Blue
Exorcist, Vol 22
Author: Kazue Kato
Publisher: Viz Media
American
release date: September 3, 2019
Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/manga/paranormal/218 pages
Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★
Things are not looking good for
humanity as demons are on the loose and visible! People are encouraged to stay
home. In case of trouble, they should contact their local police, or the
knights of the True Cross. Shiemi finally awakens, and Kamiki fills her in on
what is happening. When she asks about Rin, Kamiki thinks Sir Pheles has him in
custody. But their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of members of the
Grigori, who have come to take Shiemi with them! What is going on here?
Mephisto tells Rin he must handle
the current situation so Rin has to journey to the past alone, with the aid of
a key he gives him, a master key known as the kamikakushi key. He gives Rin a
special patrol uniform and sends him on his way, telling him that if he wants
to move forward, he has to accept reality for what it is and accept his past.
Meanwhile, Yukio is taken to a meeting with Lucifer where he is introduced to
Lucifer’s younger brother, Egyn, King of Water, and Amaimon questions Mephisto
about things he should have noticed before.
Rin travels to the past and meets
up with Mephisto, who looks just the same as in the future, and sees the young
man who will one day be Father Fujimoto. And he sees his mother, Yuri, as well.
He follows their story as they move from living on the streets to being
accepted into the Cram School, and their journey to becoming exorcists. Rin
learns about Section 13 and the cloning program to find a suitable vessel for
Lucifer, but there’s still a lot to learn about their pasts.
Things are not looking good for
humanity. Can the Knights and the Grigori handle this influx of demons? Will
Lucifer take control of Assiah too? I suspect Mephisto has something up his
proverbial sleeve, and he is putting wheels into motion through his
machinations. Although I sometimes wonder whose side he is on, I do believe he
has Assiah’s interests at heart, even if he is a demon. He’s the perfect
example of appearances can be deceiving!
Rin’s trip through time is not
only very interesting but rather enlightening, as well. Before he became a
priest, Shiro was not particularly nice, and a far cry from what he later
became. We know he’s going to change into the more kindly but still outspoken
and somewhat rough priest, but watching the transformation is fascinating. We also
know the journey ends for Yuri after she gives birth to Yukio and Rin, but it’s
nice to see what she was like before that, before her involvement with Satan,
and what led to it. My biggest questions after reading this volume are: why the
heck does Yuri remind me so much of Shiemi? And where did they take Shiemi, and
why? She almost confessed to Kamiki about who she likes, until interrupted by
the Grigori. Is it Rin? Is it Yukio? Or is it a player we’re unaware of yet? I
like seeing the friendship between Shiemi and Kamiki deep and solidify. They
both need friends, especially Kamiki.
We didn’t see much of Yukio this
time, and I’m still stumped as to what’s going on with him and his motives for
being where he is. Is he coming to grips with the fact that he’s also part
demon or does he have another agenda? I find it hard to believe he never
suspected, since he and Rin are twins and have the same parents, that he had
demonic power of some sort. Guess we’ll
have have to wait and see.
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