- Mangaka : Katou, Kazue
- Publisher : Shonen Jump
- Genre : Action, Adventure, Shounen, Demons, Drama, Fantasy, School, Supernatural
- Published : January 6, 2020
Contains Spoilers
Discussion Time
The ending of chapter 117 of Ao no Exorcist shouldn’t be surprising, as we know the inevitable fate for these characters, but for some reason…it still was a shock to read. Our chapter begins with Shiro still being possessed by Satan and trying to show how much he changed to love a human. However, as Yuri points out, some actions aren’t human and prove our main devil lord is just a monster. Yuri’s actions cause Shiro to regain control of his body as Satan leaves it but, of course, this doesn’t mean the exorcists are okay with allowing events like this to happen again. Yuri is to be executed for bearing Satan’s kids and the two boys are to be observed by the committee to ensure their powers don’t ever go out of control.
Despite being an exorcist himself, Shiro doesn’t take kindly to possibly losing his love Yuri and betrays the group by pointing his weapon at them and escaping. The Grigori—the older lady who wished for the actions above—makes a haunting claim as the other exorcists are to not follow Shiro and his love…Yuri is going to die even without their action.
We then see Shiro lead Yuri out and the two head towards a secret hideout he made from an abandoned tower. Despite feeling ill, Yuri names both of the children—Rin and Yukio—and tries her best to give them a motherly embrace for as long as she can. We say that because as the Grigori predicted, Yuri’s body gives out as they trek through the snow-filled landscape and eventually perishes as she hopes Shiro will be the children’s father as best as possible. Shiro doesn’t have much time to mourn as a Yeti appears and attacks him. Now near death, Shiro is left dying in the snow thinking he was more of a monster than the ones he has faced. Our 117th chapter ends on a defeated Shiro and we now are left to wonder…what next!?!? How will Shiro be saved and what leads him to truly becoming a father for these two demon-like children? We once more must wait a month for the next chapter but, like always, this gives us a chance to explain why you must read this chapter of Ao no Exorcist right this second! Well…after you read our review, obviously!
1. An Unsurprising Death
Rin and Yukio’s mother we knew was going to die but seeing it occur made this unsurprising event still pretty powerful. Yuri wasn’t a mother for long but even in her short time as one, she gave the two kids their names—with some silly thought behind them—and even tried to feed the kids with her last remaining strength. Yuri was a mom for maybe several minutes—probably longer in the world of Ao no Exorcist—but in our minds, she was a great one.
2. Monsters in Human Form
Satan may have taken human form by possessing Shiro’s body, but that didn’t mean his actions were human. Likewise, Shiro felt he was a monster due to his inability to save Yuri and be just a bit kinder towards the woman he loved. Ao no Exorcist has always been about monsters and those who fight them but this chapter shows being a monster doesn’t always mean you need horns and fire…sometimes being a monster just means your actions counter the humanity within you.
Final Thoughts
Ao no Exorcist 117 was powerful and that’s surprising to us. Usually, when you know the plot of a story and know how things will turn out, the impact ends up being less powerful. That wasn’t the case with this amazing chapter as we knew how the bigger picture would form but seeing it form was the shock to our systems. Did you feel the same as us? Comment below with your thoughts on chapter 117! Be sure to keep stuck to our hive for even more Ao no Exorcist chapter reviews done by us here at Honey’s Anime!
Author: Aaron
