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Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga
Episode 5

by James Beckett,

How would you rate episode 5 of
Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga ?
Community score: 4.2

If Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga has an Achilles heel at this moment, it is that it might end up being just a little too faithful to the manga at times. Episodes like this one are a perfect argument for that, since the pacing and plot development feel so married to the rhythm of a serialized comic, instead of the more even keeled and episodic pace at which a television series is expected to run at. This episode didn't feel so much like a complete and individual narrative as it did a smaller, incomplete piece of a larger whole; what little plot there is to this week's entry essentially boils down to “Yukio arrives at the temple, and then he and Rin read a letter”. Compared to the fairly breezy speed at which the first season introduced its characters and got down to demon fighting business, I can see how some viewers might find the Kyoto Saga to be a bit sluggish, so far.

I certainly don't feel that way, however, at least not yet. This series is confident enough in its character dynamics and its worldbuilding that I actually appreciate the slower take this season is giving us, especially when taken within the context of the series as a whole. Rin and his friends have been taken from their idyllic school life and thrust in to the first important mission of their lives. For some, like Ryuji and the other monks, it is a bittersweet homecoming. For the others, it is an alien setting that is being plagued by an alien threat, a situation made all the more trying by Rin's outing himself as a demon. In reassessing and reinforcing the show's key relationships, while also taking the time to build up the new and unseen facets of the world of the Exorcists, the show is doing a fine job of putting you in Rin's shoes. It is going to take some time to put the pieces back together, especially when a rogue exorcist is doing everything he can to break it apart all over again.

So while the measured pace at which this new story is being approached does run some risk of becoming a bit languid, I don't think we've reached that point. I've enjoyed seeing how Shiemi and Izumo are beginning to forge a legitimate friendship, and how the others in the group are slowly but surely coming back around to Rin's side. Tatsuma Suguro's letter also provides some interesting teases into his complicated history with Father Fujimoto, and by the look of next week's preview it seems we'll get more insight into that history very soon.

Spoilers for the first season of Blue Exorcist, and possibly future manga chapters, below

What I am most interested in is the foreshadowing the series has been dropping about Yukio's potential to turn to the dark side, for lack of a better phrase. In the anime original arc his latent demonic tendencies became a focal point for his character, and from what I've read there seem to be elements of that in the manga as well. I've avoided reading past the Kyoto Saga myself, because I want to enjoy this series fresh, but if that is the case, it could mean a lot of juicy drama in the future between our two brothers. The simmering, repressed frustrations Yukio has been exhibiting sound exactly like the roots of dissent that led Todo down his current path, so who knows what kind of struggle lies in Yukio's future?

End Spoilers

Slow burns don't tend to bother me very much, especially when the character writing is strong enough to keep the emotional momentum of a story moving swiftly, if not the momentum of the plot. That is how I'm feeling about Blue Exorcist so far this season. Let it takes its time to reestablish its world and strengthen the bond between our heroes. If Todo's scheming goes accordingly, they'll need to be as cohesive a team as they can possibly be. This arc's villain has done nothing if not prove how a little bit of pent up anger can lead to a whole lot of trouble down the line

Rating: B+

Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

James is an English teacher who has loved anime his entire life, and he spends way too much time on Twitter and his blog.


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