Review of Blue Exorcist: The Movie

The core reason this particular movie scored so high with me was the art. While the character animation could have used some polish here and there the backgrounds were simply amazing, and probably the film's most memorable part. With Shinji Kimura as the art director the quality comes as no surprise. Detailed and richly coloured the entire movie was visual eye-candy, scoring a 10/10 from myself and I'm sure it could satisfy even the most demanding viewer who watches animation more for the graphics than the story. There was however slight repetition of specific backgrounds when it wouldn't have been necessary but I doubt that'sgoing to affect anyone's viewing experience.

Speaking of story; I personally found it weak, relying heavily on certain predictable cliches, however still managing to be entertaining. The whole fleshing out of the plot was done nicely, with the use of an object from the past, but was so obvious from the beginning that, at least for me, failed to bring in some much needed excitement. Multiple smaller events tied the plot nicely by the end of it, but I personally would have prefered it if the main plot had been a bit better developed. I am, however, giving it a six because, despite all its holes and weaknesses it held its own.
One of my biggest issues though, was the fact that background characters in the movie seemed to be familiar with the concept of demonic existence and did not showcase the kind of emotional response you'd expect from people that just saw giant monsters walking among them. Needless to say that in the manga it is heavily implied that the majority of the human race is unaware of the presence of demons.

While the music was good its usage was one of the poorest I've ever witnessed. A lot of scenes that would have been far better with dialogue in them were covered with boring tracks that felt out of place. However, when it counted, the music was used well, for example the very few action scenes, and on its own stood out.

I did enjoy the film. There were quite a few issues I had with it but overall it was good. It didn't focus as much on fighting, as you'd expect from a movie adaptation of a shounen series, which for me was positive, but be prepared to be disappointed if that is what you went to see. Hadn't it been for the exceptionally good art however I'd have hesitated giving it the eight I am giving it now and would have settled for a seven or a six and a half.

I'd certainly recommend it for those of you who have read or watched the series but would hesitate to do so for those of you who haven't.