At first, I was fine with the series. Once you get past the first few chapters, things really get rolling –Rin begins to learn about exorcism and meets his classmates, and there's Shiemi and Yukio. I like the overall relationship between Yukio and Rin – twin brothers who protect each other. The younger twin wants to protect his older brother who has inherited Satan’s power, and the older twin always protected the younger one ever since they were kids. Things were pretty cool with Shura too; a physically strong female character. I like that there is a reason for her to constantly go shirtless, but there seems to be a bit of a boob thing going on… The male characters did comment on her breast size and there was one comment of comparison between two female characters’ breasts… We’ve also got a weak girl who wants to gain confidence and be useful to others, and another girl who does have strength but has a sour attitude. I’d like to see more female characters to have a balance.
The character development disappoints me. An important aspect of this story is supposed to be friendship. But the worst is that Rin’s “friends” aren’t mature enough to accept him after they learn of his heritage. (What’s interesting is that Yukio is also technically Satan’s son, but he does not get any hate whatsoever.) I understand that lots of people fear Satan and have had their family members killed by him, but Rin is not responsible for any of that –there is an instant impulse to lump Rin and Satan together, which I find utterly irrational and unfair for the poor guy. All of a sudden, those “friends” fear and hate Rin even though he would never burst out and smack them. I thought friends were supposed to trust each other, but Kato doesn’t seem to believe so.
The story then babbles on to show different character arcs instead of resolving internal conflicts first. Kato likes to tell, not show. Kato would verbally spit out information instead of doing so subtly, or simply through actions. If the author slows down and resolves these conflicts first, there may be greater character and plot development. The religious chants feel pointless because they do not add to the story overall. The fighting scenes are not impressive –the author lacks creativity.
I’m disappointed in the potential this story failed to show. I would have given this story another chance if the characters were actually likable.