Highlights
- After a seven-year wait, the Shimane Illuminati saga of Blue Exorcist finally premieres, much to the delight of fans.
- Studio VOLN and director Daisuke Yoshida bring a fresh look to the show with new character designs and impressive animation quality.
- The first episode sets the stage for an exciting season, introducing new plot developments and showcasing a thrilling fight scene.
The first episode of the Shimane Illuminati saga of Blue Exorcist is finally out after seven years of anticipation. There is a lot that’s different as the show enters its third season, but so far, it’s off to an exciting start.
The Shimane Illuminati arc has long been a fan-favorite among Blue Exorcist manga readers. It has been a long seven years since the Kyoto Saga, but at last, fans are able to enjoy the anime once again. With a new animation studio, a new director, and questions about how faithful the show will be to the source material, there’s a lot to dig into after the first episode.
A Brand New Studio Takes Over
Studio VOLN is the studio behind the new season of the anime. Studio VOLN is perhaps best known for being the studio that adapted the critically acclaimed I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. With a new studio comes a new director. The new director, Daisuke Yoshida, is an experienced director who worked on anime like Haijime no Ippo’s movie Champion Road.
The biggest change VOLN and Yoshida have made to the show is changing the character designs for the show, which is apparent from the very start of episode one. While it is quite an adjustment for the eyes during the first few minutes of the episode, it becomes quite evident that, overall, it’s a change for the better. The animation quality is fantastic in this episode, from the smaller details, like food and background items, to Rin’s iconic blue flames. It is yet to be seen how the new studio and director will proceed in relation to the source content, but if the past is an indicator, then there’s bound to be some anime-exclusive plot diversion.
Setting the Stage For What Promises to Be An Exciting New Season
The first episode was very much about setting the stage for what is set to go down in this saga, as well as a little warm-up to get fans back into the flow of the show. As the barrier between Assiah and Gehenna grows ever thinner, the Knights of the True Cross have been receiving an unusually high amount of calls for consultation. Meanwhile, one of Rin’s classmates, Godaiin, has begun to see demons, but he has never seen a temptaint before.
Perfectly coinciding with Rin’s interest in asking about his friend’s strange predicament, he gets invited to dinner by Mephisto Pheles, whom he wants to talk to anyway. During dinner, Mephisto reveals that he’s a demon and the master of time and space. Upset by this, Rin tries to fight him only to get swatted away and challenged by Mephisto to complete a task in exchange for eyedrops that will cure Godaiin’s condition.
The next morning, Rin eats with his brother, Yukio Okumura, in their apartment. They talk about the overwhelming amount of consultations the Knights of the True Cross are dealing with, and Rin asks him if there’s anything wrong, to which he replies there isn’t. Rin gets frustrated because he knows he’s lying as he knows him, but the conversation ends with Yukio going off to work and telling his brother there’s nothing to worry about.
Back at the cram school, Rin and his friends prepare to complete Mephisto’s task by defeating the family portrait demon that has been causing trouble for students who have viewed it. The students work together to defeat the demon and its complicated ability. This fight was a nice refresher for fans who might have forgotten some things about the series’ combat system, and it was very well-animated.
The episode ends with perhaps the biggest set-up of the episode. Arthur A. Angel and Lewin Light are in Yemen to deal with the impure princess. Arthur expresses his anger at the fact Satan’s son defeated the impure king. Arthur then jumps down into the dune and sacrifices some of his hair to his sword, Caliburn. The sword confirms they have a contract, and he defeats the princess with one swift angel slash. He rushes over to the sliced lady, who festers with fungus-looking pores. She says that everything will be in harmony, likely referring to the blurring lines between the demon and the human world before passing.
Mephisto is then seen overlooking everything, as he says that the line is getting thinner between the realities of demons and man and that “it is time to move to the next space.” This episode was an exciting return for the series after its long hiatus. Ending on a cliffhanger, there is plenty of mystery and intrigue leading into the next episodes.
Blue Exorcist is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
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