Soul Eater – Otaku Review
This week I’ve decided to take a look at an anime series I’m sure most people have seen: Soul Eater.
Soul Eater has been completed for a while now. Although it’s one that is both enthralling, funny and enjoyable to watch! As we approach Halloween, it might be fun to remind ourselves of the sometimes spooky series!
99 Souls, One Witch
Soul Eater follows Maka, a young Meister and her weapon partner Soul Eater (aptly named) who need to collect 99 souls and one witch if they want Soul to become a proper death scythe. With 99 souls already captured pre-series, we are introduced to Maka and Soul as they are on their hunt for the witch. Although unfortunately, as Soul eats their opponent’s soul, they realise this so-called witch is actually a magical cat. As punishment, Lord Death, the headmaster at the academy, confiscates the 99 souls they previously collected, meaning they must start over. Meanwhile, their friends Black Star and his own weapon, Tsubaki get caught up in a fight against the body-guard of the witch named Angela, whom he refuses to kill.
Three episodes into the series, we get another episode which introduces the final members of the main cast. Lord Death’s Son, Death the Kid takes his weapons, Liz and Patty to go soul-hunting in Anubis. However, he destroys the perfectly symmetrical pyramid and he gives up his collected souls.
Each of the characters, Maka, Soul, Black Star, Tsubaki, Death the Kid, Liz and Patty are brought together. As a result of their failures, they are forced to take a remedial class together. The group then team together to re-collect the souls that they lost in order to become fully fledged Mesiters and Death Scythes. However, along the way, they run into Crona, a young Meister under the cruel thumb of Medusa. The team must stop Medusa and her evil plans. In the meantime, they wonder if they should trust Crona or not. Then, Soul gets effected by Crona’s black blood which leads to much trouble for the group. It also seems that Lord Death is keeping something vitally important from the students of his academy, including his own son…
A Fine Balance
Soul Eater is an anime series that has been released for quite some time now. First being released in 2008, most anime fans have probably seen the show already. And if we can overlook the very disappointing, anti-climactic end to the series, you have to admit that the rest of the show is very difficult to fault. It displays a great variety of characters who bounce off each other endlessly. The show keeps a fine balance between humour – which borders on silliness – and the action. Not to mention, the voice acting cast is perfect, whether you watch the dubbed or subbed versions.
As far as the story goes, it can be a little slow to start off with. It spends far too many episodes for the series to properly get going. It has such a large cast that it took way too long to introduce them all, however without them, the series would be missing out so it’s definitely worth the wait. The plot rolls on at a pleasant enough speed. It gives just about enough insight into each character to make you fall in love with the series.
The Verdict?
I realise by now, I’ve mentioned a slow, rocky beginning and a disappointed ending to the series. While that is never a good sign, the middle of Soul Eater definitely makes up for any dip in the story. With an intricate plot, some rather insane characters, engaging fighting sequences and a weird and wonderful humour that you can’t help but laugh at!
Still, I admit the series would have been better off if it perhaps stuck closer to the manga. Or if it had a longer season so that we could get to know the characters better. Perhaps we would even get a more satisfying ending. In all, it’s a series that’s definitely worth the watch, just don’t expect the ending to blow your socks off!
Doing a little of this, a little of that. If you see me holding a camera, run!