Ao no Exorcist 04: When all you have is a bunch of flowers…

Isn’t she cute? Who would like to squish Shiemi’s face? (Raise your hands.)

I apologize for the lateness for this week’s episode review, being caught up and overwhelmed with the 2011 Singapore General Elections and all. Screwed up subs aside, everything’s fine on my side. After all, it’s one of the hallmark events in Singapore history ever with the opposition going strong this time round. I am both elated and disappointed in the results given and before I start ranting about the big disappointments I had for the results and ramble about politics (which is a subject I least care about and will not talk about here due to my lack of understanding of the policies given by the government), let me take a few deep breathes before we continue with the real review. Okay; in the previous episode Rin and Yukio enters True Cross Academy and Rin found out that his brother knew about his demon heritage and then both brothers make up after that. This week, AnE introduces love interest Shiemi Moriyama, the kimono girl who loves flowers (and has a secret crush on Yukio.)

You’ll probably kill yourself chanting one of the lines in the Bible anyways. For now, stick with the abridged versions.

Summary: There’s no school today for Rin and Yukio, so Yukio and Rin head to the supply store to buy more supplies. While getting supplies, Rin meets Shiemi after accidentally knocking down an anti-demon gate. They soon make up and Yukio (asked by Shiemi’s mother) discovers that a demon has taken control of Shiemi’s legs. Being too stubborn (to find the Garden of Amahara) and reproaching herself for not helping her late grandmother build her grape vine Shiemi was unwilling to accept Yukio and Rin’s aid. After destroying the demon that is taking control of Shiemi’s legs and controlling her Shiemi became well again and decides to enroll in True Cross Academy. All in the name of Yukio…maybe Shiemi just want to see sexy Yukio teaching in class.

I’m sorry, I’m not Aeris. I’m Shiemi Moriyama.

Rin’s probably too thick-headed to start memorizing the actual Bible (the thick, blue one) and that’s good for him. Who knows which line in the Bible may weaken his powers, or worse, kill him. Good thing he’s not as smart as Yukio, his current state is fine. Not to worry, like all shounen leads he would be under some training from hell later on. On the contrary, now’s the time to introduce more characters and our very love interest to Rin in AnE: Shiemi Moriyama. And it was pretty mean for Yukio to snatch Rin’s manga, you know that you read manga too in your free time Yukio (was revealed in his biography in Volume 1, though he and Rin has different preferences.)

I recently found out that receiving funds from the True Cross Order isn’t enough for my fast-using supplies. So I have seek new funds given by the Holy Britannian Empire.

Using most of his supplies to drive off the demons in the previous episode, Yukio is forced to drag Rin to buy more supplies, knowing that his brother suffers from a case of ADHD and a dose of hyperactivity (Note to self: just give Rin more sugar anyway, there is no connection between hyperactivity and sugar according to studies). While getting there Yukio informs Rin that the school is protected by Mephisto from low level demons (well, except for the ones already stuck in the school compounds, but they are harmless to an ordinary exorcist) and some middle level demons. Once again, status quo is implemented into the relationship between the Okumura twins as Yukio starts bossing Rin around, despite that Rin was actually the older twin. He whines on Yukio’s orders and its no coincidence that he stumbles upon a garden and sees a girl about his age in a kimono. We have another contestant participating for Saimoe 2011 or 2012 and her name is Shiemi Moriyama. You can’t do anything but stare at her planting flowers as I can attest and imagine yourself squishing her face like a doll. In my opinion, I prefer Shiemi with gothic clothes (and again, the part about the gothic clothes is shown in volume one during AnE’s early development) but coming from a girl who loves flowers to the core, the kimono suits her more now. However, with hidden depths if she’s still stuck with gothic clothes, who knows?

Too bad Rin makes a bad first impressions, causing Shiemi to panic at the sight of a demon and made him dig the ground so that she could plant her dear grandmother’s garden. Meanwhile, Yukio found out that Shiemi’s relationship with her mother worsens after Shiemi’s grandmother died, caring for her garden and her grandmother was all Shiemi thought about. Guessing that a plant demon must be behind the ruckus and behind the cause of Shiemi’s weak legs, Yukio was right once again. Too bad Shiemi denies the fact that there’s really a demon behind the cause of her steady-weakly legs but the Okumura brothers are not ready to give up on her. As Rin overheard the conversation between Shiemi’s mother and Yukio, he was probably thinking about how he and Shiemi aren’t too different in personality, given the fact that Shiemi is hurting everyone and herself with her stubborn demeanor.

I take that last statement as an insult. Still can’t stand you using me as your servant after attacking me with flowers, girl.

For once, food for thought (for Rin anyway). Probably thinking about our dear Father Fujimoto who died for Rin’s sins.

That night, Shiemi, in her grandmother’s room had a dream. Saving some money to travel the world to find the Garden of Amahara, she was too excited to hear what her grandmother would like to help her to do, thus a sickly girl like Shiemi took a short tour out of her compounds for the first time. Finding her grandmother dead as she returns, she makes a deal with a flower demon and she knew she couldn’t leave the garden at its present state (which is already very beautiful for a girl who has tended the garden 24/7, probably while in her sleep too) and that dream got her back to work. Wanting her to rest and then slapping her for making the people she care about worry, Rin starts breaking one flower pot at a time until Yukio finds a solution to the root of the problem. Mad by this revelation made by Yukio, the flower demon then shows her true form and uses Shiemi as a human shield. This is time for Rin to go demon, rebutting that he and the demon he’s fighting against are not in the same league.

When they say humans making a deal with all sorts of demons in any story about demons, no one learns…

You know the cliche; villain threatens to use victim as human shield, hero can’t do anything against the villain to prevent hurting the victim as well. Well, AnE got the cliche played half-right, until a confident Yukio became daring enough to vanquish the demon as well as Shiemi. He shoots Shiemi without restrain, but it was actually hurting the demon and in the end, Rin (in demon form) finally gets to kill the demon once and for all. No one gets hurt in the end, Shiemi is alive, she and her mother make up and everyone is happy again.

Shiemi then decides to enroll into True Cross Academy and joins Rin and the other Exorcists-in-training to become an exorcist. Though Shiemi’s reason to enter True Cross Academy was just to look at smart and sexy Yukio teaching in class rather than wanting to be an Exorcist to make Assiah a better place to live…

Sorry. I have no guts shooting Shiemi with real bullets. For once I feel good settling with cheap bullets this time.

FOR FANSERVICE!!! And for the FANGIRLS IN ASSIAH! Time to ogle at Yukio.

Thoughts:

Nothing too deep or too shallow for this episode, but it gives Rin some matters to think about between his relationship with Father Fujimoto and Shiemi’s relationship with her grandmother. You can see the clear-cut parallels between the aforementioned relationships and how their stubborn personalities can lead one to death and others misery.

I know that the music used in this episode can be quite repetitive, but it brings out the mood of each scene correctly. I know that there’s nothing new in today’s episode aside for a proper introduction of a female character and her past relationship with Yukio. There’s probably also nothing new in showing a rival of Rin (that’s not Yukio) in the next episode, but judging from the preview, I doubt this will be a typical relationship between rivals seen in other shounen series. And who wears a school uniform on day-offs? Since True Cross Academy is a boarding school, well, this gives the producers and the manga-ka some excuse to put Yukio in his sexy Exorcist uniform again.

I can’t wait for secrets to be reveal to the other characters (like what they did with Yukio) and something tells me no one’s going to be happy at finding out the truth and forgive someone in the blink of an eye. Sigh, the sad cycle of friendship, love and hate never ends. I sort of realized something after reading 23 chapters of AnE; almost everything takes anything series, ever. Why can’t they take a chill pill once in a while before getting back and hate and destory each other for all they care?

You just have to love me, could you? I have others ways to make you love me you know~

Sounds like the idea of Heaven to me, Shiemi.

Yay, sinister Yukio evil smile. All we need him to do is just to make him laugh like an evil overlord to complete the evil prince look.

Try not to drool during class. Yukio don’t like girls to drool on their desks.

Tiger VS Dragon. It should be Blue Devil VS Red Rooster instead. He he, rooster…