I’m Not a Human or a Demon— But I Will Be an Exorcist

~Blue Exorcist~
Exorcist Cram School Enrollment &
Exorcist Candidate Live Combat Arcs
Vol. 1-4
By Kazue Kato
Translated By John Werry
Amazon ~ Powell's

Unbeknownst to fifteen-year-old Rin Okumura, both human and demon blood runs in his veins. After a fight with some delinquents causes his demonic powers to suddenly and violently awaken, he's thrown into a hidden world of demons and Exorcists. With his dubious heritage exposed, there's little choice left to him except to join the fight against demons and train to become an Exorcist himself.

And Rin is not one to merely go halfway. He vows to become the best, and sets his sights on one day defeating Satan himself.

Enrolled at True Cross Academy, alongside his more studious twin brother Yukio, Rin's training begins at the Exorcism Cram School. There he and the other students are quickly thrown into the thick of things, battling goblins, ghouls, and even a Demon God or two. Fighting, Rin can handle, but friendship is a challenge all to itself, and while honesty and trust is important, he's not sure revealing everything about himself is a good idea.

But that choice may not be entirely up to him.


I watched this story's anime way back when it was on Toonami and fell in love. A plucky teenage protagonist discovering a hidden magical world in which the forces of good and evil are locked in battle, deciding to join the fight, and slowly peeling back the misconceptions and corruption of this new world in his journey through school? What's not to love? I even found the manga online and read the unofficial translations for a while. When the anime came back in 2017, effectively erasing the last half of the non-canon first season in favor of the next arc from the manga, I was excited to see the gang back in action. But it took my recent forays into reading the medium to finally get me to revisit the manga proper.

Rin is one of my all-time favorites. He's downtrodden but not gloomy, quick to fight but not mean, airheaded but not oblivious, and kindhearted but not saccharine. He always speak his heart, even when it might get him in trouble, and he is super protective of those who can't protect themselves, even at the detriment to himself. His goals are partly for himself, but mostly out of a duty toward those he cares about. Basically he's a cinnamon roll that's been completely charred on the outside—a little scary on the surface, but is actually super sweet and comforting underneath, with a little spicy kick for good measure.

Of course, for story purposes, Rin is unlike anyone this world of Exorcists has ever seen. The little that we see of the inner workings of Exorcist society seems to be highly bureaucratic, with requisitions, ranks, and rules upon rules. This is no doubt due to the religious underpinnings of this society, and the fact that the story is based in Japan, but could also be thematically in line with counter-acting the chaotic elements that we see from the demons.

While demons do seem to follow their own rules—how they are created, how they can be vanquished, etc.—their main goals always seem to align with causing chaos. Whether that's throwing people's lives into uncertainty, causing pain and turmoil, or merely causing rampant mischief and destruction, demons seem to be agents of chaos. Or perhaps agents of unbridled Id, if we wanted to look at it psychologically, leaving the super-streamlined Exorcists to act as the Super Ego in attempting to reign it in. ...But you didn't come here for a term paper.

Rin enters this world as a literal half-breed of the two—part demon and part human, part chaos and part order. Through him, we soon meet other quirky individuals and explore some of the more non-regimented aspects of this society, but I always get the feeling that the quirks are brought out because of Rin, that they wouldn't exist but for him. We especially see this with his brother Yukio (pictured on Vol. 2), who constantly appears a normal, emotionless cog in the machine, but for Rin's chaotic mannerisms or outbursts pulling him back.

And this seems like a good time to talk about some of these other characters. Yukio, while technically Rin's twin, is often emphasized as being the younger brother. As such, while he does come off as competent in his own right, we still see glimpses of an inferiority complex nestled just under the surface. There are a few times where he thinks back to when Rin had protected him, and though he's definitely moved past needing help with bullies, there are still times where he can't help but be reminded of Rin standing between him and danger, and seeing himself as weak because of it. The tale of these two brothers isn't that unique in the long run, and it can be a pain having the melodrama drawn out when honest communication would no doubt speed things along, but it's still engaging and heartfelt nonetheless.

Another character who could have benefited from some honest communication is Father Shiro Fugimoto, the man who adopted and raised Rin and Yukio for the past 15 years. We learn much more about him as the story goes on, but the little we see of him so far paints him as a kind man who always tries to see the good in others, but is hard and strong when he needs to be. It's clear that he's had a huge impact on the brothers, with Rin's actions often mirroring the Father's, showing a definite lean toward nurture in the nature-vs-nurture debate.

The next reoccurring character we meet is Father Fugimoto's friend, and principal of True Cross Academy, Mephisto Pheles (pictured on Vol. 4). Literature majors may recognize the name as a play on the tempting devil in Faust, and he certainly lives up to his namesake. He's immediately the most charismatic of the cast so far, what with his indelible smirk, his flamboyant clothes, and his often coy and mischievous mannerisms, and acts as a behind-the-scenes antagonist of sorts. Well, maybe not antagonist, as I'm still not quite certain where his loyalties lie, but an instigator to be sure, as he is the one behind most of the challenges thrown at Rin through these first arcs. A troublemaker in a place of power, he's sure to be memorable whether you love him or hate him.

Next comes Rin's classmates, who may not be as eccentric as him or his brother but have got enough to distinguish and endear themselves in their own right. We first really meet Shiemi (pictured on Vol. 3), an initially shy girl raised by her mother and grandmother in True Cross's plant/potion supply. What she lacks in social cues she more than makes up in heart, as she quickly cracks even the most jaded of her classmates. She's not the strongest character in battle, often becoming the damsel in distress, but we do see her slowly grow in confidence and ability with her skills with plants and healing. She's also set up as a kind of romantic conflict between the two brothers, one I don't personally enjoy, but there's enough other things going on with her that I can't fully hold it against her—boys are just stupid sometimes.

Speaking of stupid boys, Suguro (aka Bon) is quickly set up as Rin's main rival. He's bigger, more knowledgeable, book-smart, has friends, and also has the goal of defeating Satan. But we quickly learn that Suguro has struggles of his own, with him seeing Rin's strength and envying his confidence. Suguro isn't as antagonistic as Bakugo, but does serve as a strong rival by paralleling Rin's goals and showing that hard work and determination can get you further than just luck.

Similarly, Kamiki, a mean-girl type character, shows parallels with Shiemi, what with not being the quickest to make friends but still desiring them. She knows she's not a kind person, and she knows that taking advantage of Shiemi's kindness isn't the 'right' thing to do, but she also doesn't want to come off as weak either. It's only after freezing during battle, and Rin's display of strength and kindness that she decides to make a better effort in befriending Shiemi.

And I think that's this series' biggest strength: showing the similarities between all its characters. Rin isn't physically like anyone else, not even his biological twin, but he manages to find similar goals and passions with almost everyone around him, forcing them to seem him as more human than other. The same is true even of fighting classmates: Suguro and Kamiki often butt heads over little things, neither one willing to back down when they feel slighted, but they're eventually forced to see their similar situations, either as friends of friends or future-Exorcists or simply kids fighting demons, and are able to put their differences aside (if only for the moment). And it's this constant pushing differences aside that has me constantly coming back for more.

Well, that and the art. Admittedly, the first couple pages of the manga had me worried, with their extremely detailed but overall visually dark artwork—it was like someone had taken a color print, scanned it in grayscale, and then reprinted it—but thankfully that gave way to a simplified and more easily visible style. As with most manga, it's black and white, but that only gives more room to let the designs do the talking. It does make some comments a bit surprising at first, like when people make a big deal about a character's hair being pink, or Rin's flames being a distinct blue, but we generally get enough cues from cover art to manage okay.

Of course, I came in with knowledge from the anime, so I might be a little biased on that. It's been a couple years since I last watched it, but I can remember really loving it. Some things are out of order here and there, and for some reason I remember Mephisto's identity being more of a weird secret in the anime than it is in the manga, but I'd still say it's a great place to start if the 30-ish volumes of the manga seem too daunting. I do know the first episodes, where we first learn of Rin's demonhood, are much flashier in the anime, with this whole battle going down with the other monks instead of it just being Rin and Father Fugimoto in the manga. Just be sure to stop at Ep 17 and go straight into the second season (Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga) to avoid any (possible) spoilers for later in the series. The storyline is supposedly anime-only, but there are a few noticeable similarities to things that happen down the line in the manga that I have to assume that Kazue Kato gave them notes (similar to Game of Thrones).

I suppose I should probably touch on the religious aspects depicted here. Being a story about demons and Exorcists, religious iconography and practices are practically required. From what I know, and what I've read here, the religious depictions here are both respectful and ultimately fictitious. Though Rin was sheltered from the existence of demons, the world at large seems to know or at least not question their existence, trusting the various religious leaders and Exorcists with their safety, thus when something supernatural pops up, we don't usually see anyone thrown into existential crisis. Obviously that's not how things are done in our world, hence the fictitious aspect.

As far as the tools Exorcists have at their disposal, those do seem more grounded in our reality, with them relying heavily on religious incantations (Bible verses, Buddhist mantras, etc.), holy water, and various blessed items. The incantations are easily skimmed over, if you're not interested in that kind of thing, and the other holy items are more inferred than actively depicted. Honestly, there's more gun and sword-play than casting out demons with holy water or crosses. So I guess if you're touchy about your religion, or really don't want to see religious depictions at all, maybe give this a pass? Otherwise, I found it merely set dressing—interesting, but ultimately benign.

What comes to play the most is faith and strength of spirit. Losing one's confidence in themselves can make them more susceptible to demonic influence, or can make them vulnerable to their own demonic summons. Admittedly, having evil be a conscious outside influence isn't the most in tune with my personal theology/philosophy, but that's kinda what you have to let go in fantasy stories like these. And it's not like humans are incapable of evil without demonic influence on their own, or that all demons are inherently evil. But I'll let you discover more of that on your own.

Now, where does the series go from here? Well, I know there are a ton of new characters introduced, a lot more politics, and some twisty surprises. I think I mainly fell off the series because the unofficial site I was accessing went under, not because I lost interest. The other classmates get fleshed out more, there's new villains, and tons, tons of battles, and Rin keeps moving forward. I'm excited to get to read the official translation back to where I was, as well as seeing where the story has gone in the years since I fell off—in fact, I don't think it's done being released (in English anyway) yet—so there's still a whole lot more to discover, and I'm excited to get back to it!

Overall, I have a lot of love for this story. From its quirky yet heartfelt characters, its fascinating world that blends old superstitions and modern sensibilities, and its overall message of acceptance and looking past what divides us to what unites us, there's a lot to love. Even if you're not big on manga or comics, I'd recommend at least picking up the first volume if you enjoy YA supernatural stories, action-packed adventures, or even sibling rivalry melodramas. An engaging story that allows for more intricacies and details to get introduced as it goes on, I have no doubt it'll hook some of you in no time. As for me, I'll be slowly but surely making my way through the 29 volumes my library has available. Until next time!