(L) Ao no Exorcist

[tsunade666]

man episode 2 leave me breathless, speechless for a couple of minutes there. It might be different from the manga but who cares. This one is total win. IT had BIGGER IMPACT and the impression it leave i different when I read chapter 1. The fight scene didn't fail too.

[Kanon]

Spoiler for episode 2:

Whoa! I might get hooked on this show if it manages to retain its dark atmosphere. This episode was perfect: animation was crisp, the musical placement was great, and some scenes conveyed strong emotions.

So, Rin got picked up by a guy called Mephistopheles, who has pointy ears and teeth just like him... He's clearly not suspicious. Nope, at all. In any case, this character should be very entertaining.

[FlareKnight]

Spoiler for Ep2:

Definitely a very nice second episode. It looked great, had some intense moments, and a good ending to it. I pretty much should have guessed that anyone in a father figure role voiced by the same VA as Hughes (FMA) wouldn't survive long . Definitely a great sacrifice to try and protect his son and Rin stepped up to destroy that gate. Liked the line near the end where he planned on beating up Satan when he became an Exorcist.

Think the music really added to the whole episode. Will definitely enjoy watching this series.

[miroku2192]

Wow...absolutely breath-taking episode. Really enjoyed this one, and if it keeps up the mood/atmosphere I might be really impressed!

in other words, please don't develop into a mindless demon-slaying series...keep up with a good plot mkaythx!

edit:
just saw the preview...looks goooood to meee :].

Anyone know how many episodes this will be for this season? I could see this pulling a soul-eater/fma with 50+ episodes or so

[Suzuku]

^ It'll be 25 episodes although it may be split 2-cour (or 4-cour in this case).

Spoiler for Ep 2:

Wow, that was great. Just as I thought, adding filler to the episodes really helped build things up and give the story some much needed backbone for the father's dying scene. I usually role my eyes when people say a scene almost made them tear up, but even I have to admit I felt a slight burning in my throat watching that scene. On top of that, all the action scenes were animated fluidly and you can really see the budget that was put into this show. I haven't liked a shounen in quite a while; Naruto and the like have gotten dull since long ago, but this reminds me of why I loved the shounen genre so much in the first place. This is, in every sense of the word, what a modern action shounen anime should be like. I give my hat off to A-1 Pictures for taking source material that was really rushed through in the beginning and fleshing it out so well. Hopefully the fillers will continue to be this good.

My only problem with this show so far is the OP. Both the animation and song itself are all over the place and have no sense of fluidity at all. I'm quite fond of the ED though, it's a great track to listen to after coming off of the high this anime's cliffhangers leave you on.

Now, I just hope that the show continues to impress after this at True Cross Academy, and it doesn't become too bogged down with the usual shounen gags and becomes just another random demon slaying series.

[Destinyblade]

miroku2192: It's going to be around 24-26 episodes long, but if sells well or gets good ratings, maybe a second season will happen.

As for the episode itself, it was great. The direction this episode took reminds me a little of the first Fullmetal Alchemist series: it changes things a little from the manga to make something (like a death) have that much more impact. Personally, I'm all for it if it's done the right way. After all, TV is a different medium than comics, so it should be made with the focus of making it for viewers and not just copying the original source panel by panel.

The OP was okay. It's not my favorite UVERworld song, and I agree that some scenes in the sequence seemed a bit off. I'd say the ED tops the OP in both sequence and song (and hey, who doesn't want to see Rin and Mephisto dance on some big screens in the city? ).

[miroku2192]

Thanks to both Suzuku and Destinyblade for answering my question.

Only 24-26 episodes though? How much source material is there? I understand that if it sells well/gets good ratings, maybe a second season will happen, but with the first 24-26 episodes, how much can they cover to make it super compelling? I mean this next arc seems to be about school with a bunch of side chara's, so that's going to take a while to get through right? In other words, will they be able to cover enough good material in the first 24-26 episodes that it'll warrant at least a second season (does any manga reader know?)

And I agree, the ED is really nice and fits well after these two endings so far.

[Destinyblade]

I could be wrong, but I thought someone mentioned that the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime started when its manga had about 20+ chapters out, and that's essentially where Ao no Exorcist is. So I don't think there will be a problem covering the majority of the source material, since the first FMA had to go on its own story about halfway through. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this anime goes on a couple of filler adventures with its beginning episodes.

The big question, however, is how this series will end. Since the manga is unlikely to end before the anime does, will the staff come up with its ending? Or will they leave it open? If it's the former, then the chances of a second season will end up being slim to none.

[felix]

Given FMA (initial incarnation) had a pretty boring ending, and how companies these days will generally go for whatever milks more money option, I’d say it’s not gonna get a anime original ending.

As for the episode, it was great! Especially the last part about becoming a exorcist and kicking satan’s ass was just awesome.

[Westlo]

I really liked episode 1 but episode 2 just cemented this as one of my favs of the season. Nothing original to the genre but the production values along with the emotion it conveys just lifts it to the top of the shounen pile.

Have to single out the music, just superb. Really impressive stuff from Hiroyuki Sawano, especially "that" scene...

[Guardian Enzo]

When you're dealing with a very straightforward premise like this, execution is everything. Fortunately the execution so far has been excellent, and with the cast and staff involved I would expect that to continue. Even knowing what was going to happen this week it still had a major impact, largely due to the great job the series did in establishing character in the premiere.

Nothing fancy here - just pure shounen done really well.

[king12354]

A really well done second episode. I am hooked.

[Narzia]

Awesome episode, this show and it's music... my god.. the music. The piano piece alone was divine.

[Master Anime]

At First I am little skeptical when hear A-1 doing this adaptation one of my fav manga

But after see 2 episode, The Anime is totally awesome, Animation & Music is great and i agree with some opinion who says this 2 ep have bigger impact than ch 1 manga.

[felix]

Be warned forum goers: two episodes (even three episodes) do not make the entire show! Don’t get your expectations up too high just because the opening story to the actual story, which we know nothing about, was executed nicely.

[Destinyblade]

Originally Posted by felix

Be warned forum goers: two episodes (even three episodes) do not make the entire show! Don’t get your expectations up too high just because the opening story to the actual story, which we know nothing about, was executed nicely.

Oh I think most, if not all, posters on here know that. It's just nice to see an anime (particularly a shounen/fantasy oriented one) actually do an excellent job on the execution. Too often these types just follow the manga completely and/or cram as much as possible into a single episode, and when that happens, it's hard to really care about the characters or even the show.

Ao no Exorcist has avoided these tendencies. I'm not saying that I'm going to compare this to my favorites, but the way the staff presented this episode has me very hopeful for the rest of the series. If the more intense and emotional parts of the story are presented in ways like this, it'll make me want to watch the show more.

[ars89]

Spoiler for ep 2:

Sad to see the father sacrifice himself, but there was no other option. Yukio seemed to be upset at Rin, maybe he'll try to blame him. Interesting decision Ri made at the end. Mephisto s interesting but i liked him right away.

[Seihai]

"I'm going to kick Satan's ass!" is one of the best lines I've recently heard. Ironic and badass at the same time!

[Azure King]

epi 2:
i found this quite impressive, it have been along time since i've seen a anime of this caliber, i just hope they can keep it up

[Deconstructor]

Having read the manga, I always wondered what inspired the author to design Yukio's face with moles. Yeah, maybe it's best if I stop commenting on it...

Episodes 1 and 2 are demonic. They're possessed. Immolated in blue fire.

So, so awesome. Anime like Blue Exorcist are why shonen anime became so popular worldwide... excellent fight scenes, touching family moments, and an entirely fantastical world the viewers want to immerse themselves in. This is D. Gray-Man 2.0.