Blue Exorcist: Volume 8

by Kazue Kato, 183 pages

As Yukio faces off against a silver-tongued demon, his brother Rin battles to find the heart of an amorphous plague while simultaneously protecting his friend Suguro, who's desperately trying to keep the poisonous clouds from spreading.

Yukio!  So much for being the "normal" twin.  I'm happy to see him finally show a little of his birthright, but I hope he's self-aware enough to avoid the emotional pitfalls that threaten to carry him over to the dark side.  He'd better start by having a real heart-to-heart talk with his brother so neither of them loses his footing.  Once the whole deathly plague thing is taken care of, of course.  And Kuro had better be ok, too.  Kitty!

Blue Exorcist: Volume 7

by Kazue Kato, 187 pages

Rin's temper flare-up gets him the worst possible response from the Vatican...an execution order.  But is Mephisto, the bearer of the bad news, actually telling Shura and the kids to break Rin out?  If they're going to help Suguro's dad and stop a deadly epidemic, they'll have to do it fast.

Woo hoo, sneaky Mephisto.  And we get to see Father Fujimoto's heart get a little nudge in the right direction in the previous volume's continued flashback.  Bonds are strengthened and desperate measures taken as the younger generation pools its resources and prepares to fight evil.  (That's what I like to see!)  But now I'm worried for Rin's level-headed brother Yukio....

Blue Exorcist: Volume 6

by Kazue Kato, 201 pages

Because he'd like to stay alive, Rin's on his best behavior as his classmates and fellow exorcists try to sniff out a rat in their midst before it's too late.  Some of his friends are even starting to talk to him again, but when an angry Suguro yells at his father, Rin's memories of his own hurtful last words to his adoptive parent Father Fujimoto snap his control over his temper.  His fiery remonstration of Suguro might do the other boy some good, but it also sets off alarms back at the zero-tolerance Vatican...

Flashbacks via a letter from Suguro's father to Rin begin to give us a little background on the old man's true motives and his fateful encounter with Father Fujimoto.  And it's nice to see the family environment the other boys grew up in, as it adds a little more depth to their characters and the setting.  Ah, siblings.  So much fun (to annoy).

Blue Exorcist: Volume 5

by Kazue Kato, 195 pages

When a dangerous artifact is stolen by a traitor in the ranks, the exorcists travel to the location of the artifact's equally dangerous partner, which happens to be under the protection of the home temple of Rin's classmate Suguro.  Tensions among the students are already high, as the others appear to have shut Rin out, but he does his best to be useful now that his secret's out and hopes they'll eventually accept him.  Clan conflicts within the temple family don't help matters, nor does the fact that Suguro's extra tense due to his rocky relationship with his aging father (whom he sees as irresponsible for having given up leadership of the temple years ago).

This series has definitely improved its pacing and transitions since the first volume.  It's also starting to diverge from the anime, which appears to have split off with its own ending after its schedule surpassed the available book volumes.  And that's fine with me, as I'm enjoying having no preconceived notions of what's coming next.

Blue Exorcist: Volume 4

by Kazue Kato, 195 pages

After Shura's involvement, her higher-ups in the Vatican want to know why Rin--now clearly shown to be "of Satan"--isn't dead, since that was her original mandate as an exorcist. The ensuing hearing before the court means Rin's classmates now know his secret, too. And they do not all accept this revised image of him with open arms.

Aw, poor Rin. He's such a nice kid. And he was just starting to appreciate what it meant to have friends. They'll come around, I'm sure. In the meantime, he's got to learn how to control his powers, otherwise the court's going to change their mind about allowing his continued existence. I'm a big fan of family-bonding in my reading, so I look forward to seeing how Rin's rational, talented fraternal twin Yukio (also a son of Satan, but one who doesn't appear to have inherited any of his daddy's powers) is developed now that the secret's out and everyone will be comparing the two of them.

Blue Exorcist: Volume 3

by Kazue Kato, 203 pages

Rin's feeling pretty confident after defusing a dangerous situation and bonding with a grieving demon cat. But a mission to a haunted amusement park introduces him to a new adversary (of sorts) brought in by the mysterious Mephisto. It also leads to the revealing of the true identity of what he thought was just another of his classmates. But Shura's no student and making friends is not her mission...at least, not her official one.

Demon kitty I like; Mephisto's little sibling I find interesting; but I do not like Shura, with her too-small bikini top and obvious visual fanservice role. If she were drawn differently, I'd be fine with her character, but she's probably my least favorite so far just because I find her design mildly offensive in an otherwise pretty thoughtful, balanced action series. That outfit is just so impractical and uncomfortable-looking that it disrupts the reader's ability to suspend disbelief. I can accept affectionate two-tailed demon cats who get drunk on catnip sake, but I cannot accept that bikini top. *sigh* In my head, she's a pale wanna-be imitation of Gurren Lagann's Yoko, whose sex-appeal I could get behind because she was just that cool (and the guys got as much exposure as she did--equal opportunity!). Ah, the little things we get hung-up on....

Blue Exorcist: Volume 2

by Kazue Kato, 203 pages

Rin and his classmates at True Cross Academy's exorcism cram school find more than just their skills tested as they learn the value of friendship and teamwork. Some of the "exams," however, go a little bit overboard and now they may have to worry about trusting their teachers as well as each other.

Mephisto, the school's director, seems to take a personal interest in testing Rin's limits, but to what purpose? He's funny, so I'm inclined to like him, even if he's not entirely deserving of "good guy" status. It's good to see the kiddos learning to be thoughtful of one another and figuring out their own strengths and weaknesses and goals.

Blue Exorcist: Volume 1

by Kazue Kato, 195 pages

High schooler Rin Okumura has always known he was a little different, what with his short temper and unnatural strength, but somehow his and his fraternal twin brother Yukio's adopted father Fujimoto always made him feel accepted anyway. At least until he starts seeing things nobody else sees and becomes the target of recruitment attacks from creatures of the underworld looking to bring him home...to his real father.... Finding out that one is literally a son of Satan would be difficult at any age, but doing so at fifteen is just rough. Rin barely has time to wrap his head around the truth before reality strikes those he loves and he has to choose a future path.

The art in this action series works well, as do the characters, but the story's a little choppy, jumping from scene to scene, and tone to tone, without transition. We're not given enough opportunity to see why we should like or care about Rin before we're expected to feel for him (in fact, we get to know enigmatic Yukio better than the main character). I'm currently watching the animé adaptation of this series and it does a better job of fleshing him out and showing his innate kindness and internal motivation along with his rash temper, as well as more skillfully connecting the dramatic and comedic elements. I'll give the books a few more volumes and see if they start to smooth out those emotional transitions, otherwise I might just stick with the (unusually) more involving animated adaptation.