Ao no Exorcist (END) – 87 points

RAWR BRO, RAWR

Ao no Exorcist had the worst ending I’ve seen in a while. See, I really like it when an anime knows what its doing. I like the idea that somehow the story is planned from beginning to end. You know those, “Oh this happened because of that!” kinda thing. Stuff like Steins;Gate and Madoka had this in particular. Ao no Exorcist did not.

Its like the series didn’t know what to do after its mid-season climax (I’m guessing Episode 16). It created plot points, threw them away for other plot points, created new ones about 3 episodes away, somehow making me care about those plot points in the end. . . I don’t know. It just failed.

Its not entirely bad though. When Ao no Exorcist doesn’t focus on its overall plot, it gets good. I MEAN REALLY GOOD. Character-based episodes, Rin-development episode, character introduction episodes, and even stand-alone/one-shot centric episodes were magnificent. I even liked that pirate-eyed teacher’s little story, even though it came out of nowhere.

You might be feeling that I hate the series, but I really don’t. I can shrug off that ending JUST LIKE THAT, and still like the series. The characters are likable and had really good development. They can introduce characters in a click and an episode after, you would feel like you’ve known them for the longest time.

Another good thing about Exorcist is its themes. Brotherhood, fatherhood. . . sounds like FMA? It does it well here too (albeit not as complexing as FMA’s but its good in its own right) with their Father’s death being the anchor of the series.

Also, another thing that AnE held well is its coolness factor. The designs, the ideas, heck just the blue flames are enough for me to like the anime.

Production values. . . it looks good all throughout! Its not eye-catchy or anything, but the movement of the characters flow really well. The OST though is top notch. Its probably one of the best this year, some episodes were really memorable because of it.

Well its time to rate this:

Execution: 32/40 (Didn’t know what to do in its last third)

Engagement: 28/30 (I really liked it though)

Characters: 18/20 (Amazingly developed)

Production: 9/10 (Great animation, Wonderful OST)

Overall: 87/100 

Ao no Exorcist – 22

Lolwut?

 

So Ao no Exorcist decides to replay the Crusades, thinking it would acapture the effect. All I got was Yukio’s character being destroyed, exorcists destroying the ecosystem, and annoyance that they’re fucking making this at this series goes along. Oh yeah, Yukio almost killed Blackie.

 

Oh well I’ll forget all about that so I can appreciate this episode. It did deliver some kind of plot that pleased me. Wait- I still can’t get over the exorcist destroying the ecosystem. Poor pig, being shot by Yukio oh-so many times.

 

Gahhh whatever I’ll take everything by face value. It’s the least I can do since this series has been generous to me for like 16 episodes. Just make the ending awesome, or at least for it to make a bit of sense.

 

Comparing this to how the original FMA ended it, my god Ao no Exorcist disappears. Oh well, its not like Ao no Exorcist had depth, even more so pretended it did. Until this episode.

 

GAHHHH

Rating:♥♥ (Maybe if you deliver a Jesus ending, I might smile on how things are going.)

 

 

Ao no Exorcist – 21

:(((( Imma cry right now

Well this is a vast improvement. It’s different from what Ao no Exorcist does but I’ll take it. This episode sorta reminded me of the first few episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist, wherein they tell a good story in one episode.

We see two people who haven’t really done anything wrong and some higher-up organization decides they do. While it was quite buit up in this episode, it felt more like a one-shot and while that’s not good for a series that’s about to end, I’ll take it. They are moving with the plot after all.

Also, it really seems like the production team is just making up stuff just so this can end. At least its looking better now. This episode and the two before it were pretty good, albeit for different reasons which does not include “they’re building up to the end”. Oh well.

Rating:♥♥♥♥ (Oh what the heck, I cried a bit in the end. Might as well give it a good score)

Ao no Exorcist – 15

RAWR

Wether you like Ao no Exorcist or not, wether you find it original or cliche’d, the one thing you can’t take out in this series is the coolness factor of Rin’s flames. You’d be blind if you didn’t go “Hah. That’s awesome” when you see Rin’s power. The blue-ness of it is very appealing to the eyes.

Enough about Rin’s power. This episode was amazing in epic proportions. Unlike the Hanairo who’s fairly inconsistent, Ao no exorcist just keeps getting better and better. You just know this series is character driven when someone’s fighting and the series keep on showing the different characters, how they would react and even Rin himself, with his purpose in fighting. It’s already cool but it also has depth. That’s the thing Ao no Exorcist thrives on.

Also Mephisto was extra cool this episode, sitting drinking tea while Rin is fighting. He also said some lines which somehow foreshadows what could happen in the next few episodes.

Ao no Exorcist – 13

Motivated Rin. Do the fangirls like this?

Well this was quite an awesome episode. Jiji never really feels dead since they keep developing his character so much. Also Shura, the biribiri voiced big-boobed exorcist, is a really nice addition to the cast. She’s jolly and the animators really gave an effort on her boobies.

Biribiri in Ao no Exorcist!!!

Well her voice I mean.

Ao no Exorcist – 09

PLOT!!!! HAXXXXZZZZZ

Ao no Exorcist finally starts it’s plot. While the Proffesors One Eye’s plot was a bit cliched, it was executed brilliantly. The whole Stan’s son is taboo thing is very well played this episode. There’s Shiemi too finally deciding on becoming an exorcist after seeing Rin wounded which was very cute. Yukio’s revelation that he also looks up to Rin is a very nice touch too.

Like what I said with Hanasaku Iroha, “Patience is a virtue” finally paid off (albeit less here since Hanairo’s latest episode was just AWESOME)!

Ao no Exorcist – 08

ACTION!

It’s not much but something’s happening in Ao no Exorcist again. One-eyed professor is actually a baddie. Or an exorcist who knows Rin is Satan’s son. The episode is technically Miss Bitchdere’s but it’s been a while since we got some proper action in this series. I have to admit the blue flames really are cool.

Ao no Exorcist – 02

Killing otou-san by episode 2?!?!? I underestimated this series a bit.

Seriously speaking I’m enjoying the hell out of Ao no Exorcist. The thing that draws me in here is how great the storytelling is. They know how to put properly flashbacks, develop characters and just put the right mood into every scene. The storytelling is very FMA-ish (not the story though). The story itself is very intriguing too, with the whole Satan’s child premise. I’m getting pumped up for this one because it has everything I like for a shounen premise.