Blue Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati Saga

Episode 8

If there is any major flaw that has been impacting Blue Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati Saga the most so far, it would have to be the haphazard pacing issues that mar so many shonen anime adaptations. While this is far from the worst that I've seen, I still can't help but feel that the Izumo Rescue Mission would be even better if the show was willing to tighten things up a bit and cut to the quick that much sooner.

Case in point, we spent way too much of this episode on an extended sequence that features Gedoin and Renzo meeting with Lucifer, and it doesn't amount to anything other than a reminder that the Illuminati is meant to capture Rin alive. On account of Satan not wanting a banged-up lemon of a body to ride around in once he's summoned back to the mortal plane. It's all serviceable enough exposition, but it also represents the least interesting aspects of this entire storyline, not to mention the fact that Gedoin himself is little more than a C-tier villain who is killing time before the heroes have to face more formidable foes. Other than the bit where Gedoin learns that Izumo's chances of completing the possession ritual are virtually zero, the rest of this part of the episode could have been slotted in just about anywhere in this arc.

It's a shame, too, because things pick up once we return to the Izumo Rescue Mission. Each of our heroes has been separated into a container with a different zombie experiment to fight, and I appreciated that Blue Exorcist used this opportunity to give the side characters some time in the spotlight. Konekomaru gets a tense moment where he's about to resign himself to the undignified death of a supporting cast member before he finally rallies and escapes with some help from Kuro. Even more significant is Ryuji's one-on-one with a massive undead monstrosity. Not only does it afford Blue Exorcist the opportunity to fit in a brief but effective flashback that reminds us of why Ryuji is so hellbent on pushing himself to surpass his limits, but it also makes for a fairly creative fight. Ryuji kills the behemoth by creating a magical mirror with his rocket launcher summoning and showing the creature how monstrous it has become. It's a surprisingly affecting moment of pathos.

Unfortunately, because of the languid pace of the story, that's just about all there is to “Determination”. We get some functional but boring exposition with Gedoin and Lucifer, and then the True Cross Gang fights a few zombies before getting ready for whatever is coming for them next week. It's a fine episode, but I'm hoping that we don't have to wait much longer for this storyline to reach its proper climax.

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Blue Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati Saga is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.