Blue Exorcist Season 3 Targets Illuminati for January 2024 Premiere

It’s been seven years since we last saw Rin Okumura in Kyoto. Blue Exorcist (青の祓魔師, Ao no Exorcist) is back on the small screen in January 2024. Producer Aniplex brought Studio VOLN in to animate the returning cast. How do they look? Check out the preview trailer for the opening theme song.

That’s quite the departure from A-1 Pictures and Keigo Sasaki’s character designs. Daisuke Yoshida and Yurie Oohigashi take over direction and character designs for Studio VOLN. Thankfully, the voice actors and rock band UVERworld (performing the opening theme song) will lend the continuity Blue Exorcist fans hope for. If you’re new to the series, the English language publisher for the manga volumes blurbs the premise this way:

“Raised by Father Fujimoto, a famous exorcist, Rin Okumura never knew his real father. One day, a fateful argument with Father Fujimoto forces Rin to face a terrible truth — the blood of the demon lord Satan runs in Rin’s veins! Rin swears to defeat Satan, but doing that means entering the mysterious True Cross Academy and becoming an exorcist himself. Can Rin fight demons and keep his infernal bloodline a secret? It won’t be easy, especially when drawing his father’s sword releases the demonic power within him!”

The story arc for Blue Exorcist’s third season is in the title — Blue Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati Saga. The world around Rin involves the Catholic Church, Hell, devils, and holy men and women from diverse religions. You will find characters training under a faith tradition’s system at the True Cross Academy if it has demonic possession rituals. So ecumenical! It was only a matter of time before these religious organizations confronted another wide-ranging, secretive society. I’m curious to see what abilities the Illuminati bring to the table.

Blue Exorcist, Demons, and Angels, Oh My!

The kids of True Cross Academy went to Kyoto seven years ago. This time, they’ll be in Shimane. That prefecture has a couple islands, so I wonder if they’ll be settings for the Blue Exorcist plot. I’m an anime-only guy — please don’t spoil me! Let’s meet the characters I want to see in action again.

• Rin Okumura — Nobuhiko Okamoto (Himmel from Sousou no Frieren). Satan’s illegitimate son, a half-human, half-demon boy, is training at the True Cross Academy to become an exorcist. He honors his late adoptive father, Shiro Fujimoto, who protected Rin from Satan. His combat gear includes the Demon Sword and a blue flame inherited from Satan.
• Yukio Okumura — Jun Fukuyama (King from The Seven Deadly Sins). Rin’s twin, an earnest and composed exorcism prodigy, is the youngest exorcist in history and a demonology instructor at the True Cross Academy. He is driven by his promise to Shiro to protect Rin, whom he secretly admires despite their differences. He conceals a mutation in his left eye, a remnant of a battle with exorcist Saburouta Toudou.
• Shiemi Moriyama — Kana Hanazawa (So many roles). She’s from a family that runs an exorcism shop. The Blue Exorcist love interest has a massive crush on Rin. She’s good with plants and can fight using demons. She’s improved, like when she saved Izumo in the battle against the Impure King using her demon friend, Nee.
• Shura Kirigakure — Rina Satou (Mikoto Misaka from A Certain Scientific Railgun). She’s a top exorcist who was sent to the Japanese branch of the Knights of the Cross. She’s a self-proclaimed 18-year-old apprentice of Shiro, who adopted the Okumura brothers. Even though she’s tough, she teaches Rin how to use a sword, takes care of Yukio, and is a good friend to both. She also likes to drink.

Brothers, Family, and Fanservice

I want to see Shiemi’s thicc thighs and Shura’s bouncy boobs again! The heart of Blue Exorcist’s story, though, belongs to the relationship between twin brothers Rin and Yukio. Polar opposites but sharing the same motivation to honor the sacrifice of their adoptive father, Fr. Shiro Fujimoto, these two have more in common than they care to admit. Especially Yukio, after he gained a demonic eye. I hope that becomes more of a source for character development between the two.

The first two seasons of Blue Exorcist stream on Crunchyroll in Japanese and English for audio and multiple languages for subtitles.

Are you worried about the change in animation studios for Blue Exorcist? Are you happy the manga received another anime adaptation? Do you want to see Shura pull a sword out of her heaving bosom again? Let us know in the comments below or online on Facebook, Twitter, or Discord.

Blue Exorcist has pistols and swords, but what about a gender-morphing ninja exorcist? Ayakashi Triangle will butter your jam. J-List has the uncensored Blu-rays, so pick them up now!