Ao no Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati-hen – 12 (Fin) – See No Evil

After all that battling and a tense meeting in Mephisto’s office, everyone’s head is spinning about Shima being a spy and a double agent. Rin thinks everyone still trusts Shima, but Bon only said that to save his ass from execution, while Konekomaru doesn’t have a clear answer. Shiemi thinks it would be nice if Shima could return to class with them like nothing ever happened, but even she has her doubts, and doesn’t like how that uncertainty feels.

As for Yukio, he’s setting up to be the next person to have split loyalties. Always the loyal soldier for Mephisto and True Cross (despite never really being able to trust him), Shima bringing up Lucifer calls to mind something we didn’t see back at the lab: Lucifer actually met with Yukio and asked him to join Illuminati. He told him he’s weak, but he can help him unlock his power. This weighs on Yukio throughout the episode.

During an early morning run, Shima and Bon happen to run into each other, and have something of a heart to heart. Shima isn’t lying about one thing: he’s pretty much true neutral, as he told Yukio. That means he can warn Yukio and not want Bon or Konekomaru or Izumo to get too badly hurt, but it also means he’s having a blast being a spy for both sides. Bon, who has always been like a brother to him, admits he still has “zero trust” in Shima, but still wishes him good luck, for at least he’s decided what he wants to do.

With Shura recovered, Mephisto sends everyone to a spa and waterpark for some much-needed R&R, and even Yukio can’t escape it. But he also pulls a prank on them, unleashing the Three Wise Monkeys to stir up some mischief. Yukio, Bon, and Konekomaru notice Shima acting strange and unusually serious and focuses, but it turns out he’s contemplating which girl to go down the water slide: Izumo, Shiemi, or Shura.

Rin, who also falls under the spell of the monkeys, declares that he wants to go down the slide with someone too, but that person can only be Shiemi, thus revealing who he has true feelings for once and for all. Unfortunately, Shiemi doesn’t hear it, as she and Izumo and Shura are already at the top of the slide stairs. Shima and Rin duke it out, collapsing the steps and nearly re-injuring the girls, but Bon uses a charm to cancel out the effect of the monkey and Rin and Shima return to normal so Shura can wreck their shit.

So, the spa trip wasn’t as relaxing as Mephisto had hoped it would be. Rin shows he’s not mentally still in elementary school by telling Yukio that he knows something must be on his mind, and that he can talk about it to him if he likes. But Yukio puts on a fake smile and just says he’s tired; it only exacerbates his inferiority complex to open up to his dumb little brother.

Yukio thinks he’s too weak and wants to get stronger, which means he could easily fall into the hands of Lucifer and the Illuminati. But that’s a story for another arc, which it seems will be coming far sooner than previous arcs. That must be why the series felt comfortable with these last two episodes serving as little more than an extended epilogue to Izumo’s story, and a sneak peak of what’s to come.

Ao no Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati-hen – 11 – His Precious Pieces

Shima’s brother Juuzou tells Bon and the others that Renzou has been a double agent all this time. Even before he started at True Cross Academy, Pheles wanted him to accept a recruitment invitation from the Illuminati. Due to his black flames (second only to Rin’s blue ones in power), he’s an enticing target for recruitment, and Renzou also just has a gift for duplicity and spycraft, and a desire to prove himself his way.

That’s how Shima now finds himself aboard the Illuminati’s gigantic flying aircraft carrier, with the chimer-ified Gedouiin prostrating himself before Lucifer, and Lucifer doing all of us a solid and eliminating Gedouiin once and for all. The fact he was wearing a toupee all along really adds icing to the cake. Lucifer’s Number Two, the lady I don’t believe has even been named yet, orders Shima back to True Cross to gather intel.

That’s how Shima finds himself back in Yukio’s class with his buds, including a Rin who is wearing a pink wig and trying to pose as Shima so his absence won’t be felt. Bon gives him a hug, then a brutal headbutt; Izumo uses “Expel Scumbag”, and even Konekomaru can’t help but give him a smack for worrying them so much. And for making them think he betrayed them.

Everyone is suddenly summoned to Pheles’ office so Lewin Light (AKA Lightning) can question Shima and gauge his trustworthiness. Most of the rest of the episode unfolds in this office, with everyone sitting around, which is not all that interesting or dynamic, but the air is cleared about a great many things.

Most importantly, when pressed about the timing of Shima becoming a double agent and everything that’s happened since then, Pheles admits it: everything they’ve gone through these past three arcs has been, in effect, a series of trials to toughen them up for the battle against Lucifer. Rin can bear his fangs and flames all he likes, but Pheles isn’t the enemy. As for Shima, his friends vouch for him, which is all Lightning needs for now (i.e., no torture).

After the meeting, Yukio walks away from Shima to attend to some things, and Shima says he knows Yukio has spoken to “the Commander”, AKA Lord Lucifer. Yukio’s unhinged reaction seems to suggest that he too is an Illuminati spy. But with only one episode left, that seems like a tale for a part two. Here’s hoping it arrives before 2030!

Ao no Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati-hen – 10 – Alone No Longer

Nine Tails is an ancient intermediate demon Holy Cross has never figured out how to exorcise, but the Kamiki clan is a different story. Freed from Nine Tails, Izumo’s mother Tamamo is able to see, stand, and perform the dance needed to dodge Nine Tails’ attacks, and transfer it right back to her own failing body.

This way, when Tamamo dies, Nine Tails dies with her. After years of, shall we say, somewhat shabby parenting, Tamamo comes through as a mother when it counts most: when the choice comes between her daughter’s death or her own, there is no choice. With her final breaths, she tells her beloved treasure that she’ll be okay, because she’s not alone: she’s surrounded by friends.

While this death scene is unfolding, Gedouiin prepares a last-resort device that will transfer Nine Tails directly to his body, with predictably grotesque results. I’m not going to linger on how out-of-left-field this is. Suffice it to say, just when Izumo believes she’s powerless, her fox-brothers Uke and Mike return to her. Turns out Shima “went easy” on them, but they still needed time to recover.

Now that Izumo knows she’s no longer alone and doesn’t have to fight alone, she asks her friends for help fighting off the waves of zombies while she recites the most powerful incantation of her life, one that transforms the foxes into fox-men. Resplendent in golden regalia, she rejects Gedouiin’s assertion that they both hate all humans. She once did, but not anymore. With the slash of her fan, she lets Gedouiin have it.

Shima pops in to grab what’s left of Gedouiin before disappearing, and the other Holy Cross branches arrive to bring the situation under control. Rin & Co.’s mission to rescue Izumo is a success, so it’s off to the hospital to heal the many wounds incurred from their exertion.

Izumo comes to in a hospital, still worried about the fate of Tsukumo, but Takara grants her a magic key that she uses to access Tsukumo’s new home. Her adoptive parents are Takara’s relatives, making her his cousin, but when Izumo appears before her, Tsukumo doesn’t recognize her.

That only makes sense, as she was only three when they were last together. Even so, Tsukumo remembers the fox doll Izumo returns to her, as she was told she had had it since she was a baby. It’s a bittersweet experience for Izumo, who returns to the hospital room she shares with a now-awake Shiemi.

For so long, Izumo had feared the worst had happened to her sister, but she was safe and sound all along. It’s a lot to process, and as a result Izumo starts to bawl her eyes out, while lashing out at Shiemi. But Shiemi’s smile is undefeated, and she’s relieved Izumo is able to cry, and be angry, and laugh. They cry it out together, and when Izumo hears Bon, Rin, and Koneko talking in the hall, she unleashes her foxes to playfully punish them.

After paying her respects to her mother’s grave, vowing not to feel sorry for herself any more, Izumo returns with her friends, has a tearful reunion with Paku at the train station (that also makes Shiemi cry, natch), and the whole gang (sans Shima) heads home together.

Despite some crosswinds, Ao no Exorcist managed to land the plane with an emotionally resonant and satisfying end to the Izumo rescue. While Gedouiin is still out there somewhere and the threat of Lucifer remains, all is well where it counts: in this circle of friends, and in Izumo’s heart.

Ao no Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati-hen – 09 – Cry for Help

Gedouiin, who I’m thoroughly sick and tired of because he’s such a pathetic joke of a non-character (he’s just evil incarnate), fills in our baby exorcists on just how freakin’ evil he is, getting tourists hooked on drugged food and then using them for human experimentation. But things take a turn for the bleak when they actually parade Izumo right out in front of Rin & Co., and when he rushes in to save her, she refuses to be saved.

We know Izumo’s deal: not only is she going through with this on the slight chance it saves her sister, she also doesn’t believe she deserves to be rescued. Instead, she believes her only path is alone, specifically in a one-on-one battle against the Nine Tails. If she can manage to dominate and control it, she can rescue herself. Dressed to the nines and outfitted with a special “Mask of the Chosen”, Izumo begins what might be her last dance.

The dance brings the Nine Tails out of her mother, but just as she’s steeling herself for the fight for her body, in her mind’s eye she’s impaled from behing by several giant claws. The claws are only in her head, but she undergoes pain unlike anything she’s ever experienced, and boy howdy does Kitamura Eri ever sell the agony. All the while, Gedouiin is barking at her to go ahead and die so the Nine Tails can take over.

Izumo eventually becomes (somewhat) numbed to the intense pain, as she lies on the ground covered in necrotic lesions from the process. Now she has longer nails, fox ears, and those telltale tails. She remembers Shima saying he was “tired” of his friends and family, and Izumo feels the same way: tired. She tells herself she always hated the people who surrounded her. And yet, at the same time, she was sad to see them argue. She finally tearfully accepts that maybe she liked them after all.

She asks somebody, anybody, for help, assuming it’s far to late for anyone to hear. But Rin hears her, escapes from the fleshy prison of a berserk chimera, and crashes down to where a shocked Izumo lies. Rin gives Gedouiin a punch that sends him flying, but honestly I’d have preferred a swift decapitation.

Instead, he’s only wounded, and decides to buy more time by dumping hundreds of zombies into the area. Izumo urges Rin to take her mother and leave her, but that’s not happening. After several episodes of mistery and hopelessness, things are finally looking up. Rin just has to hold out long enough for the others to arrive, and then they can all save Izumo together …  because it’s never too late to ask your friends for help.

Ao no Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati-hen – 08 – There’s No Going Back

Gedouiin may be the Absolute Ruler of Illuminati’s Far East Laboratory, but in the presence of a temporarily conscious Lord Lucifer he devolves into a blubbering, idolizing supplicant. He wants nothing more than to help his lord accomplish his goals, and more importantly, that he is more important an asset then the “sow” commander or anyone else.

There’s just a small hiccup: despite him reporting that Kamiki Izumo is extraordinarily compatible with the Nine Tails, extensive testing has revealed that in fact she has a 99.92% chance of dying instantly during the transplant process. Gedouiin is going to run with those terrible odds, because he has to, but just in case Izumo dies, he at least wants to report to Lucifer that he was able to subdue the Spawn of Satan.

Yet, even on that front Gedouiin fails, at least this week. While the chimeras he keeps locked away are the stuff of nightmares, even Konekomaru is able to escape their jaws when he snaps out of his state of panic and anxiety and remembers what his friends told him he was capable of. He lures his chimera to a hatch and once the hatch is smashed open, he slips out of his cell and reunites with Kuro, who is very hangry. He also checks in on Yukio, who was able to subdue his chimera by literally stitching its body to the ground.

Bon initially tries to use his Dragoon’s bazooka, but when he realizes the chimeras can not only speak, but his chimera in particular wants to “go home.” He learns he’s dealing with an entity that still has a shred of humanity. Summoning a mirror of water, the chimera sees itself and collapses in distress. Bon then uses his Aria skills to help the poor wretched creature pass on in peace. I couldn’t help but thing of poor Mitty after Bondrewd’s experiments in Made in Abyss.

Shiemi is saved by Nee, who breaks them out of their cell by growing a huge tree and turns their chimera to dust. At the end of the ordeal, Rin can tell Shiemi is shaking with exhaustion and exertion, but still won’t give up on saving Izumo and Shima, if its the last thing they do.

Konekomaru is troubled that Rin, their ace in the hole, still won’t commit to using killing force against even things that were once human but can never be human again. Of course, if Rin does start killing humans, even to save his friends, it puts him on the path to losing his humanity.

But just as the chimeras can’t go back to their human lives, neither Rin nor anyone else in this lab can go back to who they were. Shima knows Rin’s weakness all too well, and as he counsels an increasingly desperate and unhinged Gedouiin, he’s counting on Rin’s inability to kill humans as the lynchpin in the fight to defeat True Cross and make Lucifers plans a reality.

Rin & Co. have escaped their cells, but they’re still deep within Gedouiin’s twisted madhouse. Things are likely to get much uglier before they start looking up, while the life of Izumo, who is probably feeling more defeated than ever after the loss of her fox-brothers, now hangs by the thinnest of threads.

Ao no Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati-hen – 05 – On the Back Foot

“An unfamiliar ceiling…”

Both True Cross in general and the Exwires in particular are in a bad way. The former, decimated into disarray by the Illuminati’s Seraphim and scrambling to pick up the pieces. The latter, deeply shaken by Shima’s betrayal and Izumo’s kidnapping. The dark dream that precedes her waking up in a stark laboratory does not bode well for her immediate or eventual safety.

Thanks to Takara planting a doll on Izumi, he can pinpoint her location, so the other Exwires are off to find her. That means heading to her hometown of Inari in Shimane Prefecture. It also means Rin and Shiemi flying on an airplane for the first time, and Shiemi making everyone what amounts to grass sandwiches. The little travelouge snippets of their journey are fun, but felt misguided considering the seriousness of Izumi’s plight.

One scene that does resonate well involves Rin dropkicking Bon in the back for being so gloomy. Bon is upset like everyone else that Shima betrayed them, since Shima is family to him. Konekomaru feels the same frustration because his failure to see Shima’s hidden intentions reflects badly on his future as an Exorcist advisor. Rin is grateful Bon and the others didn’t give up on him, so whatever they end up doing about Shima, they’ll do it together.

While the group has their jolly jaunt and try to stay positive, Izumo’s nightmare deepens, as her mother is wheeled in looking like a barely-alive mummy, bandaged and deteriorating from head to toe, clearly the victim of horrible torture.

Then a horrible porcine-looking little mad scientist Izumo identifies as Gedouiin trots in, reporting he’s gotten everything he can out of her mother, and must now choose another Izumo woman. If the choice is between Izumo and her little sister Tsukumo, there is no choice.

Really, gang? Shouldn’t you get to rescuin’?

Going from the sickening body horror and the promise of similar horrors in store for Izumo to the gang digging in to Inari’s delicious local food is some serious tonal whiplash. I get Rin wanting to keep everyone’s spirits up, but there’s just no urgency to their journey. It feels like they’re on vacation or on a field trip rather than doing everything in their (admittedly limited) power to locate and rescue Izumo.

Even worse, Izumo doesn’t want to be rescued. She can’t be, because then Gedouiin will just use her sister. While she accepts this, she doesn’t let Shima slink away without some kind of explanation for why he betrayed her and the others. His explanation: that he simply “got tired” of the whole cram school milieu, is underwhelming to say the least. Is he putting on the brave heel face on purpose here, or does he have a long game in mind?

I don’t know; all I know is he’s able to get Izumo to admit that they’re the same; that they’re both traitors, even though that’s nonsense. Yes, Izumo has been unable to tell anyone, even Paku, the deepest secrets about her past, because she’s never been able to completely trust anyone.

While Shima has justified that position, it’s also a product of her extremely fucked up family situation, which we’ll get into more next week thanks to Takara summoning Izumo’s familiar into a fox doll. Until then, I’m hoping the outsized goofiness of the gang is a sign that they’ve ultimately got this, and they’ll find a way to bring Izumo home without sacrificing her sister.

Ao no Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati-hen – 04 – Angels and Demons

Damn Takara Nemu, the little shit! Izumo is about to be fashionably late for her food stall duty, showing she really does care about not breaking her word to Rin. Then Nemu fucks it all up by holding her there, messing with her head by handing her a kitsune doll she told Tsukumo never to let go of, and insisting she come with him, implying that some harm might come to her via giant toy mecha if she doesn’t.

Shura gathers the Yukio and the Exwires and orders them to split up and search for Izumo and Nemu. As he’s always carried a flame for her, Shima thinks it’s fate that he finds her first. He neutralizes both Nemu’s giant robot and his swarm of killer pink flying rabbits with his own heretofore unseen summoned demon, Yamantaka.

With Nemu on the ropes, it looks like Izumo is going to be okay thanks to Shima. Then she starts to head off to get the others, promising she’ll come back … and Shima stabs her in the back with his spear. The spear doesn’t harm her physical body but renders her unconscious. It’s abundantly clear by then that Nemu wasn’t the Illuminati spy; Shima was.

An Illuminati helicopter arrives and Shima’s short-statured, no-nonsense commanding officer alights with her officers to prepare to take Izumo away. By the time Yukio and the Exwires arrive, so has Illuminati’s leader, and Mephisto’s elder brother, Lucifer. He arrives with much pizzazz, amongst dozens of Seraphims that shatter the academy’s main barrier.

He’s come to declare war against the Knights of the True Cross, with the ultimate goal of merging Gehenna and Assiah and returning the world to nothingness, riding it of suffering. He advises his younger brother that it would be wise to join him, but Mephisto is emphatic in his refusal.

This whole time, the masked Lucifer is coughing up blood and clearly weakened, but even so Mephisto says there’s nothing any of them can do at the moment against the King of Light and highest authority in Gehenna. Even so, Rin charges at them with his blue flaming sword and is met by Shima, who tells him from here on in he can’t win unless he’s ready to kill humans, of which Illuminati is composed.

Shima reverts to his usual affable tone as he thanks his friends for trusting him until long (which for us viewers was thirteen years!) and boards the helicopter with Izumo and the other Illuminati officers, passing out as soon as the hatch closes with a cryptic expression that could be interpreted as regret.

But for now, I don’t give a damn about Shima’s possible redemption. Thanks to his treachery Izumo, the one person Illuminati claims to need for their grand plan, is now firmly in their clutches. Meanwhile, not just the main academy barrier but all the lesser barriers around the city are down, and the demons are swarming. The war that Lucifer declared is already underway.

Mephisto promptly orders Yukio and the Exwires to rescue Izumo ASAP. They’ll be accompanied by Nemu, who isn’t a piece of shit after all but a high-level exorcist Mephisto hired to supervise them. He played the villain in trying to get Izumo to a place where Illuminati couldn’t get her, but he failed.

As for Shima, Mephisto believes there’s no course but to accept the fact that he’s a member of the Illuminati. Rin grabs Mephisto by the scruff and tells him he’s not ready to believe that yet. This is a rescue mission of both Izumo and Shima, and even if he owes Shima a punch in the face, he’s going to get a proper explanation from him too.

Ao no Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati-hen – 01 – Family Portrait

Hello, old friend. That’s not even a euphemism: I wrote about the first Ao no Exorcist episode back on April 17, 2011! I last wrote about it back in March 2017. When the second season came six years after the first, I said it felt like riding a bike. Now it’s been another seven years, and, as you’d guess, it’s still like riding a bike … Or like slipping on your favorite pair of pajama pants.

While this latest Exorcist features some re-introductory exposition, it feels like the previous episode only aired a couple of months ago, if not more recently. Rin gets what he thinks is a love letter but is just an invitation from Mephisto to join him for a “Congratulations on Getting a Stay of Execution” banquet.

On the way, he encounters his classmate Gedouiin being harassed by a demon only the two of them can see. Rin kicks up the intimidation to spook the demon away, and Gedouiin is grateful, and Rin is excited to have made a new friend, and wants to help him more by finding a way for him to stop seeing demons if he doesn’t want to.

Before Rin can bring it up to Mephisto at the banquet (which consists of instant ramen), Lord Pheles temporarily transports them to Gehenna, where he has a bit of news for Rin: Mephisto is just the name he’s used in Assiah for the last 200 years. His true identity is Samael, King of Time and second most powerful person in Gehenna.

Despite Mephisto being a demon, he’s on humanity’s side. As a member of demonic royalty and master of time and space, Mephisto wants to make sure Rin’s head didn’t grow too big after defeating the Impure King in the last arc. He also notes that most demons tend to hide their horns and hearts as a matter of etiquette.

Mephisto offers to give Rin a vial of eye drops to help his new friend if he can accomplish a mission for him. That mission turns out to be an extracurricular class involving Rin and all his friends: Bon, Koneko, Shima, Shiemi, Izumi, and Takara.

The class consists of the group dealing with a demonic painting called “Family Portrait” that has been causing several students mental anguish (among them Gedouiin). Rin’s first instinct is to run at the portrait and slash it, saving everyone else from getting into danger.

This…doesn’t work, and indeed only makes things worse for everyone. Rin himself ends up in some kind of dreamscape in which none of his friends remember him and recoil from his presence. Then Koneko pulls him back to reality, something he did for the others.

The spirit possessing the painting is a shape-shifter that projects peoples’ worst fears. When Bon suggest taking it down with fatal verses, Konekomaru interrupts him, and takes charge. Thanks to his poor vision, he didn’t look at the painting, so he’s not suffering any effects.

He proceeds to bark out frank but accurate assessments about everyone else, one by one. In doing so, he shows them how well he knows them, making it easier for them to trust him as their strategist. The group is packed with talent, but need someone to direct and coordinate.

That’s what Koneko does. Equally knowledgeable about their abilities as their personalities, he’s able to deploy the right people at the right time while keeping Rin in reserve as their trump card. Discerning that the “Family Portrait” is actually four separate paintings, he has Rin, Shima, and Izumi launch a simultaneous attack.

After a brief glance at what Arthur is up to in Yemen, Rin gets the drops from Mephisto and gives them to Gedouiin. When his new friend asks about his tail, Rin comes clean: he’s a half-demon. When Gedouiin asks if he’s scared, Rin’s answer is pretty much Ao no Exorcist’s mission statement: “Sure I’m scared. But I’m lucky, because I’m surrounded by some great people!”

Those people—Shima, Bon, Konekomaru, Shiemi, and Izumi—are waiting for Rin outside, all wearing the same paint stains of victory on their uniforms as he is. Seeing that they waited up for him brings a smile to his face. It’s a great group—at this point, they feel more like a family—and the main reason I keep coming back to this show even after multi-year breaks.

Ao no Exorcist: Kyoto Fujouou-hen – 12 (Fin)

With the Impure King defeated and the Kyoto Saga all but in the books, I was up for pretty much anything Ao no Exoricst wanted to do in the post-battle epilogue episode. It turned out to be chock-full of nice character moments, and felt like a thank you to the audience for watching. For instance, there’s no such thing as too much Mamushi, and her lovely scene in which Juzu comforts her kicks things off nicely.

Rin comes to in a room with Kumo resting beside him, but he soon spots Shiemi lying right next to him. They have a nice exchange, until she seemingly permanently friendzones him, and we learn that Renzo, Izumo and even the ventriloquist kid are also in there. It’s a need little gradual reveal.

After Mephisto has a chat with Yaozou (who gives all credit for the victory to Rin), a seemingly tipsy Shura comes onto him, but he sniffs out her intent, and soon she has a kunai at his throat, wondering if the Impure King was yet another test for Rin (which it most certainly was). Mephisto isn’t forthcoming with details, but his polite threat sends Shura flying off him, then warning him she has her eye on him…from a safe distance.

The next morning, Bon is headed to the room where his dad is resting, only to find him in an inn uniform sweeping the floor. It would seem Master Tatsuma has hung up the sutras, and wishes to live a simple life helping out around the inn. This irks Bon, who thinks it’s up to Tatsuma to re-unite the Myoda sect.

Turns out, neither Tatsuma nor Bon had to do anything for that to happen, as Juzu announces his intention to marry Mamushi. I’ll admit I wasn’t really shipping these two, but I can’t deny they work as a couple, and the scene in which he convinces her to agree to the marriage represents a nice melding of tradition and modern sensibilities. The protesting from Mamushi and Juzo’s siblings are also delightful, while Mamushi’s eyepatch is very chuunibyou.

The students have the day off, so they spend it together, this time not fighting for their lives, but sightseeing in Kyoto, the city they all helped to save from turning into the toxic forest from Nausicaä. It’s mostly a montage of stills, but they’re pretty stills that contain a lot of nice little character moments. I also liked how Rin’s friends did a running gag of having to do what the “son of satan” says, or else he’ll fry them.

Finally, Yukio meets Rin by the riverbank so Rin can tell him he’s still committed to becoming an exorcist and leaving his little brother in the dust, despite being the son of satan. Yukio doesn’t approve, and he has lots of good reasons, but Rin’s going to keep training nonetheless. So he tells Yukio he can go ahead and keep having his back, and he’ll have Yukio’s in return. With that, the brothers return to the group and they continue their pleasant, and well-earned, day off. Not a bad way to end.

Ao no Exorcist: Kyoto Fujouou-hen – 11

Ao no Exorcist wasn’t going to be able to sustain my interest in the battle without resolving it for two more episodes, so I’m glad it was finished in one. And what a finish! All the little separate parts of the battle came together wonderfully, and Rin finally figures shit out.

As Shura says, the only think he lacks is confidence. He’s been holding back all this time because he was scared of who he truly was: the spawn of Satan. As the Observing-from-on-high Mephisto quotes: sometimes to defeat a monster you have to become one.

Dealing with Todou certainly requires vicious and vigilant attention, as Kurara enables him to regenerate right quick; if it wasn’t for the heavy rain (and added effectiveness of naiad bullets) Yukio & Co. would have been in bad shape. Again, though, this fight seems a bit of a distraction beside the Impure King threat, and Yukio’s realization that he shouldn’t be listening to the temptations of a demon comes curiously late in his battle.

Sick of watching Rin ineffectually hack at the seemingly infinite tendrils of the King, Ucchusma, noticing the Koma Sword, agrees to lend his power to Rin, shrinking in size, turning blue, and perching on the tip of the sword as a result.

But while Ucchusma wants the two of them to completely obliterate everything on the mountain—including all those who have been “contaminated”: Rin’s friends and comrades—Rin has something less destructive in mind; something only he can do: use his flames to defeat the Impure King without harming anyone or anything else. When he does so, the flames threaten to overwhelm him, tearing away his humanity.

Rin eventually calms down and remembers what happened to Shiemi when his flames enveloped her in Mephisto’s prison: nothing. So after Shiemi herself, after losing Nee again, climbs the rot that has enveloped Izumo, ignoring her insults, and pulls her free, and after Rin’s blue flames pour out in all directions and envelop them both, Shiemi is not afraid; everything will be fine.

Bon, Shura, Renzo and Koneko; everyone is bathed in the blue flames. At first they feared it would mean their death, but the flames are harmless, and only destroy the King and his Impurity. High above the mountain, Mephisto applauds the “bonfire” Rin created, happy the powers of the Blue Exorcist have finally awakened.

Shura, Renzo, Koneko, and the Myoda monks are all smiles in the aftermath of Rin’s great achievement, but there’s one guy who rains on the parade with a brutal punch to Rin’s face is Yukio, who is furious that he’s out of his cell. Obviously, he’s not up to speed, and Rin’s puckish grinning and laughing doesn’t help matters.

So Rin gets serious, and shows his little brother who he truly is; the thing he’s no longer afraid of facing himself. Shino never directly told Rin what he should do with his life, but left it up to him. So he chose: with the power he always had, but could not control because he feared it, he will keep his friends and family safe from the forces of evil, using Satan’s own flames against them.

Ao no Exorcist: Kyoto Fujouou-hen – 10

It seems like the tide is about to turn with the arrival of Juzo & Co., but because Todo has a stronger fire-element demon, all their attacks are absorbed. Bummer! Yukio (whose guys stop glowing blue before anyone sees them) has a plan: let Todo absorb their fire…all of it.

In a well-planned gambit, the youngsters take Todo on as a distraction while the others chant, and Juzo drops a huge fireball down upon Todo. The Phoenix absorbs so much that Todo can’t handle it, and his body turns to ash, which is then soaked by the rain, slowing down his regeneration considerably.

That being said, it’s not the end of Todo, which was a bit disappointing, as he goes all muddy T-1000 on Yukio, Juzo, and the others, who dilly-dally in storing and separating his pieces to keep them from joining. I tellya, what’s it going to take to get this guy and make it stick?

We don’t learn that, though Koneko and Renzo manage to inform Shura that Rin and Bon are within the barrier, with Bon just barely keeping the barrier up to prevent widespread disaster.

When the super-ugly “pizza roll”-like Impure King advances, Bon has to cast a second spell to force him back, considerably weakening him in the process. Shura can’t come soon enough. Even Kuro’s in trouble.

When Shura finally does get there, Bon had dropped one of his two spells and let the miasma cover him, confident that Rin—his friend—will find a way to unsheathe his sword and save him. And what do you know, he does! And not a moment too soon.

In doing so, Rin seems to be doing exactly what Mephisto—his “older brother”—had hoped he would do: unleash the power of the blue flames for good, and show the Vatican that the son of the devil, once under control, is a vital asset in their struggle. But first thing’s first: Rin’s gotta pierce the king’s heart.

Ao no Exorcist: Kyoto Fujouou-hen – 09

Todou’s “join me” schtick doesn’t work, as Yukio tells him he loves Rin as much as he hates him, but hates the old Yukio who was a sniveling little punk always in need of Rin’s help.

Yukio summons a coven of naiads and puts Todou in a water prison. I’m glad Exorcist isn’t playing the “Yukio switches sides” angle here, and that Yukio actually gets one over on Todou in what had been a laughably one-sided match.

As for Rin, he’s trying to stay positive and cheerful while riding Kuro to the sproangium, but Bon can tell from his shaking hands that Rin’s just trying to keep it together, like he is. Kuro gets them into position, and Bon is able to put up a giant fire barrier to contain the sporangium (during which a phoenix screams like a red-tailed hawk for some reason).

As all his family and friends fight what looks like a hopeless battle, Shino is consumed by fear and self-preservation, even going so far as to abandon Koneko when he refuses to run away. Shino only gets a few paces away before Koneko is about to be killed and he swoops in with his staff. As much as he wants to run from this situation—and his blood—he just can’t. He’s a part of this.

Meanwhile, Izumo lets her guard down while admonishing Shiemi for not letting herself be protected by someone stronger, and gets covered in spores. Using the “if not now, when” argument, a desperate Shiemi finally manages to summon Nee-chan, and prepares to free Izumo, who takes time to ponder why she agreed to all this in the first place.

Despite everyone’s efforts, the sporangium still bursts, and it feels like a huge setback when it happens. Fortunately the barrier holds, but that Bon can’t move if he wants to keep it up is a huge challenge for Rin and Kuro.

Rin almost felt like he could unsheathe his sword when Kuro was in trouble (Kuro gets out of it on his own); I imagine the time is quickly approaching when, like Shiemi with Nee-chan, Rin can’t go without its blade any longer.

As for Yukio, his water prison crumbles and he’s about to get burnt alive by Todou, but his eyes suddenly glimmer with blue flame—like Rin—which causes Todou to instinctively jump back.

Before Todou can get back to killing Yukio—or Yukio can determine what the hell’s up with his eyes—Juzu & Co. arrive to fight Todou. But yeah, those blue eyes are definitely an interesting development.

Ao no Exorcist: Kyoto Fujouou-hen – 08

It was great to watch Shiemi finally kick some ass after sitting on the sidelines for so long, and for the gang to get back together and head out as a team. The question was, could this episode keep the momentum going as we draw nearer to the final battle with Todo and the Impure King? The answer, unfortunately, is not really.

Sure, lots of things happen: the exorcists summon a fire vajra to give them more strength against the rot, the kids find Bon’s dad, who Kurara is keeping alive, Kurara is transferred to Bon, which is a pretty big deal, and Bon and Rin ride MegaKuro closer to the place where they’ll have to destroy the Impure King’s heart.

But none of it feels that significant; it’s as if the show is intentionally holding back and content to show us more preparation for the fight. We’re told many tens of thousands of innocent people are at risk, and the billowing rot of the Impure King is a nearly constant and menacing presence, but the fact remains: the episode felt slow, almost plodding, and I didn’t like Rin’s group splitting up so soon after getting back together, even if it makes sense to the plot.

Yukio has never been my favorite Exorcist character, what with his occasional temptations to cast away the burdens of his family and cross over to the dark side. Todo spends a lot of time toying with him in an interminable one-sided duel, with the apparent intent of bringing Yukio over to his side. I mean, if that wasn’t the case, he could have killed him many times over.

Chances are Rin will be able to unsheathe the Koma Sword, but only in the moment he needs to the most. That means the Impure King’s heart is probably not long for this world. The true wild card is Todo, especially if he manages to turn Yukio. But it wouldn’t be particularly satisfying if he could be turned so easily by a brief monologue.