Ao no Exorcist: Kyoto Fujouou-hen

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Blue Exorcist's Impure King Arc; is like a parallel universe from the first season. In how interesting it is to watch, it's the same as the first season.

But because the first episode of the arc starts a little after where the first season started, you're kind of forced to watch the first season anyway to know what happened previously before the arc.

The story is great and even I know some of the events that were to happen, I still found the anime interesting enough to watch them anyway (also my video buffers if I rewind or fast-forward). I thought it felt about the same ... as watching the first season but I found the last episode more awesome and epic than the first season (not including spoilers).

The art is definitely not bad, and the design could be on par with other great anime, the combat scenes involving a lot of energy and emotion look even better with the art.

There isn't a lot of music in the anime except for the intro. The intro sounds good but I wouldn't say it's amazing. The voices sync with the characters' movements pretty well, however.

I don't really know what to say for the characters. All I like about them are their personalities and the way they fight.

It was somewhat interesting to watch. It had the same level of enjoyment as the first season when I watched it. However, the last episode was epic (no spoilers) and my eyes were practically glued on to the screen. I felt the same as Mephisto when I watched it!

Overall, this was a very good anime. It was interesting to watch and even if the show's over, I still want to keep watching it and look for more specials and OVAs to watch.

~First review so bare with me please, and thank you.~


I say this started off pretty well honestly. Of course the characters remain the same but you can see the way everyone's views about Rin had changed and how it impacted them personally. From not wanting to interact with to finally acknowledging the fact that Rin isn't as bad as they think he is.

Of course, I was glad they had stuck to the story line in the manga but I was expecting just more than just a fight with the King. It got its hype up a little too much for something so short. I ... hope they do another 25 episode season with greater detail in the storyline rather than a small portion of it.

So I complained a lot about the first season, but this one wasn't bad at all regarding it's accuracy to the manga.
This arc was a good arc, the only thing that was a bit annoying was the very dramatic use of the power of friendship trope near the end.
Yeah this series isn't my favorite, I like the characters a lot, but the storyline isn't the most amazing thing in the world, it's just that season 1 made me so mad because of that ridiculous ending.
But anyways I have no complaints with season 2 regarding that, so yeah thats all I gotta say.

The manga was really good and I was excited when I found out it had an anime adaptation, however, I was disappointed, to say the least, due to the poor animation quality and mediocre soundtrack. Not to say that this season was bad, in fact, it's ten times better than the first and that is because it stuck to the source material. Maybe if this anime was animated by another studio, I would have given it a higher rating. I do recommend this to anyone who has seen season one but to those who haven't and are trying to get into it, I'd say, don't ... waste your time, read the manga.

Ao no Exorcist: Kyoto Fujouou-hen (2017)

A continuation of sorts to the first season with a replacement of the events around about episode 16 and 17 with a more expansive story. Based on that they have only just found out about Rin's powers leaving most of the group scared of him with some exception. Rin must prove to everyone he is not bad whilst also preparing to take on a deadly foe.

Art

Same as before. Slightly more refined in areas so ultimately as great.

Sound

... Epic as before and done really well. Me & Creed is a new favourite song for me.

Characters

Rin gets more development in the sense that some of the events in the first series either haven't happened or are playing out differently.

Yukio is going down a dark path it feels in his future. He is developed more but is still a confusing character.

The main group all develop steadily with Shiemi near the end doing something brutal to Rin which we can only pray for resolution of a fallen brother if you get the drift. That said I am still absolutely on team Izumo.

We get some new characters in the Kyoto area to do with the sect of the area including a set of passive aggressive sisters in their trio are pretty cute.

Enjoyment

This is enjoyable. Although I did love how the season 1 ended I do appreciate this one too. It has more of a feel good factor and leaves a bit less of a cliff hanger and could be ended here nicely if a season 3 doesn't come along. Love seeing Kuro in giant cat form too.

The marriage situation towards the end was so obvious but I am so glad it happened because they suit each other.

Overall

Another great season with a great set of unexpected situations within the expected story line. Some nice revelations and happenings make it joyous to watch. Would definitely recommend and hope for a new season to continue. Shall be reading the manga for sure.

Boy oh boy will this season be confusing if you didn't read up on the manga.

Here's the thing: the first season's technical non-canon conclusion was better to me than this whole second season. I really wanted to see where the story was going to go from the end of season one.

That being said, this season was still very good. I just wish it had been placed prior to the story of season one so that we could've had the best of both worlds.

Nonetheless, some of the threads I loved in the final episodes of the first season seem like they'll be touched ... on in the third season (like Yukio's character development and Rin and Shiemi's relationship), which is nice.

Overall, I look forward to what's to come.

Whether it’s a book, a movie or an anime, I always love it when there’s supernatural theme in them. So after crying my eyes out watching Your Lie in April, I decided to look for some supernatural anime and tadah! I came across Blue Exorcist (Ao no Exorcist). It’s honestly my first time hearing about this anime so I don’t really know what to expect. But when I watched its very first episode, I was really surprised how it easily captured my attention.

As usual, for this review, I am going to break up my thoughts through the following points:


Plot
I absolutely LOVE the plot plus I ... love that it was straight to the point and gave me what I wanted. There’s no dilly dallying and Blue Exorcist gave me action as early as its first episode. We can already guess that this anime is going to include some praying and chanting so I kind of anticipated some boring chanting scenes in this anime, but surprise, there’s none. There was obviously some chanting and reference about Vatican and church and things like that, but for me I guess that made this anime even more interesting. Plus the exorcists here we’re kind of badass, *wink.

There are only 12 episodes in each season but it felt enough for me to get to know the important characters especially, Rin. Personally, I prefer season 1 from season 2. The second season was kind of a letdown for me, there’s some slight difference from the first season plus I wasn’t a fan of the drama. But it was still a decent watch though, plus the final episode was really cute.

Characters
I absolutely love the main character. It also didn’t help that he has a twin brother (I’m a sucker for twins!) but unlike him, didn’t inherit their father’s power until on the last few episodes in season 1. The character development was good too and I love seeing how Rin is improving in controlling his power. He’s troublesome alright, but he genuinely like to help everyone and doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. His twin brother on the other hand is alright. Well, he was actually alright in the first season but he started to get under my nerves in the second season. His issues are warranted but it’s just annoying to watch, that’s all.

And speaking of annoying, there’s this 1 particular character that I learned to hate when I watch season 2. She’s so annoying that I just mentally erased her entire existence in this anime, haha lol. Excluding her, I actually think that Blue Exorcist has some great character line-up plus I love Kuro!

Animation/Graphics
I absolutely love the animation and think it was of high quality. From facial expressions to background scenery, everything is just so pleasing to look at plus the character designs are also excellent. The animation studio should be proud of their work in this anime.


Soundtrack
The first time I heard Blue Exorcist’s OP and ED songs, I didn’t instantly became a fan. But as I get to listen to them everytime I watch a new episode, I learned to really appreciate the music. I guess you could say that it’s one of those that gets better everytime you hear them, *wink.

Plus, didn’t I tell you that Blue Exorcist is one of those rare anime that I watch from the very beginning ‘til its closing song in every episode? So yep, I guess that speaks a lot from this anime eh?


Voice Actors
I actually don’t have any complaints at all. I think the voice actors were able to portray each character so well, there’s no need for me to elaborate more eh?

Overall
Despite the letdown in season 2, overall, Blue Exorcist is still a very enjoyable watch for me. Haven’t read the manga counterpart yet but I’ve been hearing that it suffered from the usual adaptation pains, with a rushed ending and lack of power development which is quite unfortunate but luckily not enough to ruin the experience. It may not have reached greatness, I still think that Blue Exorcist is a good series to watch.

Rating: 8/10 – Very Good

Movie – I’ve seen it right after watching the first season and some may say it was more of the same but I genuinely enjoyed it. If you liked Blue Exorcist, be sure to check out the movie once you finish the series, *wink.

[Minor Spoilers Ahead]

Ao no Exorcist: Kyoto Fujouou-hen (Which I will refer to as BE2 from now on) is a sequel done right in my opinion. They took the ideas from the original, and just improved upon them all-round.

Rin, while still being juvenile, is a lot more fun this time around. With his dialogue written more like a confused teen then an angry 8 year old. They've trimmed back the amount of characters, but in return given them all little subplots in the final 5 episodes. In works out well in the end. The main story is actually quite good, despite ... turning to sequel bait near the end. It feels much more well paced then the original, which felt like it was trying to fit 60 episodes into 24.

BE2 otherwise felt like part of the original series. The animation and voice acting all matched perfectly, and everything was really the same.

If you enjoyed the first season, which I did, you're going to enjoy this aswell, maybe even more. If you didn't, I'm sorry to say you're probably not going to change your mind. I'd advise against starting with this, however, as very little is explained, and it's presumed you watched the first season beforehand.

((I have marked sections that have spoilers and which do not have spoilers read at your own risk))

Very excited to see a second season of Blue Exorcist. I have no read the manga, but have only watched both seasons 1 and 2 and here is my full review.

Apparently this season takes place after episode 17 in season 1, and everything after that was filler, filler that I quite enjoyed and wrapped up the season quite nicely, the anime follows the manga very closely besides that. Season 2 is a full manga adaptation.

Art 10/10 *Spoiler free*

The animation quality from the 2011 season 1 to the 2017 ... season 2 looks improved with detail, you can see blush on the character's noses that didn't exist in the first season, and you can see that in a few flashbacks, during the first couple of episodes.

Story 10/10 *Spoilers*
I enjoyed the story, and we learn more about Bon and his friends characters are more developed in this season from the first season. Also Rin Okumura learns to control his blue flames in this season. In season 1 he was still trying to master them, throughout the final episode of season 1. We learn that Mephisto is still plotting at the end and there is a hint if there is a Season 3 we could learn more about Takara who I am interested in, he hasn't done anything in both seasons, but recite a quote which raises more questions about him. Also Mephisto also recites a strange quote near the end of the fight of the impure king, notice a theme?

Sound 10/10 *Spoiler free*
It's the same from season 1, and it isn't bad. I enjoyed the rock track near the end of the season, that was also in season 1.

Character 10/10 *Spoilers*
I enjoyed the new villains, and how the villain was similar to Yukio even though Yukio denied it. We learn that Yukio does hate himself. The Impure King reminded me of a villain from Naruto. I enjoyed Mamushi Houjou's character design and her purpose she controlled snakes!

Enjoyment 10/10 *Spoiler free*
I enjoyed this.

Overall 10/10 *Spoilers-minor*
YES PLEASE WATCH THIS AND SEASON 1 TOO.
If you enjoyed the first season and wish to follow the character's stories even more I recommend this season, it has lots of action and development. I hope there is a season 3 soon so we can learn more about what Mephisto is planning and the rest of Blue Exorcist.

** Spoiler free **

I origionally meant to watch this season when it first came out, but I never really ended up getting round to it til good ol' 2021. I watched the first season waaaay back when in 2015.

First things first - I was, for some reason, under the impression that this was a prequel to season 1? I'm not sure how I got this impression, but I do remember it being stated that there was no intention of a sequel for the storyline of the season 1 anime. I was definitely a little bit confused at first, but then I got a little more ... confused since there was more than a couple of plot holes in the story that was supposed to bridge season 1 & 2, but then again it was been quite a while since i watched AnE the first time though I don't think my memory is failing me here.

Although there was a few holes in the story, I do have to say I still enjoyed it. It takes place not long after the finale of season 1, and the characters remained themselves and I remembered why I enjoyed season 1 so much in the first place. I've watched a whole truck load of anime lately and so far this has to be the only one I've enjoyed enough to actually pay attention to what's going on, AND it left me with the post anime blues where you sit there after finishing the series thinking "What do I do with my life now??".

The ended was bittersweet for me, I liked it, and would totally be interested to see where the story goes next. I haven't read the manga so after finishing this I am highly considering picking it up to see if/how the anime deviated from the mangas origional points.

Back to the review - I loved the art. There were some really beautiful scenes especially in the last few episodes that I might even considering trying to find as a wallpaper. The soundtrack was fitting also, and the voice actors are all the origionals as far as I can tell - this can be a real make or break moment for my enjoyment of a series (cough danganronpa cough)

There was absolutely an air of nostalgia throughout the entire thing - I almost did feel like I was 14 again stumbling onto it for the first time. Maybe it is why I rated it so highly because I do see some of the flaws that other users have pointed out here.

Honestly if you are considering watching it after the first season, do! I think you would enjoy it, it does bring back everything we were all fond of in season 1 and tries its hardest to not neglect the characters origional tropes. Can't wait to pick up the books now!