Have you been betrayed before? Well, I'm not necessarily talking only about the big betrayals that possibly ruined your career and forced you to change life plans, but even those small betrayals that made you lose trust. If you did, then I know this season will really resonate well with you. Last week after finishing a sci-fi anime series, I started watching season 3 of Blue Exorcist. I somehow forgot what happened next Kyoto arc, for it has been years since I read the manga. That's why I'm quite excited about what will happen next, but my excitement dissipates the moment I know what arc will it be.
It's the least favorite arc that I've read before. It wasn't a bad arc, however, I don't have a high tolerance for tear-jerking moments and annoying villains. So before I lose control and spoil badly, I'm gonna share with you all a brief peek at what happened to the Okumura brothers and their classmates before and a bit during the Shimane Illuminati incident.
About the Anime
Blue Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati Saga (Ao no Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati-hen) is is a shounen anime that premiered in the winter last year. This anime series is a sequel to its second season and the same as its previous season, it aired on January 7 also but this time it's 2024 and the airing lasted until March 24, 2024. However, unlike its previous seasons which were animated by A1 Pictures, there's been a change in the studio that handles it. Now it was animated by Studio VOLN. It still consists of 12 episodes which are now the adaptation of chapters 38 to 68 of its manga.
In this season, it somehow gave us a brief peek of Rin's life when he's not at cram school. That change of setting was of 'course related to the unfolding of another dilemma which now involves humans getting the ability to see demons that lurk in the mortal world, Assiah. Since they're just normal humans with no trauma involved to strengthen their tolerance in seeing those creatures, most of them are terrified to death. Disastrous it seems, Rin still finds these unusual mishaps as an opportunity to make friends, but unlike his older brother, Yukio is burdened with those happenings. The rise of the cases of humans who can see demons became bothersome because ex-wires like him are obligated to help them.
However, his tiring duties aren't his sole problem because after the Kyoto incident, since then, he's been plagued with uncertain feelings about his newfound power. He kept that awakening a secret—even to his older brother—not knowing that things would get complicated soon. The discovery of the first artificial Gehenna Gate, the attack on the several branches of the True Cross Order, the Illuminati's declaration of war, and abduction of Izumi—all of them happened quickly. With them still in the middle of confusion, another unexpected betrayal happened, but this time it was from someone that really close to them.
Like I said it wasn't a bad season, it's just that I'm really pissed off with how that betrayer ended up. I don't want to spoil it, but yeah, it's one of the things that somehow confused me way back the time I was really invested in its manga. Its plot this season wasn't that out of the box but it's not preditable either. If I don't know its plot, I wouldn't really notice the subtle foreshadowing from the previous season and expect that betrayal this season. I have no qualms with its pacing because it's just enough to keep me from getting bored or confused. Its end was somehow rushed for me, but still, it's a nice end/teaser for its next season.
Just to clarify, I don't hate this season because it's badly made, it's just I don't like it because it effectively made me furious with the villains. Unlike the villains in the previous season which weren't that hateful, the moment I saw that villain in this arc, my forgotten hate for him emerged. I never felt repulsed by any other villains before, and seeing him just made me feel like I was about to explode with annoyance. There isn't any fleck of goodness in that villain, so after seeing him, I again look forward to how he will end. He's really a perfect scum of a villain, so there's no remorse in seeing him getting obliterated on his last appearance. I didn't want to spoil, but I couldn't just stay put without sharing the remnants of my agitation.
Moving from that, I kinda didn't like how their art style changed. I know it's probably because of the change of studios, but I find it quite unsettling—especially Rin's face. Well, the change is not only limited to him, but it's the way his face somehow change that made those changes really noticeable. There are times that their art style is decent, but then there are times they look weird. The closeups were nice, but when it zoomed away, their face structures felt off. Anyway, I know I'm probably just not used to it, and I know that maybe I can get used to it once I proceed to the next season. Contrary to its unsettling change in art style, some improvement in their animation was amazing! In most of the scenes, their movements were now more fluid and I think the quality visuals really improved.
On the other hand, its opening and closing songs were both bangers. The opening song sounds nice, but I guess it's the ending song that hooked me up. I don't know but its tune is still stuck in my mind, especially the first parts of it. It was a wonder why it got stuck in my head because usually, I'm not into laid-back tunes. And maybe it's partly because of the cure chibi visuals convinced me to watch the whole ending part, but that song was certainly the one that hooked me up! Same as the previous season, the VAs did an excellent job in portraying their roles—especially the one that voiced that villain. He definitely made me annoyed, so kudos to him!
Overall, this season was an 8.9/10 for me. I somehow rated it lower than the previous season not because I don't like the plot or this arc, but because of its art style! They did look mature now, but I missed their old art style. Not that I can't deal with the new one, but they just look so fine in their old art style—or it's just me not used to it. Well, whatever, I'll still proceed with its next season later, so I guess I'll get used to it in no time. So if you haven't watched Blue Exorcist yet, then again I urge you at least try watching it because if I enjoyed it, then maybe you will also!
Before I end this review, I'll share with you its trailer, so—
Have you already watched this sequel? Or you haven't yet? Well, if there's something you wanted to share about this anime, then feel free to comment below. And that's all for now, minna-san! I hope you enjoyed reading my review.
Arigatou and tanoshinde ne~
The pictures that didn't have source were screenshots from the anime while the last picture was edited in Canva.