Ao no Exorcist: Rather generic besides the comedy aspect

Written by Little_Wolf-18 on April 27, 2012 at 3:28 PM

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!~