Kilik Rung

Free

Joe Buttataki

Spirit Albarn

Blair

Medusa Gorgon

Kim Diehl

Death the Kid

Tsubaki Nakatsukasa

Crona

Pharaoh

Elizabeth Thompson

Giriko

Harvar D. Éclair

Shinigami

Azusa Yumi

Excalibur

Arachne Gorgon

White☆Star

Maka Albarn

Asura

Eruka Frog

Angela Leon

Sonson J.

Justin Law

Set in the Shinigami technical school for weapon meisters, the series revolves around 3 groups of each a weapon meister and a human weapon. Trying to make the latter a "Death Scythe" which is the highest title for a weapon and thus fit for use by the Shinigami, they must collect the souls of 99 evil humans and 1 witch.<br><br>
Maka &amp; Soul Eater, Black Star &amp; Tsubaki, and Death the Kid with Patty and Liz Thompson are the characters Soul Eater revolves around. Besides taking the time to gather souls, these students of Shibusen defend Death City from some of the most powerful of creatures while still attending school and trying to become stronger.



If you’re a fan of the nineties stop motion movie The Nightmare Before Christmas, your vision of a land based entirely on the tropes, designs and conventions of Halloween is a dark, depressing town where every single resident is ironically joyful and pleasant towards one another. Soul Eater, on the other hand, takes this idea and turns it over on it’s head. Death City, for all of it’s creeps and ghouls, is a bright, happy place where even the Grim Reaper is more of a cuddly uncle than a terrifying specter of doom. The Reaper, or Lord Death, as he prefers to be called, is the headmaster of the Death Weapon Meister Academy, a school that teaches young people how to join their souls to protect the world from witches!

To do this, one student must become a living weapon, and their chosen partner must wield them against creepy, devious witches who hide in the shadows and… Do stuff, like transforming into all manners of creepy creatures! Once each team has devoured the souls of 99 corrupted humans and one witch, they will be advanced to the status of Death Scythe, the preferred weapons of Grim Reapers everywhere. But one witch has decided to take matters into her own hands… She plans to awaken an ancient, sleeping demon that will drive the entire world past the brink of insanity! Can Meister Maka, her weapon Soul, and their friends stop this plan before it’s too late, or will the world lose itself to the clutches of chaos?

The animation studio behind this heaping helping of Halloween was Studio Bones, the studio that gained fame from Fullmetal Alchemist and Wolf’s Rain. Like the majority of their projects, Soul Eater has solid, kinetic animation… About half the time. The animation is never quite as smooth or expensive as it is in the first season opening, but it is more or less solid for the most part. There are a few embarrassing moments, such as where characters look like their walk cycles were just copied and pasted onto the environment, but thankfully, they’re few and far between. What’s NOT few and far between are the still shots. There are several occurrences where a character is talking, but the camera is focused on the environment, other character’s faces, or just the eyes of the speaker, leaving the lip flaps off screen.

There are a lot of action and fighting scenes throughout this series, and the fact that most of the budget is saved for those scenes is a life saver in the long run. The editing and angles can be a bit too amateurish and generic for their own good at times, and there are way too many close-ups of characters’ faces, but it works over-all. The character designs are it’s best visual aspect by far, although the highly detailed backgrounds are also noteworthy. There was so much inspiration and creativity in the aesthetic of this series that even the Grim Reaper is like no other reaper you’ve ever seen before.

Aside from a couple of female background characters who are retroactively given names and identities in the later episodes, every single named character is given a unique and unforgettable look that goes beyond just their hairstyles and fashions. Some of them are grounded, some of them are insane, and you can tell instantly which witches are based on which animals. If you haven’t seen the anthropomorphic version of the legendary sword Excalibur… Think Puttin’ On the Ritz from AMV Hell 5… You would never guess what he looks like or acts like in this series, as he has one of the most insane gimmicks in a series full of insane gimmicks.

The music… I think existed? Well, that’s not fair. The music is decent in this series, but for the most part, it does it’s job in the background, rarely ever calling attention to itself… Which is good because trust me, a lot of it’s tracks are reused over and over again through the series. Besides, who cares about the score when you’ve got such amazing opening and closing songs? The first opening is called Soul Resonance by TM Revolution, and it’s the kind of high energy, intense tunes that grabs you the first time you hear it and demands you come back for more, and the animation in the video more than keeps up with it. The second opening is a bit more generic, but it’s serviceable enough. There are four closing themes, and while the first one (I Wanna Be) is probably the best, I still personally prefer the much more mellow second one, Style, as it offers the cool-down that I felt each episode needed. Your opinion on this may differ, which is fine… They’re all great closings, in their own ways.

The English dub was of course a Funimation effort… They’ve been getting dangerously close to Disney levels of ubiquity at this point… And while I’ve heard some people call it average, I think it’s great. I can normally call out a star performer in any dub I review, but in Soul Eater’s case, there are just too many to pick from. Luci Christian rarely ever plays a villain… Elfen Lied being one of the few examples… But she plays the role of Medusa, school nurse/evil mastermind, and she clearly enjoyed every second of it. She sounds downright diabolical and as slithery as the snake she’s based on, even when she exploits her cutesier voices to mock or manipulate people. Troy Baker is unrecognizable as the pretentious nuisance Excalibur, and Vic Mignona excels in the role of an overly-enthusiastic dad who wants nothing more than the forgiveness of his estranged daughter.

Todd Haberkorn brings out both the strength and neurotic tendencies of Lord Death’s son Death the Kid in the ways that only he ever could, Chuck Huber handles Dr. Stein’s insanity brilliantly, and Maxey Whitehead fully embodies the androgynous Crona through all of his/her psychotic, awkward nuances. Brittany Karbowski starts off a little roughly as Blackstar, the hyperactive ninja who makes Naruto look stealthy, and it can be a little difficult to take her seriously in the early episodes, but she hits her groove hard and fast. Laura Bailey and relative newcomer Micah Solusod play the main partnership of Maka and Soul as likeably as they can, although for the majority of the series, their jobs aren’t really as demanding as everyone elses. Pretty much every Funimation actor that was around in the late 2000s is in this at some point, and everyone’s at least on point.

So after speaking so highly of the sound, acting and production values, you’re probably expecting me to remain positive for the rest of the review. you’re expecting me to keep rambling on about how awesome the series is, how well written it is, and how much I love it. Well, much like this series did to me, I’m afraid I’m going to have to disappoint you. The truth is, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered this large of a disparity between writing quality and popularity… Well, not in the anime medium, at any rate. I can think of at least one web cartoon that’s far more popular, despite being even worse.

To begin, let’s take a look at the main characters. One of the easiest ways to pinpoint bad writing is to notice that a character who you’re constantly being told is smarter than the rest of the cast shows no actual signs of enhanced intelligence to back up that claim. In Death Note, we were given no explanation of Light Yagami’s study habits or scholastic strengths, but at least we knew he was good at strategy and manipulating people. In No Game No Life, the two stars made it very clear which of them was skilled in which areas, and we saw their talents unfold during some of the game sequences. In Soul Eater, there is no evidence whatsoever to support Maka being the top student at the Academy. She never uses her intellect during battle, and the only test question we see her answer is the show’s line about sound minds and bodies. The only brainy thing she ever does is dump exposition on the viewer.

All of her accomplishments are due to her bond with Soul, rushing into situations courageously, and coming up with new attacks. We never see her outwit or outsmart anybody… She just resolves conflicts through the application of virtues such as bravery and friendship. But hey, that’s no big deal as long as the title character is interesting, right? Well, sorry, he’s not. Soul Eater, and yes that’s his alarmingly prophetic name, is a laid back cool guy who likes playing the piano… And that’s pretty much it. I learned more about him from a single paragraph on Wikipedia than I did from a 52 episode series that’s specifically named after him. You never learn about his family, his backstory, or why he wants to become a Death Scythe in the first place.

And that just brings up another problem I had with this series. We know what happens when a partnership achieves their goal of eating 99 corrupted… Or, “Keishan” souls, and one witch soul… The weapon becomes a Death Scythe. But what happens to the Meister? What do they get out of it? The only Meister in the series whom we know for sure was able to accomplish this was Maka’s mother, and she’s off on a trip for the entire show. We know that pursuing this goal benefits the weapons, but we know nothing about what the Meisters get out of it. And what’s really messed up about this is that in each of the three main partnerships in the cast… Maka and Soul, Blackstar and Tsubaki, Death the Kid and the Thompson sisters… The Meister side is always the more interesting side. It’s the Meister that’s driven to succeed, and it’s the weapon that’s there to support them and guide them to their dreams, and the Meister’s have much clearer motives than the weapons, so shouldn’t it be the Meisters who stand to accomplish something tangible?

There are a lot of people out there who say Soul Eater would have been great if it wasn’t for the ending, which strayed from the plot of the manga. Well, I’ve never read the manga, and I don’t intend to until after this review is done, because no adaptation should ever require the viewer to have knowledge of the original material in order to work. In my opinion, the worst thing about this show isn’t the ending, it’s the beginning. As many viewers have pointed out, the plot that this anime starts with is not the same as the plot it picks up towards the end. Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing… Plot evolution can be handled well, just like it was in Toradora. But the plot has to actually evolve. The first plot must in some way become the second plot, otherwise it will feel like a waste of time. Which is exactly what it feels like here.

Only in soul Eater, it’s not just a waste of time. It’s far worse than that. Throughout the first several episodes of the series, we’re given boatloads of exposition about how the Death Scythe system works, what it’s rules are, and why it’s important. That exposition is handled about as well as it was in The Last Airbender. Another obvious sign of bad writing is when one character explains something to another character for the sake of the audience, but since both characters already know everything, the explanation is opened with the phrase “As you know…” And it gets worse than that, as the rules for having the souls you’ve collected revoked(Ripped from your stomach?) sound arbitrary and downright draconian. And to make matters worse, the change in plot leave tons of questions unanswered, the worst of which I’ve already gone into.

And the exposition gets even worse as the series continues. In the second half, there’s an arc where the DWMA sends it’s students and teachers to a snowy location called the Lost Island. no, not that Lost Island. Not only is this expedition not foreshadowed or brought up in any way before we’re dropped right into it, but the pre-op portion of it’s first episode consists of Lord Death telling us… Yes, telling us, talking directly to the audience, as though the fourth wall never existed… about why they’re going there and what they’re expecting to find. That should not happen. It should be set up in the dialogue, and it should occur seamlessly. Hell, even showing Maka and Soul in their dorm preparing for and discussing the mission would have felt less jarring, and it probably would have taken up just as much time. The world-building is so bad that I have no idea where Death City is located, and how it’s bizarre logic exists in a world whose locations so clearly mirror our own.

And as for all the people saying the ending was the worst part of the series? I honestly thought the final quarter was the best one. Yeah, okay, the final battle was really weak, anti-climactic and full of deus ex machina BS, but it was the only stretch of episodes that felt like one smooth, connected story that didn’t veer off into filler episodes or unnecessarily complicated plot annexes… Well, for the most part. This part of the story does waste a disproportionate amount of time on a “Let’s collect magical artifacts and expose the DWMA’s dark secret” sub-plot, which is paid off in the stupidest way imaginable. I halfway want to just spoil it, because if I were to describe what that sub-plot and all the characters it introduced was leading to, you’d probably think I was exaggerating. Spoiler alert: The school turns into a giant mech and tries to swat a giant robot spider. See? Unless you’ve seen it, you don’t believe me! And all this time, we’re constantly told that the awakened demon is causing outbreaks of insanity around the world, but we never actually see this happening!

The reason I love that section of the story above the others is because it advances the two plot elements that feel the strongest. The first one is the friendship between the seven main characters. The writers of this anime understood humans and emotions far more than they understood basic storytelling, and the relationship between the primary weapons and meisters are proof of that. When they’re hanging out together, it feels like a comfortable party that you’ve been invited to. When they’re fighting as a unit, their strengths and weaknesses complement each other perfectly. When they’re fighting among themselves, it feels tense, like there’s genuinely something at stake if they should go too far and disband. Every interaction, from the bond between the Thompson sisters to Blackstar’s complex of inferiority to Death the Kid and Maka, is executed well. Even Maka’s issues with her cheating father are dealt with maturely.

And the other element revolves around someone whom I consider to be the best character in the series, and it’s saving grace in a lot of respects: The snake witch, Medusa Gorgon. My god is she an amazing villain. Her motivation is basically evil for the sake of evil, but not in a lazy way… In a good way, like Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty or Johan from Monster. There is no act that’s too diabolical for her to stoop to it. She’s also smart, staying one step ahead of everyone as much as possible and saddling both Soul and Stein with the very issues that make them interesting and memorable. She’s such a great villain that she completely over-shadows the villain that succeeds her. The long term plot involving her evil schemes is by far the most fun to follow. These two plot elements are tied together perfectly by a character named Crona, but in the interest of not spoiling anything, I’ll say no more.

And it’s a good thing these two elements exists, because holy crap is there a lot of unnecessary pulp in this show. It’s constantly throwing new ideas and new characters at you, and it ultimately reaches the point where at least a dozen of them could have died for all I cared. It would be so easy to reduce this show to twenty six episodes without hurting it’s strongest elements or losing the charm and personality that’s won so many otaku hearts. Because let’s be honest, how many of these characters and plot points are important in the long run? How many of them are so necessary to the story that they couldn’t be either removed altogether, or written out with a few job reassignments?

As an experiment, let’s remove the plot point about becoming a death scythe, and just call the main characters witch hunters. Let’s get rid of pointless characters like Yumi, Joe, Hero, Arachne, Giriko, Eibon, Justin, Ox, Kilik, Kim, the younger Mizune sisters, and yes, even Excalibur. Characters who are only temporarily important, such as Sid, Mifune and Blair, can be kept long enough to perform the barest of plot essentials. Hell, as much as I loved Eruka Frog and Free, they could have just been eaten when Asura woke up. Entire episodes could be scrapped, with their relevance to the magical item hunt removed. Take these changes into account, tighten up a few loose ends with some quick rewrites, and this story could have been reduced to twenty six episodes with a much better sense of pace and direction.  That’s not a good sign.

As Maka tells us at the beginning of every episode, a sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body. Soul Eater has neither a sound mind OR a sound body, and thus, it’s not a sound series. Even so, I guess I am underselling the parts of this show that work. Soul Eater is a lot of fun.  It’s very unique and creative, and even in it’s more pointless moments, it has a great sense of humor. The chibi sight gags that were easily the weakest part of BOTH FMA adaptations is used to much better effect here. I can drone on forever about just how terribly, terribly written it is, but the things it does right are strong enough that it’s still worth returning to for multiple viewings.

Soul Eater is available from Funimation. It’s been released in several different DVD sets, including 13 episode quarter sets, 26 episode half sets, and finally, a much more affordable complete set, and more recently, a premium Blu-Ray set, as though Funi hasn’t wrung enough money out of us just yet. I’ll be honest, I’d hate to be one of the people who spent 60 dollars apiece for each of the quarter sets, only to see the price drop so rapidly over the course of less than ten years. It’s also up for free on Netflix. The manga is available stateside from Yen Press. A spin-off manga called Soul Eater Not is also available stateside, and an anime adaptation was released in Japan last spring, and since then, it’s also been released stateside by Funimation, and…  It’s interesting.  It’s worth a test drive.

So, I was originally going to give this series a 5/10, and in fact I DID give it a 5/10 on MAL, but it just felt like the wrong thing to do ever since.  And since then, I’ve had the displeasure of watching Soul Eater Not, and my opinion on the older series has changed a bit as a result.  See, Soul Eater fails at a lot of things, and I can’t justify ignoring them, but in the end, it only failed because it TRIED so many things.  No, Not! isn’t as much of a mess, but it was also more safe and generic of a story…  A tried and true high school girls story, with lesbian teasing, friendship messages and a villain tacked on at the end.  Soul Eater didn’t try to be safe, and it wouldn’t be so damned influential if it hadn’t taken so many bold risks, and I have to give it credit for that.  It may not have a sound mind or body, but if nothing else, it has a sound heart, which is enough justification for me to give Soul Eater a 6/10.  

It really doesn't have a sound mind or a sound body.

___Soul Eater___ introduces a type of shōnen full of satire and self awareness while also giving depth to the three main characters with their sidekicks/weapons introduced separately in each of the first three episodes: Maka, Death the Kid and Black Star. The premise of the show given in the 1st episode is an intriguing one. Collect 99 souls of evil humans and 1 witch's soul so that their weapon can become a death scythe which is to be used by Death. Too bad they completely forgot about that idea as the show continued. As the show goes on, it falls into the cliche shōnen tropes it was making fun of in the 1st half of the show. The tropes or setbacks they gave to the main characters were actually very funny. Maka and her weapon, Soul's, constant arguments with each other, Kid's obsession with symmetry and Black Star's arrogance were used perfectly. It didn't feel like it was forced nor was it annoying or used as a cheap gag which it would be later in the series.

The __tone__ of the series shifts from satirical while telling a story I was invested in to a straight shonen cliche and all the intelligence that I felt was behind the first half of the show was left behind by the second half. Shrouded in seriousness and dread with cheap comedic relief in moments Soul Eater felt like a drag to get through.

The __characters__ were the most annoying part of the series for me especially since they started off as the best part of the series in the first half. Death the Kid's OCD was completely forgotten about unless they need some comedic relief, Maka became a spoiled brat and Black Star's charm was wasted by not being given proper development to his character in the second half of the show. A lot of topics teased on the show were completely forgotten or weren't properly explored. For example: Maka's relationship with her father and mother, Black Star's relationship with his clan and his progression to mastering his weapon. A lot of characters weren't given arcs that i think they deserved such as Spirit Albarn, Franken Stein, Maka's scythe (Soul Eater). They only glossed over Soul not liking his family name, I definitely would have liked his origins to have been explored. Plus Maka's mother was foreshadowed as this mysterious but incredibly powerful meister but she wasn't even shown once in the show. If she was such an important character in terms of power why didn't she come to help when the world was being destroyed?! SIDE NOTE: the voice acting in this show (I didn't watch the English dub) was incredible. Kudos to the actors.

The __visuals __ are one thing I can commend the show wholeheartedly on. Soul Eater was animated beautifully and the fight scenes were spectacular. Though there weren't many long ones in this show. Black Star wasn't given enough battle scenes in 51 episodes when he was the one could have had the most stunning fights visually. The show only gives glimpses of the heights they could reach in a Black Star fight but doesn't fully invest in them in terms of screen time. The only fight that gave my eyes what they wanted was the fight between Black Star and Asura. Though when he was getting ready to fight Asura (after he got decreased from his giant monster form)__ the show cuts to Maka's uninteresting journey to save Soul from the demon. When they cut to Asura we see Black Star defeated. The fact that they didn't show the fight was very disappointing because it could have given Black Star his proper light.

Soul Eater isn't the worst show out there. It's far from it. My disappointment lies in the potential, promise and intelligence it had in the first half which all got reduced down to a mediocre shonen anime.__

A lot of potential thrown in the dumpster. A few spoilers ahead

~~~Uma das minhas maiores dúvidas desde que comecei a ver animações japonesas é o que faz um Battle Shounen ser bom. Ter ótimas lutas? Apresentar uma história épica? Possuir personagens marcantes? Talvez fosse tudo isso junto de forma coesa? Bem, Soul Eater definitivamente não tinha tudo isso nessa escala de qualidade para entregar, mas ele possuía algo que proporcionava uma experiência completamente única para mim: 
___"A sua própria identidade dentro de um gênero tão inautêntico como é o Battle Shounen!"___  ~~~

Soul Eater conta a história de uma escola fictícia chamada Shibusen, criada com o intuito de combater e eliminar os ovos de Kishins, que são seres que devoram almas humanas para se tornarem mais poderosos, e as Bruxas, que vivem aterrorizando o mundo. Os encarregados de eliminar esses seres são os artesãos, que além de eliminar os Kishins, devem ajudar suas armas a se tornarem Death Scythes, para o Shinigami usar como sua própria arma. Os artesãos devem fazer suas armas devorarem um total de 99 ovos de Kishin e uma alma de bruxa para serem uma Death Scythes. O anime tem início com três prólogos, onde cada um conta a história dos personagens principais e como funciona a mecânica de artesão e arma. O primeiro episódio apresenta a Maka Albarn, artesã da foice, e seu parceiro arma, Soul Eater Evans. O segundo apresenta o Black Star, um artesão com técnicas de assassinato, e sua parceira arma, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa. Por fim, é apresentado também o filho do Shinigami, Death the Kid e suas duas parceiras: Patti Thompson e Lizzy Thompson. O anime foi produzido pelo estúdio Bones e estreou em março de 2008 na TV Tokyo. Ele possui 51 episódios, dos quais tomaram um rumo diferente do mangá em sua reta final.

Dada a explicação de sua premissa, é necessário avisar que essa review contém spoilers de determinados pontos de Soul Eater que podem comprometer sua experiência. Por sua conta em risco, prossigamos com a análise começando pela sua trama. 

~~~ img(https://media.giphy.com/media/Qf51TZqBuGibu/giphy.gif)
~~~

De começo, é difícil entender qual será o rumo que sua trama irá tomar. Ao que nos é apresentado durantes os prólogos, a proposta parece ser voltada para que os artesãos tenham sucesso em transformar suas armas em Death Scythes. Porém, esse conceito é rapidamente deixado de lado, abrindo espaço para uma trama mais dispersa no começo, onde poucas coisas te indicam um rumo definitivo, mas aos poucos as situações que eles acabam passando vão formando o que vem a ser a trama central de Soul Eater. Ela não é inovadora, muito menos rotineira, se encaixando mais num meio termo entre os dois, porém a forma como é trabalhada desperta muitos elogios para sua escrita. Soul Eater é mais um que se utiliza da estrutura narrativa que já vimos em vários outros animes do tipo Battle Shounen, porém com a grande diferença de ter uma trama bem mais descompromissada que o normal do gênero. Mesmo que em determinados pontos ainda tenham seus momentos de seriedade, a obra sempre acaba recorrendo ao uso de piadas com intuito de quebrar qualquer tensão que possa ser criada em cada cena. Isso pode parecer algo problemático, mas é exatamente aí que está um dos maiores charmes de Soul Eater. Ele não se leva a sério, e nem tem a intenção de criar uma tensão com aquelas situações abordadas, mas sim de poder inserir seu estilo de comédia mais escrachada para tirar qualquer peso de seu público, apoiando-se muito em sua excentricidade para realizar tal feito. Por sua vez, clichês e fórmulas tão criticadas dentro do gênero podem aparecer nessa forma de estilo de comédia sem comprometer a experiência, sendo completamente capaz de qualquer um ignorar tais pecados, pela forma como são abordados auxiliarem o tom cômico que a narrativa da obra trás. A partir de certo ponto isso muda, porém ainda não chegamos a essa parte da análise.

Com enorme mérito, o maior acerto de Soul Eater é o quão estiloso ele é e a identidade visual que ele expressa. Sua estética é completamente única pela sua primorosa mistura de inspirações, sendo bem visíveis desde a construção da Death City e seu excelente design de personagem, com uma caracterização visual muito bem definida, até cada traço de personalidade mais excêntrica dos personagens, que recorre a alguns dos padrões estereotipados que vemos no gênero, mas os difere com aspirações e ambições tão envolventes que fica difícil os comparar com personagens com padrões pré-estabelecidos que sequer parecem acreditar em seus sonhos. Falando de personagens, não só suas personalidades e motivações são destaques, mas os seus desenvolvimentos também demonstram o quão bons eles podem ser. Em especial, o do Black Star e do Crona que se destacam dos demais, não só por tomarem maior parte do show no quesito desenvolvimento em relação aos outros, mas por serem personagens muito bem aproveitados. A curva de personagem que o Black Star sofre e toda a mudança da passividade do que é imposto ao Crona são os melhores exemplos de seus desenvolvimentos, e sem dúvida valem as situações criadas por eles. Por outro lado, sinto que a mais "principal" não teve nada a altura, mesmo que tenha rendido um bom desenvolvimento juntamente com o Soul mais próximo da parte final.

Outro ponto importante a se mencionar é o seu worldbuilding. A variedade que ele apresenta impressiona pela grande mistura de crenças, mitologias e culturas que não provêm apenas do Japão, como as ideias do Shinigami e do estilo Ninja, mas também de outras partes do mundo, em especial da Europa, com seres fictícios como Lobisomem, Bruxas, Vampiros, Zumbis, e até mesmo o Frankenstein e a lenda da Excalibur estão aqui. Todos muito bem caracterizados e inseridos dentro da história e do estilo de Soul Eater, tornando o seu mundo extremamente rico, não só em quantidade, mas em principalmente em variedade, além de corroborar com o lado mais cômico da primeira parte.

Quanto a sua produção, esse anime apenas é mais uma prova que, mesmo que ainda venha numa excelente fase, o estúdio Bones teve seu ápice entre 2005-2010. Ele é mais um exemplo de produção que combina um ótimo combate, proveniente de uma ótima animação e de suas coreografias bem pensadas, com um ótimo estilo de arte. Para engrandecer ainda mais o show, sua trilha sonora é fantástica. Tanto as músicas utilizadas em momentos mais frenéticos, como lutas e certas sequências mais voltadas para a ação, quanto na parte mais cotidiana e rotineira dos personagens, como na Shibusen ou quando em algum canto mais favorável ao lazer. Independente da ocasião, sua trilha sonora está sempre lado a lado da intenção da cena, e mesmo quando o show tem seu tom mais descompromissado deixado de lado, a sua trilha acompanha com maestria para encaixar nos melhores momentos possíveis.

Por falar nisso, acredito que já está na hora de mencionar uma questão e ela é a troca dessa trama mais descompromissada por uma com um ar mais sério que Soul Eater adota em sua segunda metade.

Depois dos eventos da primeira parte e com o impacto que eles tiveram na estrutura daquele mundo, o tom descompromissado tem uma grave diminuição, o que dá lugar a uma trama mais séria e com uma sensação de urgência, que até então não havia sido explorada na obra. Independente de qual estilo você prefira, essa mudança é totalmente justificada narrativamente, visto que o perigo que a libertação do Kishin representa acaba sendo algo grande demais para os personagens simplesmente agirem de modo tão displicente quanto na primeira parte. Porém, é infelizmente nesse ponto que a obra começou a errar e se perder um pouco em sua execução, pois junto com essa mudança de tom, alguns problemas acabaram ficando bem evidentes, por justamente necessitarem ser levados a sério como o próprio tom adotado nessa parte requere. E eu abordaria três problemas estruturais na minha experiência com Soul Eater. Problemas esses que, de um jeito ou de outro, diminuíram muito meu apego com a segunda parte do anime e que provavelmente tirou sua chance de entrar no meu Top 10 de Melhores Animes. E sinceramente, pode até parecer presunçoso, mas foi muito mais fácil falar da parte ruim de Soul Eater do que da parte boa. Creio que isso se deva aos problemas de Soul Eater estarem muito concentrados em sua segunda metade, enquanto tudo de bom dele está espalhado por diversos momentos da obra, dificultando uma análise mais precisa de todos esse pontos. Mas isso é apenas uma observação pessoal e não deve ser levada como um fato da obra em si, então vamos aos reais problemas de Soul Eater na minha visão.

Após a suposta morte da Medusa e do desaparecimento do Kishin, a obra se via na necessidade de um antagonista para movimentar sua trama, e é nesse ponto que nasce a Arachne. O anime tem todo um cuidado para tornar plausível a aparição dela, além de ligar vários pontos da história contada até então com a personagem, tornando crível que ela realmente exista na obra. Porém, o único e real intuito da sua adição é simplesmente para movimentar a trama. Seja na utilização de seu exército, ou na sua forma de somar forças ao trazer o Kishin para seu lado, a Arachne é visivelmente um recurso que o roteiro necessitava implantar na obra para que sua trama se movesse para o seu clímax final. É inegável que ela serve ao seu propósito, mas acaba soando muito mal aproveitada, uma vez que ela estava substituindo a Medusa que tinha mais utilidade na história além de movimentar a trama e encaminhar ela para seus pontos de virada. A própria relação com o Crona e a sua proximidade dos alunos como enfermeira na Shibusen davam a personagem muito mais utilidade dentro da trama. Além disso, a Arachne parece ser movida por um único desejo que é o de vingança contra o Shinigami, tornando ainda mais difícil apontar uma qualidade sua em relação ao antagonismo proporcionado pela Medusa, uma vez que também tinha suas motivações anarquistas já bem batidas, mas que não aparentavam como problemas por serem bem exploradas e justificadas dentro da narrativa, além de serem bem disfarçadas pelo tom descompromissado da primeira parte.

Outro problema também surge nessa parte, especialmente pós libertação do Kishin, e ele é a utilização do conceito da loucura do Kishin. A obra tenta estabelecer um senso de urgência em que, com a premissa de que ele estando solto, a loucura do Kishin afetará todas as criaturas. Porém, somente em dois casos que essa loucura realmente é explorada, que é no despertar da Arachne e na loucura do Stein acabar se intensificando. Um efeito é para justificar a adição de um elemento encaminhador a história, enquanto o Kishin e a Medusa saem de cena, e o outro é para gerar conflito dentro do “lado do bem”. E sendo bem sincero, eles cumprem seu propósito. Porém, dado a ótima ideia que essa influência poderia exercer e a forma como poderia abalar aquele mundo, considerando todo o modo como ela foi utilizada no final do episódio 22, é realmente triste ver que eles optaram por utilizar apenas isso para dar conteúdo e rumo na segunda parte do show. Novamente, ela serve a um propósito narrativo, além de que ainda abre toda uma subtrama do Stein e da relação do Crona e da Medusa, mas não vai além de nenhum outro jeito, mesmo que sua proposta, em teoria, devesse abalar todo aquele mundo e os personagens dentro dele. Soa muito estranho que ninguém além do Stein pareça ter sido afetado, ainda mais no fim do anime onde ampliam esse efeito da loucura e aumentem ainda mais o senso de urgência.

Ou seja, mesmo com um tom bem mais sério nessa segunda metade, o anime se contenta em estabelecer consequências apenas para dar rumo a trama e, no máximo, gerar uma subtrama envolvendo algum dos personagens, mas opta por deixar de lado na hora de provar para o seu público o quão problemáticos aqueles acontecimentos podem ser, destruindo um pouco a imersão. O objetivo de cada escolha está sendo atingido e isso é bom, mas as possibilidades daqueles recursos precisavam parar naquele ponto? Eu realmente não acredito que mais é necessariamente melhor, inclusive podendo pender para o outro lado da balança, mas observando a qualidade que Soul Eater tinha até o momento, creio que o risco era válido e a recompensa altíssima. É nesse ponto que eu acho que Soul Eater mais erra em sua segunda parte, pois ele desperdiça potencial demais por não acreditar nos frutos que pode colher.

Ainda em relação aos problemas, porém já em seu clímax final, o anime acaba fazendo uma escolha no mínimo curiosa. No embate final, da Maka contra o Kishin em sua melhor forma, a luta é resolvida com o uso de um simples soco? Bem, não é isso que de fato acontece, e mesmo que eu ainda veja isso como um problema, vou tentar explicar o motivo dessa resolução. Mesmo que um dos maiores problemas do Battle Shounen seja justamente esses poderes justificados com emoções/sentimentos, Soul Eater está longe de fazer algo do tipo ou pelo menos do mesmo nível dessas outras obras. Ao longo da série, eles abordaram um tema para dar um background maior para alguns dos conflitos de seus personagens. Esse tema era a relação do Medo e Coragem, e as influências que foram geradas nos personagens por essa relação. Temos exemplos bem fáceis disso na obra. A própria concepção do Kishin era de um ser que foi tomado pelo medo e consequentemente pela loucura e viu na busca de poder uma forma de resolver isso. A Maka e o Soul também, já que diversas vezes eles apelaram pelo poder do demônio dentro do Soul para conseguir enfrentar seus medos. O Crona que era quase a definição de um personagem medroso é o exemplo mais claro, onde por sempre estar com medo por estar sozinho e por não saber como lidar com as pessoas, ele abraça a busca pelo poder mesmo sem almejar ser poderoso. Então quando ela dá aquele soco de coragem, nada mais é do que uma tentativa da obra de dar uma resposta ao público de que ter Coragem é a melhor maneira de enfrentar o Medo. Quem representava o Medo naquele momento era o Kishin, então acaba sendo uma forma metafórica de encerrar aquela luta, tanto é que no fim aparece uma mensagem na tela dizendo:"O Segredo é a Coragem!". 

Então por que isso é se caracteriza como um problema? Bem, a questão não é a metáfora em si... é mais a forma como isso foi estruturado bem no fim do anime. Querendo ou não, a obra não estava discutindo ativamente essa relação de Medo e Coragem, então não é como se pudesse utilizar de tal metáfora para definir algo tão importante como um clímax final. Acima de tudo, Soul Eater ainda é um Battle Shounen e terá o público de tal gênero. Como essa temática em poucos momentos apareceu e nunca ficou clara de sua presença como conceito norteador de Soul Eater, acaba sendo um pouco difícil de aceitar um final daquele. A ideia é plausível, pois está minimamente conectada e inserida dentro da obra, mas ainda é complicado de olhar e pensar que aquela era a maneira ideal de finalizar o anime. Porém, de todos as coisas que me incomodaram, essa foi a menor delas, mas o hate por esse final é absurdamente desproporcional, então acho extremamente válido tentar dar minha visão e interpretação do que foi essa conclusão.

Soul Eater chegou num momento para mim aonde eu não poderia pedir por algo melhor. Depois de cair na mesmice que a maioria dos Battle Shounens estão rumando, ver algo tão descompromissado e com uma estética tão única foi um soco no estômago para colocar para fora todas as porcarias que eu já vi do gênero, e ainda serviu para alimentar uma esperança de que ainda tem muita qualidade nesse tipo de estrutura narrativa, mas as obras precisam sair dessa bolha de repetição. É inegável que em certo ponto ele pode ter se levado a sério demais e talvez isso tenha dado abertura para que seus defeitos aparecessem, porém ainda é um espetáculo visual incrível e que merece muito reconhecimento por trazer um novo estilo de visão do gênero. Uma pena não ter saído nos dias atuais, pois poderia mostrar pro mercado atual que é possível sair dessa zona de conforto e agradar o seu público. Fácil de assistir e prazeroso durante quase todo o show. E mesmo que não esteja livre de defeitos, a experiencia é extremamente consistente no seu entretenimento e praticamente única na sua estética. Um ótimo começo para quem busca o caminho da redenção por gostar de certas drogas pesadas nesse mundo do Battle Shounen!

Em meio a tanta mesmice, uma declaração de que a fórmula do Battle Shounen pode ser melhor explorada surgiu.

~~~img620(https://legendsofwindemere.files.wordpress.com/2019/09/monster-maker-image.jpg)~~~

The twisted city, the grinning moon, the first opening's ridiculous background animation... My memories of Soul Eater were all distinctly visual before I got to rewatch it, and it makes sense: it's probably the most stylish show of its kind. With an impressive amount of visual flair for a TV production, it feels like everyone in the team knew exactly where to take the aesthetic and had the resources to take it there.

A very interesting thing about Ohkubo's manga is just how much it wears its influences on its sleeve. Visually, it feels like The Nightmare Before Christmas by the way of [Jamie Hewlett](https://imgur.com/gallery/bjfsG), but there's a lot more to it. References to pop culture from all over the world plague the setting, and not just as side gags. We get to see the Red Room, all sorts of fairytales, urban legends an even real figures (from Al Capone to a katana-wielding bodyguard who shares his name with legendary actor and absolute daddy Toshiro Mifune), all seemingly thrown in without a second thought. It works, though, both because of how far it goes and thanks to stellar presentation, which involves every element going through a sort of urban filter. Manga wise, it's only a thing in chapter openers and the occasional SOL bit (I recommend [Soul Eater: Soul Art](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75J_r3kqFt4) for a nice look into it), but the anime cranks it up to eleven and makes it a core part of both its [sound](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k13PRRNEqo8) and [visuals](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W1ajuerl6o). 

Yoshiyuki Ito's [designs](https://setteidreams.net/settei/soul-eater/index.php?pic=116.png) bring the characters to life with better shapes and expressions than ever, while the background art (bless [Norifumi Nakamura](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=35553)) frames one iconic image after another and Taku Iwasaki delivers [some of his best musical work](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feVmEWyAauM) in service of the show's chaotic tone. And it *is* chaotic, never dwelling in any given mood for over five minutes, but it's also consistent. There seems to be a widespread idea among many anime fans -and media critics in general- that a consistent tone needs to be continuous throughout the entirety of a work, but it couldn't be further from the truth. Drama and comedy are usually intertwined and not merely coexistent. The show respects its characters by letting their extremely cartoony personalities affect the plot without any restraint, closer to PCs in a D&D campaign than your average main characters in a traditionally linear story. It gives them presence and charisma in a way not too different from Dorohedoro or Chainsaw Man. Granted, some of the show's jokes are in pretty bad taste and it *can* interrupt the action sometimes, but it's never enough to overcome its sheer attitude. 

Every storyboard is exaggerated past the breaking point. Soul Eater's world can only be observed through [fisheye lenses and absurd perspectives](https://www.monsterlibrarian.com/ReadingBites/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Maka_Albarn_Anime_-_Episode_1_-_7.png), with no shot left behind. Close-ups are detailed and expressive, establishing shots are imposing and every meister has the natural ability to always appear in a cool low-angle. Grins go from ear to ear, the moon *bleeds* and the weapons twist taking up as much of the screen as the scene requires. [Sakuga](https://www.sakugabooru.com/post/show/111284) is frequent. The anime is so committed to its own idea of being cool that it only took me a couple of episodes to be 100% along for the ride and invested in the characters. 

The story itself was what I was most afraid of; everytime I talked about it with someone I was told to beware. It was a complete mess, apparently, and the already senseless story culminated in the worst possible ending. Fortunately that couldn't be further from the truth. It's not only that the presentation elevates it: even if you were to take the plot as a piece of paper with words in it (which, let me clarify, you should absolutely never do), it all makes thematic and logical sense, up to and including the ending. While it's admittedly rushed, every single element of the final arc comes from what's been presented before. All the characters follow their conflict to a logical, cathartic end and even the whole fear and courage deal (the show's main theme) is resolved without losing its way. For a writer who was given limited, unfinished material, Soul Eater's ending is really an impressive feat. Looking at an adaptation like its duty was to manage a full 1:1 recreation of its source just about the worst possible perspective. Not only is it dogmatic and harmful to one's own enjoyment, but it also diminishes the hard work of a lot of talented people. 

Over the years, "Soul Eater's ending is disappointing" has become more and more of an extreme statement, invading every conversation about the show not unlike The Endless Eight does everytime somebody brings up Haruhi. Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, it conditions how people look at the anime, both on a first watch and in retrospect. Talking about media you haven't seen in a decade inevitably brings decade-old prejudice with it, which makes revisiting anything from the late 2000s a profoundly strange experience. It's a window into how we discussed anime at the time and even how we do it now, and it isn't pretty at all.

And going back to the show, yeah, it was great. I watched quickly and with interest. It was both enjoyable in a very basic sense and technically impressive, so much so that I will be studying its character designs and listening to its soundtrack as I wish I had the guts to write something like it. Soul Eater doesn't need a "brotherhood", nor does it stand as incomplete when compared to the original. It's a finished work, not at all perfect, but a strong, confident one that managed to fully realize its aesthetic and tell a complete story while doing it.

Refined, stylized and grossly misremembered shounen action

Halloween and Anime together at last, Soul Eater is one of my favourite anime.

Produced by Bones, who brought us Ouran High School Host Club, Darker than BLACK, and Wolf's Rain. Soul Eater is adapted from the manga by Ookubo Atsushi. It is of personal importance to mention the manga for the animer is a very close adaptation of the latter. In a nutshell, the story follows three students Meisters and their respective Demon Weapon partners, as they embark on a journey to combat evil, and yet grow up with each other at the same time.  

Story (9/10) The plot follows a general plot-line really, with the Meisters and Demon Weapons going to school, equipping themselves with combat skills, so as to fight the forces of evil in the context of the show. Throughout however, we are treated to comedy and mere innocence from the characters - for they are really just kids trying to grow up - so Soul Eater as a show generally turns out to be quite the light-hearted pick. Nevertheless, there are episodes which tug at the strings of the heart, where the emotions of the characters really reach out to you, and also episodes which are pure comedy, where you inevitably laugh at the zaniness of the world. 

Music (10/10) Produced by Iwasaki Taku, of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann anime. Responsible for tracks in the latter, like Libera me from Hell and FIGHT THE POWER, he delivers as well in Soul Eater. The music fits the mood perfectly, fighting and comedy scenes are complimented by their music, and I really believe he does a good job here. 

Art (8.5/10) One of Soul Eater's strongest selling point. Bones did really well animating the fight scenes in the manga, and the colours are so rich and beautiful, that every episode is a joy to behold. The drawing of the characters are good but these are pretty normal, I must say. It is the sketches of the environment, and the animation that really stands out. Soul Eater was the anime which spoiled me in terms of fight scenes. 

Characters (10/10) Another strong selling point and you will find yourself liking some of them more than the others. The Protagonists are interesting and fun to watch, we have ranging from the slick yet ridiculously symmetry compulsive and the son of Death, Death the Kid, to a goofy kid who wants to be the strongest but cares for his friends, Black Star, and we have a bright pigtail girl likes to give Maka Chops to her dad, Maka Albarn. Soul Eater provides characters which are strong enough to carry the series on their own backs. Even the Antagonists are interesting, you cannot help but like them. Powerful, and pretty witches make up the cast of the latter and it is quite fun to watch the inner dynamics where they manipulate each other for their own benefits. 

Nevertheless, Soul Eater is a great show for all its strengths in animation and music. Its light-hearted tone throughout is also ideal for those who seek to enjoy the anime after a tough day at work or school. There is no need to think too much about plot implications (apologies if you are a sucker for these), Soul Eater allows you to just sit back and gawk at the wonders of the supernatural. Definitely a show worth your time.

Yui Makino

Takanori Nishikawa

Tensai Okamura

Atsushi Ookubo

Kunihiko Ikuhara

Taku Iwasaki

Gen Fukunaga

Kenji Kodama

Hirofumi Suzuki

Yasuhiro Irie

Abingdon Boys School

Akatsuki Yamatoya

Tomoko Kawase

Masahiko Minami

Diggy-MO'

Yutaka Nakamura

Masayoshi Tanaka

STANCE PUNKS

Daisuke Asakura

Shion Tsuji

Episode 1 - Resonance of the Soul - Will Soul Eater Become a Death Scythe?

Episode 2 - I Am the Star! The Big Man is Showing Up Here?

Episode 3 - The Perfect Boy - Death the Kid's Magnificent Mission?

Episode 4 - Engage the Witch Hunter! A Remedial Lesson in the Graveyard?

Episode 5 - Shape of the Soul - Enter the Ultimate Meister Stein?

Episode 6 - The New Student: Kid's First Day at the Academy - Will it be an Entrance to Remember?

Episode 7 - Black-blooded Terror - There's a Weapon Inside Crona?

Episode 8 - Medusa the Witch - The One Who Possesses a Great Evil Soul?

Episode 9 - Legend of the Holy Sword - Kid and Black?Star's Great Adventure?

Episode 10 - The Enchanted Sword Masamune - Break the Soul Possession: A Heart Sings in the Rain?

Episode 11 - Tsubaki the Camellia Blossom - What Lies Beyond the Grief?

Episode 12 - Courage That Beats Out Fear - Maka Albarn's Great Resolution?

Episode 13 - The Man with the Magic Eye - Soul and Maka's Diverging Soul Wavelength?

Episode 14 - The Super Written Exam - Heart-pounding, Reeling, and Restless. You're Kidding!?

Episode 15 - The Soul Eating Black Dragon - Scaredy-cat Liz and Her Merry Friends?

Episode 16 - Fierce Battle Aboard the Ghost Ship - The Hell Inside My Head?

Episode 17 - Legend of the Holy Sword 2 - Wanna Go Drinking, Gambling, and Playing?

Episode 18 - The Eve Party Nightmare - And So the Curtain Rises?

Episode 19 - The Underground Battle Commences - Break Through Medusa's Vector Arrow?

Episode 20 - The Black Blood Resonance Battle! A Small Soul's Grand Struggle Against Fear?

Episode 21 - May My Soul Reach You - A Dry Heart Inside Unbearable Isolation?

Episode 22 - The Seal Shrine - The Immortal Man's Tricks?

Episode 23 - Dead or Alive - In the Rift between Revival and Dazzlement?

Episode 24 - The Battle of the Gods - Death City on the Verge of Collapse?

Episode 25 - The Death Scythes Convene - Stop Dad's Staff Reassignment!?

Episode 26 - The Exciting and Embarrassing Trial Enrollment! The DWMA New Lifestyle Support Fair is Open?

Episode 27 - 800 Years of Bloodlust - Advent of the Heretic Witch?

Episode 28 - The Sword God Rises - Does it Have a Sweet or Salty Taste?

Episode 29 - Medusa's Revival! A Spider and Snake's Fateful Reunion?

Episode 30 - The Red Hot Runaway Express - A Magic Tool Left Behind by the Great Wizard?

Episode 31 - Drying Happiness! Whose Tears Sparkle in the Moonlight?

Episode 32 - Legend of the Holy Sword 3 - The Academy Gang Leader's Tale?

Episode 33 - Resonance Link - Play the Melody of the Souls?

Episode 34 - The Battle for Brew - Clash: the DWMA vs. Arachnophobia?

Episode 35 - Mosquito's Storm! Ten Minutes to Fight in the World of the Past?

Episode 36 - Unleash the Seven's Resonance Link! A Recital of Destruction and Creation?

Episode 37 - The Detective's First Case - Kid Exposes the DWMA's Secret?

Episode 38 - Asura's Temptation - The Big Man's Uncontrollable Irritation?

Episode 39 - Crona's Escape - Show Me Your Smile, Please?

Episode 40 - The Cards are Cut - Medusa Surrenders to the DWMA?

Episode 41 - Twirl 'Round and 'Round - A New World in Which the Doc Dances?

Episode 42 - Charge Baba Yaga's Castle! Things are Kind of Gloomy?

Episode 43 - The Last Magic Tool - Mission Impossible for Unarmed Kid?

Episode 44 - Weakling Crona's Determination - For You, for Always Being by My Side?

Episode 45 - Anti-Magic Wavelength - Fierce Attack, the Anger-Filled Genie Hunter?

Episode 46 - Warrior or Slaughterer? Showdown: Mifune vs. Black_Star?

Episode 47 - The Miraculous Coffee Table Flip - Fly, Our Death City Robot?

Episode 48 - Lord Death Wields a Death Scythe - Just One Step from Utter Darkness?

Soul Eater Series Watch Order

Season 1

Soul Eater NOT!