gillian42 - 2014-09-30 00:09:25

Story

There are many plots in Soul Eater. It starts off with trying to create Death Scythes, but by season two it seems as if that is forgotten and instead all of the focus falls on killing a Kishiin, which is an extremely strong demon-like creature that spreads madness. In fact, the story never seems to return to the topic of Death Scythes. It’s not much of a problem with me, because the story still moves forward a lot, but it’s one of those things that I couldn’t help but notice.

I know I will make many enemies by saying this, but I’ll say it anyways; the way Soul Eater ended was just fine! I hear people complain about it all of the time, but I was honestly satisfied by it! I might be forgetting something, but I’m pretty sure I remember everything pretty clearly.

All in all, Soul Eater has a pretty good plot. The pacing is great, and the amount of episodes is perfect. It allows for enough time to get to know the setting and characters while the plot still progresses.

There are equal parts serious and comedic in Soul Eater, and there’s a great balance between the two, though I do wish that certain moments hadn’t been interrupted by jokes or something else goofy.

Animation

Soul Eater has a fresh and unique art style which I love and appreciate. The animation is well done with amazing action choreography. The action scenes make even filler episodes fun to watch!

I love the overall setting of Soul Eater for it’s Halloween-ish feel. Of course, Halloween is my favorite holiday so I can’t say anyone else feels the same way, but the ambiance perfectly describes Soul Eater; it’s goofy and fun while being dark at the same time, much like Halloween itself. I also really like the character designs because of their unique, somewhat odd, style, and the variety. I love it when an anime takes place in a school but doesn’t have uniforms.

Sound

Both openings of Soul Eater are marvelous, animation-wise and music-wise. I haven’t met one person who doesn’t like at least one of the Soul Eater openings.

As for the endings, I think it’s all up to personal preference. There are four in total, and each one has fairly good animation, (though I think the first ending won in that department), but the songs are all very different. I liked the first and fourth ones the best, and I thought the third one was okay. I didn’t like the second one, but like I said, personal preference.

The soundtrack of Soul Eater is just epic. The best tracks are the themes for each character. The music is just so powerful and it stands out when watching the anime, and I have many favorites from the OST.

Characters

The characters. Well, on the positive side, the characters don’t fit into any stereotypes and most of them are likeable… if you’re a more open-minded person. On the negative side, there isn’t much character development or depth, and most of the characters have some very quirky traits. Black Star suffers from extreme narcissism, Death the Kid has O.C.D, and Stein likes to dissect things. Despite this, I saw the characters as entertaining to watch, and I liked that they had flaws, whether extreme or not.

Character development, like I mentioned earlier, isn’t really that apparent in most of the characters, but some had some pretty solid development. Crona was the one who developed the most, and the development went along pretty well. The rest of the characters have some depth and development, but not much. However, they make up for this with their badassery. ;)

Enjoyment

Soul Eater can basically be summed up with the word ‘fun.’ It’s a great watch for when you just want to sit back, relax, and enjoy some good entertainment. Soul Eater is a great example of what a shounen should be, and it holds a special place in my heart.

Final Conclusion: 10/10 (Sorry, I had to.)

stark.candida - 2014-06-14 08:45:22

This anime was fantastic and would deserve a 4.5 or a 5.

Dat ending though.

Or maybe the writers were just trying to troll us so hard that we HAVE TO pay attention to the message: That no matter how crazy, complex, and internalized your problems get, the real key that you need in life is the BRAVERY to overcome them ...

JKJK. The ending was shit.

Watch the anime. It's amazing. But just be ready for the ending to suck worse than you could possibly expect it to. #idontknowhowtodealwiththat

braxton.eichmann - 2014-03-23 06:48:35

Story: Soul Eater is a great anime. Truly one of my favorites for many reasons. I haven't found words yet that can accurately describe it to its full extent, but I'll try. It has a independent theme and setting. It's story development is good but not great. The story itself is a totally different ballpark. It has the characters and the viewer wondering what's going to happen next.

Character: This is my favorite part. The blend of characters in the anime is essential to the character development and plot. When it comes down to the end, these characters are friends forever and never give up, that will never change. Without each other, these characters would be nothing.

Enjoyment: My enjoyment with this anime is really at the topmost notch. Of course, there are always animes that exceed this. In my opinion, "it's a gem, but sometimes gems need polishing" -unknown. I strongly recommend it if you like action, comedy, fighting, and madness.

Animation: Since it's from about 2007, it isn't the best. But it's nothing to complain about either. It's simply there, neither good nor bad. Although, it does have a unique style. Just look at the sun and moon for an example.

Sound: see above

roberto76 - 2014-01-28 14:46:49

A dark and unique action comedy filled with likeable characters, fresh & new environment different from other shonen animes. The plot is decent, but towards the end the plot goes all over place other than that, it a good watch

ursula00 - 2013-07-21 00:46:45

A great show, which I fully expected to hate for the first two episodes. I usually force myself to watch three episodes of a show before dismissing it, and I'm exceedingly glad I did so with this one. The characters are extremely quirky, and seem almost annoying at first. Once you start to understand their mannerisms and stories a little bit they become very entertaining though. A solid plot with hilarious small moments built in, this is really a great show for anyone.

woconnell - 2013-07-15 05:40:05

Soul Eater what can I say? Without any justification I would say the best comparison would be the first 30 odd episodes of Bleach. The OP and ED have the best music in a while from artists such as T.M. Revolution and Tommy Heavenly6 amongst other artists. Battles are engaging, plot elements keeps the audience speculating due to numerous antagonists striving to accomplish their own individual goals. Nothing seems drawn out longer than it needs to be and even the fillers aren't half bad (and I hate fillers) Excalibur is more messed up and nit picky than the early Kid on a OCD fit.Plot development so far is nice and smooth for the most part, and supporting staff mainly teachers play their parts right as opposed to more recent 2 minute short scenes where they pull off dues ex machina or get blown away like grunts.The animation seems consistent and I don't notice anything special or horrible. I like this series for its consistency and lack of drawn out battles or arcs. Only down side is that I find my self wanting to know the back story of characters like Maka's parents or Shinigami-sama; then again I'm the kind of person who can read up on [INSERT GAME] lore to better immerse my self. Pros- not drawn out; i.e. Dragon Ball Z, Bleach, Naruto/Shippuden keeps consistency.Cons- lack of coherent back story for supporting cast and for "weapon" characters.Would recommend, you have quite a bit of catching up to do.

lind.don - 2013-07-10 05:16:19

When people ask me if they should watch Soul Eater my first question to them is "Have you seen Bleach? What did you think of it?" There response usually tells me how they will feel about Soul Eater.

Story: The story revolves around students in a school located in the spirit world. There are 2 kinds of people in this school: The weapon, and the meister. The weapon is a person who transforms into a weapon and the meister wields them in battle. After the fight the weapon is supposed to eat the soul of whoever they defeated and after 100 souls, they become much stronger - this is pretty much forgotten about though in rather short order. The real focus of the story is more about the growth between the characters and the bond between weapon and meister - this is a good thing since the Characters are the strongest part of the show.

Animation: I don't see anything wrong with the animation - it does more than just get the job done, but it doesn't leave you breathless or anything. The whole show has got a abstract sort of nightmare before christmas feel to it. If you like either of those things, or both, you will love it. If not it still isn't bad to look at.

Sound: The opening is pretty catchy as well as fitting with the abstract feel of it all. The Ending theme was also the kind that I actually stuck around to listen to, instead of skipping ahead to the next show, so they were doing something right with the music. The Voice acting in sub was really good, not a single character really annoyed me, which is easy in my case to do. I haven't listened to the dub if there is one, so I can't really comment on that.

Final Thoughts: If you think Bleach is too long or has too much filler, but you like the fighting and characters, Soul Eater should fit perfectly. If you haven't seen Bleach, I still recommend Soul Eater first since you won't have to sit through a super long series to get the same effect, you can then choose to watch Bleach afterwords if you feel like you still need more.

Obviously since Bleach is over 400 episodes and counting, there will be more characters, depth, and story, but Soul Eater shows that for 50-ish episodes it can do all of the above and not spend 10X as long to get there.\

There is one major problem with this series though - It ends on kind of a cliffhanger and leaves you wondering what happens after. If it ended well I would have bumped the overall rating to a 9 instead of an 8, and enjoyment to a 10.

It still receives a solid score, but it does make a difference.

swaniawski.josie - 2013-07-07 21:04:41

Soul Eater is an amazing anime. That said, it's not without it's flaws. And they're not few, I warn you. The thing is, they don't take away from the enjoyment experienced while watching the anime. Let's go in depth, shall we?Story (6): This is the worst of the aspects in this anime. Each arc has a purpose which is well introduced. In the beginning, it's also well explained and concluded but as the show progresses, major plot holes are left open. The plot lines are built way up and then dropped with a scrappy or even none explanation. Things that were introduced and developed as important end up not contributing for the plot at all. Some examples (minor spoilers): Everything built around the black blood is completely resolved in one episode and we never get to know why Medusa wanted to watch Soul and Maka so badly to begin with. Death The Kid suspicions and investigation about his father and the Academy ends up being unfounded and the explanation we get for this is one of the poorest I could imagine. Unlike some people, I don't think the final was bad as an episode. But I didn't like the fact that it left so many things unanswered. Those plot holes really pissed me off more than anything. (Well, perhaps the walking city pissed me off a little bit more... That was just plain stupid, hands down.)Art (10): The art of this show is what got me to watch it and I have to say: it's the best art I've ever seen in an anime. Its success lies on its uniqueness. Everything on this show is designed differently from what we're used to.The moon and the sun have faces that will give you chills whenever they're shown. The laughing sun and the grinning ironic moon with blood coming out of its mouth are totally creepy and set the atmosphere for this halloween themed show.The colors manage to seem bright while giving a dark tone to the anime. The backgrounds are detailed and well define in contrast with the less detailed characters. Speaking about the characters, their designs are also pretty cool. They all have characteristics that distinguish them. From Soul's drool and sharp teeth to the most unusual portray of a Shinigami I've ever seen you won't be disappointed with they're designs nor will you ever get tired of them.The animation is smoothly done and its quality is consistent throughout all the 51 episodes. And what a good quality, especially the action scenes which are quite appealing.The art is amazing, there's no other word to describe it and it will undoubtedly add a lot to your viewing experience.Sound (10): The soundtrack is great. I've never skipped an opening in any episode. In fact, both "Resonance" by TM Revolution and "Papermoon" by Tommy heavenly6 are amazing, particularly "Papermoon" which I listen to on my iPod all the time. The endings are a mixed bag. The first two are not memorable at all and the first one "I wanna be" by Stace Punks hurts my ears. However, the 3rd and 4th endings are absolutely amazing with "Strenght" by Abigdon School Boys being one of my favorite songs ever.During the episodes the music is well applied to the scenes and the final result is quite impressive. I really enjoy "Bang Bang Bang Bang Have a Nice Dream" being used on most of Kid's fights and I absolutely loved listening to "Psychedelic SoulJam" during the punch scene in the final.I can't say much about the voices because I watched the English dubbed version. What I have to say is that Funimation did a nice job at it though BlackStar's voice was quite annoying... After seeing so many people talk about Maka's scream I decided to watch the original version of the final and I have to say, that scream convinced me. It gave me goosebumps. The seiyuu made an amazing job.Characters (9): This is one of the strong points in the show. I already wrote about the character designs when reviewing the art and I said that every character had unique characteristics that told them apart from each other. Well, that's not only truth when it comes to appearance. It's the same about their personalities.The main characters are really different from each other and are well developed throughout the show.Maka is the kind of girl who always tries her best to make things right. She's hardworking, the perfect student and hates to make any mistakes but when she does, she assumes responsibility for them. She always takes a logical approach to the fight but she also lets her emotions get in the way quite easily.Soul is the "cool guy". He's calm and collected and when he expresses emotions about a situation it's often in the form of "cool" and "not cool". He cares a lot about Maka and would die for her. In the end of the day, he really is cool xDBlackStar is the hot-blooded guy of the show. I hate the fact that he always wants the spotlight and his shouting annoys me a lot. However, he's the protagonist of some nice comical moments and when you learn more about his backstory you come to accept it or even like him. It started of as the worst character in my opinion but he really grew on me...Tsubaki is BlackStar's weapon partner and she's a timid but smart girl. She always goes along with what he says and that gets a bit on my nerves but I kinda like her. What I love is the fact that she can turn into many forms.Death The Kid, the Shinigami's son, is completely obsessed with symmetry. And that's completely hilarious. Besides that, he's an awesome character. A polite boy who's really intelligent. Any girl's dream xDLiz and Patty Thompson are Kid's weapons and always have to comfort him when he has his symmetry issues. Liz is serious while Patty never seems to be bothered by anything and laughs all the time.Crap, I've gone too far with speaking of the main characters... And that's not even the most important thing! Which makes this show great is seeing them interact with each other, the fact that so different characters can get along well despite everything they don't understand about each other.I also love that the support characters are also developed nicely, especially Stein. This show also has one of the best villains ever: Medusa. She's intelligent, and totally evil. Watch this show, and you'll certainly going to hate her. But really hate her, and the fact that you can hate her is what makes her such a good character.Once again, the character chemistry is one of the reasons you should watch this show.Enjoyment (10): When I finished watching Soul Eater I felt empty. Yes, that's how enjoyable it is. I simply wanted more and couldn't believe it was over. Its awesome mix of comedy, action and even drama is carefully dosed the right way and will give you a good experience. The action scenes are amazing and will make you want more and more. After watching each episode I just wanted more and when I had to spent a week without my laptop when I was around episode 30, guess what I missed the most? Yes, it was this show.Overall (9): If you go to my list, you'll see it listed with a 10. But that's probably my feeling towards my favorite show working their way onto it. After carefully weighting every aspect of the show and trying my best to make an impartial review I got to the conclusion that it's worth a 9.Let's put it simple: Soul Eater is a must watch for any shounen fan. And even if you don't usually like shounen I guess you should give it a try. At least I've seen some non shounen fans saying it was at least good.Even if you found this review to be a complete crap, just take my word and give it a try. Its amazing art-style, its awesome character chemistry and astonishing soundtrack will do the rest for me.

zieme.irving - 2013-06-22 06:39:48

Now although this anime got very good as you got oh so far into it, I found the beginning very boring. There was really no suspension until you got depper into the episodes & thats when the suspennsion began to blossom like a catipillar turning into a butterly. This anime was very intresting (as you go deep into the pisodes) as in 75% of the anime leading you leaning to the edge of your seat to see whats going to happen next. Thius anime had a magnificent story line excluding 5% of the beginning and the animation was very good & as I would suspeccct the sound qualiity good too. I really did like how in this anime the characters had their sythes like their other side it really helped define them. I really enjoyed this anime. Overall I give it a 9.

lydia80 - 2013-03-15 08:28:53

The premise to Soul Eater is kind of like if you took the “organization of soul reapers” concept of Bleach, put it together with the “organization of child soldiers” concept of Naruto, meshed that together, and than added a hint of FLCL.All around its pretty much your typical shounen fighting anime, but stands from the rest of the herd thanks to its colorful and imaginative setting. The show deploys quite a lot of the tropes commonly-used in modern shounen series, but manages to be well-written enough that this use of tropes does not come off as cliché, and instead creates a fairly enjoyable experience.The vast majority of the characters come off as at least a little cliché, but again the series is well-written enough that its not really a problem; each character has enough quirkiness and originality that they end up actually being likable instead of annoying.(As a side note, quite a few characters seem fairly similar to those from Naruto. Seeing how Soul Eater began serialization about seven years after Naruto, I wouldn't be surprised if this were true.)The best part of Soul Eater would definitely be the artwork and fight scenes. The characters and background art is all consistently well drawn. The setting and background art has is rather surreal and dream-like. The series jumps around a lot from being colorful and upbeat to dark and gloomy, but does well in choosing when to be either of those two contrasts. The majority of the time the fight scenes are fast and highly stylish, and the artwork does well in complimenting this.The problem with Soul Eater is with its Gecko Ending. I've never actually read the original manga, but I've been told that somewhere around episode 35 is when the anime diverges from the source material and starts to do its own thing. This is when the story goes downhill, and begins to dive into the depths of mediocrity.For the first two thirds of the series, the actual story and plot isn't too remarkable, but is decent enough and succeeds in providing us some good ol' fantasy violence. During remaining 15 episodes however, a shift in tone occurs and all of the sudden the story is trying too hard be more dramatic, and ends up taking itself too seriously in the process. The characters also ended being somewhat less likable, and the everything leading up to the conclusion felt a tad bit rushed. Mind you, it's not exactly bad, just mediocre. The final three episodes in particular is when the story starts to go bad, resulting in a very unsatisfying conclusion to what was otherwise an alright series.If your a fan of Naruto, Bleach, or similar shounen series, you'll definitely like Soul Eater, as it has all things you would come to expect from the genre (both good and bad.) However, because of the poorly executed Gecko Ending, it would probably be a better idea to try your luck with the original manga instead.