Soul Eater | Anime Review | Pinnedupink.com

Soul Eater

Soul Eater was originally a Manga series both written and illustrated by Atsushi Ohkubo sensei. Square Enix initially published it in 2003 as three separate One-shots, the first two in two Gangan Powered special editions and the third in Gangan Wing. Owing to its positive reception, Square Enix started regularly serializing it in their Monthly Shonen Gangan magazine from May 2004 to August 2013.

During its long run, it spawned enough chapters to fit 25 Tankobon volumes. The Anime series followed after and was released in April 2008, which ran until March 2009. This television adaptation series was handled by none other than Studio Bones, which broadcasted the series on TV Tokyo in Japan and had 51 episodes. The collective Producers include TV Tokyo, Aniplex, Dentsu, and Media Factory.

Following the success, a drama CD, an art book, and three video games based on Soul Eater were released. In January 2011, a Manga spin-off series was serialized in Monthly Shonen Gangan, titled “Soul Eater Not!” which ran until November 2014. This series, too, had its own anime adaptation. Yen Press licensed the overall series in North America and its English translation in Yen Press’ Yen Plus manga anthology magazine in 2008. Funimation licensed the anime series.

As a clear indication of its success, the Soul Eater manga has 19.6 million copies in circulation by July 2019. Both the manga and anime series have received an overall positive reception, particularly for its unique art style and Gothic setting, which often gets compared to Tim Burton’s works like “The Night Before Christmas” by numerous critics. The only negative reception it has received revolves mainly around its use of fanservice, common in almost any Shonen series.

Soul Eater follows the genres of Action, Fantasy, Comedy, and Supernatural Shonen. It is set at the "Death Weapon Meister Academy,” where students are made to form two-person teams, each consisting of a Weapon Meister (minimum of one) and a Weapon (may be one or two) who can take on a humanoid form. The weapon is essentially a “Death Scythe,” which can take the form of almost any weapon.

The series revolves around three such teams at the academy. They all have a common goal of making their Death Scythe one worthy of being wielded by the Academy’s Headmaster, the Shinigami, who is the personification of Death itself. To do so, they must collect the 99 souls of evil beings and one soul of a Witch in that order. If the chain and pattern are broken for whatever reason, the team must start again from scratch.

The infamous Death Weapon Meister Academy “Shibusen” is situated in Death City, in Nevada of a fictional United States. It is a technical academy headed by the Lord Death at its helm as headmaster. Their vision is to raise Death Scythes for the use of Lord Death for him to battle those who try to defy the fundamental laws of death and spread evil in their wake.

All these Death Scythes are human hybrids, people, who can transform between their human and weapon forms. To achieve their final form, to become a Death Scythe, they must undergo the trial mentioned earlier to consume and assimilate the 100 souls.

The two main characters are a team of two, Demon Scythe Soul Eater Evans and his Meister Maka Albarn. This contrasting combo of a short-tempered cool rebel with a straight-laced model student makes the series catching from the get-go. The other duo includes the hyperactive and hot-blooded Black Star and his weapon, the reserved and caring Tsubaki Nakatsukasa. The last team is a trio consisting of the Shinigami’s son, Death the Kid, who is obsessed with symmetry in all things, and his obsessive-compulsive dual-wielding twin pistol sisters named Patty and Liz Thompson.

These three teams take on missions to collect souls and protect Death City from all looming threats while harnessing souls to strengthen their weapons. It is pretty simple on the surface, but the story starts digging deeper into the origins and ways of this peculiar world beneath its characteristic laughing Sun and eerily snickering Moon, which none in that world seem to question. The students learn that there is more to their training at the academy, as they must all become sounder in mind, body, soul, and the Meister and Death Weapon process becoming one as a whole.

The plot is pretty standard for a shonen, with nothing much that is super unique. But this changes drastically as the story continues. The main goal of collecting 100 souls is almost completely foregone as more important matters come to light. This applies only to the Anime, though, as the manga encapsulates a much longer story with intense character development and the main goal not foregone.

The Anime breaks off from the Manga partway and heads towards a different ending. From Manga readers’ viewpoint, this can be called rushed. But to those sticking only to the anime, the story flows just okay while leaving out some events and arcs entirely, heading towards the same ending as the manga but with some slight changes to make it all fit.

The anime is more of a light, comfortable and entertaining watch. While there are a few unanswered questions and unexplained factors at the end, they are all mostly inconsequential and pretty easy to accept. To those who enjoyed the anime and wish to know the entirety of the series, the manga is the way to go.

The characters are probably the best aspect of Soul Eater, all of which have a very popular and talented Voice Actor behind them. In this regard, Death the Kid is a fan favorite. Slick, cool, over-powered, sometimes badass with great posing and Symmetry Obsessed to a fault, it's never a dull moment with him, right beside him his straight-man pistol Liz and hyperactive bubbly Patty.

Black Star is well portrayed as a not-so-bright yet resilient male protagonist who is headstrong with excellent character development within the Anime. Female lead Maka Albarn is a down-to-earth, hard-working, academic genius but with daddy issues. Soul Evans is highlighted in how much he contrasts Maka, but the two still manage to make a near-perfect combo with cute chemistry.

The icing on the cake is probably the Legendary Weapon Excalibur, who is eccentric, self-centered, yet possesses deep insight most others fail to follow. And one cannot forget Death himself, portrayed as a very optimistic, airheaded, happy-go-lucky being with a dual personality. He will go from being his usual charming self to Insta-kill overpowered mode in a flash and always entertaining.

The Art style is relatively simple yet magnificent. The animation quality reflects its era, but it stays ever so loyal to its source material and originality. The scenerys’ in particular, is incredibly well done, very notable in the Sun, Moon, Stein’s Laboratory, and Shibusen Academy. The villains and supporting characters are all such creative masterpieces in their designs and personalities.

The Music is outstanding as well. All of them complimented the style and feel of the anime so well. They had the right music at the right place, be it battle sequences, sorrowful scenes, lively scenes, or comedic moments. Special credit to the song sung by Excalibur himself about himself!

Overall the series is easy to watch and boasts a great combination of significant creepy, surreal and fun aspects. The series is very ”anime” in its own right and is highly enjoyable. Soul Eater is highly recommended for Shonen fans who like an entertaining series with great battles and unique quirks.