Blue Exorcist – Learn To Control Your Flames
This may be an ironic thing to discuss, considering his fighting style, but I really think Rin needs to stop getting so fired up at every little thing. It’s usually traditional to have your protagonist be rather hot-headed compared to everyone around them, and usually that sort of thing didn’t annoy me. It’s just one of those things you get used to after your tenth shonen action series. With Okumura Rin, it’s very different because of the situation he’s in. The job of an Exorcist is the sort of thing that’s much more strict and focused than your average team of heroes, so it becomes clear that his style of action doesn’t fit in properly.
A good example comes from the most recent chapter and the defensive effort against an attack by a Kraken. Didn’t know those existed in the Blue Exorcist universe, and it all feels like an excuse to have a few beach chapters after that last lengthy story arc. But anyway, the attempt to hold him off was the type that relied on a larger number of people in very specialized roles, since getting too close to something that size is a bad idea. Since Rin isn’t the type to sit still for more than five seconds if he can help it, it isn’t long before he hijacks a boat in an attempt to take on the beast himself. In the process, he ends up endangering himself, Yukio and Shiemi.
So not only is he defying his direct orders and getting his friends in trouble, but this situation shows how bad he is at learning from his own mistakes. One major plot point in the previous arc was that Rin would likely be put to death for his heritage if he was unable to keep his temper in check, which he wasn’t. It took the convincing of Pheles for him to be let off the hook, and it was close enough that you would think he’d have at least a bit more self-control than this. I know the excuse he has is that the Kraken was attacking one of the helicopters, but that would only make sense if it were close to him. In the time it would take to run over and start that boat moving, it should have occurred in some small part of his head that he should wait and let the professions work.
The Blue Exorcist universe never felt like a traditional setting for a shonen, so giving the protagonist the standard main character attitude doesn’t feel appropriate here. There are serious consequences to his behaviour that he’s only narrowly avoiding, and I don’t want to see something bad happen to the main cast because of his arrogance. If he really wants to become an Exorcist, he needs to start acting like one at least a little bit.
Posted on May 3, 2012, in Blue Exorcist, Chapter Discussions, Shonen Action and tagged Ao no Exorcist, Blue Exorcist, manga, shonen, temper. Bookmark the permalink. 11 Comments.
I think I remember this happening in an anime episode…
Wonder when they’ll make a video game for this…they set it up with the rpg style classes
The game was already announced on September. The name is Blue Exorcist: The Phantom Labyrinth of Time. I think it’s already out in Japan.
I think I thought that was a joke lol
I never even heard about that. A surprising number of shows are getting games now, it seems.
Like Kimi Ni Todoke. Cause nothing screams video game like Kimi Ni Todoke.
I’m sorry, thats still amazing to me.
Yes, that was a difficult one to accept.
I remember hearing about an episode that took place at the beach, but I never saw it, so I didn’t think it would be that similar.
Good review. I completely agree; Rin’s attitude in this chapter was disappointed me, and that’s after the stereotypical beach setting had already lowered my expectations. I still quite like Ao no Exorcist overall, but you make a valid point about Rin’s personality being out of place in this type of series.
Between his training and the previous story arc, I just assumed he would eventually stop rushing into danger, but I suppose not. He’ll probably get a good lecture from Yukio for this, but I don’t think it will stick either.
The thing with shounen heroes is that they barely even change throughout the coarse of the anime/manga.
Well some of them do, I think. With Rin, it’s more an issue of how it feels like he should change, but he isn’t.