Okay, briefly mentioning Soul Eater twice in the past is not going to suffice. I need to dedicate a full entry. Now.
Do not be put off by the fact that Soul Eater is a shonen action series. Like Chrono Crusade, it goes above and beyond the expectations of a shonen action series. It doesn't eschew interesting characters to the side in favor of bland cliched characters like Naruto. It doesn't abandon all of its unique aspects 12 volumes in to become a ripoff of Dragonball Z like Bleach. It doesn't have insane amounts of filler like the older anime version of Dragonball Z. It's not extremely generic like Rurouni Kenshin, Trust and Betrayal notwithstanding. I'm up to episode 19 right now, since that's the latest English episode on Funimation.com, and I sampled the first volume of the manga version in a bookstore. Let's examine the awesomeness, shall we?
First off, the art. The art in both the manga and anime is really good. I'm a fan of Gothicism, and I also like the Goth aspects in Soul Eater; Death City looks like a more urban Halloweentown. The character designs are interesting, too. Every character is distinct from one another; most of them don't have identical facial features, which is a problem that plagues even some of my favorite character artists. Most of the Soul Eater, at first glance, look more like they belong in a Nickelodeon cartoon than a Japanese cartoon; no, seriously, when I first saw an ad for Soul Eater, I knew it was an anime, but I thought, "This, looks like an American cartoon, and one for kids at that." But that's the thing; it's different from what you would expect from a Japanese property. My only beef is this; I don't like Maka's design in the anime as much as her design in the manga. In the manga, she's cute. In the anime . . . not quite as much.
Secondly, the action. The whole setup of the weapons and meisters sounds more like something you'd see in a video game than a tv series. ("Out now; Soul Eater for the Wii, DS, and 360!") And yet, somehow, it works. The weapons can shift between human form and weapon form, to add a little strategy. Tsubaki can transform into many different weapons, which gives her and Black Star variety in their fight scenes. The meisters can fight without their weapons, but they can only do so much. Not only that, the fight scenes are very well animated in the anime version; I wouldn't expect anything less from Bones, (I lurve the fight between Hei and the blood dude from Darker Than Black for instance) but once again, I am very satisfied.
But, as I said in my MAL review of Kanon, it's characterization that's most important, and that's what I'm gonna be focusing on the most. In short, the characters of Soul Eater are amazing. Everyone is either a lovable dork, a badass, or a diabolical mastermind, or any combination of the three. Maka and Soul are perhaps the most "normal" characters, but their struggles, both internal and external, are engaging and add to the drama. Black Star at first is nothing more than a ripoff of Naruto Uzumaki, but he often gets his comeuppance when he screws up, but when he gets serious, he gets real. Tsubaki seemed to be bland at first, but the arc that involved her hometown really fleshed her out and showed the amazing strength she has as a weapon. The Grim Reaper (or Shinigami-sama if you insist) is an eccentric wise old man who reminds me a lot of Dumbledore; he's the head of an unusual school, he's more mysterious than helpful, and yet everyone has the upmost respect for him, and with good reason. And then there's my favorite character, his son, Death the Kid. Kid is basically an animated version of Adrian Monk. Anything that is not "precise and perfect" throws him off completely, and yet, when everything is symmetrical, (or when faced with an assymetrical foe) he becomes the most dangerous of all the meister students. Liz and Patty first appear to be nothing more than dumb blonde chicks, and yet, their past is one wrought with tragedy, but hope at the same time. Maka's dad, Spirit, is my second-favorite character; he's an eccentric goofball who doesn't know how to connect with his daughter, yet he is above all else a very loving father and guardian of Death City. Doctor Stein is a heroic mad scientist that puts most other mad scientists to shame. And the villains, oh god, the villains. Medusa is just absolutely evil, being both methodical and powerful at the same time. Crona and Ragnarok are an intriguing duo, to say the least. And . . . I can't say anymore because of spoilers, but I love the characters!
AND THE HUMOR! This is officially the fourth anime I've ever seen that has made me laugh my ass off. There were times when I rewound the videos just to laugh again. I can never get enough of Kid's OCD, and a certain scene involving Soul and Black Star from episode 6 just slays me.
And lastly, the dub of the anime. Funimation really put out with this one. Things were translated differently than the manga, (Shinigami-sama = Lord Death, no honorifics, a few Americanisms) but the altered dialog doesn't feel out of place. And now for the shout outs: Micah Solusod, Laura Bailey, Todd Haberkorn, John Swasey, Vic Mignogna, Chuck Huber, Troy Baker, Luci Christian, Travis Willingham, Maxey Whitehead, and Sonny Strait all do a fantastic job as their characters, and anyone else I'm forgetting sounds their part too. Why is the dub bashed so frequently? Soul Eater really does sound better in English, believe me, even if the only people who agree with me are a few peeps on MAL.
I am aware that the anime "goes older FMA anime" somewhere later down the line, but I can't stop. I love Soul Eater. I wished this show aired when I was a teenager. It would've proven to me that not all anime sucks, AND it would've kicked the asses of all the anime from that time, too. Well, except maybe Trigun, but still.
P.S. Speaking of shonen action, you wanna know something else you shouldn't be put off by? I'll talk about it in a later entry, but you know what else I recommend? Use your highlight feature to find out.
FOOL! Rule Number Three-Hundred And Twenty-Six in My List Of Provisions That You Must Obey reads, and I quote, "You must not highlight blacked out text unless it is between the hours of daybreak and twilight" okay, the answer you're looking for is One Piece.
