Naruto is the series that gets the most empathy from its audiences!

So, this is from the results of last month's Superpoll of the Month, in which readers were asked:

If your life was an anime series, what series it would be?

With 402 votes, Naruto came out on top with 104 votes, followed closely by Bleach with 90 votes, and curiously enough, Blue Exorcist has 77 votes, despite being a new series, while the other two have been running for a decade.

Well, we've all seen Naruto's struggles, solitude and alienation and his humanity, his failures, his ticks are all what make us care for him deeply and root for him to be the village's hero.

I initially thought that One Piece would win hands down due to its popularity, but it is quite there with Full Metal Alchemist, Fairy Tail, and Soul Eater.

Kuroshitsuji and Gintama came in the same place. And Death Note deserves a special mention with 50 votes, (who doesn't identify with either L-kun or Kira-sama?)

It's still interesting to note that a classic series like Dragon Ball didn't garner more votes, with even D.Grayman getting 8 more votes.

Saint Seiya   15 (3%)

Gintama   35 (8%)

Kimi ni Todoke   25 (6%)

Bleach  90 (22%)

Fairy Tail  61 (15%)

Steins Gate  16 (3%)

Death Note  50 (12%)

Karakuridoji Ultimo   2 (0%)

Yu Yu Hakusho   9 (2%)

Evangelion   12 (2%)

Dragon Ball  28 (6%)

Naruto  104 (25%)

Blue Exorcist  77 (19%)

Kamisama Dolls  7 (1%)

Kamisama no Memochou   9 (2%)

Loveless  10 (2%)

Samurai X  17 (4%)

One Piece  64 (15%)

Lucky Star  26 (6%)

Haruhi Suzumiya  17 (4%)

Wallflower (Yamato Nadeshiko)   10 (2%)

K-On!  25 (6%)

Sket Dance  14 (3%)

Soul Eater  54 (13%)

Kuragehime  7 (1%)

Bakuman  16 (3%)

Deadman Wonderland  9 (2%)

Kuroshitsuji  35 (8%)

Hetalia  24 (5%)

Code Geass  25 (6%)

D.Grayman  36 (8%)

C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control   5 (1%)

Akira  6 (1%)

Sailor Moon  28 (6%)

Beelzebub  28 (6%)

Black Lagoon  5 (1%)

Cowboy Bebop  11 (2%)

Full Metal Alchemist  57 (14%)

Hellsing  17 (4%)

Devil May Cry  27 (6%)

Samurai Deeper Kyo  4 (0%)

Infinite Stratos  17 (4%)

Hanasaku Iroha  9 (2%)

Gundam Wing   8 (1%)

Samurai Champloo  13 (3%)

Toriko  8 (1%)

Durarara!  46 (11%)

Other (please indicate so in my twitter!)   23 (5%)

I didn't receive any further explanation through my twitter account over what series did I miss on the list and why. You can follow me at @myanimemangafix .

Blue Exorcist latest manga volume and novel in top of charts!

The 7th manga volume of this acclaimed series has sold over 432,000 copies last month, and it ranked #1 in Oricon charts.

As for the novel, titled Blue Exorcist: Weekend Hero, sold 62,000 copies in its first week. The new development was illustrated by Kazue Kato and Aya Yajima.

 Shueisha ran a first print run of one million copies for Blue Exorcist's seventh manga volume, and it was the first manga from Jump Square magazine to reach that milestone.

 Since the television anime version premiered this past April, the print runs for this manga's first printings have grown more than seven times larger. Shortly after the anime was announced, the fifth manga volume shipped with a first printing of 140,000 copies last December.

Just before the anime premiered on April 17, the sixth manga volume shipped with a 260,000-copy first printing. Due to bookstores reporting that they were selling out of earlier volumes, Shueisha decided to dramatically increase the print run for the seventh volume. Viz Media publishes the manga in North America, and Aniplex is streaming the anime.

 Source: ANN, Oricon.

The results of the July Blue Exorcist poll

Which is your favorite Blue Exorcist (Ao no Exorcist) character?

Rin Okumura 208 (69%)

Yukio Okumura 52 (17%)

Shiemi 29 (9%)

Kamiki 15 (5%)

Bon 29 (9%)

Shima 32 (10%)

Father Fujimoto 31 (10%)

Mephisto 39 (13%)

Kuro the Black Cat 57 (19%)

Satan himself 6 (2%)

Konekomaru 6 (2%)

Amaimon 65 (21%)

Other (a character in the manga that I won't spoil) 18 (6%) <----- It was Shura.

Total votes: 299

Aniplex USA will distribute Ao no Exorcist!!

It is estimated that the series by author Kazue Kato will be distributed in the US in four domestic volumes starting on October of this year.

Other series is Madoka Magica, but the details have yet to be determined.

source: ANN

The winner of the Ao no Exorcist Deviantart contest is here!

This artwork was the winner of the Blue Exorcist contest held at the Ao-No-Exorcist group at Deviantart.

It was done by user ToshaSquare from Russia, who resulted the winner :-)

It was done with watercolor pencils and I'll submit more information right away!!

I just love the use of contrasts and the characterization.



This is her Deviantart account, which features many great artworks!

ToshaSquare on Deviantart

Blue Exorcist anime review

This highly anticipated anime spawned happiness and worries over if the manga was too short and over if announcing the anime series was just too early.

Based on the series by Kazue Kato, originally known as 'Ao no Exorcist', the fact that it is a monthly series (published on JumpSQ by Shueisha) instead of weekly ones like Bleach or Naruto give more room to expand its contents and situations on the anime.

As we know, this is the story of Rin Okumura, a 16 year old orphan kid that discovers he's the son of Satan, pretty much in line with The Omen movie theme.

Damien in The Omen, 1976, directed by the great Richard Donner

The use of colors in The Omen

As an interesting fact, Tensai Okamura (Darker than BLACK, Wolf's Rain, Kikaider) is directing off scripts supervised by Ryota Yamaguchi (Cutey Honey Flash, Digimon: Data Squad, Sailor Moon Sailor Stars).

For starters, the soundtrack is what really stands out, from the popular opening song Core Pride by UVERworld, which is currently in top of Japanese charts. There is an unique, ecclectic sound that mixes Jazz, Blues, and Rock and Roll that creates the atmosphere for each scene.

You'd think that given the theme, the characters would wear obscure red, gray and black gothic colors, just like readers originally thought in the manga, but instead the author and the directors decided to avoid the cliche by dressing them in pastel colors that made contrast with darker ones, and it creates this supernatural, ethereal effect.

Just look at Amaimon, sure, he does come from Hell, but Hell seems to be a funky pimp dark place.

Credit to Axis33 from Deviantart

Girls in the academy wear mainly magenta and pale yellow.

Rin Okumura, the protagonist, wears dark colors with a touch of primary colors such as red and blue.

Father Fujimoto reminded me of a mix between Elton John and Father Merrin (of the Exorcist movie) the first time I saw him, both in the manga and the anime, because of the glasses, the use of accessories and demeanor.

As for the story itself, there have been complaints that the pacing was just too slow, but that was cleared out as this is a monthly manga, so yes, all episodes so far have contained filler material to some extent, either by adding more comedy or more exposition of a character.

The animation is superb quality, similar to Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, however it's too early to judge the fight scenes as there have been few since this series is taking its time with the development of situations and characters, which also breaks a bit the shonen genre cliche in that there must be endless fights all the time. In that sense, this can actually be one of the few shonen series that take special note of character development rather than the constant fights.

So, this series feels like the fondly missed D.Grayman series, whose author hasn't recovered of
a problem in her hand that hasn't let her continue :(

As for the characters, Rin Okumura really stands out as a charismatic character just like Naruto is. The theme of being orphan and rejected, with a cursed legacy upon him makes you relate since you can see that he actually aims to do the right thing.

(by the way, I just can't wait to see Rin fight for real!!)

However, it isn't the same story with Yukio since he seems more aloof and even more arrogant than in the manga.

Also, people act more condescending towards Rin in the anime than in the manga.

But you probably wonder, well, are the differences between the anime and the manga relevant? And it's true, anime series often take their liberties and licenses since not everything can be exactly in the manga, but noticing the subtle differences makes you appreciate the same storyline in different mediums.

I once wrote a sorta review of the manga titled 'Is Ao no Exorcist the next Bleach?', which you can find here: http://myanimemangafix.blogspot.com/2010/06/ao-no-exorxist-next-bleach.html

And looking back, I think that remains to be seen. Both series can't really be compared despite some similarities, but we can see that the anime is having great success in spite of the slow development. In that sense, the pacing of the first Bleach episodes were like a punch to your stomach, and both Tite Kubo and Kazue Kato have very different approaches to their craft, so I think it was adventurous of me to jump ahead and say 'it's the next Bleach', when it's obvious that Blue Exorcist can pretty much become its own thing. :-)

ANN interviews Blue Exorcist author Kazue Kato!!!

ANN interviewed Blue Exorcist author Kazue Kato on her series becoming an anime, the use of biblical references and more!


Interview: Blue Exorcist mangaka Kazue Kato
by Zac Bertschy, Apr 8th 2011

We had a chance to talk for a few moments with Kazue Katō, the creator of Blue Exorcist; the manga premiered in the US on April 5th from Viz Media, with an iPad version available on April 11th. The anime series will be simulcast across multiple streaming sites later this month.

ANN: Please give us your personal overview as to what Blue Exorcist is about.

Kato: It is the story of the growth of a boy who was born between Satan and a human.

What themes were most important to you personally as you were creating this series? What themes and messages are you hoping to get across?

Kato: There isn't a “high” message in it, but I tried to create a manga that would intrigue teenagers and people in their early twenties . They are target of the magazine which carries this manga.

What were your chief inspirations when creating Blue Exorcist?

Kato: It originally was inspired by a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, where brothers combat monsters. Then, I tried to make the story flip several times, and settled down into a simple structure of demons versus an exorcist.

Was it always your goal for the manga to become an anime series?

Kato: No, it wasn't. I was frantically trying to not miss my deadlines. But, looking back, I should have thought about the possibility of it becoming an animated series.

Did the possibility of the series becoming an anime influence your writing process?

Kato: I did attend the meetings where the script for the animated series was being discussed. I felt overwhelmed by the dynamics of many people teaming up and creating something. Personally, my manga creation process is a lonely one, especially when it comes to script writing. I felt that I also wanted to get some input for the writing of the script for manga, although the constraints of the production process doesn't really permit that sort of thing.

There are a lot of biblical references in Blue Exorcist; after the controversy surrounding Neon Genesis Evangelion, were you at all hesitant to include these references?

Kato: As I commented as above, I did not expect that I would be so consistent in keeping my deadlines for the series so far... I made biblical references with the thinking that “I should not run away from these references if I'm working in the Exorcist genre.” But, I understand that Western countries are more sensitive to stories with biblical references than Japan is. Right now, the “Blue Exorcist” manga is currently being translated in France, UK, and the U.S. I was surprised to see some of translations, and thought, “Is it okay to translate that part?” or “Could the fans in Christian countries enjoy reading this?” I got those feelings. I still get those feelings.

Now that your manga is an anime series, how much has your involvement in the production of the anime series interrupted your work on the manga?

Kato: I could get involved with checking on the whole series structure, and on the script for the earlier part of the show, and with the character designs of original characters for the anime series. The challenging part in being involved with an anime was simply the increased workload. But, of course, it was a happy thing.


© Kazue Katō/SHUEISHA, Blue Exorcist Committee, MBS

Where to preorder Blue Exorcist BD/DVDs?

CdJapan has just made them available in their various regular/limited DVD/BD versions  for preorder!


**Blue Exorcist (Ao no Exorcist) 1 [w/CD, Limited Edition]**



**Blue Exorcist (Ao no Exorcist) 1 [w/CD, Limited Release] [Blu-ray]**



**Blue Exorcist (Ao no Exorcist) 1 [Regular Edition]**



**Blue Exorcist (Ao no Exorcist) 2 [Blu-ray]**



**Blue Exorcist (Ao no Exorcist) 2**

Blue Exorcist BD/DVDs will ship on June 22 and July 27!

With plenty of great extras! This series is going big!

The official website for the Blue Exorcist television anime announced on Monday that the anime's first two Blu-ray and DVD volumes will include "Ura-Eku" ("B-side Exorcist") anime bonus extras in Japan. Aniplex will ship the first two volumes on June 22 and July 27.

Besides the "Ura-Eku" anime, the limited editions for the first two volumes will also each include a case illustrated by Keigo Sasaki (the anime's character designer), two special tarot cards, an illustrated postcard, a mail-away form for an upcoming event, and an original web preview. The limited edition for the first two-episode volume will also add a five-volume box illustrated by Kazue Katō (the creator of the original manga series), an original drama CD, and the credit-less opening and ending sequences. The limited edition for the second three-episode volume will add a color booklet and a collection of television commercials and promotional videos.

The Blue Exorcist anime adapts Katō's original supernatural manga and will premiere on April 17, after being delayed one week.

Source: ANN, Saishin Anime Joho

New official Blue Exorcist trailer!

Set to premiere on April 17th, simulcast by Crunchyroll!

Blue Exorcist will be simulcast on Crunchyroll!!!!!

The anticipated series based on the manga by Kazue Kato will premiere on April 17, the episodes available on Crunchyroll's site.

Ao no Exorcist will premiere along with other series such as:

Deadman Wonderland, Hanasaku Iroha, Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi, Lotte no Omocha, Nichijou, Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai, Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, Sket Dance.

New promotional trailer of Blue Exorcist

Because the situation in Japan, the premiere date for this anime will be April 17th, as a 6th promotional trailer is available on the series' website. (when you get to the site, click on the link that says'番宣CM第6弾')

We get to see more Yukio and Shiemi footage!

As an interesting fact, Tensai Okamura (Darker than BLACK, Wolf's Rain, Kikaider) is directing off scripts supervised by Ryota Yamaguchi (Cutey Honey Flash, Digimon: Data Squad, Sailor Moon Sailor Stars). So we're expecting great quality and emotion here!

Fifth Ao no Exorcist trailer released!!

On the very same official website of this series, there's a fifth promo available with more scenes and characters!



The premiere date is April 10!!!!

New Ao no Exorcist stream trailer!!

This would be the third trailer from the upcoming series, as it shows more details on the dialogues and more insight on Rin.

The quality of the animation is top-notch! This series will be a hit!

The trailer is available here, at the official website of the series.

An alternate, abridged version is on youtube:

Blue Exorcist will get an anime!!!! Finally!!!!!

This series by Kazue Kato, also known as Ao no Exorcist for manga readers, will have an anime adaptation for next year, while the manga will be licensed by Viz Media to come out in April for North America.

This was announced by the official site of Shueisha's Jump Square Magazine, which just uploaded the January cover of the magazine with this great news.

As we know, this is the story of Rin Okumura, a boy raised by a famous exorcist named Father Fujimoto. After an argument between the two, Rin discovers he is the son of Satan.

OMG!!!!! I'm excited!!!! I knew that this would happen sooner or later with the success that this series is having!!!!!

*hyperventilates then passes away*