The teacher with the characteristic eye patch seems to have himself together. Standing tall and well composed you might not expect what lies underneath this facade.

Igor starts out as just one of many lecturers of True Cross Academy. Soon enough, however, it becomes obvious that he keeps pushing Rin harder than the other students and forces him to use his demonic powers. As he pursues Rin in an attempt to actually kill him in his sleep it is easy to believe that Igor is a heartless person, blindly following orders. The truth, however, is that he was once a loving man that lost everything close to him because of Satan. Even though he had to move on with his life he could never forget the past and with Rin he might get the chance to finally find revenge.

Igor Neuhaus is easy to hate at first, but his motives are clear. Having his family die by the hands of Satan filled him with rage that eventually breaks his cold and emotionless facade.

The girl with the distinct eyebrows knows where to go in life and will keep her eyes fixed on her goals. But that doesn’t mean that she never cares about the people around her.

Izumo is your typical tsundere character that does not waste time socializing with the people around her. Coming from a background of skilled shrine maidens, she knows her spot as a top student and is not afraid of letting you know. She even takes advantage of innocent Shiemi, treating her like her personal slave when the girl was actually looking to be her friend.

But as it goes with tsundere characters, soon you will also see another side of her. I cannot say that the girl ever completely opens up to her classmates, but she does show a level of compassion. She was the first one to accept Rin as the son of Satan and also fights vigorously to protect the people around her.

Everything about Ryuji’s appearance screams scary, violent and cold-hearted. But could Rin’s rival have another side to him?

Judging from his piercings, bleached hair and evil-looking eyes you might think Ryuji is the typical delinquent and school bully kind of guy. It is true that he isn’t easily approachable and is barely seen smiling. But even he has a more immature and adolescent side to him and his temper can get him into unnecessary fights. As the prodigy of his class he is driven by endless determination to defeat Satan and get revenge. His dislike towards Rin is due to the fact that he doesn’t seem to take his studies serious enough - something that is unacceptable for Ryuji.

As the story progresses and the two guys get to spend more time together, they start to understand more about each other’s backgrounds. They might not necessarily become friends, but Ryuji opens up and is ready to support Rin more. Who would have thought that grim-looking Ryuji had a compassionate side to him?

Not only the people of True Cross Academy have multiple personalitites. No, even the animals in Blue Exorcist have more than just one side to show.

Kuro is first seen terrorizing school grounds in his monster-like form. The normally small black cat has the ability to grow to a couple times its size, equipped with long sharp teeth and evil-looking eyes. After Rin befriends him, he gets to see Kuro’s real form: a two-tailed cat that is always seen smiling and is just afraid of being left alone. He quickly grows close to Rin and follows him around on his adventures.

When Kuro gets drunk on catnip wine it is hard to imagine that he can go berserk and turn into a beast. Once again, a seemingly bad character of Blue Exorcist turns out to be a loyal companion and partner in crime.

Let’s continue with a character that most people are not sure whether they should be afraid of or not.

Amaimon looks and acts like a teenage boy. He is childish and likes to view battles as games rather than actual fights. At the same time he always seems to be incredibly bored, especially when he doesn’t have someone to entertain him around. This child-like behavior does not mean that Amaimon should not be taken seriously. He is, after all, a son of Satan just like Rin and Yukio and certainly knows how to fight. He loves destruction and does not seem to have any human compassion.

Amaimon is a character that acts like a spoiled teenager, but is ready to kill anyone without flinching. Another great example of why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

Imagine having to protect your twin brother and fighting his powers at the same time. Sounds hard, doesn’t it? It certainly isn’t an easy task resting on Yukio’s shoulders and this hardship reflects in his personality.

As opposed to his older twin brother, Yukio is mostly seen as calm, collected and straightforward. He is often called a genius and excels at his studies to become an exorcist. He knows his role in life and his responsibilities and does not try to fight them. Yukio can keep his cool; most of the time. Because just like Rin, he is still the son of Satan. When he is pushed too far you will see a new and unexpected side that is frightening enough to even scare twin brother Rin.

Yukio hides a boiling temperament behind his cold facade and this deserves him the fifth spot on our list.

Next up on our list is the laid-back and foul-mouthed teacher of True Cross Academy, Kirigakure Shura.

The crazy hairstyle, the big smile and the revealing fashion choices already hint at the type of personality Shura shows. The teacher, who is in fact an inspector of the Vatican sent to keep an eye on Rin, isn’t afraid to speak what’s on her mind, often using slang and straightforward words. She likes to drink and slack off while letting others do the work for her. But Shura wouldn’t have earned her position if she didn’t have another side: when it comes down to it, she is a skilled fighter that will defeat anything and anyone standing in her way.

Shura is loyal, but keeps her mind open and prefers to observe things for herself before forming an opinion. When she needs to take action she will do so; if not, she prefers to lean back and relax with a bottle of alcohol.

It should come as no surprise that I simply had to include the hero of the story, Rin Okumura, on this list. After all, the whole show revolves around him being torn between his good and bad side.

Rin is two-sided in several ways. He grows up as a good-for-nothing kind of guy that cannot get a job, doesn’t excel at his studies and generally cannot keep himself out of trouble. However, he does not behave this way in order to harm anyone, but simply got himself into a situation he cannot get out of anymore. In fact, he has a kind character and is ready to fight for the things he believes in. He protects the people close to him and even seems to have a weak spot for animals.

Let’s not forget that Rin is also the son of Satan and has diabolic powers he struggles to control. His heritage might not be his fault, but Rin still has to accept a darker side to him that is connected to the person he hates the most. Rin’s personality truly has many aspects to it, which is just one of the reasons why he is the main character of this show.

Some characters are good, others are bad. And for some characters you are never really sure of what to make of them. Mephisto Pheles is one of those characters.

The principal of the True Cross Academy came to orphaned Rin at the right moment and saved him by enrolling him in his school. His more than just a little bit eccentric fashion choices don’t make it easier for the viewer to categorize Mephisto Pheles. He is an exorcist and demon king at the same time, known to love sweets and Japanese pop culture. His motives are never clear and throughout the show you will question whether he is the good or the bad guy. Either way, Mephisto likes to play games and the only rules he follows are his own.

No other character might be harder to judge than this one. Some characters turn from good to bad or from bad to good; Mephisto on the other hand always stays between the two extremes and just acts the way that will benefit him the most.

Including Satan - the ultimate antagonist of the whole series - on this list might be a risky choice. Even though his personality does not change completely over the course of the show, there is still something more to him than just being the evil ruler of the demon world.

It is never revealed whether Satan fell in love with Yuri, mother of Rin and Yukio, the same way she did, but he at least saved her life when she was sentenced to death because of their connection. She was able to see more in him than just pure evil and even pities him for the lonely life he has to lead. Now, Satan wishes to destroy the distinction between the world of humans and the world of demons and let all beings coexist. This might be solely due to selfish reasons, but just maybe he has dreams for a new and better world.

Deciding to give Satan some human-like traits and not simply making him a power-driven maniac really shows the originality of the producers. Not even the antagonist of Blue Exorcist is simply evil, and thus shows us that no one is ever completely good or bad.