Ao no Exorcist
Short Synopsis: Our lead character is the son of a demon.
So, this turned out to be Shikabane Hime without its subtlety and without the girls. It’s definitely very shounen, even for the usual standards of the Prime Time Anime of the season, but it definitely has its good points. While it’s definitely aiming to be the epic of the season, it also can be quite charming when it wants to (that scene with the little girl and her father in particular was done really well). The characterization is also pretty good as well: the lead character looked like a moron on the promo art, but he’s surprisingly normal throughout most of this episode. That of course also has its disadvantages, most notably the way in which this episode started with him meaning well, but causing trouble at everything he does. Those kinds of scenarios are really getting old now, but at least this episode put more meaning into those scenes than just wasting time or going for cheap laughs. Oh, and the good news is that according to ANN, this will be 24 episodes. That’s definitely good news because 12 would not have fitted this story.
ED: I like the concept of a car driving across a highway, but the vocals remain cheesy.
Potential: 75%
Deadman Wonderland
Short Synopsis: Our lead character is sent to prison for a bunch of murders he didn’t commit.
Okay, we’ve found our horror seriers of the season. Seriously, that was intense. The majority of this episode was pretty much nothing but the creators doing everything in their powers to torment an innocent fourteen year-old boy. This definitely wastes no punches; heck, it delves into the bizarre, just to be as disturbing as possible. This show is definitely not trying to build up suspense of disbelief, which could hurt it in the longer run. The prison that the lead character ends up in in particular is just completely crazy, based around some rules that would normally cause a complete outrage and I can only imagine the deranged sociopaths that actually created it. But at the same time that’s also one of the potential strengths of this show. It may not have an ounce of subtlety, but this episode definitely was very creative. It has both huge flaws and huge strengths, so this really can go anywhere. Provided, of course, that twelve episodes are enough. the length will probably be the single biggest pitfall for this series.
ED: Unfortunately this is just a boring composition. Does not fit the dark mood of this show at all.
Potential: 80%
On one hand the manga is almost over, and it wasn’t terribly long. Plus by now resolution to all the important plot points is pretty much there. That said it still is quite a lot of material for freaking 12 episodes (24 would work just fine) so a possibility that they will either rush the whole thing, or stop before the end exists.
On side note: I am really surprised to see that it aired at all, the back story for this thing is that a huge ERTHQUAKE destroyed Tokyo, after what happened to Madoka for a lot less, I expected this show to never see the light of day.
Freakin’ Japanese Death Race 2008…down to the “framed for murder” cliche…and the deathsports part…
I think if the stop at the end of the first arc, the could probably fit it into 12 episodes (still a stretch, but they could pull it off).
Also, the ending theme, while a complete mood whiplash, is a bit heart breaking once you get to know the characters, so I’d definitely suggest watching it again near the end of the series (if the somehow manage to fit everything in properly…)
They could always do a sequel, hell manglobe gave TWGOK a sequel.
Deadman Wonderland:
The ED scenes will make more sense as the story unfolds and you get to know more of the characters, but to me the intention looks to be to contrast the world inside of Deadman Wonderland (whose lunacy we’re just starting to see) with the one outside (on the cheap). If the music is anything to go by, it may also complement the OP whenever that makes an appearance.
The best case scenario for this series is they plan on another cour, but haven’t announced it.
Good episode. Kinda wish they’d found a better name for Red Man, though, because every time I seem him mentioned now, I wind up thinking of the rapper. :p
Just 12 episodes, eh? Yeah I hope they can wrap the story up in just that time, or at least find a good place to stop before another season if it sells well enough. Still really enjoyed this episode, and I’m looking forward to whatever else DW has to throw at Ganta.
Just 12 episodes, eh? Yeah I hope they can wrap the story up in just that time, or at least find a good place to stop before another season if it sells well enough. Still really enjoyed this episode, and I’m looking forward to whatever else DW has to throw at Ganta.
I like it that in the anime they said that the capital (Tokyo) was destroyed by a abnormal phenomenon called Dead Hole, whereas in the manga, Tokyo was destroyed by a high-magnitude earthquake. Seems like they modified this due to the recent earthquakes.
Yeah the script was modified a bit due to the earthquake.
” The prison that the lead character ends up in in particular is just completely crazy, based around some rules that would normally cause a complete outrage”
You’ll be surprised at the number of explanations that will be given later on,and not just for this.
I really still am hoping for split 2 cour,so far,even if I won’t get into details,the first episode had some very clever adaptation changes that managed to get some points across quickly,so I hope that means the staff know what they’re doing.
Also as a manga reader I agree the ED will make more sense as you go on,it’s “happy” but in a twisted kind of way.
And if you want dark,the OP has it covered:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjZa6injUKc
Was RedMan’s identity supposed to be a shock… cause it’s fairly obvious.
>>DmonHiro
Not really. You figure it out pretty early on in the manga.
This manga is one of my favorites, and I’m so glad that you liked the first episode! I’m also worried about the episode number and how they’ll fit in the plot into that, but otherwise, I promise it’s good and you’ll like it. 🙂
Seconding what people have been saying about the ED. It’s heartbreaking actually ;_;
@LordHuggington
“Red Man” is not the “official” name, it’s just what Ganta calls the being because… well… the person seemed to be in all red… (and there’s also the red from all the blood). First word would come to mind to describe the killer would naturally be “Red”, hehe.
Didn’t you like the Birdy 2 OP? This is by the same people and far better imo… they also did the last OP for Eureka 7… And again if you know the characters….
I’m only planning to watch Deadman Wonderland if it doesn’t suck in the end. As for Ao no Exorcist, I’m definitely watching it. The only anime I’m watching this season aside from Lotte. I fell in love with the manga because of what you pointed out. How normal the main is when he looked like an idiot xD
“The only anime I’m watching this season aside from Lotte.”
You’re definitely missing out.
Can somebody tell me how the Manga of Blue Exorcist is comparing to the Anime? I wanted to get the Manga, but I just don’t like the drawings and so I might just watch the Anime only. It’s pretty sad actually, that the Manga and Anime standards today are really low. Background in Mangas are nearly unexistent and the Anime qualities, well, you see what crap they release this season.
@skoopman: You don’t like the drawing? Ao No Exorcist is like known for its beautiful drawning.
Anyway, I’m a manga follower and I must say, the anime impressed me. In fact, I’d say it delivered MUCH better than the manga did.
@skoopman: Maybe you just have very high standards, but I don’t think this is really the season to talk about your disappointment in anime when imo there’s about 10 promising shows currently airing.
Whoa, Ao no Exorcist completely exceeded my expectations! I was already hoping for a good show but that first episode was AWESOME! Can’t wait to see next week’s episode!
I’ve been looking forward to both of these for quite a while and was impressed by both (except for not getting to see the full openings until next week..) Deadman was a bit edited for the obvious reasons, but otherwise it’s living up to the manga’s gore content. I’m waiting to see how the next episodes are handled before giving this series gold stars for going for it though.
As for Ao no Exorcist, it has one of the few lead characters that I enjoy in shounen. He’s got all the best intentions, but messes up and shows more than “I’LL JUST DO BETTER NEXT TIME” enthusiasm about it. I like it when I know that my characters are thinking and reflecting on their actions. Plus with the 24 ep listing, they’ll hopefully do the current chapters justice and not cop on the ending. Deadman’s primed to either rush or cut short in the meantime with only 12. Here’s hoping for an extension!
^Yep. I thought Ao no Exorcist was going to get the Beelzebub treatment. Thank God I was proven wrong. The production values on this one except the ED, was pretty high. Rin as the lead was just so adorable, the fillers did a good job introducing him.
My two most anticipated shows of the season Ao no Exorcist and Deadman Wonderland (along with C), can’t wait to see these two.
Ao no Exorcist is my current front runner for what I expect to like the most this season due to Okamura directing (and the awesome visuals) and I loved both his last works in Darker Than Black and Wolf’s Rain so I think he’ll do a fantastic job adapting this already quite good manga. Plus the composer who’s currently doing such a great job on Gundam Unicorn. Pretty sweet staff 🙂
Can’t wait to have a bit of time to watch Deadman Wonderland since I know so little about it and it looks so good.
I’ll have to wait for the second episode of Ao no exorcist to see if I’ll watch it. To be honest, I’m really not impress. I didn’t find the characters charming or the story that interesting. It just seems so classic-shonen, I’m tired of those. I want something different. Oh well, maybe the second episode will be totally awesome and I’ll fall in love with the series, who knows!
Ah, a self respecting shounen that is actually more than decent in every area. It’s been a while since I saw one of those.
Deadman Wonderland: glad this finally got animated.
Ao no Exorcist: Tensai Okamura ftw!
Definitely watching both (the good shows just keep on coming).