Ao no Exorcist: Yosuga-hen

Yes fucking finally! I so so so hope they don't ruin this.

(I haven't read the manga, I have no idea what's gonna happen next)

Finally this show sees some actual progress! The latest season before this was quite good but this could the season that turns the show back to the bright side after the unimaginably boring 2nd and 3rd seasons.
4 episodes in and this has been the most entertaining this show has been since the first season. The latest season was also okey but the emo Yukio wasn't for me. The build up wasn't very good. But this gives it context (hopefully) so ... maybe I'll be able to forgive it.

Like I said, no idea what's gonna happen, happy to find out.

Blue Exorcist brings back so much nostalgia. I still remember watching the first season on TV, it was one of those shows that pulled me in instantly. There was something special about experiencing it weekly, the opening song, seeing Rin release his blue flames for the first time and even the moments of comedy all stuck with me. Now, watching this new season, I can’t help but feel that same excitement I did back when I first discovered the series.

The Blue Night Saga finally gives us all the backstory we’ve been waiting for. Mephisto and Rin dive into Yuri Egin’s memories and see how she ... met Fujimoto and eventually become exorcists together. Also we get the whole lore on Satan, we finally get to see how he was created, what his true nature is, and most importantly, his connection to Yuri. This season doesn’t have as many fights as previous one, but the tension is always there. The storytelling is so well done, the pacing is good, there are no random additions and nothing feels forced or unnecessary. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better continuation.

Compared to the previous seasons, the animation has improved a lot. There’s no weird use of CGI, no slideshow of still frames and everything is fluid and feel super consistent from start to finish. You can tell the studio really put effort into keeping the visuals as strong as the narrative. Obviously, the animation is not top-tier like some of the big Shonen anime are getting these days( JJK, Dandadan...) But honestly, can we really complain? It’s still great animation for what it is. Everything else like the OST, voice acting is on point.

Honestly, I don't understand why Blue Exorcist isn’t more popular. When the first season was airing, it was everywhere. Everyone was talking about it. But now, it doesn’t seem to have the same level of recognition it once did. But anyway, I’m glad for all the Blue Exorcist fans. We waited five years to get a second season, and now we enjoying the 5th season. Even if the show isn’t as big as it once was, we’re not letting this anime die.

4 ep in and not as good as the other seasons. It feels like this whole part of the series has only been slice-of-life flashbacks.

Yeah, getting flashbacks for plot background is important. But it doesn't feel like there has been any forward momentum. It's just been going over what we already knew about in greater detail. There hasn't been a lot of action, and there hasn't been any answers to questions left over from the last part of the series. Getting to the past is nice, but this has hardly been better than filler.

I am not a manga reader so I don't already ... know what's going to happen before the jew episodes come out. So when I rate this as not recommended, it's because I feel like after 4 epsidoes, this part of the season hasn't even started yet. It's not just slow... I think all of these could have been done without. Or could have been wrapped in one episodes so that we can get on with the story. It's been nothing more than review anyways, and these hasn't been any heartthrobbing drama to make these dull past stories worth watching.