Reviews for Soul Eater (7.94) 6536

First, the conclusion...
I'll cut to the chase, overall, this is a fantastic show. Regardless of what score you apply to a show, there are some shows that have a personality, edge and vibrance that separate them from a hundred other shows that you forget moments after you're done watching them. Soul Eater makes a lasting impression.

Soul Eater exudes 'cool' from every pore, in a way few shows do. If I had to draw comparisons to other shows that can compete in this regard, I'd pick Cowboy Bebop from back in the day, or FLCL or Samurai Champloo - more recently Gurren Lagan struck me as having that same bold visual panache. Whether you thought these shows were great or just over-stylized, you tend to their unique vibe long after you're done viewing them, which is a big plus in my book.

Who needs a plot anyways, when you have busty cat-girl witches...
I won't recap the entire storyline (not the strongest point of the show anyways) but it's about a school run by the Death Reaper (Shinigami-sama in Japanese) where students are paired into weapons and wielders. It's hardly even worth adding "alternate universe" to the description, as I'm sure you could guess that from the previous sentence, however this world is both like ours and yet immediately recognizable as different, in a fairy tale sort of way.

The students who are weapons are literally transformed into a weapon [guns, chains, blades, maces and of course, death scythes], to by used by the students that are wielders.

Most of these pairs are boy / girl, although the Shinigami's son is dual pistol weilding lover of symmetry, which makes that paring a boy / girl + girl menage a trois. So, this is a shounen show, with lots of fights and villains (and of course boobs and skimpy outfits - very toned thought down after the first couple of eps) - but don't be too quick to dismiss it if that's not your cup of tea - this show is much more than the sum of it's parts.

The early plot regarding two the protagonists, Maka and Soul, catching their quota of demons and devouring their souls turns out to be a vehicle for the introduction of the rest of the cast, including some villains that turn out to be friends and allies. Because the plot has 51 episodes to stretch it's legs, the real storyline does not start until much later. The earlier eps are far from filler, though, as they introduce important concepts and personalities, and of course establish the characters. While the plot is not poor or boring, in the balance between characters / tone and plot, I'd say the characters / tone are the stronger half of this show.

Quite the looker....
There is a definite western influence on this show - in look, storylines and characters, specifically western myths and nursery rhymes. Despite the Shinigami-centric view of the world (a very Japanese concept,) many of the characters and stories, particularly the 'villains' are references to characters from mythology, pop culture and literature - with names you may recognize. It's not Harry Potter, of course, but characters include Baba Yaga (from Russian folklore), Medusa, Blair (as in the Blair Witch Project) and so on. I laughed when the only samurai in the show turned out to be called 'Mifune' (after Mifune Toshiro, a mainstay in Akira Kurosawa's samurai films including The Seven Samurai and the seminal Yojimbo.)

The entire world looks very Western, with European castles, visits to European cities, but filtered through something more dark, twisted and Tim Burton-esque than you might expect, where even the moon looks as demented as something out of a nightmare you may have had after hearing a scary nursery rhyme as a child. Overall the artwork has bold lines and very vivid colors (a little digital looking, though) that positively pop off the screen. Despite it's relatively long run of 51 episodes, rarely do the art and production values flag, which if you've watched much anime, you'd know is rarer than it should be.

The character designs are solid - distinctive and cool, with a personality and motivation all their own. Often enough, shounen shows have protagonists driven by the noble (?) desire to be stronger, as if lust for power is a deep and justifiable motivation. Here, each one has strong motivations that are more understandable (mostly), and each character is fleshed out with foibles and weaknesses (without getting too whiny) that make them more sympathetic, and this invests you more in their individual progression through the show.
Some of the side characters get short shrift though - Blair the comedic busty cat-girl witch (is that enough fetishes in one character for you?) was totally sidelined halfway through, and some of the other side-villains that you may develop a soft spot for just disappear towards the end. Some later introductions including Arachne make up for it, though (she gets my vote for most unique eye design that isn't totally creepy).

Stylistically, I think the only controversial aspect to the sensational art will be the noses on all the characters, which have a weird short and stubby look that make them look like they've been sliced off - just a quirk of the character designer / artist.

I'll be controversial and say I hated Maka's VA....
The Voice acting is very good overall, with some recognizable VAs filling in for Soul and BlackStar. There's a new VA doing the main character (Maka) who is very unique sounding, unfortunately her voice tends to be polarizing - some love it, I hated it. Maka's VA sounds like a total amateur, IMHO, and I kept wishing that she was voiced by someone with a little more professionalism and personality. Maka just sounds shrill and annoying to me, and even some moments that could have been moving were just ruined by the voice acting, for me at least. I re-watched some of them with the sound off and liked the scenes more that way! The rest of the cast is talnted and well suited to their characters (OK, one more complaint - the Shinigami's VA is way too nasal.)

Music was pretty good, although the orignal OP was just OK. Effects and BGM, mood pieces are really good, so I still gave sound a 9.

Once more, the conclusion...
Overall, I think you should watch the first few episodes, and you can decide whether you like the mood and style of the show - it's not very brainy or deep, but it's sexy and has style to spare, and keeps you entertained through its 51 episode run. The ending is satisfactory, and will not ruin your affection for the show, as many other style-heavy shows may have done in the past.