Blue Exorcist: Volume 21 manga review

Blue Exorcist Graphic Novel Volume 21 cover image

Rin Okumura had an argument with his foster father, the famous exorcist, Father Shiro Fujimoto.  That was how he learned that the Demon Lord Satan was his father!  Even after Satan suddenly appeared and tried to drag him to hell, Rin was still determined to reject his demonic blood line.  He enrolled at True Cross Academy Private High School in order to train to become an exorcist.  Rin’s twin brother, Yukio Okumura, already an exorcist, was his instructor.

As Blue Exorcist, Vol. 21 (Chapters 94 to 98) opens, the attack on Tokyo by a huge demon that is visible to almost everyone (and shouldn't be) marks the start of an unprecedented outbreak of demonic activity around the world.  For Yukio, however, the focus is on Mephisto Pheles, the president of True Cross, because he knows the truth about the Okumura brothers.

How were Yukio and Rin born?  What is the truth about the following:  Satan, their mother (Yuri Egin), and Father Fujimoto?  Which brother will get answers from Pheles?  Which brother will get them from the Illuminati and from Satan himself?  Which brother will face his true self?  Or will both brothers be confronted by something within and without?

[This volume contains bonus comics, art, text, etc.]

THE LOWDOWN:  Once a year, I get around to reading the Blue Exorcist manga.  However, I have read four volumes in a little more than a year, and three in a little more than four months.

Blue Exorcist Graphic Novel Volume 21 can be joined with Vol. 20 to form what is one of the series best two-volume pairs.  Creator Kazue Kato offers what is probably the biggest turning point in the series to date.  He presents stunning confrontations and revelations, as well shocking readers with the staggering return of some major players.  That is why Blue Exorcist is such a popular Shonen Jump media franchise.

John Werry's excellent translation and English adaptation capture all the electric glory of the story and also the nuances within the louder moments.  John Hunt's lettering conveys the sudden changes in tone, plot, and setting.  A good example of that is the sequence involving Rin's “internal crisis,” so we have to come back for more.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Readers looking for dark magic and action comics will want to try the “Shonen Jump Advanced” title, Blue Exorcist.

A+
10 out of 10