The popular Japanese manga series Blue Exorcist, created by Kazue Kato, is going on a temporary break starting at the end of January 2023. On January 30th, the official Twitter page for the Blue Exorcist manga announced that the series will be going on hiatus, pausing new chapter releases, for two months.
This means that chapter 139, which was originally scheduled to come out on February 3rd in the March issue of Jump Square magazine, has been delayed.
Additionally, Blue Exorcist will not have new manga chapter installments printed in the upcoming March 2023 and April 2023 issues of Jump Square.
After skipping these two monthly magazine editions, Blue Exorcist is expected to resume serialization again in the May 2023 edition of Jump Square, returning from its brief two-month pause.
The reason for this manga scheduling break has not been stated, but could allow the creator Kazue Kato to prepare more story content for future chapters after over a decade of continuous serialization.
Another Two Month Hiatus For Blue Exorcist
An official statement was released from Jump Square magazine regarding the Blue Exorcist manga hiatus. It announced that the popular supernatural series, created by Kazue Kato, will not have new chapters printed in the upcoming March 2023 and April 2023 editions of Jump Square.
The statement contains an apology to loyal monthly readers who anticipate new content, expressing regret for the temporary pause in serialization.
However, it reassures that Blue Exorcist should resume again in the May 2023 issue of Jump Square magazine following this two-month break.
The announcement also asks fans to kindly wait during the hiatus period for new chapters to return. Additionally, it notes that this is not the first time Blue Exorcist has gone on break as it previously had a 9-month serialization pause that started on July 1st, 2021, lasting until May 2nd, 2022 when the manga resumed.
So while frustrating for eager readers, delays are not unprecedented for the long-running series. The statement conveys thanks for continued patience and support during the manga’s intermittent hiatuses as it gears up to return in Spring 2023 after skipping just two magazine editions.
What Is Blue Exorcist Is All About?
The manga’s supernatural setting, Assiah and Gehenna, consists of two parallel dimensions intrinsically linked like a mirror world to its reflection. Assiah is the human world – the material plane where people live ordinary lives unaware of the supernatural forces surrounding them.
Gehenna is the demon realm, inhabited by devils and ruled absolutistically by the King of Demons known as Satan. Historically, travel between the worlds was impossible, and demonic entities could not cross the boundaries into Assiah.
However, demons eventually discovered they could traverse the dimensional divide by possessing living human beings, using them as hosts to manifest themselves.
The Interconnected Worlds of Blue Exorcist
This allows demons to walk unnoticed among humans, invisible to all except those with prior awareness of demonic forces.
In contrast, an ancient organization emerged over 2000 years ago to combat damaging demons that make it into Assiah – the Exorcists.
With branches across the globe, these holy warriors operate in secrecy under the direct authority of the Vatican, training to track down rogue demons from Gehenna and eliminate them before they can endanger human lives.
Their continuing mission is to monitor the regular illegal demonic possessions that occur and remove any presence threatening to expose the fragile supernatural balance between worlds.
The central protagonist of Blue Exorcist is Rin Okumura, a troubled teenager being raised by a priest named Father Shiro Fujimoto, who is secretly an Exorcist.
Rin discovers that he and his younger twin brother Yukio are the biological sons of Satan, the ruler of Gehenna. This destines Rin to struggle to contain the dormant demonic powers in his blood.
The Ancient Order’s Battle Against Demonic Intrusion
Tragedy strikes when Satan eventually kills Shiro trying to retrieve Rin, who then draws the demon-slaying sword Kurikara that seals his abilities.
Rin consequently gains physical hallmarks of his demonic heritage – fangs, pointed ears, a prehensile tail – and the power to ignite potent blue flames. However, Rin aspires to become an Exorcist like his adoptive father to avenge Shiro and defeat Satan.
To train his skills, Rin enrolls at True Cross Academy, an elite boarding school that secretly serves as the Japan branch headquarters of the True Cross Order – an international Exorcist organization protecting Assiah from Gehenna.
Shockingly, Rin finds his bookish brother Yukio is already a talented Exorcist prodigy and one of his instructors.
As Rin pursues Exorcist certification alongside classmates who become trusted allies, he must keep his hereditary nature hidden while mastering abilities necessary to conquer the ultimate evil that is his father – Satan.
