<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/2014-06-02MANB8130_BD_Blue_Exorcist_Movie_Collectors_3D.jpg">
<b>Review of Blue Exorcist: The Movie by Sarah</b>
Rin and Yukio Okumura, twin student exorcists at the True Cross Academy, are on a mission to exorcise a Phantom Train that takes the souls of the dead beneath the city to oblivion in Gehenna. At the same time, the city is getting ready for a religious festival that takes place every eleven years – and the experienced exorcists are in the midst of an important sealing ceremony. What could possibly go wrong? Well, Rin gets a little carried away (as usual) and in the resulting chaos, a little rabbit demon is set free, manifesting as a cute and mischievous little boy (albeit with ears and a cotton-tail). Rin is appointed baby-sitter for the little fellow whom he names Usamaro and, after a difficult start, the two begin to get along rather well. But when Rin shares an old picture-book about a little demon and a child with Usamaro – one that his adoptive father used to read to him and Yukio – the story stirs memories in them both. And Usamaro begins to use his powers just as the festival gets underway...with disastrous results.<br>
In the world created by Kazue Katō for her manga <em>Blue Exorcist</em>, Satan has tried to leave Gehenna (Hell) to take control of the world of the living: Assiah. Only the combined forces of the exorcists (from all faiths) can stop his efforts – although by a unique irony, his twin sons with a mortal woman, Rin and Yukio, are raised by exorcists. Rin, the one who has inherited his daddy’s forked tail, pointy ears, demon sword and searing blue fire, has chosen to reject his satanic heritage and continue the fight alongside his brother.<br>
First things first. Production values here are higher than high; the attention to detail in the cityscapes is superb, especially the exquisitely detailed festival scenes, and the animation is – as is to be expected – of film standard. The art for the children’s picture-book/folk legend is striking, a little reminiscent of the illustrator Tomi Ungerer’s work. Deep breath. Now that’s out the way, down to the actual dramatic content of the film. And it’s an appealing little story about a sealed demon who emerges as cute as a button and then wreaks havoc. It would make a good chapter or two in the manga, or a single episode of the TV series. But a whole film? Not so much. If you’re already a fan of <em>Blue Exorcist</em>, you’ll have fun spotting all the regulars of the True Cross Academy (only Shiemi, Rin and Yukio take centre-stage, everyone else makes brief appearances at best). And there’s a new character, dashing visiting exorcist Cheng-Long Liu from Taiwan, who has his own ideas about how to exorcise the little demon.<br>
And, er...that’s it.<br>
<em>Blue Exorcist</em> is an ongoing manga. Therefore, as with <em>Bleach, Naruto </em>and <em>One Piece</em>, any spin-off film is inevitably – natch – going to be a self-contained story that does nothing to advance the main and ongoing story. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the film is an inferior piece of entertainment – indeed, as here, the quality of the art and the animation is usually far superior to what goes into the weekly episodes of a TV series. Hurrah for High Production Values! But what is often lacking is a sense of development in the characters’ lives and relationships. Things don’t – can’t – move on. A problem is posed – addressed – resolved. The bigger issues that underpin the characters’ lives still remain. Result? The disappointment so often expressed by viewers having spent an hour and a half with a film based on an unfinished manga series, even if it looks as gorgeous as this one. <br>
However, it’s fascinating – if you have the time to spare – to follow the two (yes, two!) commentaries (on Blu-ray only?) by the creative team and main Japanese voice actors. They’re very revealing, as they highlight (amongst other things) all the little details in the film that were so important to the creative team – and can easily be missed by the uninformed viewer. Of course, one can argue, the film should speak for itself – you shouldn’t need an explanation when you watch it. But the director and co. obviously wanted to get their research right with potential audiences and give an interesting insight into their (rather different) view about the purpose of what is essentially a spin-off film.<br>
Both voice casts are good – especially Bryce Papenbrook and Nobuhiko Okamoto as Rin and Cassandra Lee and Rie Kugimiya who manage to be brattish yet affecting as little Usamaro. The soundtrack from Hiroyuki Sawano (<em>Attack on Titan, Kill la Kill</em>) is sumptuous and memorable. The closing song ‘REVERSI’ by UVERworld is suitably lively. But the real star of the film is the artwork; the snow scenes toward the end are so effectively portrayed that they evoke a genuine shiver.<br>
Extras include the two subtitled commentaries mentioned above, and the usual promotional trailers.<br>
In Summary
This is an visual treat of an anime film and should appeal to all <em>Blue Exorcist</em> fans – but is rather thin on dramatic content.<br>
<b>Final score: 6 out of 10</b>
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2014-06-02BlueExorcist_TheMovie_1.jpg">
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2014-06-02BlueExorcist_TheMovie_3.jpg">
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2014-06-02BlueExorcist_TheMovie_4.jpg">
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2014-06-02BlueExorcist_TheMovie_5.jpg">
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2014-06-02BlueExorcist_TheMovie_6.jpg">
<b>Review of Blue Exorcist: The Movie by Sarah</b>
Rin and Yukio Okumura, twin student exorcists at the True Cross Academy, are on a mission to exorcise a Phantom Train that takes the souls of the dead beneath the city to oblivion in Gehenna. At the same time, the city is getting ready for a religious festival that takes place every eleven years – and the experienced exorcists are in the midst of an important sealing ceremony. What could possibly go wrong? Well, Rin gets a little carried away (as usual) and in the resulting chaos, a little rabbit demon is set free, manifesting as a cute and mischievous little boy (albeit with ears and a cotton-tail). Rin is appointed baby-sitter for the little fellow whom he names Usamaro and, after a difficult start, the two begin to get along rather well. But when Rin shares an old picture-book about a little demon and a child with Usamaro – one that his adoptive father used to read to him and Yukio – the story stirs memories in them both. And Usamaro begins to use his powers just as the festival gets underway...with disastrous results.<br>
In the world created by Kazue Katō for her manga <em>Blue Exorcist</em>, Satan has tried to leave Gehenna (Hell) to take control of the world of the living: Assiah. Only the combined forces of the exorcists (from all faiths) can stop his efforts – although by a unique irony, his twin sons with a mortal woman, Rin and Yukio, are raised by exorcists. Rin, the one who has inherited his daddy’s forked tail, pointy ears, demon sword and searing blue fire, has chosen to reject his satanic heritage and continue the fight alongside his brother.<br>
First things first. Production values here are higher than high; the attention to detail in the cityscapes is superb, especially the exquisitely detailed festival scenes, and the animation is – as is to be expected – of film standard. The art for the children’s picture-book/folk legend is striking, a little reminiscent of the illustrator Tomi Ungerer’s work. Deep breath. Now that’s out the way, down to the actual dramatic content of the film. And it’s an appealing little story about a sealed demon who emerges as cute as a button and then wreaks havoc. It would make a good chapter or two in the manga, or a single episode of the TV series. But a whole film? Not so much. If you’re already a fan of <em>Blue Exorcist</em>, you’ll have fun spotting all the regulars of the True Cross Academy (only Shiemi, Rin and Yukio take centre-stage, everyone else makes brief appearances at best). And there’s a new character, dashing visiting exorcist Cheng-Long Liu from Taiwan, who has his own ideas about how to exorcise the little demon.<br>
And, er...that’s it.<br>
<em>Blue Exorcist</em> is an ongoing manga. Therefore, as with <em>Bleach, Naruto </em>and <em>One Piece</em>, any spin-off film is inevitably – natch – going to be a self-contained story that does nothing to advance the main and ongoing story. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the film is an inferior piece of entertainment – indeed, as here, the quality of the art and the animation is usually far superior to what goes into the weekly episodes of a TV series. Hurrah for High Production Values! But what is often lacking is a sense of development in the characters’ lives and relationships. Things don’t – can’t – move on. A problem is posed – addressed – resolved. The bigger issues that underpin the characters’ lives still remain. Result? The disappointment so often expressed by viewers having spent an hour and a half with a film based on an unfinished manga series, even if it looks as gorgeous as this one. <br>
However, it’s fascinating – if you have the time to spare – to follow the two (yes, two!) commentaries (on Blu-ray only?) by the creative team and main Japanese voice actors. They’re very revealing, as they highlight (amongst other things) all the little details in the film that were so important to the creative team – and can easily be missed by the uninformed viewer. Of course, one can argue, the film should speak for itself – you shouldn’t need an explanation when you watch it. But the director and co. obviously wanted to get their research right with potential audiences and give an interesting insight into their (rather different) view about the purpose of what is essentially a spin-off film.<br>
Both voice casts are good – especially Bryce Papenbrook and Nobuhiko Okamoto as Rin and Cassandra Lee and Rie Kugimiya who manage to be brattish yet affecting as little Usamaro. The soundtrack from Hiroyuki Sawano (<em>Attack on Titan, Kill la Kill</em>) is sumptuous and memorable. The closing song ‘REVERSI’ by UVERworld is suitably lively. But the real star of the film is the artwork; the snow scenes toward the end are so effectively portrayed that they evoke a genuine shiver.<br>
Extras include the two subtitled commentaries mentioned above, and the usual promotional trailers.<br>
In Summary
This is an visual treat of an anime film and should appeal to all <em>Blue Exorcist</em> fans – but is rather thin on dramatic content.<br>
<b>Final score: 6 out of 10</b>
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2014-06-02BlueExorcist_TheMovie_1.jpg">
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2014-06-02BlueExorcist_TheMovie_3.jpg">
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2014-06-02BlueExorcist_TheMovie_4.jpg">
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2014-06-02BlueExorcist_TheMovie_5.jpg">
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2014-06-02BlueExorcist_TheMovie_6.jpg">