Blue Exorcist: The Movie

Rin is the son of a demon and is studying to become an exorcist. In the town where he lives, preparations are under way for a festival held once a century. During an assignment he encounters a small creature; it looks harmless, he becomes attached to it and hides it. But as the creature grows a danger appears over the town, and Rin is held responsible. Atsushi Takahashi directs. It is an A-1 Pictures production, from Kazue Kato's comic. The film stands apart from the television series as its own narrative; someone who has not seen the series can follow it. The subject is being accepted. Because everyone knows what he is, the people around Rin keep their distance, and his bond with the creature comes out of that loneliness. The animation is above the television episodes; the festival scenes and the night imagery are worked in detail. The narrative is short and built on a single event; it runs about eighty eight minutes. Its limit is predictability; the emotional line is clear from the start and the ending stays inside genre. Who it is for: viewers who like Japanese fantasy animation and followers of the series. Who it is not for: the narrative is simple, there is little character development, and it says nothing new to those who know the series.