Ao no Exorcist | 07

友千鳥 | Tomochidori | “Flock of Plovers”

The walking disaster.

Amg, Shiemi…watching her is like watching a baby about to yank the tail of a rabid porcupine.  She’s a walking disaster.  Of course anime is about extreme exaggeration, so she has layers of disasterness. 

Epic trip that sent her shoes flying.

She’s clumsy, painfully shy, wears dated fashion, pick-on-me timid, and common sense? There is none! In her desperation to be liked she ends up Kamiki Izumo’s stooge.  Real friendship is among equals. It’s impossible with Izumo because she thinks she’s better than everyone (she hails from a long line of miko priestesses). Paku isn’t her equal either which is why their friendship deteriorates in the locker room.  Friends tell each other what’s on their minds and don’t force each other to do things they don’t want to do; something Paku is finally able to admit she doesn’t have with Izumo (honesty).  Izumo treating Shiemi badly also reflected poorly on Paku who didn’t like what was going on but did nothing to stop it.

Rin starts another fight because he cares. One day he'll learn to communicate properly.

Shiemi’s antics completely exhaust Rin which reflects our own frustration with her behavior but he doesn’t give up on her.  No matter how much people badmouth or reject him, he always thinks about their wellbeing before his own.  Compare that to Izumo, who crumbles when Paku needs her help. She unbelievably hesitates at saving her friend because she felt betrayed by Paku’s truthful admission.  So much for, “Friends help each other, right?”  In that respect, Shiemi is superior to Izumo because she recognizes her own faults and strives to overcome it.

"A strong will is necessary to tame a demon. This can't be learned, you need to have talent."

Rin notices the suspicious look right away.

Something I didn’t notice immediately is the significant glance the Tamer teacher aims at Rin after he said Tamers required an inherent gift for summoning.  He directed the loaded comment toward Rin because he knows Rin is Satan’s son.  Whether he was trying to kill Rin at the dorms or help him draw out his full potential requires unraveling his cryptic words to his minion, “Are you whining or laughing at me for becoming the dog of a demon?”  He’s either working for Satan or Faust.

Classmates arrive at Rin and Yukio's dorm for Exwire seminar.

The episode highlights Rin’s appalling lack of knowledge about Exorcists.  Konekomaru and Bon (very reluctantly) educate him about Meisters so he’s able to properly select his primary spec.  A proper hero in a RPG must be a sword wielding class after all.

Izumo telling Shiemi to carry her bag.

The rest of the story follows Shiemi’s attempt to befriend Izumo while Rin watches in distress because she ends up acting more like a servant than friend.  Paku was also silently troubled with her friend’s behavior toward Shiemi which acts as the catalyst for her decision withdraw from cram school, shocking Izumo.

Ghoul attack in the girls bathroom.

A ghoul, secretly controlled by their Tamer teacher, inflicts a spirit wound on Paku which will kill her unless it’s neutralized immediately.  Izumo’s conflicted emotions make her unable to fight and cause her familiars to turn on her. It’s Shiemi who bravely treats Paku with the help of her familiar, Pi, while Rin distracts the ghoul long enough for Yukio to arrive and chase the ghoul away.

Mortified Izumo crying over her ineptness and behavior. Maybe a little upset no one cares she's in her underoos. Not a single nosebleed.

As the saying goes, the bigger they are they harder they fall.  Izumo’s ego in this case.  The ghoul encounter was a lesson in humility for her, and it remains to be seen if it’s enough to keep her off her high horse.

Wth is “flock of plovers” suppose mean anyway?  There wasn’t a single plover (chidori) in the episode. /Annoyed

Notes

Plover is a migratory bird called Chidori (A Thousand Birds or One Thousand Birds Chirping ) in Japan.  The name is derived from great flocks of plovers that migrate between Siberia and Japan in the spring and fall. They’re known for their piercing cry that sounds like “chi-yo”.

Typhoeus is the last son of Gaia and Tartarus according to Greek mythology. There are discrepancies in his appearance. The prevailing description is he was a winged giant with the upper body of a human and legs of two massive coiled serpent tails.

Echindna is the wife of Typhoeus. The upper half of her body is a lovely nymph and the lower half is a serpent. Daughter of Phorcys and Ceto or Tartarus and Gaia. Together with her mate Typhoeus, she gave birth to many of the infamous monsters in Greek mythology such as Scylla, Hydra, and the Gorgon.

Naberius is a Marquis of Hell and takes on the form of a three-headed dog.  The name originates from the Greek dog Cerberus.

Green Man was the god of “vegetation and plant life” in the British Isles before christianity stamped out pagan worship.  However the green man lived on as a decorative motif used in churches.  He’s often depicted as a human face covered in foliage.

Tags: Ao no Exorcist