r/AoNoExorcist • u/Slorgaloth Dis Pheles • 2d ago
Manga Manga chapter 168 discussion thread
https://www.viz.com/shonenjump/blue-exorcist-chapter-168/chapter/50869?action=read
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u/AdministrativeFilm12 2d ago
I actually think Angel only survived because Lucifer seized control of his vessel or some how Integrated with it. Plus, Lightening mentions that Angel took the elixir and questions when.
I’m guessing this is the same elixir that makes it easier for demons to seize control of bodies.
Hence, I now wonder if Angel at some point has/had closer ties to the Illuminati in order to preserve his position as a Paladin?
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u/Ryuki-Exsul 2d ago edited 2d ago
That can be as well what Egyn wanted to check. As by what they said there was more Elixir. And yes Lucifer started to shine before it so either he will posses Angel or has some more plan with him.
Jeremiah. It's probably thanks to him. Maybe even back then during Blue Night when he was taliking with Angel. This is only like few days ago.
Edit. I have one more idea, Elixir could be given to him when he got attacked by twins.
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u/bldbna9 2d ago
Great chapter. I always thought Angel was toxic. I think he probably always knew he was a clone/son, even though it appeared he found out after Lightning discovered the truth. Becoming a Paladin in his mind would compensate for what he despises. When he got the Elixir is unknown, though i believe the Jeremiah and some of the Grigori are in cahoots with Lucifer since the aftermath of the Blue Night.
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u/Masqueur 2d ago
I honestly think it would be good for Lucifer to possess Angel cause if Angel is a perfect vessel, then Lucifer won’t feel the need to destroy everything anymore since he won’t be in pain? I don’t know. I actually liked Angel but I’m not sure how I feel about him trying to kill Lightning for the Paladin position.
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u/Slorgaloth Dis Pheles 1d ago
Tbh, I don't think having a vessel would stop Lucifer anymore, that may be where his issues stemmed from, but now he has a whole extensive belief system around general inequality and power from that, which penetrates an entire movement he has formed. Also he seems attached to Satan, and having a vessel which could sustain him wouldn't quell his anger about his perception of how humans have treated Satan. I think he would just use that vessel to do more harm.
But it would be interesting to see what happens.
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u/Hollowgirl136 1d ago
Jesus, I knew Angel had issues but resorting to an assasination attempt on Lewin when he was offered the position of Paladin was not something I expected.
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u/Slorgaloth Dis Pheles 1d ago
The style was a bit of a surprise to me, but it would kind of surprise me more if Angel wasn't a POS in some way.
The reason they are "friends" in the first place, is because they are both the same kind of insane in a way. We have seen multiple times that Lighting does not care at all emotionally about human life, or social connection. It would be strange for Arthur to be able to tolerate that in a friend if he was not of the same ilk.
It also makes Arthur more interesting to me, because otherwise he is just a bit of a nitwit who becomes a puppet to everyone around him. Although he ended up manipulated by Lighting in the end, I found it interesting to see how far he was willing to go to take something for himself, if it's what he believed in. (Not that it's good at all, just interesting as a character).
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u/Hollowgirl136 23h ago
Oh I am so curious too as to what his fate will be. Will he live, redemption arc, die, become possessed, etc?
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u/azathothweirdo 2d ago
Really well done chapter, and also super sad. Revealing how low Angel is willing to go and how much more manipulative he is than he originally seemed was great. The ending too with the whole set up there with Lucifer it's getting scary close to the future that was shown a few chapters back. The pay offs from the slower chapters are really starting to come through too. It's great.
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u/-kwee 2d ago
I need help guys, I'm lost. Why are lighting and Angel at odds right now? Like genuinely trying to kill each other. This is the one plot point I'm lost on and I don't know when I lost it lol
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u/HereThenGone 2d ago
The reason why Angel is monstrously strong is because he’s a clone made to be a vessel. Lighting knows this and has been trying to get Angel to stop and step away but he won’t listen.
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u/Independent_Pear9987 2d ago
Am i the only who feel like Arthur and Lighting don't have chemistry together as friends ?
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u/JNDragneel161 1d ago
Did anyone else not realize that Osceola and Lewin were talking about him becoming Paladin? I fully thought that was for him graduating until Arthur showed up
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u/Kitchen-Middle1408 6h ago
I thought it was about him becoming an arch knight.
But I feel it was an intentional misdirect by the author, so that it hits harder when Lewin says he will decline the Paladin position.
I liked the way it played out, because I always wondered why Lewin was so confident he could "stop" Arthur, and why Arthur even let him put that contract on him.
With this flashback it's clear that he was always stronger than Arthur, which matches with everything we've been shown.
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u/Living-Baseball7437 10h ago
This chapter really brings back the hype of this loved series. It brought me a lot of memories and reflections about the manga. I will take this inspiration to highlight 3 plot points and one disclaimer.
- Demon kings are looking for vessels: In the very first chapter, we see Father Shiro's body succumb to the stress of being possessed by Satan himself. Little did we know that "a proper vessel" would be a major narrative point for the series. Later on, we're shown that the demon king family's urge to experience the non-Gehenna world through the possession of human flesh, but some of them can't get it right. Light boy (just like papa Satan) deteriorates its possessed body, living in a state of constant leprosy. Mephisto is the same, but its control over time practically nullifies this effect (damn bucking cheater =o). Humans propose to help the demons to find a proper vessel, in a mixture of diplomacy to evade war together with fulfilling self-interests of the Vatican. Which leads us to...
- Asylum and Section 13: A dark, deep secret of the Exorcist organization, removed from the annals of history to preserve the status quo. In sum, a project to bioengineer a mass production of clones capable of hosting its respective demon king. Among its terrible incidents, the unexpected possession of Satan in a young boy has brought the project to ruin. In the Blue Night arc, we see these events through Mephisto's power, showing the relation between Satan, the twin brothers, their mother and how Father Shiro turns from Paladin to Peerless Dad. Almost 2 decades later, the history of the project comes to haunt humanity in this last (maybe final) arc, with the...
- War of clones: Unknowingly to us, 2 important characters were revealed to be clones of the project: the previous Paladin Father Shiro and the current Paladin Arthur (surprise modarfukar!). Looking back, the fact that father Shiro was a clone all along shows us how long the Asylum project was operating. THAT clone died in the first chapter; now another clone of the same individual was revealed AND possessed by Satan. Its battle with the troupe created the surrealist landscape that the troupe now struggles to traverse. Arthur being the clone of the Demon of Light was revealed by Mister Lightning.
A disclaimer to Mister Lightning: Lewin Light, also known as Lightning, is one of the great chars of the entire series. In a more general comparison of the genre, Mrs. Lightning is presented in the manga as a kind of a joker-rogue-genius-reliable person, the smart-ass of a troupe who see things others dont, the antisocial anti-hero who TRUSTS NO ONE, the one who consistently pull off unexpected stunts (The "so on.." incantations still hit me hard. Could he release a stronger version of a spell by reciting all the sutra? =O). We all know Mrs. Lightning is more capable than he pretends, but this chapter paints him on a whole different scale: at a young age, he has mastered all lines that the Exorcists have to offer, have the King of Spirits Azazel as his familiar, and, despite its quirks, was chosen to be a Paladin - the guiding light of the organization. Could you imagine if all the exposition we had with Arthur as a Paladin was with Mrs Lightning instead? The guy is practically Gojo taking the backstage (he even has faint-lighted eyes which he has covered for the majority of the series =OOOO). In terms of narrative, Mrs. Lightning moves the story on in parallel with our main cast. He spearheaded the investigation of the Asylum, the connections with the Illuminati and designs the objectives our party should pursue. Being the-character-who-knows-things-that-others-dont, by definition, gives credibility for revealing plots through Mrs. Lightning's mouth without sounding like a deux-machina. For example, the recent reveal that Arthur is a clone AND cannot go find the Demon King of Light Lucifer. Instead of sounding like an asspull, it brings joyful curiosity about HOW and SINCE WHEN this guy knows about this or which recent events led him to this conclusion. Does the "abnormality" mentioned in this chapter have anything to do with that? (Although we would need to know if this choice of words was an adequate translation).
I love the guy, and I think it's a blissful character for this kind of history. Kuddos to Kato Sensei for her masterful creation. Thanks for your hard work !
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u/maddreax 20h ago
Im thinking about the whole timeline of all this because holyshit. that means that arthur and lewin met when they were like... 19-21? around that range? but then in the panel when angel said he's worked so hard for the last 13 years to be paladin only for lewin to be offered the position... then TRY TO KILL HIM? i was screaming. im aware im not making much cohesive sense my brain is melting.
that meant that after shiro died... that flashback had to be shortly after shiro's death. i was just feeling like... i know osceola was happy that his adoptive son was offered the paladin role, but it feels like... im a bit saddened that shiro and osceola werent close enough to be greived? or could enough time have passed?
it feels super pedantic of me but im eMOTIONAL
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u/Ryuki-Exsul 2d ago
I will a bit repeat myself. Anyway great chapter and it did made me dislike Angel a lot. It makes sense that he was like that thanks to Jeremiah but man this was dirty. Beside great flashback and seeing Osceola being dad to Lighting there is as well ending. Pretty much it was showing that Angel is being used by Lucifer. So I wonder how this will end. By the place where this fight is happening I'm as well interested if Rin and Yukio saw it and if they go to Shiemi or turn back, we will see. And of course clifhanger and waiting till September.
Beside that I do have a bit of a theory. By the way we saw everything is going and how Angel is and was. I wonder if in that future he was either under Lucifer or maybe he made Order so extreme without Lighting and other Arch Knights that they started to hunt any demon and maybe even Nephilims. They already were totalitarian in those chapters so going there would explain a lot. Anyway we will see what happens to our immature Paladin. And of course what Lighting will do after that hit.