Ao no Exorcist: Kyoto Fujouou-hen

I used to believe that an adaptation that follows the source is better than an adaptation that just goes anime original. Well not blue exorcist, since it somehow made me rethink that idea.
To simplify this review, and for fun i will list 5 major flaws that i disliked about the show. Why 5?
cause Rin has 5 friends.

1.7.8/10-IGN retconning.
Similar to black butler, the show just decided eh our fans have prob read the manga, so we'll just continue as if the ending didn't happen and they know the story already. I had to google it, but from what I learnt, I could be ... wrong on this, but after ep 15, just before Rin's sword breaks, Mephisto steps in and stop the fight, and after that the trial still happened and such but the whole part of his friends going to fix his sword apparently didn't happen. Well what a great way to start the show, just throwing us in there without telling us what was going on. Not even a single ep to tell us what happen and such, they do later on, but it's only a few scattered info here and that.

2.10/10 Villains
Don't you just love it when you don't even know why your villain is being evil? I know I sure do, and so does the author. That's why she decided to introduce a villain that we know nothing about. How did he know all of this information about the impure king eyes and such? Nope nothing. Why is he doing this? Nope nada. Instead we just have it appear in the 1st episode, which gives our main cast a reason to be on guard, after like 4 eps, suddenly appears again, and such wow he managed to make everything go according to keikaku. Then oh that's not actually his plan, this is. Then he just stays there... doesn't escape, doesn't try to actively kill people, nothing. Just hangs around like a stoner.

3.100/10 powers.
God, like i have never been so bored by action scenes before. The show tries to be both cool action and logical at the same time. What do i mean by that?
Cool action would be a show like Dragon Ball Z, there's very little rule and logic behind their superpowers and it's all raw action.It's just people throwing their power at each other, hoping to over power them.
Logical action series would be something like Hunter X Hunter where their power is well detailed and explained, we know about Nen, how it works and the limitations of it, and battles are fought with strategy and the person having the strongest Nen doesn't automatically make them a winner.
This show tries to be both, which isn't a fault by itself, but does it so badly. Like the few fights there is in the show just makes no sense. They have guns, exorcist spells, those staff things, familiar, but there's no semblance of strategy or explanation about how they use any of this and the differences and situations to use them. Then there's suddenly also elemental rock paper scissors and bullets blessed by holy water can stop the main villain.

4.1337/10 action.
continuing on from point 3, where i mentioned how the show handles fights so horribly. Well continuing on from there, the show has very little action to offer in the first place. I know i shouldn't be expecting much for a 12 ep anime series, but come on. Keijo had better fights going for it, and Keijo is a freaking anime with a stupid premise. Due to the previous mentioned point, the fights are usually boring since they dont go either way. No over the top action or destruction and also no logical thinking that puts you on the edge of your seat making you think oh crap what are they gonna do next. Add on the main villain is overpowered as hell, and that being 1 of arguably 4 fights in the series. There's no tension in that fight at all. Regen is a lame way to make your villain overpowered, and like always the mangaka didn't bother to set a limit, making that whole fight a beat down, even when they overpowered him, there's no joy in it. Don't even get me started on the final fight.

5.8008/10 atmosphere.
This is one of my major grievance with this show. Like the show has this whole serious atmosphere. Yes i know this is a serious event, and there's people who's lives are in danger but come on. It made me more apathetic towards them. It's just bleak, and what's more since the main character, I mean Rin, doesn't seem to care all that much and does nothing to help, why should I?

I don't have a good closing line, so you get this.
My overall score for the show:
Critical-2.5/5
enjoyment-1.5/5
Total-4/10
*insert feelsbadman emote here*

So now that we're the first quarter of the way through, I have decided to write a short review on the newest season of Blue Exorcist.

SPOILERS FOR SEASON 1 + SEASON 2 BELOW.

First things first, if you have watched the first season, this is NOT a direct continuation. Disregard everything about Yukio being half Satan, as that shit isn't a thing, it's pure filler. This is a continuation of episode 17 of the first season, so everyone is still preeeetty pissed at Rin for you know, being the son of the worst being in the universe, nearly killing 'em all. It happens.

STORY: 8/10

The story is ... much more on point now that there's no useless filler, they are getting right to the point. The season revolves around (so far, will be edited) the left eye of a being known as The Impure King, as well as the aftermath of Rin's behaviour in the first season. It's interesting to see the development of the characters, in particular Bon and Shima. Rin is also growing, but I'm a big fan of the side characters being more than just decoration on a storyboard. Maybe I should've put this under character?

CHARACTER: 8/10

Konokomeru is still a whiny little bitch every episode. All the other characters, especially the new ones are all great though. I hope we get more of their backstories, particularly Bon's father, Shima's brother and the snake girl (her name escaped me).

OVERALL: 8/10

Definitely could be a 9 if it continues in the direction it's going. If you were a fan of the first season, you will more than likely enjoy this. If you weren't, at least give the first episode a try and try and cleanse your mind of the filler of season one. This has definite potential to outdo the first. :)

So who hated the first season's ending........AND the movie?

Well, this second season VASTLY makes up for that...

Kyoto Fujouou-hen erases what the first season finale did and makes it's way to a new conflict involving the resurrection of the Impure King, however with this going on, Rin Okumura has his own personal demons to deal with along with Bon's more family issues to wring in much more character development from the rest of the cast, what can LA say ALREADY but this second season MASSIVELY helped with it's characters with how they portrayed and developed the majority of it's main cast.

***** SOME SPOILERS AHEAD YOU HAVE ... BEEN WARNED *****

Because of that, let's dive into the characters a bit deeper. Let's start with Rin himself, Rin gains soo much character development, from his isolation that he was ousted as Satan's son, thus discrimination permeates the rest of the gang and it becomes even worse once they land in Kyoto due to Bon's religious sect having a deep loathing for Satan and thus Rin. His development also goes into his insistent on controlling his flames which is blockaded from how everyone sees him as a demon instead of a human wanting to protect his friends and everyone else around him. Next is Rin's brother, Yukio who goes through some personal demons of his own in the form of the main antagonist of the Kyoto arc and this main antagonist taunts him as to how a reckless brother like Rin gets special treatment while he had to work extremely hard to even get Yukio's own father's attention and his personal demons drives him through the anime. Bon gets the character development he NEEDED in the first season, as his delves into family and hierarchy issues with his father Tatsuma voiced by Jin Urayama, the leader of the Kyoto religious sect and his disconnect to his father and his way of doing things in defeating Satan through prayer?...or through brute force action?, but that is later explained by his father WHY he did what he did especially concerning the Impure King. Hmmm Shiemi and Izumo got a bit of character development in the form of their growing friendship and their beliefs about Rin, Konekomaru and Renzou also got the same things with their confused beliefs about Rin as well with varying directions on how they "tackle" the situation. LA might also add that we got the backstory of Shirou Fujimoto, Yukio and Rin's father with the Rin's Kurikara which is ALSO linked to the Impure King. Other characters like the Honjou sisters to Shura to Kuro to even Mephisto do take a backseat to these proceedings but nonetheless they do have a part in the Kyoto Fujouou-hen no mater how small. Favourite character?, for the first season was Izumo and Shiemi, but for Kyoto Fujouou-hen...goes to our resident Japanese ninja badass shameless fanservice girl Shura voiced by Rina Satou (sure she's support, but badass and has a stake in the plot concerning Rin and Yukio so she's somewhat important albeit a supporting character).

Wow that's alot about the characters...and LA isn't done, because of all these themes these character goes through, from Rin's discrimination, Yukio's grudge with Rin, Bon's family and hierarchical issues with his father and the isolated beliefs of Konekomaru, Shiemi and Renzou on Rin being a demon all manifests and ultimately resolves themselves with the main antagonists especially concerning Rin and Yukio to their respective villains, Rin to the Impure King and how even though he's a demon, HE WILL DEFEAT Satan and the Impure King is essentially his literal environmental stigma villain, Yukio on the other hand has his own personal villain to deal with his problem in the form of Saburouta Toudou. LA just loves how Ao no Exorcist manages to balance out both the "monster villain" as well as the "human villain" and makes use of both of them to Rin and Yukio respectively, something not a lot of animes does well with multiple villains let alone doing the major monster villain correctly executed!.

This anime not only has it's character development and eats it too, but it also delves world building wise, from Bon's religious sect to the lore of the Impure King, heck even some of the battles instills a bit of battle lore concerning the exorcism of demons and the entire elemental rock paper scissors format of defeating demons and LA just thrives in this kind of battle lore especially in a fantasy shounen anime like this.

Ok, next would be the animation done by A-1 Pictures and ohh boy did they pull out all they could for this season of Ao no Exorcist, from the polished character designs and upped detail from the first season, the AMAZINGLY detailed and crisp and fluid fantasy battles and sure they use CGI, but they used it CORRECTLY enough it was hardly annoying at all considering how well the animation is and how much an upgrade this season is from the first season. What can LA say but, A-1 Pictures outdid themselves and that is no understatement.

For voice acting, the majority of the voice cast did amazing with no annoyances at all. Special praise goes to Kazuya Nakai as Bon, Kazuhiro Yamaji as Saburouta Toudou, Rina Satou as Shura Kirigakure and the MVP's of this voice cast going to Nobuhiko Okamoto and Jun Fukuyama as Rin and Yukio respectively. STELLAR voice cast.

What can LA say about Ao no Exorcist Kyoto Fujouou-hen, LA can't even think of any flaws to talk about, the character development is stellar and desperately needed and delivered, the lore of this season was amazing along with the interpersonal issues the character did manifested itself well with it's villains to it's themes it did subtly to the amazingly well done and fluid battles and lore to it, animation is top-notch and the voice cast is no better. If your an Ao no Exorcist fan, DEFINITELY WATCH this season, if you want to see an amazingly well done second season of a shounen anime, then LA without a doubt will say to recommended watching Ao no Exorcist as a whole including this season as it will not disappoint in many of it's elements. This is obvious but, Ao no Exorcist Kyoto Fujouou-hen is definitely in LA's Top 3 Animes of Winter 2017, without a doubt.

*Note - LA has NOT read the manga for this season, thus this is PURELY LA's opinions on what this anime's second season has delivered, nothing more.

*No Spoiler Review

Ao no Exorcist is one of those show with interesting plot but goes downhill as the series progresses.

Story 6 - The story to be honest is not interesting at all, unique plot idea but the setup and build up are so generic, the story is predictable and the executions were kind of sloppy. It holds down the true idea of the main plot. I seems like A-1 didn't put an effort on this series. Overall kind of fair story yet with rough direction and very cliched setup ( predictable ).

Art 4 - After watching the 1st episode and the Opening at the end, ... it made me think that this show had a potential. The episode 1 is very well executed with good cinematography and heavily filtered by blue and the 2D frame animation cuts were so clean that made the series high quality. But after that the series went downhill, with very stiff animation and that very disgusting weird cgi on Episode 6 made me puke aaaaAAAAaaaaAAAA. Overall very bad quality for the series ( very disappointing )

Sound 8 - Sound is great to be expected having Uverworld on their main opening theme. Soundtracks are good too, but not memorable in my opinion.

Characters 6 - Characters are kind of decent I guess, for me it seems the cast are off, It just doesn't help and to be honest makes the plot worse. Cringy interactions and sometimes very sloppy executions when it comes to major scenes.

Enjoyment - 7

Overall 6 / 10 - I mean Ao no Exorcist is really not that bad but in my opinion, the series didn't work well and the potential was wasted. This Arc is very good but A-1 Pictures failed to show how good it is when adapted. ( stiff animation, sloppy executions, cringy interactions, and a very generic setup that is obviously predictable. I prefer more the Original ending of the 1st season than this one.

Spoilers ahead.

Second season of the first season of Ao no Exorcist, aired in 2011. I waited 5 years for a second season AND FINALLY, THE DID IT BUT IS ONLY 12 EPISODES. Ao no exorcist was my first anime (not going to count Doraemon and shit because everyone has seen them) and I liked it a lot. But when they went batshit crazy with the things of "Yuki is a demon too and he can use the flames" or "Hello, I'm Rin and Yuki's grandfather" it was pretty shitty. So if you watched the first season and didn't read the manga you are going to ... be confused watching the Kyoto arc without reading the manga.

In this arc we are going to visit Kyoto after Rin's classmates discovered he was Satan's son and they can't see Rin like before. They aren't going to Kyoto because is fun, they are going because a high level demon is going to be resurrected and the Kyoto branch help them.

The opening isn't as good to the first season but is okay.

The characters are the same of the last season with some news faces.
Rin-satan's son, stupid like no one
Yuki- rin's brother and pretty badass
Eyebrows-tsundere, flat and the best girl
Les trois mousquetaires- a rooster that acts like a tsundere, the always smiling guy and the scaredy Konekomaru
Shiemi-childish big tits girl, very friendly and good person (NOT AS GOOD AS EYEBROWS)
Rooster's father-a mysterious priest that is easily the kindest character in the series
Shura- the fan-service character
And the others, they aren't that important


I'm enjoying this anime like a little child even when I read the manga, maybe is because I still have some nostalgia of the first series.

* * * THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS * * *
I've seen a whole lot of super positive reviews about this season, so I'm here to wholeheartedly disagree and ruin the fun!

DISCLAIMER: I don't mean to directly review the original source material for Ao No Exorcist, rather I am reviewing what the staff at A-1 pictures decided to do with it. If I say the story is bad, I don't mean in any way that the plot for Ao No Exorcist is bad, because it's not.

Story - 2
Saying this story is flawed is an understatement; This show ... is drop dead boring. The staff seem inept of building tension let alone utilising it, and the pacing is abysmal. We end up with this action shounen that actually doesn't really have much action at all.
I was also constantly irritated by little details such as the main characters overdramatic fear towards Rin in the beginning, however I do not consider these points worth expanding on.
I do however think it is worth expanding on the chunk of season 1 that was dropped, I have no problems with source original content but if you're just going to warp the story at least consider providing some clarification to your viewers about what is going on.

Art - 4
I don't know much about A-1's budget, but oh my goodness. If this isn't just a minimal effort money-sponge, I do not know what is. I recall 2 scenes throughout this anime that I am glad to say looked great, but the mediocre scenes heavily outweigh them. The last two episodes are a great example of A-1's magic, with a lot of movement and some beautiful backdrops, but unfortunately this does not deliver so much throughout. In particular, I would've liked some more interesting viewpoints during intense scenes, the scene in which Rin begins to consider himself a monster and breaks down touched me and I expected something beautiful, but I truly couldn't get into it with the poor visuals, and that is a shame.

Sound - 3
The OST is pretty average all round, the best OST was stolen from season 1 but that's no big deal. What is a big deal is that the staff all suffer from some kind of auditory processing disease and lack the ability to use them correctly. Please learn how to time and sync OSTs A1, it is 2017, I could do this kind of work when I was 12.

Characters - 5
Here we go, the characters! I'll tell you what, the designs actually aren't that bad, I always sort of liked the majority of these characters, I especially like Rin and the eyebrow girl. However the key word is "majority", because there are also character's like shura that I can't take seriously at all. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
I also noticed the same issue from season 1 where there are too many characters who get little to no development, sort of resulting in multiple husks of characters that are easily forgettable. Take for example; Renzo's brother Kinzo who I thought had a cool looking design and amusing attitude, but of course I hardly got to see him at all after his short-lived introduction.
The main cast of characters receive much more development compared to the previous season, although it is still lacking and interactions are often slightly uncomfortable to say the least.


Overall Enjoyment - 3
Sure wish someone would exorcise me.

I want to begin first by saying the animation on this season amazing , probably at the level of the new fate night series or even better.

I love the fact that with this new season the have completely erased all the filler stuff (episode 17 onwards) they made up in the first season which downgraded the anime from A+ to B-. They are now sticking to the source material which, in my option always works best.
*SIDE NOTE*: if you get confused as to what is happening in the new season due to the cut and its ... very long break i would recommend re watching the previous season till episode 17 (although the ending of episode 17 was slightly altered), trust me its worth it. That being said the anime does try to refresh your memory through tiny flashbacks sprinkled through out the episodes (it also fixes the alteration they made in episode 17)

If you loved the story telling ( like all the supernatural/demon related stuff and myths and legends ) in the first season u will love this season as well, like the previous season this season's story slowly and nicely builds up to something epic. The second season also benefits from not having to introduce and build on existing characters hence the story is much more fluid.

So far it has stuck to the pretty much the old cast but a few new characters introduced in this season aswell, all of whom are quite interesting. Also rin is even more intense in this season so far

WOW! This was actually the most dreadful fucking anime I've ever watched. I could not wait to finish this garbage. The characters had no development, the action scenes were the most boring I've ever watched and watching season 2 just had me confused as to why I watch anime. 8 episodes of the most boring build up only to lead into the dullest action sequence ever witnessed by man kind. He fights a cum blob and scorches it. That's what 8 episodes gets you. And a side fight with a completely unknown villain who had 0 development and no one cared about. LOL!

Well for those who are thinking of watching this season of Ao no exorcist should know that they only need to watch S1 ep 1-17 everything after episode 17 did not happen in this season,it continues from ep17 and at first it seemed stupid but after few episodes i must say they did a good job.S1 finale was too rushed and this clear things up a lot.

Art,Sound and story are good just like in S1

Characters: well in this season they show much more about every character that matters.There is way more emotions,growth especially with Rin

This season is worth your time and all that's left is ... to wait for another season

So for those who don't understand this season of Blue Exorcist is based on the manga. After Episode 15 Season 1 goes into it's own direction with filler episodes. And while that's not bad the story line goes away from the source material. This is all well and good but any good writer knows how to foreshadow and build up a story line in the beginning of their series. The Kyoto Saga Arc heads in the direction of that because it is the author's story. Fillers are nice but they are rarely written by the author. Fillers can be designed to make a complete story ... in the way one assumes a story to go. The best example is Fullmetal Alchemist the original series it goes in it's own direction but if your paying attention you can see that something is missing certain questions aren't answered and the flow of the story goes in a new turn. Which is where Brotherhood came in to pick up the original source. The same is happening with Blue Exorcist this is the original source material it doesn't deviate from what was originally going on.

To get into this arc you need to disregard episodes 16 onward which are filler material. You can't go into this with the expectation that it will continue the plotline after the end of Season 1 it doesn't work that way. Nor might it follow what you've come to expect from the anime it follows what the original intention was. So while the fillers were good it's important to see this for what it is.

And here we go finally leaping off once more into the pages of the manga. That's right this season of Blue Exorcist is based solely on the manga. I watched the first season and enjoyed it but I found it lacking something in the last few episodes. Like I said before it just wasn't consistent with where the plot seemed to be heading the story and the ending left me feeling empty. Once I learned that it was all filler material I read the manga and got the the point where the anime met the manga the Kyoto Saga Arc. I personally enjoyed reading this arc so when I found out they were going to be returning to the storyline of manga to continue the anime I was excited.

Still it all depends on how the anime writers handle the story and how closely they adapt the material from it's original source in the anime. You can go in with the expectation that they will stay true to the source but there's only so much chance they will. I believe that Kyoto Saga did well delving into the manga and staying true the the storyline. In some ways it expanded but for the most part it was the arc as a whole. I enjoyed it. I laughed, I cried, and I got excited. This was Blue Exorcist we'd begun with in the past season the one that sparked my interest in the series and it was fantastic.

Story:
The story has finally headed to Kyoto the home town of Bon, Shima and Konekomeru. This is the point where we finally get to see where they lived and see their families. The Monk from the Cursed Temple is brought to light. Rin and the other ExWires head there to handle a problem with the ancient relics called the Impure King's right and left eyes.

This storyline did not start out as a heart pounding epic it was more of an examination of what happened after Rin exposed his flames to his classmates in season 1 and how it was dealt with. It took the time to pause and see the point of view of the ExWires. Not to mention it dove into things that were foreshadowed in Season 1 and leaped off from there. This felt right it gave all the characters a chance to deal with the aftermath of that point. It's an realistic approach. Each of Rin's friends had their own point of view with what happened it wasn't a fast storyline this took time show the feelings of the ExWires and grasp more on who they each are.

While it's been years since the last season and the deviation from the original story to filler material there are flashbacks that help remind you what happened before Season 2. They aren't in your face long pauses though they come at proper moments and connect things occurring. I like flashbacks to past scenes as much as the next person but when they take too long of a pause they just throw you out of the story. The handling of the flashbacks is well done. It's quick at times and give you enough time to remember this and that happened.

This arc is thought provoking it takes time to really challenge the characters and their points of view.

When you dive into the action of the storyline it's not too quick the beginning has established the characters quite nicely. The fighting is well handled and quite an enjoyable to watch. But the thing that makes this arc stand out for me is the character development leading up the point of confrontation. Combining the two together balances the arc and doesn't make it a complete fighting festival but gives a moment for the characters to really shine. We barely got to know Rin's ExWire classmates personally so this is the point where they really get to stand out and Rin himself really has a moment to dive into who he is and what he's fighting for. Yukio's own personal inner turmoil is touched on as well and it was fun to watch.

Art:
The art is quite lovely. It's similar to Season 1 but raises the bar to a certain extent with the details on the backgrounds and the characters. Thankfully unlike some animes they were able to stay consistent with the designs of the characters from Season 1. The style of the drawings fits the new techniques but you can still see everyone for who they are.

One thing I didn't like was the dimness of the color palette used but it wasn't too much a bother once you get used to it. Still the past season was so vibrant and this one was more dim I wish they'd kept the brighter colors. Nevertheless it doesn't take away from the enjoyment of story. On a side note Rin's flames look even more vivid now and the various new fighting techniques were well animated.

Characters:
The main characters of Season 1 were great as ever. There was a real chance to get to know Rin and the other ExWires at a level you didn't in the past. If you enjoyed them in the past season it will be the same in this one. One thing to say which I had to learn when I read the manga it's important to be open and look at things from their point of views to understand reactions. That's all I'm saying. Anywho this really gave each of them a chance to stand out to show new sides to who they were. Particularly with Bon, Rin and Yukio. Also a bit on Shiemi too. By the end of this season it felt like all of the ExWires have grown in this arc in one way or another. You think you know all about a character from the beginning but they continue to surprise you.

The new characters are interesting. Some stand out more than others. They fit well into the story but you don't really get a chance to get to know many of them. Of course one needs to remember that this is one purpose. Rin and his team at the main group this is their story so it's only natural to see the focus still on them. Not to say the new characters weren't enjoyable. Bon's father Tatsuma is my favorite new character in this arc. He did show up in flashbacks in the past season but this is our first chance to see him face to face. He's an interesting character with a deep involvement in the plotline. His personality makes him a lot of fun to watch and he's some one you easily want to see achieve whatever goal he has. A few of the characters have connection to an important character of this arc so they themselves play a part in the story which draws them in more. It's really interesting to get to know the people Bon and his friends grew up with. The villain is lacking something but I felt that way reading the arc. He's more of a catalyst for the entire arc not exactly a main player but definitely involved enough to make him a threat. Still he's fascinating and he does come with questions.

Since this is merely one arc and only an introduction to the new characters there isn't really a lot of time to get to know them. The main focus is one of the Exwire classmates this is their arc above everything so unless you dislike those characters I think it's still fun.

Sound:

The music fits well with Blue Exorcist and makes it more enjoyable. The Opening is perfection. It's elegant and vivid placing bits and pieces of the story without giving away what is going to occur. The song chosen was perfect it fit well with Blue Exorcist as a whole. But I just simply loved the animation put into this season opening it reintroduced the characters and foreshadowed the new story without giving too much away. Not many openings can do this well. Some give away too much. The Ending music was beautiful while the animation lacked something. It was nice but it just wasn't as well done as the opening and it just doesn't stand out much. Which is a shame because the ending song was perfect.

Enjoyment:

I personally loved this arc. I thought they did an excellent job adapting the Kyoto Saga it's not the best arc ever in the series I'll grant it that but it's still a good one. I liked seeing the story flow through the episodes rather than being a few snapshots here and there of the daily story of ExWires. Now they are getting to the point where the main story is occurring. Picking up the pieces of the past and heading towards a future. This arc really got me invested in Bon and I loved how the anime focused really deeply into his development and didn't let Rin and Yukio our main characters overshadow his moment. This arc took time to show the personal point of views of the ExWires and so you get the chance to get to know them at a deeper level than the surface.

The anime did a beautiful job capturing the focus of their development and then jumping into the battle they must face together. It showed the connection this group of teens have and just how important it is to the story. That's what was important about the Kyoto Saga always. Just who are these characters and how are they going to handle their futures. Will they unite or will they break apart.

I was satisfied with the way things concluded and I have high hopes to see things continue because this is merely one arc. It's the longest one thus far in the story but it isn't even the beginning. It leaves off with you wondering what will happen next and hoping for the next one.

If you feel like something is lacking or your not satisfied with the ending then I encourage you to pick up the manga and head from there. This is merely one arc and yeah it's not the longest ever but it's one the beginning of what's to come.

STORY:
The second season has continued where we have left off... But this time, they are heading to Kyoto! There are more storylines, more demons and flashbacks of the past. Plus, there is also tension with the main characters due to the aftermath of season one.

CHARACTERS:
Rin: Son of Satan, cook, and kuro is his familiar. This season has a sub-plot focusing on him after being secluded from his friends due to his identity. He is trying to control his powers, but is still a nice guy. Rin is usually equip with a sword.
Yukio: Rin's twin brother, teacher, and strong and powerful exorcist. There is a ... bit of sibling rivalry with him and Rin. There is a hint that Yukio hates Rin for who he is as well. Yukio is usually equipped with guns.

OVERALL:
It is great to see the Blue Exorcist return for another season. It is interesting to see how the rest of the characters react to Rin's identity while trying to protect Kyoto together without him. This season contains the themes of self-discovery/soul searching while kicking butt against the demons in Kyoto.

Question. what do you do when you deviate from the source material, and reach your own ending only to try to go back to the source material. Do you-

A: try to find a way to work around it.
or
B: just forget about it entirely.

well in blue exorcist case it's choice B. mind you that blue exorcist isn't the first case of this happening, as you can clearly point out in the shounen filler section, but for me it's the worst case. you see blue exorcist was a show that aired during 2011 with decent success, but because it was getting close to the source material decided ... to create it's own ending, and that was it of the anime for about 6 years. i think by this time it would have been more likely if this was to be made again it would be more of a remake rather than a sequel, but lo and behold it was a sequel.

the story follows Rin a average to below average teenager who finds out that he is the son of Satan, and that his brother and those close to him are exorcist. after some events Ran is sent to a school for exorcist (i think) to learn how to become an exorcist and defeat Satan while hiding the fact he is Satan himself. if you have seen the first season you know what happens, Rib gets found out and he starts to become distant from his new found friends because he is Satan's son. after that it goes into it's original anime mode and the end.

the second season never acknowledges this and simply just passes it off as filler, kind of the same way a person would be more preoccupied mending their other wounds even though they recently had one of their limbs chopped off. anyway the main plot of the story is that some eye that spreads miasma and disease has been stolen or something, and they need to find the perpetrator. Yukio an "advance" goes off to retrieve it while run is left behind to try and repair his broken friend ship. however we wouldn't want our Mc to be left behind so he is also shuffled off to Kyoto on a school trip which conveniently is where several of the characters are from as well as the place other eye is being held in. as they go there Ron tries to control his powers as well as fix his relationship with his friends. at the same time things just happen around in order to get the plot moving until the final confrontation happens which takes a good 1/3 of the show which felt very bland from beginning to end. most of the distant friendship is fixed, and any internal struggle that the characters seem to have are as quickly moved aside as they were shown in. by the end, it felt like not much happened. for a SAGA it felt like a waste of time

new characters are brought in from Suguru,Renzou, and Miwa's family or whatever that group was suppose to be but not much is delved into with the exception of suguro's dad and some snake lady. the original cast feels just as flat as before with not much development other than more backstory (which i wouldn't call development), and becoming friends again with ran. there's the exception of shima who lost confidence i guess to summon her spirit until she needed most at the end. the antagonist is not very good, not much is leaned about him other than he's a rebelling exorcist who took in demon powers. there is never a decent reason why he is doing these things other than for very petty reasons.

the animation for this show is a an improvement from from it's predecessor but than again now compared with other shows in it's time is still standard. the character designs improved and the lighting as well, but nothing worthwhile as a whole that sets it apart

I heard from others that the music was good, but looking back there's nothing worth noting for its soundtrack. voice acting is well done, but what do i know.

I try to have as little expectations from a show as possible but while writing this i recall one of the promotional posters for this anime having all the characters all looking hurt or crying in their own separate boxes yet going forward in what seems to be one similar goal. i never got that feeling while watching this leading me to more disappointment, not just with this but everything else in the show.

overall- production value is just as good, but the story and characters still aren't
4/10 

oh god... what I have to say about this anime.... TERRIBLE. this is the real TERIBBLE anime. i love season 1. just love it even I gave 8/10 to season 1. but in this season 2

the character and the development story easy to guess, too mainstream. This anime must be score for 5/10 because of the horrible dialogue. I can't enjoy this anime. but still collection the season 1. I just can't continue again

the most annoying me is Kirigakure Shura. this girl dress more like a hooker than being exorcist upper class. and in this whole series I never see her skill. I just saw ... her drunk and dress like a hooker.

If you hated how the first season of Ao No Exorcist strayed off the original source material, GOOD - because I did too. Especially because it started out so great. :(

Let me just start by saying that this is my first time reviewing an anime, so I'll keep this generally simple and short, as to not waste precious time that would be better spent watching anime. Still, here goes nothing.

STORY: 7. The story of Blue Exorcist isn't all that original, as a few other popular animes in this genre are very similar to this (bad ass teenager finds out he has supernatural powers, wants to ... save the world, yada yada). And, of course, there was the shitfest of the creators going crazy in the end of the first season and making a bunch of anime-only components to fill some plot holes. Still, this season did a better job of fixing the areas where season 1 failed.

ART: 9. Come ON, this anime first aired in 2017. As in, this year. As in, THE QUALITY OF THE ART IS MUCH MORE THAN I EXPECTED. Sure, a few good, high-quality shots of Rin and Yuki would've been enough for me, but Ao No Exorcist completely caught me off guard with the upgrade of eye candy. In fact, I found myself distracted staring at the most tiniest artistic details so much that I had to remind myself to focus reading the subs as well. Sure, others may find some places to criticize in this area, but for me, this was clean and refreshing art for such an action-packed anime.

SOUND: 8. The opening was good, a little standard though. Ditto with the ending theme. I've already forgotten them - and I just watched the latest episode a few hours ago. The same voice actors as first season's were recasted, although some more were added for the new characters, and I have no complaints there. I love the voice actors, cause they really seem to personify the characters' personalities and emotions at times.

CHARACTER: 7. Same as the first season, for the most part. Rin is our temperamental bad-ass demon with power beyond compare. Yuki is the intelligent (and maybe evil?) twin brother that wants what's best for Rin. I could care less about the shitheads that Rin calls friends, but sometimes the black-haired tsundere makes me crack a smile. The secondary characters don't differ much from the norm, so nothing special there. Oh, the antagonist of the story does shift from time to time, but in general, it seems that demons and moral conflict clash the most with our main characters.

ENJOYMENT/OVERALL: 8. I really like watching this so far, but seeing as there's still 1/3 of this for me to watch, I'm waiting to see if the ending will satisfy my expectations. The animation is spot on for me, and I'm always on the edge of my seat waiting for the next surprise. Nothing too original here, but it's still a great series to watch. For a sequel to an already-great anime, things just got a whole lot better.

First, I really want to thank A-1 pictures for the sequel. At long last. What's more important I want to thank them for the proper sequel, done according to the source, which begins right after events of approximately first half of the first season.

The story takes us quickly to new arc briefly explaining missing parts to make a connection with the first season. Glad they did it this way as well.
The whole season dedicated entirely to one arc. Actually, I haven't read manga, so I can't judge how well they bring it up to anime. However, it feels like old good blue exorcist ... I used to enjoy watching ages ago. The story is quite good-written, hard to complain about something in particular. I was very happy to see flashback scenes with Rin's and Yukio's old man. In fact, it was my favorite episode. It happens very rarely to me to like flashbacks scenes, you know, but not this time.
Seems, this arc has no big significance save few details. It's more like a preparation for events in the future.

Animation is pretty decent. If I'm not mistaken, it's very alike the first season's. If I were to find some flaws here... I might remember about CGI demons. Yet, it's not so important and didn't bother me much. In general, fight scenes gave me a good impression.

Well... I think first season was slightly better in relation to op-s and ed-s. Nonetheless, I enjoyed listening to the op. In another aspects, nothing seems to be remarkable.

Characters are my favorite part about Ao no Exorcist. Here lies the reason why I enjoy this series. Every character is quite detailed and interesting in his/her own way. I think the author had been very thoughtful creating them. I like every character here, really. I could say Rin might be irritating sometimes, but nope. The more I learn about his attitude to stuff, the more I'm inclined to respect him. This arc made a special attention to characters' development.

Yup, I liked it. I wasn't dissapointed. My only complain is "why only 12 ep-s". Really, this show deserves much more. By the way, the ending is very abrupt. It's almost crying in its desire to get a sequel(just as me). Pls.

Recommended to everyone who wanted to get a "smart" sequel of the first season :)
Seems, I've got nostalgic feeling while I was writting this review. I guess I should rewatch the first season.

Well. All I can say is that I was disappointed. Like, really disappointed. Blue Exorcist, as some may know, is one of my favorite anime. Sure, its average, but I just enjoyed it. What's ironic is that while most people, especially manga readers, bashed on it after it diverged from the manga, but I honestly liked that arc. Then again, I haven't actually read the manga, but now I want to. Lets please make this review quick and short, because I've already wasted enough time watching this season.

The story is going to trip up many people, unless you have knowledge of what's going on. ... This season does an awful job at making us aware of what's going on, at least in the beginning. This season takes place after episode 17, so the rest of season 1 is basically thrown away. That kinda sucked. But despite this, the story in this season is pretty intriguing, although again, nothing is really explained much and the first half of this anime especially dragged on and on.

The art and animation of season 1 wasn't always the best, but what I liked about it was the art style. It looked creative and gave off the feeling of the anime. This season....the art does not seem to retain that same style. Despite this, the art started off brilliant. It looked breathtaking. But eventually, this went severely downhill, to the point where the animation and art look completely average.

Okay, okay. How can the sound possibly fail? The soundtrack for this series is mighty spectacular! The issue isn't the music itself, but the absence of music. Literally almost every scene felt so empty because there was no music in the background to give off any sort of emotion. On the bright side, the opening is good, although inferior to both openings of season 1. The ending, however, sounds beautiful, easily being the best compared to the endings of s1. The voice acting is strong as well, each character sounding just right. Hopefully the dub will be capable of the same because the dub of season 1.....ugh....was disgusting.

The characters, o the bright side, get some development. Well, kinda. The Chinese guy with gray hair and glasses hasn't changed. Neither has Shima. Yukio hasn't changed. Izumo kinda has. Shiemi became slightly more useful. And Rin and Suguro got some development, although Rin's personality has barely moved. All of the new characters aren't great. Mostly backstory. They're just there to create situations for the main characters.

What a shame. This season. It could've been so much more. But in the end, the only reason you really have to watch this season is for the backstory. The backstory is set up very well though, and despite all of the issues, I still enjoyed the season sometimes, and it was nice to see the characters come back. I mean, if you absolutely love Blue Exorcist, then you'll enjoy this season more than me. At least, most likely.

Let's list some positives and negatives, shall we?

Positives:

The art and animation starts off amazing and smooth
Characters return and have some great moments
Outstanding soundtrack
An intriguing story that just needs more story to it

Negatives:

Art and animation goes downhill
Nothing is given any explanation so it is nearly impossible to know what's going on
WHERE THE SHRIMPY FRIES IS THE SOUND?!? Theres so little music played that scenes feel empty
Most characters see little change, and new characters mostly suck
Slow first half, slower than a drunk tortoise

Overall Score: 5/10

WARNING: SPOILERS

After having watched the first season and being disappointed, I looked to the second season to see what it had to offer me. I have to admit, I enjoyed this season a hell of a lot more than the initial one. After making it so that about half of the first season didn't happen and replacing it with what actually did, it felt like something had actually been done. The first season felt like there was no clear goal, nothing had been accomplished. However in the second season (despite it's flaws) it had something that had been done. There were a few actions taken ... by characters that didn't make much sense if you're only following the anime, but if you read the manga then you will understand everything in time.

Favorite Character: Shima Renzo
Again I liked Shima in this season as well. He makes a questionable decision by leaving his friend alone in the woods, but comes back not being able to actually leave him behind. Shima was the first one to give up on trying to ignore Rin and gave in to talking to him and realized that he's not such a bad guy after all. He was able to give Rin someone to talk to when he felt lonely, and able to bring everyone back together.

Ok, now that's over with, Rin got friend zoned, I don't give a fuck, since I prefer to see him being Shura's pet demon that a Shiemi's koibito, so another supernatural, action packed anime has ended for this winter of 2017, and I'm presenting my ratings, the way I see it:

Storywise, it was pretty much the same as the first season where it involves Satan's child who just got himself drafted into True Cross Academy for what else? To fight his own kind, but I'm kinda perplex that they have to take a few steps back as to how the first season ended, since ... here, the relationships that occurs between the son of Satan and his peers have become cold where the Son of Satan has to kept in a much shorter leash than before, despite of the change of setting, the only thing diffrent was that they are up against one of their own, who has gone rogue who wants to unleash the impure king, I still label it as a "Mediocre" 5.

Art, well just like in the first season don't expect to see any panchira moment her also don't expect to see Shura in a full bikini, so it's the usual "Mediocre" 5.

Sound, well despite that Rin's seiyu is still Okamoto, Nobuhiko and his bro's seiyu is still Fukuyama Jun , I just can phantom the fact that all characters here sounded too mature to be 15 years old, in fact there is no distinction between the older character's voices than those whom were younger, Like Bon who can pass as a 40 year old with his voice, Konekomaru who could buy liquor at a store cu'z he sounded like a grown up who can now drink, and Shima, who sounded like some grown up, who can get a 50$ whore's attention with his mature voice , Izumo on the other hand, her voice can pass as Rin's mom, the only consultation here is Shiemi's voice since she still has that youthful tone, if they're to make a season 3 using the same seiyu, maybe studio A-1 should reconsider. So, it's a "Poor" 3.

Character, the characters maybe still the same, but on a relationship basis, it has become cold, due to the fact that this 2nd season was more adapted from the manga, where we see Rin who act like this wild kid who has a case of ADHD, that has to be kept in a much shorter leash than from season 1, there were the Cursed Temple trio namely Bon, Konekomaru and Rezou whose development has taken a back step, like Bon being much more of a hot head than before, Konekomaru, being an even more pussy than before, and Rezou whose is more pragmatic approach has taken to be an every man for himself attitude. Also, we see Izumo and Yukio whose powers have gone from good to poor. Also Shiemi was reintroduced in this 2nd season, were we didn't see any development from her, she was basically a weak character both here and the previous season. So far the only one who has given this anime some spice was the introduction an antagonist in the name of Toudou, Saburouta who happens to be one of True Cross Exorcist who has gone rogue, still I say that category is a "Poor" 3.

Enjoyment, It was enjoyable, but as I watched it, so annoyed to the steps taken back from the characters and how thing transpired, then again it's a "Fair" 6.

Overall, I give it a "Fair" 6, since since it's ok in some parts , but annoying in some, so season 3? Humm, if studio A1 would still stick on the same seiyus who did the characters voices, then maybe shouldn't.

EXPLOSION!!!!!!!!

Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga



In advance, I have to note that the season does not follow the end of season 1. Episodes 18-25 were not canon and accordingly, they do not exist in season 2.
Don't get confused by this.


... Ao No Exorcist only follows the manga in the second season. However, almost nothing changed. This season had exactly the same problems in terms of characters, story and tension.

The plot was far from creative and nothing developed. In the end there was a final battle against a demon and that was it.

The characters and their relationships were at least somewhat in the foreground, but they all felt quite weak.

Compared to the previous season, this one has almost no qualities. Sympathy was maintained, but nothing could match the average.


Story

You can see the whole plot from beginning to end in the description. The protagonist is suspected because of his origin. Someone tries to animate a monster and at the end there is a final battle. The whole thing was felt with a lot of average conversations.

Animation / pictures

The animations are a bit duller than their predecessor, but they are still satisfactory and the individual scenes worked well with the musical support.

Characters

So far it hasn't happened that the characters have developed great. Hardly any change on the part of this season, except that the relationships had to be maintained again.

Music

The intro was pretty weak this time, both in terms of performance and music. The Osts are still very noteworthy.

Conclusion

I expected more from this season, given that it finally followed the manga. Unfortunately, this arc lacked not only excitement, but actual content. This course of action was very uncreative and transparent from the start.

Maybe I'm bring too cynical and judging this show way too harshly.Or maybe it's just trash. Alright, now that I have that out of my system, lets start.The plot is forgettable at best and agonizing at the worst. Characters, what characters? I only found 2 characters interesting and one of them is barely even in this season and is just a worse version of meme from bakemonogatari. Some would be more likely to call the other character a plot device rather than a character and the only reason I kind of liked him ws cause he did something interesting, but sadly I'll never know what ... his master plan will be since he's just used to set up the second half of the story and bait a third season. The art is what most would expect from A1. extremely bland and cookie cutter. It can even get jarring at certain times. The only reason I could see someone getting into this show would be for the action, except this story barely has any, and when its done, its abysmally executed. Honestly, the only reason I watched this was cause I watched the first season when I was a anime pleb and didn't understand anything. I came back knowing that the emotions I felt for the show weren't accurate of how I currently felt and lowered my expectations accordingly, and still, it massively disappoints me. If you want action, watch Onihei, if you want good animation, watch kobayashi, if you want interesting and deep characters, watch scums wish, but if you want to kill yourself, watch Blue exorcist season 2.