So this was the episode that the OP and promo art kept building up to: the episode that focused on the new classmates of Rin, and in particular the proper introduction of the angry punk-like guy.It was an episode that was bound to have annoyances, but at the same time it also did a lot of things right.
Rin who just kept dozing off for example was… rather annoying. The lead character flunking tests and not paying attention in class to the point of extreme has been a bit of a dead horse by now, and this episode did not offer anything new for that. What it did offer anything new for however, was the way the relationship between these two hotheads developed. I really liked how, when Punk Guy taunted Rin with a dare that was bound to happen with the way it was set up, Rin outright refused. That was quite good, and a breath of fresh air around the constant bickering of these two.
What also helped here was the bunch of other classmates. They don’t feel like cliches or stereotypes, and were actually quite likable in this episode. They’re all quite down to earth in their own way, and feel more than just necessary straight men for the main characters (that role was for Yukio anyway).
Rating: * (Good)
Ughh! I’ve had it with this show.I gave it 5 episodes but it just generic cliched shounen which gets a lot of things wrong and seems to be loaded with unlikable and annoying characters.Drop this psgels,you might as well blog One Piece rather than wasting time on this turd.
^^@Arthur
I agree with you wholeheartedly that this show is very typical of shonen anime. But you have to give it props for having a rather interesting premise and gorgeous artwork for the most part, save for a few scenes, like in the beginning of today’s episode.
Anyways, shows like this tend to get better a long way down the road as there’s a lot of build up and characterization going on in the beginning. I liked this anime quite a bit so far. And I talk about this a bit in my own review. So if you like this anime and you’re looking for something interesting to read, click on my blog. Don’t be shy about leaving comments, thanks! http://aniphiles.wordpress.com
@Arthur:
Lol, I can’t see much sense in psgels starting to blog One Piece at this point, after almost 500 episodes (especially since he’s never been following it anyway…), though I definitely wouldn’t have anything against him picking it up from the very beginning and giving it a review every major arc or two… yeah, I know, I can dream 😉
As for Ao no Exorcist, it’s true that it’s loaded with shounen cliches, but on the other hand, it’s got enough charm of its own to keep me interested, at least for now. The only thing that scares me is the fixed number of episodes, which would suggest that the anime will, at some point, stray away from the manga and go into anime-original ending… which usually doesn’t result in anything even remotely good (yes, I’m looking at you, Tegamibachi Reverse)…
@Arthur
If you don’t like shonen shows don’t watch them, simple .. i cringe whenever i hear someone who doesn’t like a specific anime or games genre complaining about it (or even at some points reviewing it .. GAH !!!!) .. if you don’t like nobody is forcing you at gunpoint to watch/play it .. whiners XD
As for the show it self, it isn’t bad at all, it delvers what it promises as a shonen show, vibrant artistic visuals .. simple but captivating charaters .. great energetic action .. nice music, if someone is watching it and expecting something else it is their own damn fault, i have seen lots of bad shonen shows and i know one when i see it, this one is far from being a bad shonen show, not even close.
@Hunter-Wolf if you dont like someones comment on not liking a show you dont like. . .dont read the comment. . .unlike you I dont Cringe when someone posts and OPINION that is different from mine, I have enough power not to rely on someone else liking what I like for me to feel good.
now take that in your pipe and smoke it.
So far, it’s a well done, somewhat cliched, shounen. Nothing bad about that.
@Hunter: I want to know what this show “gets wrong”. From what i’ve seen it is pretty generic but it gets the cliches and make them more interesting. And have you see One Piece? If you can’t stand cliches here you’ll never be able to watch it.
Just take this episode for example: the rival wants to have a match, that might kill them, with the main character just to see who has the most motivation. That’s cliche, but the main characters answer wasn’t(he refused). Another cliche in this episode is the whole rival thing. One Piece has a rivalry (Sanji & Zoro) that has no real reason and has been going on for more than 500 chapters. Ao no exorcist instead, deals with that rivalry in one episode and leaves both guys as friends by the end of it.
Tl;dr: AnE is way less cliche than One Piece.
I think that comparing the rivarly between Rin and the other guy from Ao no Exorcist to the rivarly between Zoro and Sanji from One Piece kind of misses the point. I mean, Zoro and Sanji aren’t the main characters of One Piece. Luffy is, and as such, he’s somehow managed to avoid having any “eternal” rival (and whatnot) for almost 500 episodes. That pretty much makes One Piece stray away from the typical “main character and his rival” cliche, which most of the shounen titles out there can’t or don’t want to do (to name a few examples, we have Naruto/Sasuke thing going in Naruto, Ichigo/Ishida or Ichigo/Renji in Bleach, Gintoki/Hijikata in Gintama, Allen/Kanda in D.Gray-man, Natsu/Gray in Fairy Tail, Hikaru/Akira in Hikaru no Go etc.)
The rivarly of Zoro and Sanji is there more for the lols than anything and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. It’s more like making fun of the whole “eternal rival” theme for me. Of course, that just may be my bias in favour of One Piece speaking, but as far as shounen cliches go, One Piece has surely managed to avoid a great deal of them so far (airing for almost 12 years now), which AnE couldn’t do in only a few episodes.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against AnE, I enjoy it for what it is and don’t really mind the cliches, but I just can’t help but laugh at the statement that it’s “less cliche than One Piece”.
@Carbuncle MIchales Jackson elliot
*Rolls Carbuncle MIchales Jackson elliot comment and throws it back at him* .. smoke that son .. deeply XD
Now let’s get to “real” comments
@kagura
I don’t know how can some people perceive rivalry as being cliche .. that’s just silly … rivalry is just a building block used for any story .. when used right it works .. when used wrong it .. and speaking of all the examples you mentioned the rivalry in every case has different reasons and motives .. and take Ichigo/Renji and Naruto/Sasuke .. the first ones had fought becasue they were on different sides .. then later became rivals and much later strong friends … Sasuke and Naruto started friends and later on bit by bit enmity started growing between them until they became fully fledged enemies .. and that’s just one example.
The rivalry here was used as a device to introduce the new character .. and then they ended up being friends .. it isn’t abused or for no reason whatsoever.
@Hunter-Wolf:
I agree that rivalry in every of the examples I mentioned has different reasons and that the concept isn’t necessarily a bad thing in itself(the rivalry between Hikaru and Akira in HnG was wonderfully done after all). Still, it doesn’t change the fact that it has been overused as hell, especially in shounen series.
And if my very first thought upon seeing that new guy and his interactions with Rin in AoE was: “Oh, here comes the rival. Wonder how much time it’ll take for them to become the best of friends” (or something along those lines), then it’s pretty much beyond me how some people may actually NOT perceive rivalry as a cliche (well, at least as far as shounen is concerned).
Upon further thought, I came to a conclusion, that the reasons behind the rivalry aren’t really that different either. It all comes down to one of those:
1) the characters are completely different from each other/have opposing personalities/points of view/etc. which naturally clash (Naruto/Sasuke, Allen/Kanda, Ichigo/Ishida, Hikaru/Akira)
2) the characters are too similar and can’t stand each other’s guts (Ichigo/Renji, Natsu/Gray, Gintoki/Hijikata)
3) the combination of the two mentioned above (Zoro/Sanji)
It all usually starts from one of those and whatever happens as the story progresses (whether there is any interesting character development or not) is up to the individual story itself and doesn’t really change the fact that the ‘from rivals to best friends (but still rivals)’ concept is commonly used in shounen genre.
But, if you wish, from now on I may call it a ‘building block used for any story’ instead of a cliche. It doesn’t really matter to me either way.
That would be all from me. I won’t bother you again with my musings on this particular theme, I promise. ^_^
Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone call One Piece cliche, I must admit… especially against a series like this one. For me, Ao no Exorcist comes at me like a mix between D.Gray-Man and Naruto. The only cross I could pick out with One Piece would be that Rin just wants to beat Satan which Luffy usually decides is the best way to solve problems – kicking the bad guy’s butt, that is.
But I like the show somehow. The characters do prove a lot different than the average stereotypes even with the obvious personality traits. And they’re animating it well so far, so I can’t complain. I’d rather watch this than certain other shounen series that are chock full of filler that doesn’t make sense.
wtf is wrong with stereotype and genericness? Obviously none of you have been smashed away by proper delivery and storytelling. Go watch Shounen Onmyouji.