[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Soul Eater as of #12: if only SJ were this good
After the disappointing excuse for a post last time, I wanted to write about one of my currently-watched series that I really look forward to every week and feel inspired by; given that I hadn’t posted a word about Soul Eater since my First Impressions post, I think it’s long overdue a mention.
OGT made a point of stating that Soul Eater is not a Shounen Jump serial over a Bateszi’s blog, which I think is an important distinction to make. While it offers both the things I appreciate and the things that put me off animated adaptations of the magazine’s output for roughly 99% of the time, SE also offers more. A lot more in fact.
I was going to use this pic instead here, but decided against it when I couldn’t think of a witty caption for it, out-of-context or otherwise
If you take those long, drawn out battles that are padded out to the majority of an episode with macho dialogue and melodramatic panning and zooming, superhuman exhibitions of withstanding physical injury and humour that’s aimed at young teenage boys (or at least those with the mentality of one), then SE really does fit in with the SJ mould on occasion. It does of course share the genre’s positive aspects too: decent no-holds-barred action, heroes trying to act heroic and storylines that gain enough momentum to be truly epic over time for instance. I’m not trying to bash SJ here by the way; I’m merely pointing out that those of us who can enjoy the more positive aspects of SJ-style stuff will find there’s plenty to keep you happy in Soul Eater. The great thing is, almost as a bonus prize for more hard-to-please individuals such as myself, it takes those concepts one stage further and adds neat asides like, y’know, proper character development and storylines and stuff.
The clincher for me is not just that Soul Eater is ‘doing things the cool way’ with every frame: from the synth-punk fuelled op sequence, complete with the sped-up aerial dash through Death City, to the noise-rock mayhem of the end theme (I’m always expecting it to lurch into Anarchy in the UK after the line “I…wanna…be…”) its entertainment value is only partly earned through style. The comparisons are over-used but apt: it really does look like Tim Burton hijacked Gainax and decided to remake Bleach with old Nightmare Before Christmas storyboards in one hand and a blank cheque from Bones in the other. I also think that’s a very good thing. And I haven’t even got around to mentioning Taru Iwasaki’s musical score yet either.
The premise offers plenty of room for maneuvre if the writers happen to be making it up as they go along, or alternatively the possibility of an epic tale if they aren’t. The mission of collecting 99 souls could go on forever; a fact that makes me feel a bit intimidated by SE’s year-long projected broadcast run. On the other hand, it does actually seem to be going somewhere - an episode count seems to be set and there’s something very un-SJ happening here: the characters are growing and are shaped by the events they experience.
After hitting a bit of filler after the opening episodes, we become properly acquainted with the main cast and get a feel for who they are, along with some hints regarding their backgrounds. I make no secret of the fact that I found Black Star annoying in the extreme at first, and that he reminded me of another certain character who demonstrated attention-seeking and over-confidence to a nauseating degree. By the eleventh episode however, I began to see the true value of Black Star’s and Tsubaki’s relationship, and how it brings out the best in both of them.
Black Star with…depth?! Believe it!
Similarly the bond between weapon and technician is wonderfully demonstrated when Soul Eater risks his very life to stand in the way of an opponent who is (possibly literally) hell-bent on killing Maka…and taking in black blood in the process. This is going to have a recurring effect on the story as a whole later on but as is so often the case I was distracted by the little details. I loved the dream scene because it looked exactly like something from Twin Peaks - a really unlikely reference but one I lol’d at nonetheless.
Black Star and Tsubaki really come across well in these episodes though. I’m not saying Black Star is any less arrogant, nor am I even daring to hope that my innate support for the underdog will allow me to completely overlook his character flaws. Even so he does actually show some sensitivity and acknowledgement of Tsubaki’s feelings, which makes his character a little less two-dimensional. Before the battle with the Demon Blade Masamune he doesn’t press for an explanation from her - he understands as well as anyone that everyone has his or her secrets, which we will divulge to those we know if and when we see fit. That scenes where they sit in the tree, planning their method of fulfilling the mission, was a prelude to one of the series’ highest points so far.
When Tsubaki finds her true strength
The scenes in which Tsubaki confront the demon blade - namely her brother and, ultimately, herself - was not just beautifully animated and choreographed: it was a moment of character insight that I found to be compelling and moving. More of the same please.
One route that SE perhaps deliberately avoids is exploring any romantic connotations in the obvious male/female pairings of the weapons and technicians. Given that it’s an obvious avenue to explore and, in the earlier episodes at least, the show takes a light-hearted and irreverant attitude to pretty much all of its subject matter, I’m glad that it’s playing out this way. I personally don’t think it would be a better series from a drama standpoint if Soul and Maka were blushing at one another every time they worked together! As it is, the relationships are more practical - the resonance of souls is emphasised, almost as if it’s making a distinction between compatability of souls and hearts.
A Soul sacrifice…but not in the name of love. Not as we know it, anyway
The pairing of Soul and Maka, or Death the Kid and the Thompson sisters (the latter would be decidedly unworkable as a romantic relationship anyway!) work as well as they do, and will continue to do so, because they get the job done. No sappiness, no mushy sentimentality: just a combination that works in the field and one that relies on mutual understanding. Since I seem to be watching one hell of a lot of romances in recent months (relatively speaking, at any rate), it’s a refreshing change to see the bond between characters stemming from, to put it bluntly, professionalism rather than hormones.
Suffice to say, Soul Eater is superficially bloody good fun but also thought-provoking in ways I never anticipated. It’s going to be a good year.
Posted on August 4th, 2008 @ 1:44 am
As you’re at least up to ep 12, you have met the legendary holy sword, who I found immensely entertaining. Even if you’d consider episode 9 “filler”, it never felt irrelevant or pointless, as it helped flesh out more aspects of the show’s universe and its increasingly diverse array of unusual characters.
“Fools!”
Posted on August 4th, 2008 @ 2:03 am
I need to pick up this series again.
Posted on August 4th, 2008 @ 9:55 am
I also really love that scene of Tsubaki with that extreme blue sky behind her, and then with all the petals floating around. As always, I liked the way you described her and Black Star’s relationship — I couldn’t do that when I was making a post on it because I couldn’t find the right words! I never found Black Star to be in any way annoying even though I found Naruto an eye-sore (if that’s the character you’re referring to that has similarity with Black Star). Being a very holy person, I don’t like it how Black Star continuously aims to become better than God, but at least he’s reaching for something high and knows where he’s going (I think) lols. He is definitely arrogant, but also in a sense, adorably cheeky.
I also really love it how SE doesn’t add any “corny” love, and it’s about the first time I’ve come across an anime where I hope everyone can just stay as friends. I don’t mind if in the later episodes Soul and Maka develop feelings for each other and become closer as lovers, but with Black Star and Tsubaki — I’m just so jealous of their relationship, and it doesn’t look like it’ll ever go the romantic way. If, however, Soul and Maka start blushing around each other like non-stop, I’m going to have scream because that’s not cute — it’s annoying.
blissmos last blog post..Double Arts 19: LOLTraining Time
Posted on August 4th, 2008 @ 2:57 pm
It’s certainly growing on me. Like most stuff in this vein, there seems to be a point where you begin appreciating character’s strengths and weaknesses more, learning to care about them.
The first few episodes were enjoyably wacky and kinetic, but the characters seemed extremely two-dimensional; The symmetry obsessed perfectionist, the style obsessed demon scythe, and the Naruto-esque showoff. However the latest episodes have made me believe otherwise. I’m not completely won over yet (Black Star is still intensely irritating to me), but I’m hopeful.
Posted on August 5th, 2008 @ 7:12 pm
@philadlj: you mean the ‘legendary’ Excalibur? I laughed myself silly at that one. The very idea of King Arthur himself weilding that thing is farcical on a scale never seen since his cinema incarnation went in search of the Holy grail in the hands of Mony Python!
@Danny Choo: Yes. Absolutely. ^_^
@blissmo: yeah, I was making a bit of a swipe at Naruto there. That’s because his character never changes, but Black Star seems to be growing up slightly…not enough to stop that “I’ll be greater than God!” thing though. Not yet anyway. The artwork is great though (I was spoiled for choice in getting screenies) but the relationships involved are so strong, but so un-soppy that I can watch them for hours.
@Wildcard: it’s definitely a grower. I think the overall length meant it had a longer ‘warm up’ period while the characters were introduced but now the story seems to be hitting its stride and we now have a good grasp of their personalities.
Posted on August 6th, 2008 @ 4:07 am
Actually, Excalibur’s personality seems to have changed after King Arthur died. Perhaps he doesn’t want to be handled by any Technician who is not as legendary as Arthur, the one-and-only King of Avalon? But, yes, that was a hilarious episode, in a very Pythonesque way.
As for Black Star, I think he’s compensating for his family’s history with an overblown ego. He probably thinks, “If I’m getting all this (bad) attention, I might as well roll with it and live it up!” Therefore, his “I’m bigger than God” comments are not meant to be taken any more seriously than his clown antics.
Black Star & Tsubaki are easily my favourite duo of the show.
All-in-all, nice review. When Soul Eater first aired, I thought it might be the next big thing to rival Bleach, but I gradually realised it was a bit too alternative to be a mainstream hit like Naruto. The action scenes aren’t as long-drawn and the sex appeal (ala Orihime, Rukia, Yoruichi, etc) isn’t as obvious (well, there’s Blair, but she has only appeared in cameos so far, quite unfortunately). But all is good, because this means I don’t have to deal with pubescent fanboism that such shows normally attract.
Posted on August 6th, 2008 @ 10:32 pm
@TinyRedLeaf: thanks! I never thought about Excalibur’s personality changing after losing Arthur…is anyone as great as he was? Black Star certainly seems to follow the ‘any publicity is good publicity’ philosophy though. Hopefully it will continue to be ‘alternative’ as you put it because it doesn’t seem to have attracted an equivalent to Narutards. I know it’s selfish of me to say so, but I hope it acquires cult status rather than mainstream popularity. Time will tell I guess.
Posted on September 12th, 2008 @ 5:22 pm
I agree with all of your points, but (and this is going to sound stupid) what brings me back to this anime is the way the character’s noses are drawn. I don’t know what the heck it is, but the shape somehow breaks the anime mold for me…
time for theorpy.