Not many TV series can be described as a buddy-horror-action comedy that takes place in a magical school. While Soul Eater’s parts are transparent, this adaptation of Atsushi Okubo’s manga makes up for it in execution and style. It’s also gender-inclusive for it’s genre, though the producers still know their audience.
Soul Eater Episodes 1-6: Setting-Up the Setting
In the Halloween-themed Death City warriors called weapon meisters fight evil souls in order to preserve the world's spiritual balance. The meisters are actually teams of two people, one who changes into a weapon for the other to wield. The weapon has to eat 99 evil souls and a witch's soul to become more powerful, and to expedite this process a goofy Dumbledore-like version of Death establishes a school to train weapon meisters.
The first three episodes introduce the protagonist teams. Leading the charge is the studious Maka and the slacker Soul, who transforms into a scythe. They are followed by the loud-mouth assassin Black Star whose partner Tsubaki transforms into ninja weapons. The final team is Death’s son Death The Kid and the gun-morphing sisters Patty and Liz. In sitcom fashion each pair's personalities are complete opposites, and Death himself observes their battles along with Maka's father Death Scythe.
Of the three groups Death the Kid and the sisters stand out: Kid is a genius but is obsessive about symmetry, to the point that he'll stop everything if he thinks something in his room is out of place. His partners dress alike but differ in physical appearance and personality, and the failed perfection between the three is very unique.
Episodes four through six bring the groups together, but the early episodes are more about introducing characters than establishing a long-term storyline. However, this is a great way for viewers to meet the cast without investing too much into the series.
A Well-Executed Formula
Soul Eater wasn’t the first series to revolve around a special school staffed by quirky adults or to have partners work together in a weapon/master relationship. The characters are likable but still fit typical anime conventions. Yet the formula is done well. The series has a great sense of slapstick that flows with the stylish action sequences thanks to how the banter between weapon and meister is both functional and incorporates comic relief.
The visuals are a cross between The Nightmare Before Christmas and Golden-Age American cartoons with Victorian buildings, stylized skull motifs and crazy-faced moons. The reinterpretations of Western figures like Death, Frankenstein and mummies stand out, while the simple design of the heroes transition seamlessly between action and comedy. Soul Eater is an example of how a unique style and good execution can liven up an old formula.
Soul Eater and Gender
The women of Soul Eater are more than token characters. The pairings are divided between boys and girls, and both genders contribute to winning battles. While Black Star's overconfidence dominates his relationship with Tsubaki, Maka and the sisters are strong characters who stand even with their male partners.
However, the show also knows it's audience is young men. The cat-witch Blair exists to be pure fanservice, while Death Scythe's skirt-chasing was enough for a divorce but it and similar acts are treated as lovable antics. When characters transform into weapons their human forms are visible in reflections, which is a cool effect but strange when Soul retains his clothes while the women are undressed.
Soul Eater's goal is to entertain first and these scenes die down as the episodes progress, but it's noticeable when this stuff appear in a series where women and men are otherwise on equal ground.
Streaming and Dubbing
FUNimation handles the license in the United States. Over 25 episodes are available in Japanese with English subtitles on it's Web site. The site is streaming episodes of the English dub as well and the dub's cast matches well with the original voice acting. With a unique art style and excellent action sequences, Soul Eater has the potential to be more than the sum of it's parts.
