Ao no Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati-hen

I got into Blue Exorcist a year ago, so I'm not blinded by nostalgia like most people. Nevertheless, It became one of my favorite anime, so I went and started reading the manga. When I found out season 3 was announced I was so excited because what we've seen animated so far (The first 4 episodes) are one of my favorite parts of the manga.

But the anime disappointed me, a lot. They took out many scenes, memorable moments and things I thought were important to understand certain characters better. (I specially noticed this with Mephisto).

Now I'm aware they changed the animation studios. I ... normally wouldn't have issues with this. But I can't help but notice that character's faces keep changing. It's like they can't keep a consistent face.

Non-manga readers might misinterpret character's motives. But they might still enjoy the story if they have enjoyed previous seasons. Manga readers: lower your expectations.

We had to wait years for this and I think it was totally worth it.
As a manga reader, without any spoilers I can say this season is gonna be a wild ride, so buckle up haha :D

I heard a lot of people complaining about the animation, which is objectively flawless to be fair. It's just it looks a little lifeless now, compared to the other seasons. It had a really unique artstyle which kinda grew on me, and as it seems onto a lot of other fans as well. But in quality it improved a lot so it would feel literally ungrateful to complain.

The characters ... are still lovable, beautifully designed and have their own unique personalities. This is the thing that made the series my comfort anime. That the characters are human, they feel, they struggle and they progress. They arent just plot devices or fillers, but each of them has their important part in the story. You maybe hate a character, then the next minute you catch yourself relating to them. It's quite the experience.
Also I can't point out enough how damn good the worldbuilding is, even tho they went with the commonly used demon trope. As a writer myself, I know how hard it is to create a world that actually functions well and the readers can't immediately tell something might be missing. There's been a lot of work put into it and it just has to be praised.

I might be a little biased towards this anime, it's hard for me not to sing odes about it haha :D
It's not everyone's cup of tea though and thats totally okay. If I really have to be objective about it, I have to say there's nothing new under the sun. It's your classical shounen with a lot of epic fights, a bunch of emotional scenes, spiced with small romantic bits.
But I think there is just something about it that makes it a little more than that.

Anyways, if you decide to watch it after my rambling, I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did!

(Bonus tip:
This anime is a little tricky to watch, because of the anime original bits the first season was ended with. (So if you're new to the series, watch the s1 only to ep 16, then 2nd season, then this one. + the ovas if you're interested but adds nothing story wise. The 1st season's 17-25 eps aren't considered canon and the further seasons won't mention them at all so watch only under the risk of confusion haha)
I thought this was important to clear up, since i saw a lot of people on forums being confused about it. :))

After 12 weeks, I'm finally going to write my thoughts on this sumptuous season, because there's a lot to say about it.

I'll start by complaining about 2 things in particular. First, the overall rating of the series. How can it be that this season receives such a catastrophic rating, knowing that other, much worse anime receive a much higher rating(I'm not aiming at any anime, except perhaps the one with 7.55 for this season). What are the fans doing, seriously?

Animation: 6
AD: 8

Nevertheless, despite my disappointment on this point, I do understand the rating, which allows me to move on to my 2nd complaint: Voln's animation. ... It's true that this is by far the biggest flaw of this season. The animation was nowhere near the level of previous seasons. However, in view of the excellent announcement of a 2nd court, I'm totally confident that Voln, with a little more afford and time, will be able to prepare something even more qualitative for the arcs that follow.

Music: 10
Va: 9.5
Story: 9
Characters: 10

I'll end my review, however, with the many qualities of the anime, which enabled me, like many others, to be drawn into this 3 season. As for the obvious, the music, as well as the VA, were simply breathtaking. I'd even go so far as to say that this one surpassed the previous ones on all counts.

Story: 9
Characters: 10
But it's not just that that I think this season was a success. I could talk about it for hours, but the biggest strength of Blue Exorcist, but more particularly of this arc, is very clearly the character development, as well as the world building, which is simply incredibly well done. And on this point, despite a few cuts here and there, we must applaud Voln for the work and care they've put into it.

The 2nd court will focus on many of the points that make this manga my top 1. This season, which will stop just before the Blue Night investigation arc, will allow us to see the main players in the rest of the story. The six-year wait is rewarded with the sequel, scheduled for autumn 2024. Only 4 months to go.

Looking forward to seeing Blue Exorcist again, and in the best possible form.

After years and decade of waiting we finally have received the adaptation. Although the animation is static the story def will carries the season. Heard there would be more cours (not sure) but if there are im 100% sure who ever is watching and isnt a manga reader would be having a treat!
Story wise as usual its 9/10 (cant say much as it would have spoilers)
SFX , OST ,MUSIC : 8/10
Animation : 7/10 its static and needs help but we can manage with it
Pacing: 9/10 Perfect pacing , perfectly adapts volume 10-15 without haste
Character design : 8/10 i would have given 9 but they ... made rin look CUTE >:( he is supposed to be hot and cute anyways they nailed all the other characters . Supposedly the were trying to make the designs match with the updated manga designs. I wished they copied a-1 designs.

HOPING TO SEE MORE SUPPORT THIS UNDERDOG OF A SHOW!

After I finished watching the third season, of my second most favorite series I ever watching, it was entertaining and a lot of things have happening, maybe because I am ao no exorcist fan or it is that I enjoy the series a lot? And I can understand why it got low rating than other seasons, maybe because they changes of another studio or maybe storyline wasn’t that hyped or interesting for anyone, but one thing they actually did, is that they following the manga and not adding fillers episodes in as they did in the first season, which is amazing things, and animation was ... amazing made, I’ve I can understand some people didn’t like it and also a little bit of 3D scene in the series, but I don’t see any problem with it, I am still enjoying the series as it was, as a Ao no exorcist fan, the season three was enjoyable and have amazing moments in it, and for those who are not fan of the series, I hope you like the series somehow, in the end I did enjoy the third season of Ao no exorcist series and I am looking forward to next season of Ao no exorcist!

Thank you!

I have to say I'm a bit disappointed.

I remember the first season so well and how it was one of the best things back then, and now these later seasons haven't been able to catch up.

I cant' explain it too well but somehow this season feels like it should be in the middle of a bigger season. The writing and the plot twists feel refreshing since something is actually happening but something is still missing. And I can't put my finger on it.

I think I might miss the overall vibe of the school dormitory life mixed with the big and grand plot ... developments. Now it's just a bunch of big things happening continuously which imo need the breathing breaks. Or something. Can't really put my feelings into words here.

Oh and I realized Rin is one the most annoying characters to exist. How is he so stupid? He can't do anything unless pushed to extremes. Dumb as hell.

Blue Exorcist was one of my favourite animes when the first season came out, so much so I immediately started collecting the manga - which I haven't read so my review is based soley on the anime. I can also safely say I am not blinded by nostalgia as I rewatched all the (canon) media prior to starting s3 - that really set the tone for what I was about to experience.

Season 3 perfectly encapsulates everything there is that is wrong with this anime: boring exposition, confusing character motivations, eye rolling amounts of twists, reliance on shock factor and trying to 1-up the last ... deception in order to keep things interesting. All of these are ever present throughout the 12 episodes. A lot of my problems are very specific, but for the sake of keeping this spoiler free I'm going to talk very vaguely - so my apologies if this is confusing.

Starting with what annoyed me the most; the plot twists. There's around five of them which all happen fairly early on - 2 of them are excusable and contribute positively to the story as they make sense and have been foreshadowed in the prior seasons. The others however seem to only exist to add shock value and provide the characters with something to do. Not only are there far too many of them but they just make no sense, there's no build up or hints as to what the twist is - they just happen completely out of nowhere? To avoid spoilers I'm not going to break these down but oh boy are these revelations handled poorly and significantly degrade the quality as there affects continue to disrupt the following episodes.

Exposition dumps is another feature that, to this seasons credit, isn't used all that frequently - there was just one particular episode that was entirely and exposition dump that irked me the most. It piled 1 characters entire backstory and motivations into 20 minutes, then expected me to care for them? The way it was done was incredibly poor and did absolutely nothing, I did not empathise or feel anything in particular as the way the information was delivered seemed much to like it was telling me how to feel. "Here's this poor character, look at their misfortune, isn't it so sad? are you feeling sad yet?" Overdone.

Through trying to develop characters, this season just butchers them instead. Each character is given something to work with, but every time it just falls flat. By the end of the season there's practically no difference as to how they were at the start - with one exception of differing character relations. Their motivations for their actions made absolutely no sense to me, they just seem like completely different people - or at least watered down versions of how they were in previous seasons. They have barely any actual depth, despite the things they go through that very so should affect them! They act no different and their morals are just up in the air, who knows what they value because they seem to change it every episode.

Rin's character is one I have a very big problem with as well. Having the main character also be the comic relief can work - if handled with care. As you can probably tell by now, Rin is not. I understand that this is a shonen, and me being very much not the demographic I might be expecting too much, but there are plenty of other shonens out there that explore deep themes whilst also balancing light hearted scenes to even out the tension. Season 3 bats you around like a tennis ball with no regard for subtlety or care. One second Rin will be battling with what it means to be half-demon then the next he'll just crack an immature joke. I understand that comedy is his way of coping - that's what I love about his character, he prioritises everyone else's comfort above his own and is such a kind and loving guy who cherishes friends, and he's also literally just a kid who has been through so much trauma...but it's just not handled well. The tonal shifts are like a slap in the face, I don't know whether I'm supposed to be feeling tense during the tense moments when a stupid joke that is about to ruin everything is hovering just a few seconds away. It really ruins a lot of pivotal moments.

Technically that is a separate point I got a bit carried away with, but it's most prevalent through Rin's character - but the tone of the anime is another downside. On paper it very much seems like they're going for a more serious feel with strong themes of generational trauma and familial betrayal, but the fail to ever stick to this. The strong moments are undermined by comedic jokes right after, with no breathing room to let whatever big impactful event sink in. I also think the stakes are non-existent this season, there just isn't an overwhelming threat that feels like it's actually going to cause an real significant long lasting damage.

In terms of animation, it's all been said before. I agree with the majority that the anatomy on the new artstyle makes a lot of the characters look off. but the colouring is gorgeous and somebody really loves Bon because he looked so fine in practically every scene he was in. Bon stans ate.

The sound didn't stand out to me at all, the op and ed are fine nothing special. The effects and background tracks do feel a little corny in places but are unremarkable at best. Voice performances are also fine, on par with the previous seasons and again, nothing special.

Overall I'm incredibly disappointed with what we got, it feels rushed which is incredibly sad considering just how long we had to wait for this. I'm definitely going to go read the manga now because it feels like a lot was left out/underdeveloped, and I really do love this series so I don't want to leave it like this.

This anime has been my favourite series for over 8 years now and I don't think that will ever change.

The character development and backstories are very interesting and I love how they take time for each character to develop and "tell" their story. The animation never disappointed me, even after the change of animators. Now I know that they left out a lot of manga content in the anime, but realistically, this was to be expected. A lot of anime and movies are not 100% accurate to the amount of information that is given in the books/manga. I don't expect it to be ... if they have a certain, realistic budget to make the anime.


Character design: 10/10
The characters are not super unique, but they still tried to make them unique with little details.

Character development: 7/10
The character development can be a bit confusing if you haven't read the manga, but overall the stories are well described.

Animation: 8/10
Love the artstyle, the switching of the little chibi-like drawings and the overall animation. My only issue is that I personally am not a big fan of putting in random 3D shots. Maybe I'm just a bit too oldschool to like this (I'm 23yo lmao). Despite my personal preference, I wouldn't say that these shots ruin the animation of the anime, because they found a good balance of swithing between said shots.

Overall story: 8/10
Season 1 and 2 already felt like somewhat seperate stories, and I have the same with season 3. However, with this anime it doesn't really bother me like it does with other anime. It's simply too good of an anime to let this obervation ruin the overall picture. Even though they left out a lot of scenes from the manga, I still think the anime is pretty cool and I can't wait to watch the 4th season.

Pretty good so far, the pacing in the first episode is really fast but I'm glad they fixed the pacing on the rest of the episodes. animation seems like a downgrade from the last season (kyoto saga) but it still looks decent, music is still full bangers as expected from hiroyuki sawano and kohta yamamoto, and i got used to the new artstyle.

the plot reveals were handled so well though, really satisfied with how this season is turning out. can't wait to see the conclusion of this season, very excited as a manga reader.

i hope studio VOLN continue the rest of the series ... after illuminati saga, cause the series only got better and better after this arc.

Ao no Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati-hen (2024)

A good return but not quite as edgy as it used to be. The show is becoming a bit generic now which is still enjoyable but also goes away from its core. The show tries to tick the boxes of girls, fun, school and action. This whilst it is fine also gives a few issues when you think about it. The last time we saw this show it was deep and serious, a bit of battle occurred and people changed and suddenly now it is back to being goofy. That said, it does get deep and dark again but it ... happens so quickly between the main character being a weak simp most of the time that it just sort of fades.

The art style is slightly different but looks polished and good for the year, I preferred the older style they used.

The sound is fine, the battles sound okay and the background music is fine.

Characters develop but then it was expected, they go hard but always get overshadowed by the main character being a simp that wants everyone to be friends and believes in everyone, just sort of kills the vibe. One day maybe he will grow up.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about this one. It is good but also slightly ruined and repetitive now. 7/10.

Man this anime really fell off hard. Alright to be fair, it was never that great to begin with, but man.
Season 1 of Blue Exorcist was one of the first ever anime I fully watched to completion, and it really helped me get further into anime and appreciate it for what it is. Obviously this was back when I wasn't a colossal weeb who felt a little more grass on an average day. Anyways season 1 in hindsight was a decent show I guess, but it had a unique flair to it that made it stand out despite being fairly generic. Season 2 came ... out years later, and just, ended up being very....boring? I couldn't get into it at all and figured I'd drop the series, but alas, season 3 came after a very very short 7 years and.....yeah.
The story of Rin, the half-baked son of the devil of the whole wide world, continues as he attends a school to expunge demons alongside his absolutely and totally not super generic and cliche trope-type cast of buddies as they all fight for their own morals, all of which mostly totally don't align with "I must get stronger!".
I will actually give the story some props here. The first episode is terrible, extremely messy and rushed and just awful, but from there the story actually gets surprisingly interesting....for a bit. There are plot twists that actually make sense and are well executed, character developments that take place, and overall the feel is different.....for a few episodes. Eventually, without spoiling too much, this sort of returns to not at all being the case, but, at least for a few episodes the story actually became somewhat interesting. I haven't exactly read the manga for Blue Exorcist, but I have a feeling that the story was significantly better in the manga and that the anime adaptation probably cut some stuff out, because god the whole season felt as rushed as the birth of a mayfly.
As I said above, the characters do have some solid moments. Although Rin is still insufferable and painfully annoying, this season does focus a bit more heavily on some side characters, mainly Izumo and Shima, both of whom get some pretty strong character development and moments. The rest of the cast? Exactly the same. That's not to say the cast is necessarily bad, but they all sorta feel like tropes, and well, are no different from previous seasons.
One thing that helped previous seasons of Blue Exorcist stand out more was the unique art style, along with some solid animation. Unfortunately here we have neither of the two, as A-1 Pictures did not animate this season in their usual flair, and instead Studio VOLN took on the season. The art looks.....weird, and very plain. There are some moments where it looks decent, and the earlier episodes of the season actually look pretty good. However, as the season progresses, the art gets worse and worse, the character designs constantly seem to change and just look janky as hell. The animation....pure trash. Not gonna sugar coat it, it's awful. Every single fight scene in this season is just a still frame violently being shaken around like a damn pitcher of salt. There is also some CGI used throughout the season and my god. my lord it's so awful to look at.
The OST is just sorta there. No real opinion on it. Some banger tracks from past seasons return like maybe 3 times throughout the whole season. The opening is solid. Ending bleh. I will give props to the voice cast, as they do a really solid job with attempting to give these bland unseasoned characters some sort of personality and life beyond being a walking trope.
Honestly you could easily just not watch this season and absolutely nothing about your life would be any different. It's fine, it exists, and there are some great moments. The story is genuinely interesting, but unfortunately it's very much watered down by the horrifically fast pacing, the godawful animation, and the lack of overall development. I also had a major problem with the balancing of comedy and seriousness this season, it felt particularly bad during season 3, but that could just be me.
If you absolutely love Blue Exorcist and really want to see more of Rin and his McDonalds Playplace Buddies, watch Blue Exorcist Season 3 Shimane Illuminati Confirmed Saga. Or if you're just bored and need something to watch then sure. Otherwise watching this really won't derive much of an opinion out of you tbh.
Pros: Solid story, interesting worldbuilding, decent character moments, some good twists
Cons: The animation, the pacing, and most of the cast just being annoying, as well as a lack of development for both the story and cast. Gedouin is also a con of his own.

Ao no exorcist is a good anime but unfortunately it has the time factor against it.

The anime begins by proposing a scenario to generate a macro conflict. The whole issue of the Illuminatis, due to the conception that one has of conspiracy theories, imagines that it will be a very dangerous organization on a global scale in collusion with governments. Unfortunately, at least in this season, the macro ended up being something micro. The entire confrontation takes place in a small facility in some small city in Japan. Thanks to the small magnitude, the true danger of this new organization cannot be measured.

The best thing ... anime does are the emotional moments. Even if they are template stories that we have already seen in other works, the way they tell these stories is what makes you end up generating empathy towards them, whether they are allies or enemies. Personally, the best thing this season has are Izumo and Shima, both characters who receive development in a certain way and at the end of the season they can make a jump on your list of favorite characters in the work. The storytelling that the work has is very well worked and knows how to fit the pieces of the puzzle that is the main story.

On the other hand, in the negative I feel that it is the action. This part of the story feels like one of transition. Which is not what one as a viewer was expecting to see after 7 years of waiting. The fights were very few, I think we had one in the entire season. At the climax of the conflict it is felt that some fights were needed, either to see how the characters have evolved, or at least to do a job of refreshing people's memory about the fighting style of each of the protagonist circle. Outside of Rin's blue flames, the rest of the characters do not have a defined fighting style that makes you remember them over time. There is also the issue that we have just been introduced to a new organization, outside of its leader, it needs to show how strong its members are to support that they can carry out their ideals.

Let's imagine for a moment that we didn't watch the second season before the third aired to arrive with a fresh memory. This third season wants to trick you into thinking that the second season was released last year. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and the 7 years that exist between seasons work against it when it comes to giving an assessment. If you, like me, watched this season without revisiting the other two, most likely your hype was through the roof when the season started. We didn't know anything about the story, we avoided reading the manga all this time and all that expectation that was generated was what made us be a little more critical of the work.

Personal appreciation: the Vatican is the most useless organization I have ever seen.

Animation 6/10 Music 7/10
Story 5/10

#Story
After a long time, finally the sequel to Ao No Exorcist is out. however, it is necessary to re-watch the previous season. remembering how much time has passed. The story that is told is not very interesting, it focuses on developing Izumi's character and testing the strength of their friendship. This is a commonly used story structure so it's quite boring. On the other hand, this anime includes too many mysteries that are prepared for the main conflict which, who knows when the sequel will come out, doesn't give a feeling of curiosity but rather a feeling of boredom.

#Animation
The animation presented is ... not much different from the previous season, there are not too many improvements, in fact it seems a bit strange with the characters' eyes sometimes not being proportional to the shape of the face. The action displayed is also ordinary, nothing special. the battle is decorated with too much personal dialogue, so the battle feels slow and boring.

#Music
The opening of the anime doesn't really make an impression and the tone used is too generic. Music patterns that are often used for other anime are used again. On the other hand, the ending which presents a soft tone and a calming voice when heard gives better value than the opening

Do watch recap of previous seasons/movies before starting this or you'll have no clue.
If you watch it out of blue, you will be left wondering why some character behaves the way they do.
The characters seemed more real than previous seasons with actual human behavior like PTSD, fear, anxiety not some fake emotions written by an AI.
The fight sequences were great.
There was character growth in most characters and if you have seen complete recap of previous seasons and movies, you will likely relate and understand their character motivations.
The animation was good, screenplay is good.
The story ends at an interesting point.
Overall a good continuation of previous story.