quality comes as no surprise. Detailed and richly coloured the entire movie was visual eye-candy, scoring a 10/10 from myself and I'm sure it could satisfy even the most demanding viewer who watches animation more for the graphics than the story. There was however slight repetition of specific backgrounds when it wouldn't have been necessary but I doubt that's ... going to affect anyone's viewing experience.

Speaking of story; I personally found it weak, relying heavily on certain predictable cliches, however still managing to be entertaining. The whole fleshing out of the plot was done nicely, with the use of an object from the past, but was so obvious from the beginning that, at least for me, failed to bring in some much needed excitement. Multiple smaller events tied the plot nicely by the end of it, but I personally would have prefered it if the main plot had been a bit better developed. I am, however, giving it a six because, despite all its holes and weaknesses it held its own.
One of my biggest issues though, was the fact that background characters in the movie seemed to be familiar with the concept of demonic existence and did not showcase the kind of emotional response you'd expect from people that just saw giant monsters walking among them. Needless to say that in the manga it is heavily implied that the majority of the human race is unaware of the presence of demons.

While the music was good its usage was one of the poorest I've ever witnessed. A lot of scenes that would have been far better with dialogue in them were covered with boring tracks that felt out of place. However, when it counted, the music was used well, for example the very few action scenes, and on its own stood out.

I did enjoy the film. There were quite a few issues I had with it but overall it was good. It didn't focus as much on fighting, as you'd expect from a movie adaptation of a shounen series, which for me was positive, but be prepared to be disappointed if that is what you went to see. Hadn't it been for the exceptionally good art however I'd have hesitated giving it the eight I am giving it now and would have settled for a seven or a six and a half.

I'd certainly recommend it for those of you who have read or watched the series but would hesitate to do so for those of you who haven't.

What worked:

The art and animation are outstanding. Seriously, I would totally pay to see this if ever it came out in theaters just to see the art. I appreciated how the flashbacks were linked with how the characters later on interacted and the events they went through. Also, the characters were given depth and personality... well some of them were. It was pretty entertaining.

What does not work:

One too many WTF moments here and there. Can someone please explain what happened here? I had a super hard time following the story. [was there even a structure to this thing to begin with?] Rin & Yukio ... Okumura start of this movie by screwing up their mission to defeat some wild phantom train and out of all this comes this devil [Usamaro] kid who Rin is entrusted to take care of. This leads to some kind of friendship..which leads to some kind of conflict...which leads to WTF IS GOING ON!? Is there a villain or something what the hell are these colorful blobs doing all over the place? What do Rin's painful flashbacks about his dad have to do with the story at all?? GAH! Oh and Shura's boobs looked like they were gonna pop out...what the hell was she even doing in this movie? I paid full on attention to this movie but yet, wasn't able to grasp any of the concepts nor the whole science behind works of Ao No Exorcist.

**So here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna watch the whole entire anime and then re-watch the movie again so my view of how it sums up as a whole it more credible (?)

Ao no Exorcist anime was pretty dissappointing. So, many people watch this movie expecting something not even good, just more decent that the anime ending was. It turn out to be more than this. It's actually a good movie, far better than the series is based.

This movie is the spin-off/second season's substitute kind of anime movie, like the second Tiger & Bunny movie, or many movies from shonen series, instead of the outrageous recap on buig screen kind, fortunetly. This kind has the chance to tell parallel stories with the characters, letting the creators tell stories they can't tell on the TV show because that ... would be a filler episode, or story arc. Most of this movies doesn't add any new to the story, and people watch them just to see more adventures with their favourite characters. So, most of the times the plot is pretty shallow. Appears an antogonist never seen before, our heroes defeat them, he never comes back. And that would be the easy route to this movi, but the fact is, the writters tell us a story with character driven importance, that helped to made the two brothers Rin and Yukio more consistent characters.

How they made this? The plot revolves around Rin being irresponsible, Yukio being to responsible. But, unlike the TV show, Yukio has actual reasons to complain about Rin, like putting in danger the mission, instead of being the whinny stupid brat that suddenly fears the brother he was raised since he was a child. Made one character likeable, but what about Rin, what progress they do towards him?

Rin is an irresponsible, hot-blooded but good-hearted hero, like the rest of the 99% shonen heroes. But in this movie, we see him grows and mature because he has to take care of Usamaro, a little demon the exorcist found. At the end, Rin learns an important lesson about how bad and good memories are important, and teach Usamaro this lesson.

Usamaro, the little demon, is the threat. This movie actually doesn't have a real villain or antagonist, despite there's a conflict between characters, better written than in most of the anime episodes. He follows the childish logic if bad things doesn't exist, everybody will be happy. But when he does that, he put people in danger. So Rin turns into a big brother figure that grows and take care of Usamaro, while he tries to proof sealing him away is not the best solution.

Unfortunetly, the rest of the cast are the anime characters that are there because they were in the show, and they don't made too much to the plot. People who hasn't watched the anime probably wouldn't know most of them, because they don't have an exposition scene. That's pretty sad, specially with some good characters like Mephisto Pheles doing nothing.

The movie's theme is actually pretty close to the show, because Rin's memories about his deceased adoptive father it gave him his main motivation. So the writters decide to tell a story that actually reflect the best part on the anime.

It really feels the budget's difference between the Tv show and the movie, because visuals are here some much better that the anime ever has. The soundtrack has also some great tracks, but it's the art the one who shines on. From the start, with the ethnic-look alike images to tell us the tale, to the spectacular backgrounds, without forgetting the impressive demon designs.

One of the big problems is actually the fact many people has to watch the show to enjoy the movie. Just to watch this movie and enjoy the whole of it, i would just recomend watch Ao no Exorcist.

Well, so.. Where should I start. Hmm.....
This movie was just.. beautiful. Usamaro kinda remind me of myself, because I too want to make people happy, make them forget about their bad memories.. But, they don't want and can't forget them.

Animation was great, as always actually. Art too. Characters.. ah, I don't know what to say about them.

Rin was like Shiro and Usamaro like Rin. He cared about Usamaro and when the time comes... Rin had to lost another important person in his life. I cried like a baby... and when I remember it.. I cry again. I know i'm really a crybaby ... but.. I just can't hold these feels. Um, I quess it's all what I can say about this awesome movie.


Usamarooooo ; _____ ;

Holy smokes! Probably one of the best production values I've seen from an anime movie from art, sound, music, and just the way everything was filmed!

Just a little upset though that with so much potential for a great action packed and greatly styled set pieces this movie had going for it... it's mostly about 80% feelings for the heart and about 10% action (oh my goodness that opening scene was mind blowing! Seriously an adrenaline rush) then unfortunately the rest is a cliche'd but still a heart warming story.


Such an improvement though from the Blue Exorcist series though WOW. Would watch again only ... for the opening action sequence alone though... the rest is more of a heart warming tale for kids.

I will make this one quick. I enjoyed the anime alot, and after finishing the OVA and specials I got into the movie expecting to see lots of action, and amazing story (some reviews here state it...). After the credits roll out, I didnt got what I was looking forward, but either way, it was time well spent.
The movie definitly had some high productions values!! The animation is great (better thhan the anime at some parts), even if most of the movie isnt action scenes, everything is well done and the songs composed for the movie, were also very good. The story and characters ... are the major problem that I had with the movie, the story wasnt that interesting and was definitly preditible and the new characters do they job, but dont stand out! Dont get me wrong it was fun and entertainning, and had some nice warm moments to it, but the anime definitly had much bettter story and character development, etc etc.
If you enjoyed the anime, you can give this a try but dont expect the same quality of story and character that the anime has. It was fun but also it is forgetable, not memorable, nothing will stand out in your memory for the long run!
But if you want to see more of Rin and his friends then I reccomend it.

Ao no Exorcist Movie (2012)

A festival that happens every 11 years is coming up. It is for one to help refresh the magical barriers around the city but also to celebrate. During the process a demon damages a shrine with the help of Rin being cocky as usual. A boy in the rubble appears with ears and a tail. This boy demon is then given to Rin to look after and they get close with a friendship. Turns out the demon is not with bad intent but does cause chaos. In the end it is all set right again and we have a good story ... that I shall not spoil.

The art used is the same as the main series which is great for its setting. It is nice seeing some of the old city parts in a different style of background animation.

The Sounds used as usual are excellent and satisfying to hear. Fights are done really well with the chaos that ensues with them being great too.

Character development is the same as before. The little demon Usamaro (named by Rin) is developed nicely. We see many characters especially at the festival climax in a relaxed but yet nice setting.

The movie is enjoyable and takes from season 1 a really nice pace and great story. It does bring some heartfelt moments and also great action.

Worth a watch for sure. Great to see Kuro as usual and Izumo being cute.

I remember when I first watched this movie. I was in a puddle of tears after the ending, and I couldn't look at rabbits the same way anymore.

The movie is very enjoyable, assuming you've watched the anime or at least know what the anime is about. If not, this movie may come off as confusing.

Even then, the movie towards the middle does hit a rough patch and doesn't make as much sense. But if you get to the end, everything pieces together and makes sense once more. The art and sound is as great as usual. The story is original. Overall, I give this ... movie a 9. Worth watching if you have seen the anime/know what it is about.

Warning possible Spoilers

After finishing the first series, I was quite surprised to see that a movie had been made and was looking forward to seeing another hour and 30 minutes of Rin and the others. However this wasn't as fun as I was expecting.

Story (6/10)

Now I was really unsure whether the Movie is even connected to the TV series, true it has all the characters there, but nothing is said about Satan's defeat. Instead everyone is preparing for this special festival, while Rin and the others are guarding the academy from any Demons that try to interfere.
While trying to stop a demon, Rin ends up ... encountering a child called Usamaro, who turns out to a demon and Mephisto has Rin take care of him.
However once everyone had gotten closer to Usamaro, it turns out he had been making everyone forget their bad memories and feelings, which allowed the other demons to easily attack everyone.
Yukio and another Exorcist called Cheng-Long try to kill Usamaro, but Rin manages to convince them that he won't do it again, but when a giant swarm of Demons start engulfing the entire city, Usamaro sacrifices himself to wipe the demons away while making everyone forget in the process, except Rin and Cheng-Long who remember everything that happened.
Yeah I don't really know why this needed to be made honestly, because it feels entirely separate from the whole story we had in the TV series.

Characters (6/10)

Now the most disappointing thing about this Movie, is definitely the use of the characters.
The main focus is between Rin, Usamaro and Yukio, while everyone else gets completely sidetracked hell most of the other characters don't even do anything their just there for the sake it being Blue Exorcist.
True I did like the relationship that builds between Rin and Usamaro, along with the dispute between Rin and Yukio in what to do with Usamaro as Yukio wanted to kill Usamaro, while Rin wanted to befriend him.
However that doesn't make it fair for the other characters, who are just used for random jokes throughout the movie, which isn't ok for me. Shiemi could've actually been used here as a big role acting like a mother character for Usamaro, since Rin pretty much acts like a father to him and this would've made the movie a little more interesting.

Art (6/10)

Now I don't know why they changed the look of the Academy, at first I thought it was the damage being repaired after the end of the series, but it's actually the city getting ready for the festival and honestly it looks pretty damn ugly. They also changed a lot of stuff around too, like the position of Rin and Yukio's accommodation which just looks out of place now for some reason.
The way the characters look is also kinda weird, true this is from a larger budget because it's a Movie, but it just didn't sit well with me.
Also WTF was with the designs of the Demons, the demon train looked pretty cool, but what was with the demons looking like goddamn balloons. That isn't intimidating it just looks ridiculous.
One other thing, where the hell are Yukio's demon teeth and ears and this pretty much makes me think this is it's own separate thing and has nothing to do with the TV series.

Sound (7/10)

At least the soundtrack was still good to listen too, although without any significant changes there really wasn't much to say about this.

Extras:

The action was still pretty decent, but lacking mostly as it concentrated more on a slice of life aspect with supernatural stuff rather than action, but Blue Exorcist never really concentrated that much on action in the TV series either so it's no surprise they didn't do much with the action here.

Enjoyment (6/10)

Overall (6/10)

Overall this movie didn't really need to happen, I was fine with the way the TV series ended, despite the issue of it deviating from the manga, but it was still enjoyable.
This just puts a thorn in the Blue Exorcist series for me and definitely isn't worth anything now, because of the second season.

"Ao No Exorcist Movie" completely real deal... it's almost look like real life story.. about demon and human relation.. i love the hole story... i would wish to see one more movie and amazing story..

Usamaro is the cutest character that i never seen before.. for me i wanted to see more time Usamaro in the real story.. but however the the story seen pretty good without Usamaro.. Rin and Usamaro relationship as brother it's seem make things more complicated..


STORY: 8/10
i already told about how good this movie story... so i have nothing new,, but still wants to say that this story needs something more


Art: 7/10
Characters ... look normal and not high enough..sometime it looks like weird,, because the color is too bright because of that some scenes more difficult to understand that what their main object.. others scenes pretty cool and love them


Sound: 7/10
sound system not that bad.. but still sometimes makes sound very noisy... but still like it..


this is my first review... so not that good.. next review will make more details and make things more clearer