I would like to point out that so far the adaptation of this anime from the manga is really good and really pulls out all of the emotion that the protagonist is feeling. When I first picked up the manga series I thought "It would be awesome to see this made into an anime cause the fight scenes would be amazing" and then I was even more excited when I saw the anime announcement. I would suggest that if you haven't read the manga, then try to stick with the series till the end because it's such a good story and deserves all the attention it can get.

My worries for this anime so far have been cleared; the Japanese voice actors are really good and pulled me back into the story like I don't even know what's going on. The animation is pure top notch and I can tell that it'll only get better with the bigger fight scenes that are surely to come. I can imagine if you haven't read the manga, then the dialogue might lose a few people, since they'll have to (eventually) explain the back-story for this series, but I wouldn't let that get in the way of the beautiful and unique story-line that it is. Over-all entertainment? Let's just say I'm hoping for a long, drawn out series that will go a long with the manga because there's SO MUCH to offer for this series if done right. (show less)

Watched and read both the anime and manga, and there are a few things about both that I liked and didn't like.

The opening to the Anime is better than the Manga's in the sense that you get to know more about Rin before the chaos. The Anime some what follows the Manga up to the point where Rin faces off against Amamon the second time during the camping trip. The is where they both go off in separate directions.

The Manga reveals some insight and spoilers for the Anime, and vice versa. In the Manga, they have yet to discuss the story of Rin and Yukio's mother, but the Anime does. But there are also some elements that is brought up in the Anime that would only make sense to someone who had read the Manga. I felt rather disappointed watching the end of this Anime, and hope that isn't how they plan on ending the Manga..

I would recommend stopping halfway through and just read the manga. Much more dramatic and no fillers. (show less)

First off.....u guys probably wanna knw the main point - is Ao no exorcist good or not...wud like to let u knw dat it isn't just good..its SPLENDID!
Ao no exorcist is a bit cliche tho....we have a hero whose got supernatural awesome powers but not really smart,he has a lot of friends who help him but aren't as strong as him and yeah,as with most shonen battle animes it also contains Bad Guys that are doing bad things and good people are trying to stop them - and that is really cliche
Anyway the art work is fantastic and the battles are all brewing with awesomeness
The music is a lil bit meh but I fell in love with the openings though....the endings..ehm...not so much
The dialogue is a lil bit out of the ordinary but this is because the major bad guy in the story (satan) uses a lot of curse words and it makes us wonder where he learnt them since he's a demon per se and isn't human
The characters are all fun to watch and some episodes which doesn't really have anything to do with major plot are the ones I really enjoyed the most.....I don't want to spoil anything for you but these few episodes without fighting and lots of dialogues are awesome and would make you love these characters more
Anyway to cut the long story short.....watch this anime cuz its awesome and have a fun time with these exorcists (show less)

pros
+ fast storyline without fillers
+ amazing action and animation
+ huge dose of comedy
cons
- clichéd characters without much development
- rather basic storyline with an open end
- dialogue would be generic weren't it for the comedy

conclusion: don't get your hopes up too high in terms of storyline/charas, or you'll be disappointed. however, if you simply want to lay back, not think, and have something short, funny, and relaxing to watch this is the thing to go for. for its comedic side, wide variety of fighting styles, and good artwork, this is easily one of the better shounen out there. however, completely different from the manga. if you want a (slightly more complex) storyline in addition to all i mentioned, go off to read the manga.

peace. (show less)

A decent view, but in the end, I found “Ao no Exorcist” to be somewhat overrated. I did enjoy it for its 25 episodes, and I am glad this didn’t start a bunch of fillers, but in my opinion, this anime wasted much of its potential.

I’m pretty sure the story’s been done before. A “good vs. evil” concept, a protagonist suddenly realizing he’s got a strange power, Satan’s son fighting as an exorcist… ah well, I know all this from somewhere. Now throw in a few interesting twists and turns and well-developed characters and it still could be an excellent anime. However?

The plot is easy to follow without being really slow, and doesn’t avert from its main storyline (only from the manga’s *coughs*) but sadly turned out to be too predictable for me. A problem is also the end as it is open with far too many mysteries unsolved. (Example? Skip to the next paragraph if you hate spoilers. – What is the Vatican truly up to? Which role does Mephisto play, since up to now he’s a mixture of an opportunist and a hypocrite? And just why does the end of this anime give me the feeling Satan’s supposed *not* to be the bad guy O.O :???!)

The characters could still be more thought-out. They do have backgrounds however, and you get a feel for most of them. The mystery around the protagonist’s twin brother is one of the main plot boosts, though even that remains unsolved :/ Some of the male side charas are funny and more or less realistic for a fantasy anime; still, the protagonist, along with the female side characters, is pretty clichéd. I (female obviously :P) wasn’t able to relate to the main girls in any way; in fact, most of them appear rather dull and whiney to me. Character development is nothing to woot over either, as it is barely notable, even considering the anime’s length. The antagonists vary from completely witless demons to unpredictably quirky half-humans whose real aims and motives are utterly left in the dark; they can be funny from time to time but seeing as they are barely established any further, they stayed pretty flat to me. (Might disagree if you’ve read the manga - I haven’t.)

Genre-wise, “Ao no Exorcist” includes the fantasy/action aspect with friendship, a huge dose of comedy, mystery/suspense, and a tiny touch of romance (somewhat depending on interpretation :/). Cute and funny at points, it can get serious as well.
Just a FYI: Nothing deeply religious in here despite the exorcism thing (I know it would’ve unnerved some people ^^°).

The dialogue contains a huge dose of humour - which is pretty much the only thing that saved it for me. Putting the comedy aspect aside, the dialogue otherwise seemed pretty generic and dull to me. Guess that comes with having become an otaku and having watched over fifty animes (*sweatdrops*).

The animation indeed is close to the very highest level. There’s a wide variety of fighting styles shown, and the art works with very bright colours. The music’s generally fitting (not always my style but like I’d let that get to me…).

“Ao no Exorcist” has loads of potential; however, most of that goes to waste with a lack of plot twists, character development (and strong females D: ) and lastly a somewhat generic dialogue. I still was able to enjoy this simply for its shortness and comedic side, but it was nothing for me to get riled up over. If you are looking for an unpredictable story, great plot twists and unique characters, steer away. However, for any supernatural/action/comedy lover not getting their hopes up too high, or just for someone who wants a relaxing shounen anime, this is probably still very good, and to anime newbies, I would easily recommend this as a short but funny start-off.

Cheers!~ (show less)