Blue Exorcist: True Cross Academy

Welcome to Fantasy Friday in which I will look at fantastical pieces of Architecture found in the anime world. These posts will probably vary on length depending on if and what I am able to pinpoint as relevant as well as what I find myself drawn to. This will mostly be Architecture Eye Candy; as someone that’s been trained in design, theory and as someone that loves history and research; sometimes I find it easy to find a precedence or correlation from the anime to something that’s real and tangible.

What I love about architecture in anime or any kind of animation or CGI scene is that there are no limits to what can be created; things can be overly exaggerated which makes it so fantastical – like you’re in a dream world. And I’m all about outrageous designs!

To kick it off, I wanted to look at Blue Exorcist’s True Cross Academy.  It’s been awhile since I had watched the anime. I had decided to re-watch season 1 on a whim because I wanted background noise while I worked on my computer (this was before I even knew that season 2 was coming). The moment True Cross appeared on screen, I immediately thought I should make a blog series out of this!

True Cross Academy

True Cross Academy reminds me of an MC Escher painting.  A complex puzzle of sorts that loop infinitely. Granted, at least the Cram School is designed that way, with the use of a key that can open up a door that leads to almost anywhere on campus.

True Cross Academy Entrance Hall

Since Blue Exorcist deals with themes of christianity, and there’s some mention of the Vatican, it only made sense for some of the Architectural elements to have some Italian inspiration.  For instance, the Entrance hall of True Cross looks similar to that of a Milan Shopping center in Italy, more specifically: Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, located next to the Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square) next to the Duomo (milan cathedral). This space is bascailly an arcade that is roofed with arching glass and cast-iron roof, which was popular in the 19th century.

True Cross Academy Dining Hall

The Dining Hall to me actually reminds me of two things. First, it looks much like the apse or knave of a cathedral (the rop right photo). Vaulted ceilings are the dead give away.  The second thing it reminds me of is The Great Hall that’s featured in all of the Harry Potter films. Now, Harry Potter came first (2001), so it’s quite possible it served as an inspiration to Blue Exorcist(2011).

True Cross Academy Cram School Hall

This is just an image of the cram school within the campus grounds of True Cross. However, it’s location isn’t really known, and is only accessible with a certain kind of key.  I couldn’t think of any architectural inspiration for this particular space. The layout is similar to that of a knave of a cathedral like the dining hall above. The only thing to notice is the color palette. It has bright vibrant colors but is also shrouded in darkness which is an indication it’s somewhere underground.  The color palette also helps differentiate this place from all the neutral tones that are found in the “normal” places found throughout the campus.

That’s all she wrote for this Fantasy Friday. Hope you guys enjoyed it! If you guys have a particular anime you’d like me to look at, let me know in the comments below! I’m always open to suggestions!