Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga – Episode 4 – “Act of Treachery”

Things are a bit messy in the world, right now, so all I can really hope for is to offer some kind of momentary levity by way of these write-ups. And I’m sure more people would enjoy hearing me recap Blue Exorcist than talk about politics, or God forbid, talk about the Royal Rumble of all things, so here we go.

Now, remember how there was a traitor among the ranks, working with our big bad? Well, Bon’s going into investigator mode, staking out some of the clergymen in the building with hopes of finding out some info. But what he found wasn’t what he was expecting, seeing the clergymen laid out and beaten. The mystery grows… but enough of that, Rin’s still trying to hone his powers on the candles on the roof. And yay, he lit the wicks this time! Good on you, Rin, you’ll get your celebratory cookie and punch later on. From there, we go to another first-series flashback, and I have to mention, this show has taken some substantial short cuts with its usage of full scenes from the first anime series; at least with Inuyasha: The Final Act, some of the original series clips were short and were used as momentary narrative reminders for the audience. Sunrise didn’t cheap out with recycling scenes like A-1 Pictures has, with this show. Anyway, within the inner sanctum, Juzo finds Mamushi at the resting place of the Right Eye, and with the powers of finger-wagging and deduction, Juzo proclaims that she must be the traitor. But no-no-no, Mamushi counters with her proclamation of Tatsuma Suguro – remember, that’s Bon’s father – being the true traitor, alongside the most fabulous demon of them all, Mephisto Pheles. (Get it? Mephistopheles? Ehh? Ehhhhhh?????) There’s a lot to take in, so I’ll give some key words to this plot thread: there’s details of corruption between Mephisto and Suguro, she discovered it while working alongside Todo, and she also found out about Mephisto raising Rin and all that, geez, this is a BIG exposition dump. Oh, and sure enough, there were security cameras here in the sanctum, with the elder clergymen and Suguro watching and hearing everything be said. How convenient. But before things get too serious, tremors are roaming through the complex, complete with the arrival of a sinister being… TODO.

With the power of the Right Eye and Todo at her side, Mamushi unleashes its power and… just disappears from the scene. That’s a bit underwhelming. And just as quickly, Bon catches his father in the sanctum, who comments on Bon having, quote, “quite a cockscomb” on him. Phrasing. Bon’s having none of it, he wants to know what’s up with his father, and if he, too, is a traitor. All in the name of transparency, unlike… okay, yeah, no political comedy on here, not the time or place. But yeah, Suguro pleads the fifth and calls everything a “secret,” but again, Bon is having none of this. He goes all in, saying he’s no father to him after all of this, and this sets Rin off, reminding him of how his “real” father sacrificed his life, long ago (with another recycled scene from the 2011 series), and steps in to intervene. As well as punch Bon in the face. Which he kinda deserved. And so, a momentary fight breaks out, with Rin telling Bon to not make the same mistake he did and make up with his father before it’s too late, but the fight is broken up by Juzo jumping in. He saw the blue flames, so of course, he’s now a threat, but Shura calls his fire down, thanks to that tail on his lower back… somehow. I don’t quite remember how that works, so pardon my lack of knowledge on the subject. And that’s pretty much how the episode ends, too.

I believe in giving credit wherever and whenever it’s due, and this episode, finally, brings things back to where the series should be, in terms of interest. We have the growing mystery of the story, we have some solid action to entice, and it’s leading to bigger things later on in the series. Fine work, and it was pretty serious throughout, as well. Perhaps a bit too serious, though, so we need some levity to calm things down a bit. And given how disastrous this past week has been, I think I know what we could use right about now: cheesecake. So have some shots of Shura from this episode, folks.

Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga is available on Crunchyroll, with new episodes every Friday at 1:30pm Eastern, and is also available on Daisuki.net, Hulu, and Amazon Video’s Anime Strike channel.

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