Blue Exorcist Season 1

If you want science fiction that respects its own premise, Blue Exorcist Season 1 is available on and right now. A single, tightly-focused season means there is plenty to get through without ever feeling padded. With 536 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Nobuhiko Okamoto leads a cast that never lets the concept overwhelm the characters. There is no real reason to keep putting it off.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, Blue Exorcist Season 1 is worth clearing space for. What makes Blue Exorcist Season 1 work is that the ideas never crowd out the people having them. Humans and demons are two sides of the same coin, as are Assiah and Gehenna, their respective worlds. The only way to travel between the realms is by the means of possession, like in ghost stories. However, Satan, the ruler of Gehenna, cannot find a suitable host to possess and therefore, remains imprisoned in his world. Nobuhiko Okamoto and Jun Fukuyama lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was aired in 2011. What separates Blue Exorcist Season 1 from lesser genre entertainment is a willingness to let the concept cost the characters something. The hit rate here is high enough that skipping ahead never feels like an option.

For late-night viewing or a proper weekend binge, Blue Exorcist Season 1 fits the bill. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. The complete run is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Nobuhiko Okamoto anchors it with a performance that makes the more abstract moments feel personal. If you have been burned by ambitious sci-fi before, this is the exception.