Project #200: Soul Eater Part 3

Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Well guys we’ve made it, my 200th blog (not counting my side blogs or specials) and we’ve also reached the final part of the Soul Eater anime which is where things go downhill with the anime. Unfortunately, it’s around here where the anime completely deviates from the manga and gives us its sloppy ending. Let’s see how it all ends and take a look at the final part of Soul Eater.

Opening and Ending Theme

Sometime in the second half of the anime we got a second opening called “PAPERMOON” by Tommy heavenly6. This song is darker and more emotional than the first opening but I still like the first opening more mostly due to the singer. I don’t know, I just think T.M sounds better than the one in PAPERMOON. If you like this opening more than the first one, that’s cool because it is good but for me personally I chose the first one over this one. The final ending for the anime is “STRENGTH” by Abingdon Boys School and this was hands down my favorite ending in the entire anime. Out of all the endings this one has the most energy and is the darkest out of all of them. This whole ending is like the bad ending for the series. Everyone has been defeated, Asura has taken over the world, some of their allies have been killed, a few of them have lost all hope and yet despite all of this our heroes and their friends pull themselves up to keep on fighting. Yes, the odds are stacked against them and they’re tired and scared but they know that have to keep fighting because if they don’t than who will.

Episodes 37-42

In episode 37 after the events of the last 3 episodes the group is a little depressed about their failure but at the same time trying to move on in their own ways. For Maka it’s trying to learn more about the Genie Hunter which after consulting with Shinigami finds out this was a technique created by her mother and is proof that her soul perception ability is getting stronger to the point where she’ll soon be able to detect witches who use magic to hide their identities. Determined to use this technique again Maka and Soul begin training (play that piano Soul). Kid, determined to find out what the connection is between his dad and Eibon goes to Stein for answers (you sure it’s wise to go to the unstable man who surprisingly is still allowed to roam freely for answers?) where it instead escalates into a battle of justifying actions where Stein questions Kid’s trust in his father and Kid questions the actions of his father (who can be trusted and who can’t be trusted?). Near the end of the episode a guy by the name of Joe Buttataki shows up at the request of Shinigami to use the magic tools that they’ve gathered so far for a secret project.

In episode 38 Kid tries to find out what Joe is up to but Joe gives him the slip (in the hall of asymmetrical statues. Kid’s worst nightmare). We then focus on Black Star who out of everyone is the one most depressed about failing to secure the Brew. Black Star is a guy who has been able to beat everyone in front of him but these last few battles have been a string of failures for him. He failed to stop Asura’s resurrection which he blames himself for, he lost to Mifune (by sword-fatality), and now he failed to beat Mosquito (not some of his best days). Because of this he starts to lose confidence in his abilities and it takes an even major blow when Tsubaki gets told to stop using Enchanted Sword mode as it seems to be having a negative effect on Black Star. Desperate and wanting to build his confidence back up he challenges Kid to a duel one on one (it’s man vs death. Scene here: //youtu.be/pt23biJDWBo, there’s a lot to this fight than you think). After this battle Black Star goes back to training and we end the episode with Arachne finding the hideout of Asura (couldn’t have been too hard. Follow the wavelength of madness and you’ll find the madman).

We focus on Crona is episode 39. We start with Arachne going to confront Asura herself and asks for an alliance where she instead gets thrashing around by him (I heard she liked it rough but this is ridiculous). After thrashing her around a bit (clearly he is confused on the concept of sex) he agrees to team up with her (Asura: Yeah there’s more thrashing where that came from baby). Back at DWMA, Eruka tells Crona that Medusa wants him to come back to her but Crona doesn’t want to but at the same time he’s afraid of what will happen to him once they find out what he did to Stein (they’ll throw you into a closet and have Ragnarok beat you up). Not sure of what to do he decides to run away into the dessert where Maka and Soul find him and he confesses to his crimes expecting Maka to hate him for it and starts ranting how a person like him doesn’t deserve things such as kindness and friends but Maka stops him (scene here: //youtu.be/ptZ8uN_UfNQ, this is a Kodak moment. Or it would be if they were still in business and people didn’t use digital cameras). So they return to the academy where Crona confesses to Shinigami about what he did (bless me death for I have sinned). As Shinigami and Spirit are talking about what to do with him Sid comes in to tell them that Medusa is outside the front doors (walk up in the school like what up, I’m a witch).

Episode 40 starts off with Maka going to confront Medusa locked in a cell where in a bitch move she pretends not to know who Maka is (oh you bitch). She’s eventually taken to Shinigami where he chops her for all the trouble she’s caused (again, he can’t kill her because she’s taken over the body of a child). In order to earn their trust she gives them Brew and offers to give them information on Asura’s whereabouts however she wants protection and freedom from DWMA meaning that they cannot go after her (no deal. You pretty much screwed the world over as far as I’m concern the only way your leaving is by having your soul devoured). Shinigami reluctantly accepts her deal and she walks out of DWMA shocking everyone (you know one of you could quit DWMA and kill her right now. Just saying). At the end of the episode Marie goes to check up on Stein only to discover that he’s nowhere to be found.

Nothing much to say about episode 41. Stein goes to Medusa so Crona and Marie decide to quit DWMA and go after Medusa and since they’re no longer associated with the DWMA they’re now free to kill Medusa (hey they actually did what I told them to do. Thank you). Joe discovers that an order to operate Brew they require one last magic tool and we see that Arachne has transformed her castle into Howl’s Moving Castle (only creepier and less magical) and is using it to spread Asura’s madness into the world more quickly using amplifiers. Once Shinigami hears about this he tells everyone to get ready for another battle (tonight we dine on madness).

More setup in episode 42. Maka finds out about Crona and Marie leaving DWMA and becomes worried about them just as she, Soul, Black Star, and Tsubaki are being deployed to the frontlines to fight Arachnophobia while Kid, Liz, and Patty are sent to retrieve the final magic tool to activate Brew. Maka doesn’t know what to do, should she follow orders and fight Arachnophobia or should she follow her own convictions and go help Crona and Marie (should she be the honor student or the honorable comrade? Choices). Soul convinces her to follow her own convictions and she goes off to look for Crona and Marie leaving Arachnophobia to Black Star (we’re doomed).

Episodes 43-47

We focus on Kid in episode 43 who has just arrived outside the village where the last magic tool is. Kid decides to turn into an idiot (like more than usual) and go in alone because 20 years ago the inhabitants of the village all mysteriously disappeared (so? I can understand Kid wanting to protect his mini harem but still it’s dangerous to go alone, take a pair of guns). Once inside the village he easily finds the magic tool (too easy) when all of a sudden he gets attacked by clowns (I knew those bastards were evil and demented). Liz and Patty worried about Kid enter the village and save him from the clowns where they combine their skills and manage to defeat them (no more circus days for these clowns). Before dying one of them warns Kid about the dangers of the magic tools and how if put in the wrong hands it could lead to disaster (the world’s already going mad how much worst could it get?). This makes Kid decide not to hand the magic tool over to his father just yet (Kid, lives are at risk here. Trust your dad. He’s got a face that just won’t lie to us).

In episodes 44-45 Maka finds Crona and Marie fighting Medusa where she joins the fight. However, even with Maka the group is no match for Medusa and a crazed Stein who is now serving Medusa (I bet she’s wishing she took over the body of a mature woman right now. She’s got the mad doctor in the palm of her hands and can’t do nothing because it would be illegal). Medusa tries to finish off Maka but Crona pushes her aside and takes the hit for her (scene here: //youtu.be/goiqe95EN7Q, I should feel sad by this but since this is where the anime started to deviate from the manga I really can’t feel anything here). Filled with rage Maka recklessly attacks Medusa (good~ let the rage consume you like a comment section on Youtube) but Stein gets in the way and Marie uses this chance to use her healing wavelength on Stein which returns him to normal and also calms Maka down (good to have the mad doctor back on our side). Stein tells Maka that Crona is still alive (I find that hard to believe after he just got pierced through the stomach but this anime has proven to me that death is a pretty silly, weird, and laidback entity) and tells Maka that she must use the Genie Hunter in order to defeat Medusa once and for all. Stein and Marie distract Medusa which allows Maka and Soul to perform the Genie Hunter where they strike Medusa destroying her soul and rescuing Rachel in the process. Once their work here is done Maka and Soul leave to return to the battle against Arachnophobia while Stein and Marie carry Crona and Rachel back to Death City.

Episodes 46-47 focus on Black Star as well as the truth behind Shinigami and Eibon (he’s your mother Kid). Let’s talk about Shinigami and Eibon. After Kid returned to the city Shinigami tells him that the final magic tool contains the soul of Eibon who was once one of Shinigami’s most trusted generals centuries ago. Excalibur arrives on the scene (the sad part about this character is that with his powers they could easily defeat Asura. The only problem is no one wants to work with him. It’s like getting the ultimate weapon in a videogame. Everybody wants it but nobody wants to put in the hard work to get it) and explains that long ago Eibon created the magic tools for the good of the world but along the way he became obsessed with becoming immortal and sought the help of Arachne who helped him become immortal. Shinigami takes the final magic tool and reawakens the soul of Eibon where he finds out everything that’s happened (yeah the whole world’s gone nutsy kuu kuu. Surprisingly those death metal album covers got it right. Who knew?). Wanting to repent for his actions in the past he uses his soul to activate Brew which grants the desire of whoever uses it (alright, I wish for a world without Asura. We win, end of anime, //youtu.be/7tClSJgMDF8. Unfortunately, that would be the smart logical thing to do and in anime that stuff just doesn’t fly). Back with Black Star he blazes across the battlefield until he finally comes across Mifune and the two have their third and final fight with each other where Black Star’s emotions run wild and instead of fighting like a true fighter he instead begins to revert back to the ways of his clan and starts to fight like a madman (he’s given into the madness. Kill him). Mifune tries to talk some sense into Black Star (yeah that road leads to a dead end trust me) but his words fall on death’s ears (Shinigami: I hear him, and I don’t care) giving Mifune no choice but to kill Black Star. He hits Black Star with a lethal blow where instead of killing Black Star it just knocks him deep within the soul of the enchanted sword where Black Star gets devoured by the souls of people who were defeated by the sword in the past telling him to give into the madness. Instead, he refuses to do this and decides to carry the burdens of the dead souls and fight for them. With this Black Star resolves to follow his own path and gains mastery of the enchanted sword which he uses it to defeat Mifune. Once the battle is over Black Star decides to raid Arachne’s castle and save Angela for Mifune’s sake (scene here: //youtu.be/_4giWzNikEo). Maka and Soul arrive on the battlefield where Shinigami has arrived with Death City. He had Joe use the magic tools to reconstruct Death City into a giant robot so he could join the fight and face Asura directly (again, why didn’t you just wish for Asura to die or better yet why not just wish for Asura to be in Death City?). After a silly mecha battle (man with all the witches, swordsman, meisters and weapons the last thing I thought I would see in this series was a mecha battle) Shinigami manages to immobilize Arachne’s castle, grab Asura, and drags him back into Death City (welcome to Hell, bitch).

Episodes 48-51

After devouring Asura, in episode 48 Shinigami and Spirit team up to fight Asura while Kid, Asuza, and Excalibur watch from the sidelines (following DBZ logic huh? Alright). During their fight Asura explains his beliefs about fear. In his mind fear is the result of people’s imagination and he believes the only way to end fear is by spreading madness thus preventing people from imagining again (that’s stupid). Shinigami of course disagrees with his logic and proceeds to keep beating him. Just when it seems like he’s got the upper hand Asura turns his attention to Kid and the others on the side and fires an energy blast at them (this is not DBZ logic this is cheating. Disqualified). Shinigami uses his body as a shield to protect them (maybe you guys should have waited in another room) and takes the blast where he gets seriously injured. Asura uses this chance to escape and goes back to Arachne where out of fear he kills her and absorbs her soul (see!? His ideas don’t work. The guy’s already mad and yet he still has fear). In another part of the episode Black Star, Tsubaki, and Mifune succeed in rescuing Angela and escaping the castle before Asura finishes creating a barrier which he will use to further spread madness in the world.

In the final three episodes it’s our main characters vs Asura. Before Asura’s barrier is completed Maka, Black Star and Kid manage to get inside where they see Asura has become a giant thanks to consuming Arachne’s soul (he’s also gain a more demonic appearance. I prefer his first form). In order to do damage to Asura the group does a team soul resonance using Soul’s black blood and piano. It seems to be working as Asura’s barrier is weakening but Soul pushes himself too far with the black blood and gets consumed by Devi (it took a while but Devi’s plan finally paid off). With Soul gone the team soul resonance falls apart so Maka uses her soul perception abilities to bring Soul back while Kid and Black Star protect her. Their attacks really don’t do that much damage and while Kid is charging up for a powerful attack he gets stabbed and seemingly dies (at least he died in a symmetrical way). But his eyes begin to glow blue and his godly powers begin to awaken allowing his soul to become extremely powerful. Asura gets distracted by this which allows Black Star to just straight up own him giving Kid plenty of time to charge his attack and hit Asura for major damage (scene here: //youtu.be/7OKPKXoR19I, in all seriousness this should have been how Asura dies in the anime. This had to be Black Star’s most badass moment ever). Asura managed to survive this but he shrinks back down to normal size and since Kid fainted from his attack (or from the lines in his hair finally being symmetrical) it falls on Black Star to fight Asura now. Meanwhile, Maka enters a sealed off room where she meets Soul who is actually Devi in disguise which Maka figures out easily (because she knows the real Soul because she loves him). The real Soul is sealed within a box that he did himself in order to prevent the madness from consuming him. He tells Maka not to open the box because he doesn’t want her to get consumed by the black blood but Maka says not to worry and that she intends to save him no matter what. Soul deciding to trust his partner allows Maka to open the box and she manages to fight off the madness of the black blood and save Soul (foiled by the power of platonic love). With this Soul comes to accept that the black blood is a part of him and he shouldn’t be afraid of it. This makes Devi shrink down to a munchkin and Soul devours him in one gulp. They regain consciousness and return to the battle where both Kid and Black Star are out cold (boy did you two miss a lot. Where do I begin?). Showing no fear Maka and Soul take on Asura themselves where during the fight Asura asks her if he’s truly evil and starts to get philosophical about how his madness is good for the world (I’ve already ranted about this so my take on this is known). Soul gets knocked out protecting Maka so she fights him head on where in an act of awesomeness she actually transforms into a meister/weapon (now I have to admit this was a cool scene. In the series Maka is the daughter of a meister and weapon so with that information I’ve always wondered, can Maka turn into a weapon as well? The manga never really bought this question up nor do they touch base on it. They just never address this question at all and it’s one of the big letdowns for me in the manga). Despite her furious offense Asura still stands until Maka uses her final trump card, courage, which proves to be the one thing that can defeat Asura and this leads to one of the dumbest endings to an awesome fight (scene here: //youtu.be/AO85-o4VNkg, gotta love that music near the end). With Asura defeated the sky begins to clear up and the madness begins to fade. As everyone breaths a shy of relief Kid worries that another kishin will rise again someday but Maka tells him not to worry about it because in the end all they need is courage and everyone has that in their hearts. The end.

Final Thoughts

So that was Soul Eater and can you see why it deserves a new season? While the first two acts are good it’s the third act where things start to fall apart. It’s not awful it’s just that when you compare the third act to what happened in the manga it just pales in comparison to it especially with the ending. But outside of that there are a lot of good things in this series. The story is very good, it’s like the middle ground between Death Note and Bleach. It’s dark but not to the point where it loses you. It can be funny but at the same time touching and philosophical with its message. Fear is a part of human nature and there’s nothing wrong with being afraid of something. As long as you have the courage to face it you’ll be fine.

The series it has an assortment of characters who you come to care about. You can sense the respect and plutonic relationship between Maka and Soul. Maka is an honor student but at the same time she’s not all that confident in her skills but will do whatever it takes to save her friends. Soul is that cool guy who doesn’t wear his emotions or feelings on his sleeve but you can tell he does care and when his friends are in trouble he’ll be the first to jump in and save them. He’s supportive of Maka trusting her and encouraging her to do what she believes is right and going along with her. Black Star can egotistical but at the same time you have to respect his abilities and skills. He wants to show everyone the potential of what a human can do and he’s not all bark he has the skills to back up his talk. You can’t help but just admire the guy which is why I think Tsubaki follows him so much. His desire to be strong and surpass the limitations that the world has set for him is admirable and something I strive to do everyday. Speaking of Tsubaki she’s probably the most caring out of anyone in the group. She’s looking for praise or recognition she just wants to be there to support others and she’s always willing to listen to them. Kid and the Thompson sisters are a lot of fun to be around and see. Kid’s compulsive disorder can be funny but at the same time it reflects his desire to keep the world in order. He knows that there has to be a balance between order and chaos and if there isn’t the whole world could collapse on them. Liz and Patty unfortunately are probably the weakest characters personality wise in the anime. In the manga they’re pretty good but in the anime not so much. Patty is borderline psychopath that you can’t help but love and Liz is a big sister who despite her scaredy-cat personality is someone who really treasures her sister and a responsible person. The group dynamic between these three characters is always fun to watch. The final character Crona is like this broken child who’s had this terrible life but through the help of his new friends is slowly starting to see that life can be good and that he has a right to be happy (making this all the more tragic as to what happens to him in the manga).

The villains are also enjoyable. Medusa is hands down one of the best anime villains you will ever see. You will come to despise this woman for everything she’s done to Crona but at the same time love how cold and calculating she is. Arachne really doesn’t do that much. We never get to see her in a fight or see her powers put on display so that’s kind of disappointing. Asura was pretty good in his fights against Shinigami but his idea of achieving peace makes no sense and his actions prove his way of thinking doesn’t work. Once again these characters are a lot more interesting in the manga.

The action scenes are good. They have a nice balance of action and coordination and I like how both sides are evenly matched in their fights. Each fight gives a chance for both sides to show what they can do and to show that they’re not a wasted character. The animation is alright. It’s nothing spectacular but I do like the backgrounds and various places we visit throughout the anime. I thought those were well animated. The soundtrack was enjoyable. It has a little bit of everything. Rock, hip-hop, techno, country, you name it they got it and it fits rather well within the anime.

Like I said before the main problem with this anime is the third act. Pretty much all the problems of the anime can be seen in this third act. Things not fully explained or making any sense, some characters disappearing on us and not getting a resolution into what happened to them, and the letdown to a pretty good and pretty intense fight near the end of the anime. On top of that there’s the introduction of a few side characters who don’t get enough screentime. They get introduced but we never get a chance to get to know who they are and what they’re like. But still, does this third act completely destroy the anime? No, I don’t think so. Because at the end of the day the first two acts are good and keep you interested in the anime. While I admit the third act did lead to a pretty meh ending for the anime that doesn’t take away from the fact that the first two acts are good and got a lot of people interested not only in the series but in anime. For a lot of younger anime fans this was their first anime that they watched. Just like DBZ was my first anime and had faults I still like it and just like this anime has faults people still like it because to them this was their first anime. It’s special to them, it’s what got them interested in anime, and they’ll defend it until the day they die. Which is why I want them to do a reboot of the series and give it that FMA treatment. Soul Eater is a series that deserves its popularity in the world and is a good series. I’m not gonna sit here and say I was the biggest fan of Soul Eater but when I read the manga and watched the anime I enjoyed it. It was a series that separated itself from the pack and gave us a story we all got invested in and loved. It was creative, exciting, and a meaningful series that anyone could pick up and enjoy.

Final Score

The final score for the Soul Eater anime is a 7/10. If we’re talking about the manga I would give it an 8.5/10 with a must read stamp of approval. While the third act was a letdown I can’t get too mad at the anime because they ran out of chapters at this point and had no choice but to make up their own ending. Is it a good ending? No, not really. Is it an awful ending? I don’t think so. It’s just a pretty meh ending that stops a great series from being a great anime and can be fixed by doing a good reboot of the series. Come on Japan. If you can give us another season of D-Grey Man, Berserk, and One Punch Man than you give us another season of Soul Eater. Well, that’s the end of this review. I just want to thank everyone once again for staying with me all this time. For tuning in and reading my work. I love what I’m doing and I don’t think I couldn’t have gotten this far without you guys. It’s been a fun ride and I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon so look forward to more projects in the future. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.

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