CB Anime Review: Soul Eater

I'm sorry, this is the best picture I could find

This is a review that I've been debating about for a long time.

You see, I created this blog to share ideas, shows, etc with ANYONE who stumbles upon it, and for that reason, I feel like the content should be stuff I would recommend to anyone.  Yes, some of the animes I've reviewed on this blog may have elements people might not like, but overall, they're great animes that anyone could sit down and enjoy if they felt inclined.

However, while Soul Eater is a great anime, there are elements people might not like about it.  I'll do my best to explain these elements, and after reading this you feel like this anime might not be the right one for you, I completely understand.  So, with the introduction out of the way, lets talk about Soul Eater!

Our story takes place at Death Weapon Meister Academy (DWMA), a school created by Death.

See, does he reeeaaaalllllyyyy look all that evil?

BOOM OK, here we go.  First problem.  While thinking about what could be seen as an evil presence in this anime, Death the big one.  When thinking about the personification of death, Satan or the Devil might be the first things to pop into one's mind, but that isn't Death in Soul Eater.  His other name is the Grim Reaper, and he isn't the lord of the underworld.  He's kind of like Thanatos from Greek mythology, whose job is to guard the boundary between life and death, and make sure dead people stay dead.  And that is pretty much what Death does in Soul Eater; he trains humans who can transform into weapons and meisters (humans trained to wield these weapons in battle) to stop evil from creating chaos on earth.

OK, with that out of the way, lets meet our main characters.  Since I don't want to give long character descriptions for every one, because there are quite a few, I'll give you the highlights.

Maka: Meister. Kind, sweet and a great fighter.  If I were to make a "Top 10 Most Badass Female Anime Characters" list she would be pretty high up.

Soul: Maka's partner.  Can transform into a scythe.  Laid back and likes to chill, but loyal to Maka and his friends.

Black Star: Meister.  Loudmouth ninja, but probably the most powerful character in terms of raw strength.  While he may seem arrogant and annoying the first time you meet him in episode 2, don't let that stop you from watching the series, because I promise he gets better over time.

Tsubaki: Black Star's partner.  Can transform into several ninja weapons, including a ninja sword and throwing star.  She's the yin to Black Star's yang, as she has a very calming presence and sweet personality.

Death the Kid: Death's son and Grim Reaper like his father.  He's obsessed with symmetry, which causes problems for him in battle.  While he's not big on showing affection, Kid is a good friend and teammate.

Liz and Patty Thompson: Kid's partners who can transform into semi-auto pistols.  Liz is cynical and Patty is childish, but they work well together with Kid and with the group.

There are also a number of great side characters, including Death, Maka's father, teachers, witches and other DWMA students.

Oh ya and there's also this guy, I mean weapon..........

Ya, isn't he great!  Seriously, even if you don't like this series, watch the first Excalibur episode, because it is hilarious!  If you don't watch it, then you're a FOOL!

Something nice that the creators did was give each main character and their partner their own episode at the beginning of the series, so that we can properly meet them and see what they can do.  Like I said before, if you don't like Black Star after watching episode 2 JUST KEEP WATCHING.  I promise he gets better.

While the main story of Soul Eater takes a little time to get going, when it gets going, it really gets going.  There's lots of great fights, some heartfelt moments, and enough suspense to make you want to watch more.  Of course not every episode can have a huge Dragonball Z battle.  Some episodes are a little tamer, focusing more on comedy than action.  Like there' s an entire episode about the gang preparing and taking a final exam.  Who does that in an anime?  Soul Eater does apparently.  Still, the plot always manages to be interesting, right up to the beginning of the finale, when it really gets going and you can't wait for the end!


Now, while the animation on Soul Eater isn't as crisp as other shonen animes, I think it suits the feel of this show perfectly.  While this anime does deal with serious ideas and problems, its also a show where Death acts like your wacky uncle.  It's a little cartoony, but it still looks great and doesn't diminish the quality of the show.  One feature that I feel like the animators put a lot of extra work into was the sun and moon, who actually have faces and appear in more episodes then some of the side characters.

Soul Eater also had a great soundtrack  to accompany its many fight scenes. My personal favorite track was the series' first opening song, Resonance by TM Revolution.  This theme really got me ready to watch an episode.  No matter how slow an episode might be, listening to the minute and a half theme was enough to keep me satisfied until the next episode, which is probably the reason why it is probably one of my favorite anime theme songs of all time!

Now remember those ideas I was talking about earlier that might lead some to believe that this anime was not something religious people should watch?  Well, here's a few more for you.

One character in particular makes a lot of references to God, saying that his goal is to surpass Him.  My answer to this is that he doesn't, even though he might believe he did.  Just watch the very end and you'll get it.

There are also two characters who are not the kind of adults you want your kids to hang out with.  One is Maka's dad, Spirit, who has no chance of winning Father of the Year, and Blair, a cat that can turn into a human, who appears without clothes on a few times throughout the series.  Don't worry, Blair doesn't show up too much (and she's usually clothed), and Spirit is one of the best side characters in the show, and is voiced by one of my favorite voice actions of all time, Vic Mignogna.

So, besides that, there isn't really anything bad about Soul Eater, except for the reasonable amount of blood you would expect from a show like this.  Like I said, if anything here turned you off to Soul Eater, don't watch it.  I understand, but hope that you would at least watch 3-4 episodes.  They're all on Netflix, so give them a try!  There are a lot great themes in this show, like love, forgiveness and acceptance, that give Soul Eater a heart and soul.

So, by releasing this review, I will be ending my internal debate on whether reviewing Soul Eater would be a good idea.  I still want to share quality shows and ideas with you, so don't worry, this won't be a slippery slope which ends with my recommending less appropriate show.  So go and enjoy this show, and don't forget a sound soul dwells within a sound mind and a sound body.

Peace and Love