Holy crap! Flashback!
This wasn’t entirely a flashback episode, but that one did steal the entire episode here. I mean, up till now we’ve seen just Rin being abused and all. But to think that he actually lost it once and violently beat his classmates into the hospital. Also, what was that background song they used there? That definitely was the best background track I heard in this series so far.
Not to say the rest of this episode wasn’t excellent. Rin’s father has been a big theme across the series, and this episode made sure that he didn’t become something like a Jesus figure. This episode showed that he had doubts, and flaws. Up till now we’ve seen him through the eyes of Rin and Yukio. This time we also see him through that strange Vatican girl’s eyes.
Overall, this show really puts me in a dilemma this season. I was perhaps thinking of dropping Ao no Exorcist in favour of one of the new summer season series, because out of all the interesting series, it has the most generic set-up, along with the fact that it probably won’t finish its manga story within episode 24…. but this show is also getting really good. The characters have gotten really enjoyable at this point, and even the new characters like the Vatican girl fit in immediately. Dammit, this show has a generic plot, but it does what it does so well!
Rating: ** (Excellent)
OP: The visuals are interesting, but it’s too J-Rocky for my tastes.
ED: This one’s actually really good. Good atmosphere, good use of synthesizers, simple, yet well drawn visuals.
I’ll just write in what I said in the cbox during your absence. I love the director of Ao no Exorcist. He’s really doing well with this. Had that FMA:B vibe! Especially love the new op and ed. Made me teary-eyed!
Yeah, indeed, it’s generic and well done. I kinda like those series. But the problem is that it’s a manga adaptation. Also, the manga hasn’t gone very far. We are at chapter 11 now, and the manga so far has 26 chapters.
So, even if the anime manages to cover the whole manga, the story will be incomplete anyway.
My guess is they will drag it a bit here and there, then they will announce a new season in like 6 months or so.