Blue Exorcist ( Ao no Exorcist) is a manga written and illustrated by Kazue Katō. The manga has been serialized in
Jump Square magazine by Shueisha since April 2009, with individual chapters collected into eight
tankōbon volumes as of April 4, 2011. The story revolves around Rin Okumura, a teenager who discovers he is
the son of Satan born from a human woman and is the inheritor of Satan's
powers. When Satan kills his guardian, Rin decides to become an
exorcist in order to defeat his father.
It was adapted into an anime television series by A-1 Pictures during 2011 and adapted into an anime film in December 2012.
Viz Media has licensed the manga for North American production, with the first volume released in April 5, 2011.
The story revolves around
Rin Okumura, a teenager possessing abnormal
strength and endurance who, along with his younger twin brother
Yukio,
was raised by Father
Shiro Fujimoto. One day, Rin learns that he is the
son of
Satan, the strongest of all demons. Witnessing Shiro dying to
protect him, Rin ends up doing what his guardian asked him never to do:
draw the demon-slaying blade Kurikara, which restrains his demonic
powers, from its scabbard. From that moment on, Rin not only gains
permanent demonic features like fangs, pointed ears, fiery
"horns" and a
tail, but also the power to ignite himself into blue flames that can
destroy almost anything they touch.
At Fujimoto's funeral, Rin has an encounter with Fujimoto's friend
Mephisto Pheles, who agrees with Rin's wish to become an Exorcist like
his guardian to become stronger and to defeat Satan. Rin enrolls at the
prestigious
True Cross Academy, which is actually the Japanese branch of
an international organization dedicated to protect the human realm,
Assiah, from demons and other creatures from the demon realm,
Gehenna.
Rin takes part in a special Exorcist course, the existence of which is
known only by a few. Much to his surprise, he finds that his brother
Yukio is already a veteran Exorcist and will be one of his teachers.
Characters:
Rin Okumura
Rin Okumura
is the fifteen-year-old protagonist of the story. He is a son of
Satan
born from a human woman and is the inheritor of Satan's powers. His
powers were sealed at birth into the demon-slaying blade Kurikara
by Mephisto Pheles, the True Cross Academy principal, allowing him to
live a normal human life for nearly 15 years with his twin brother
Yukio and his foster father
Shiro Fujimoto.
Rin becomes aware of his true identity after Kurikara can no longer
seal his powers, setting off a chain of events that lead to the death of
Shiro at the hands of Satan, who attempts to drag Rin back to the demon
realm, Gehenna. Mephisto Pheles later confronts Rin who demands
Mephisto to let him join the exorcists against the demons. Mephisto personally enrolls Rin into the True Cross Academy so that Rin
can pursue his goal to become a Paladin and to defeat Satan.
While currently an Exwire, Rin wishes to obtain the biggest rank of an
Exorcist, Paladin, to prove Fujimoto did not want to use him as a
weapon.
Rin can access the power he has inherited from Satan through drawing Kurikara.
The sheath acts as a portal to Gehenna, which, when the blade is drawn,
returns Rin to his demon form. While in his human form, Rin exhibits a
number of physical traits that are signs of his demonic nature that are
intensified in the demon forms. In both forms, Rin can control
incredibly destructive bright blue flames, the trademark sign of
anything related to Satan. However, when he draws Kurikara, the
magnitude of the flames dramatically increases and often leads to Rin
being "consumed" by his own flames and losing his mind. Rin later meets a spirit named Kongo Ucchusma who teaches him how to control his flames. Rin also has a
Cat Sith Kuro, who was initially Shiro's, as his familiar. Rin is voiced by
Nobuhiko Okamoto in Japanese
and by
Bryce Papenbrook in English.
In the
Blue Exorcist musical, he was portrayed by Ryou Kimura.
Yukio Okumura
Yukio Okumura
is Rin's younger twin brother. When it was discovered that the woman
impregnated by Satan was going to have twins, it was believed that
Satan's powers would be split between them. Due to the weakness of
Yukio's body, however, he did not inherit any of Satan's powers, thus
being born fully human with the full extent of Satan's powers going to
Rin.
Yukio did, however, receive a spirit wound at birth from his brother,
which allowed him to be aware of demons for as long as he can remember.
Yukio secretly trained to become an Exorcist from the age of seven in
order to protect Rin through the help of Fujimoto. While both Yukio and
Rin are in their first year at True Cross Academy, Yukio is already an
instructor at the Exorcist cram school teaching Anti-Demon Pharmacology
to Rin's class.
It is often stated that Yukio is considered a prodigy, having already
acquired the title "Meister" in both the Dragoon and Doctor class,
while ordinarily most people would aim for Meister in only one class
(both are still fully qualified exorcists). He is currently ranked a
Middle First class exorcist. Even though he and Rin argue a lot, Yukio
truly cares about his brother. Fearing Rin will be consumed by his
demonic nature, Yukio often berates him for his impulsive actions and
reckless attitude. Later on in the anime, he becomes a demon (as well as
being possessed by Satan himself) just like his brother. He is voiced
by
Jun Fukuyama in Japanese
and by
Johnny Yong Bosch in English
. In the
Blue Exorcist musical, he was portrayed by
Kimito Totani.
Ryuji Suguro
Ryuji Suguro
(nicknamed "Bon"
)
is a stubborn and hot-tempered individual. Despite his delinquent
appearance and attitude, he is very hardworking and the best student in
class. Ryuji is the heir to the Cursed Temple in Kyoto. Because of the
destruction of the temple in the Blue Night and his anger towards his
father Tatsuma Suguro, he swears he will defeat Satan and rebuild his
Temple.
When Rin's identity is revealed, Ryuji, along most of his classmates
start avoiding him, but after a confrontation with his father and Rin,
Ryuji and his classmates help Rin escape impending execution and
reconciles with him, claiming that he only blames Rin for not trusting
his friends with his secret.
During the battle with the Impure King he inherits a familiar named
Karura (a phoenix like demon which has the ability to use strong amount
of red flames to incinerate almost everything and reincarnate when it
dies) from his father Tatsuma Suguro, he uses its power to create a
Gouhaen (a fire-element barrier) in order to prevent any miasma coming
out from the Impure King from spreading further.
Ryuji is currently an Esquire just like Rin and the others, trying to
achieve Meister in both Aria and Dragoon. He is voiced by
Kazuya Nakai in Japanese and by
Kyle Hebert in English.
In the
Blue Exorcist musical, he was portrayed by Yūki Tomotsune.
Shiemi Moriyama
Shiemi Moriyama
is the daughter of the woman who runs an Exorcist-only shop. She is
kind and has an abiding love of gardening, but often lacks confidence in
herself. Before the series, Shiemi never went out of her home and
tended to the garden with her grandmother. After her grandmother died,
Rin and Yukio exorcise the demon that was leeching her life force and
she decides to become an Exorcist.
While at the academy, Shiemi only talks with Rin and Yukio initially,
she also comes on amicable terms with Ryuji, Konekomaru, and Renzo.
Eventually she also earns Izumo's friendship despite being initially
used and mistreated by her. Shiemi gets devastated upon learning Rin's
secret, taking it to mean that she is not trustworthy enough to them.
However on the Kyoto mission, she reconciles with Rin when seeing how
much he is suffering as a result of his nature.
Shiemi has the talent to become a Tamer and can summon a reliable
Greenman spirit that can produce healing herbs and plant-related
barriers. She is currently an Esquire. She is voiced by
Kana Hanazawa in Japanese and by
Christine Marie Cabanos in English.
In the
Blue Exorcist musical, she was portrayed by Ari Nakajima.