After being on hiatus since July, Blue Exorcist by mangaka Kazue Kato returns with an epic battle that fans have been waiting for since chapter 1.

Warning: spoilers ahead for Blue Exorcist chapter 133!

Blue Exorcist finally returns after a nearly year-long hiatus, with the demon Rin Okumura battling against his father Satan, who is using the body of Rin's adoptive father Shiro Fujimoto as a vessel. The manga originally went on break in July 2021 and just returned this May with chapter 133.

Every chapter in Blue Exorcist has been leading to this moment, ever since the King of Demons Satan murdered Rin's adoptive father. But Satan was never able to manifest in the human world until now. As revealed in chapter 110, the King of Demons can enter the left eye of Rin's older human brother Yukio because of a demon-inflicted wound Yukio most likely received when he and Rin shared their mother's womb. Knowing this, the evil Illuminati organization captured Yukio with the intent of forcing him to release Satan from his eye into a vessel they had already prepared. That vessel just so happened to be Shiro's cloned body, and Satan took it over, he accepted his son Lucifer's request to destroy the current world and create a new plain of existence where demons and humans can live equally. All hell literally didn't let loose immediately, however, as the mysterious demon Mephisto was able to pause time for five minutes so that humanity could prepare a defensive plan against Satan that finally went into effect in chapter 132... right before the series went on hiatus.

Now, in Kazue Kato's chapter 133, Rin is battling Satan, and things aren't going too well for the young demon, with all of his attacks failing to land except one. Interestingly, humanity's hope doesn't solely lie on Rin's shoulders. Rin's only role is to serve as a diversion while the real assault is prepared, and it's appropriately led by Yukio's team. By the end of the chapter, Yukio and his band of exorcists identify the area where they must go to unleash their currently undisclosed attack.

Rin's face-off against his father is much more charged than what fans who have only watched the anime are used to. Prior to Blue Exorcist's hiatus, Rin recently back in time and witnessed the tragic relationship between Satan and his mom. Based on the horrible things the King of Demons did to her, Rin has more of a reason to hate Satan than even killing his adoptive father. Although this dynamic hasn't been fully explored as of chapter 133, it's something fans are eager to see play out in the coming months.

It's highly appropriate that mangaka Kazue Kato chose to demote Rin's importance in this long-awaited installment to put more emphasis on his older brother Yukio. Although Rin is obviously more powerful, Blue Exorcist has proven through his complex, troubled relationship with his brother that the true protagonist is actually Yukio because of how much more Yukio has suffered. This is despite the fact that Rin's demons are much more obvious. Similarly, it's appropriate that Satan is only toying with Rin, not just because it makes their battle more of a nail-biter, but because it allows other characters, like Yukio, to take the reins.

Readers won't see the conclusion to any of these or other storylines, like whose side the traitor Shima is really on,  any time soon, however. With chapter 133, mangaka Kazue Kato has seemingly adopted the 19-page format of Weekly Shonen Jump series, even though Blue Exorcist is a monthly publication that originally featured 38 pages or more per installment. This shift will undoubtedly prolong the series while having each chapter only focus on one storyline, as opposed to several. However, while they may be getting less story per issue, Blue Exorcist fans will likely just be thrilled that the series is finally back!

Next: Is Blue Exorcist Season 3 Happening? Here's What We Know

Blue Exorcist chapter 133 is available to read now from Viz Media.