Review: Ao No Exorcist

Its author, Kazue Kato, inspired by a Brothers Grimm fairy tale ending up making a manga of two brothers fighting demons in a world where exorcists are the only defense against these demons. She uses a lot of biblical references and meticulously balances out a soft action, comedy situations with a slight deeper meaning in the overall story. At times the story loses its initial speed though it picks it’s pace right back up. Her level of detail in large scale cities is laudable. I happened to observe her subtle obsession with keys seen throughout the manga. What also interesting is the way she alters the level of detailing through the scenes to express either comic relief or intense fight scenes. Either way she’s found a creative blend of chuckling moments and sudden fast paced battles.

The art form in this manga is refreshing and unique. With each chapter the Mangaka’s( author) skills improve. Her real talent lies not in her human depictions but her background detailing. The way she draws the demonic and semi demon creatures in the manga is quite impressive for a rather new manga. She also draws animals and spirit beast anatomy in fantastic detail, giving them a very realistic appearance and looks rather possible, while keeping the fantasy element strong.

I find this manga to be a casual and easy read for a shonen manga without losing the core elements that make a good shonen manga work. It’s a bit light on the action without making it seem boring yet using humorous good comic moments that make you turn each page without having the urge to recheck what you’ve read. It’s a good manga for a first time manga reader.

I praise this mangaka for creating good overall story but the similarities are quite obvious. The story and comedy might seem dry and not needed at times. Comedy is also predictable and at times unnecessary. The Action is also too quick compared to the slow, drawn-out story and overly used clichés.