‘Blue Exorcist’ Filler & Canon List: Updated With Season 3
Blue Exorcist, also known as Ao no Exorcist, is a shōnen manga written and illustrated by Kazue Kato. A 25-episode animated television series adaptation produced by A-1 Pictures aired between April 17, 2011, and October 2, 2011. An animated film was also released in December 2012, and various derivative products have seen the light of day. A second season of 12 episodes, still produced by A-1 Pictures, is broadcast between January and March 2017. After seven years, the third season premiered in January 2024, and in light of that, we have decided to help you with understanding the structure of the anime a bit better.
As fans will know, long-running anime series, especially adaptations, tend to add so-called filler episodes or arcs during their initial run. Filler episodes were popular throughout the 90s and early 00s, but they’ve become a relic since then. While the phenomenon is rare in modern anime series, we have still decided to tell you whether there are any filler episodes in Blue Exorcist.
Are there any filler episodes in Blue Exorcist?
As we have said above, fillers are quite rare in modern anime. They were common during the ’90s and early ’00s, when many series – practically all of them – had filler content, and some anime adaptations even completely changed the original manga and had a non-canon filler ending. Most of the fillers were not canon, although some have retroactively been made canon, with Bleach being a good example.
As far as Blue Exorcist is concerned, it is an anime series that started a while back, and while the anime adaptation has had several long breaks, it is a show from the ’00s, so we can actually confirm that the series has a significant amount of fillers. Out of the 38 episodes that have aired so far, 10 are proper filler episodes, while five are mixed canon/filler episodes. Good news for non-filler fans: these episodes are all part of the earlier seasons, as the third season doesn’t have any filler content right now. This doesn’t mean the series won’t have filler content later, but this is the current state as of the time of writing.
Are the Blue Exorcist OVAs and movie canon?
You’ll probably remember that Blue Exorcist also has three OVA episodes (one released as part of Season 1, and two as part of Season 2), as well as an anime movie. What is their status? Well, the OVA episodes are not canon and while we advise you to watch them, as they are quite cool and emotional, you won’t be missing out on anything from the canon if you simply skip them; they are not part of the canon story.
The movie itself is also not canon per se, but there is a catch. Namely, the movie was partially inspired by a spin-off one-shot manga that is part of the larger Blue Exorcist role and there is a character in the movie that connects it to the main series, but the plot of the movie itself is not canon, and you can skip it if you want to, although we’d suggest you watch the movie since it is pretty cool as well.
List of all Blue Exorcist episodes (canon and filler)
Season 1
| No. | Episode Title | Air Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “The Devil Resides in Human Souls” Transcription: “Akuma wa Hito no Kokoro ni Sumu” (Japanese: 悪魔は人の心に棲む) | April 17, 2011 | MIXED CANON/FILLER |
| 2 | “Gehenna Gate” Transcription: “Gehena Gēto” (Japanese: 虚無界の門) | April 24, 2011 | MIXED CANON/FILLER |
| 3 | “Brothers” Transcription: “Ani to Otōto” (Japanese: 兄と弟) | May 1, 2011 | MIXED CANON/FILLER |
| 4 | “Garden of Amahara” Transcription: “Amahara no Niwa” (Japanese: 天空の庭) | May 8, 2011 | CANON |
| 5 | “A Boy From the Cursed Temple” Transcription: “Tatari-dera no Ko” (Japanese: 祟り寺の子) | May 15, 2011 | CANON |
| 6 | “The Phantom Chef” Transcription: “Maboroshi no Ryōrinin” (Japanese: まぼろしの料理人) | May 22, 2011 | FILLER |
| 7 | “A Flock of Plovers” Transcription: “Tomochidori” (Japanese: 友千鳥) | May 29, 2011 | CANON |
| 8 | “Now a Certain Man Was Sick…” Transcription: “Koko ni Yameru Mono Ari” (Japanese: 此に病める者あり) | June 5, 2011 | CANON |
| 9 | “Memories” Transcription: “Omoide” (Japanese: おもいで) | June 12, 2011 | CANON |
| 10 | “Black Cat” Transcription: “Ketto Shī” (Japanese: 黒猫) | June 19, 2011 | CANON |
| 11 | “Demon of the Deep Seas” Transcription: “Shinkai no Akuma” (Japanese: 深海の悪魔) | June 26, 2011 | FILLER |
| 12 | “A Game of Tag” Transcription: “Onigokko” (Japanese: 鬼事) | July 3, 2011 | CANON |
| 13 | “Proof” Transcription: “Shōmei” (Japanese: 証明) | July 10, 2011 | CANON |
| 14 | “A Fun Camping Trip” Transcription: “Tanoshii Kyanpu” (Japanese: 愉しいキャンプ) | July 17, 2011 | CANON |
| 15 | “Act of Kindness” Transcription: “Yasashii Koto” (Japanese: やさしい事) | July 24, 2011 | CANON |
| 16 | “The Wager” Transcription: “Kake” (Japanese: 賭) | July 31, 2011 | MIXED CANON/FILLER |
| 17 | “Temptation” Transcription: “Yūwaku” (Japanese: 誘惑) | August 7, 2011 | MIXED CANON/FILLER |
| 18 | “Gale” Transcription: “Gufū” (Japanese: 颶風) | August 14, 2011 | FILLER |
| 19 | “An Ordinary Day” Transcription: “Nandemonai Hi” (Japanese: なんでもない日) | August 21, 2011 | FILLER |
| 20 | “Mask” Transcription: “Kamen” (Japanese: 假面) | August 28, 2011 | FILLER |
| 21 | “The Secret Garden” Transcription: “Himitsu no Hanazono” (Japanese: 秘密の花園) | September 4, 2011 | FILLER |
| 22 | “Demon Hunting” Transcription: “Akuma-Gari” (Japanese: 悪魔狩り) | September 11, 2011 | FILLER |
| 23 | “Truth” Transcription: “Shinjitsu” (Japanese: 真実) | September 18, 2011 | FILLER |
| 24 | “Satan’s Spawn” Transcription: “Satan no Ko” (Japanese: 魔神の落胤) | September 25, 2011 | FILLER |
| 25 | “Stop, Time” Transcription: “Toki yo Tomare” (Japanese: 時よ止まれ) | October 2, 2011 | FILLER |
| OVA | “Runaway Kuro” Transcription: “Kuro no Iede” (Japanese: クロの家出) | October 26, 2011 (DVD/Blu-Ray) | FILLER |
Season 2
| No. | Episode Title | Air Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | “Small Beginnings” Transcription: “Kōshi Ranshō” (Japanese: 嚆矢濫觴) | January 7, 2017 | CANON |
| 27 | “Strange Bedfellows” Transcription: “Goetsu Doushū” (Japanese: 呉越同舟) | January 14, 2017 | CANON |
| 28 | “Suspicion Will Raise Bogies” Transcription: “Gishinanki” (Japanese: 疑心暗鬼) | January 21, 2017 | CANON |
| 29 | “Act of Treachery” Transcription: “Haishin Kigi” (Japanese: 背信棄義) | January 28, 2017 | CANON |
| 30 | “Mysterious Connections” Transcription: “Aienkien” (Japanese: 合縁奇縁) | February 4, 2017 | CANON |
| 31 | “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” Transcription: “Menrihōshin” (Japanese: 綿裏包針) | February 11, 2017 | CANON |
| 32 | “Like a Fire Burning Bright” Transcription: “Kienbanjō” (Japanese: 気炎万丈) | February 18, 2017 | CANON |
| 33 | “From Father to Son” Transcription: “Fushi Sōden” (Japanese: 父子相伝) | February 25, 2017 | CANON |
| 34 | “Through Thick and Thin” Transcription: “Setchūshōhaku” (Japanese: 雪中松柏) | March 4, 2017 | CANON |
| 35 | “Unbowed and Unbroken” Transcription: “Futōfukutsu” (Japanese: 不撓不屈) | March 11, 2017 | CANON |
| 36 | “Shine Bright as the Sun” Transcription: “Kōkisanzen” (Japanese: 光輝燦然) | March 18, 2017 | CANON |
| 37 | “Candid and Open” Transcription: “Kyoshintankai” (Japanese: 虚心坦懐) | March 25, 2017 | CANON |
| OVA2 | “Snake and Poison” Transcription: “Hebi to Doku” (Japanese: 蛇と毒) | April 4, 2017 (DVD) | FILLER |
| OVA3 | “Spy Game” Transcription: “Supai Gēmu” (Japanese: スパイ・ゲーム) | October 4, 2017 (DVD) | FILLER |
Season 3
| No. | Episode Title | Air Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | “The World’s Astir” Transcription: “Zawameku Sekai” (Japanese: ざわめく世界) | January 7, 2024 | CANON |
| 39 | “Where Secrets Are” Transcription: “Himitsu no Arika” (Japanese: 秘密の在り処) | January 14, 2024 | CANON |
| 40 | “True Cross Academy Festival” Transcription: “Seijūji Gakuen-Sai” (Japanese: 正十字学園祭) | January 21, 2024 | TBC |
| 41 | TBC | January 28, 2024 (TBC) | TBC |
| 42 | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| 43 | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| 44 | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| 45 | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| 46 | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| 47 | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| 48 | TBC | TBC | TBC |
| 49 | TBC | TBC | TBC |
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