Soul Eater
Manga Review
Reading volume one is a gateway for manga readers to get into a series, that otherwise has a 51 episode anime. Meeting Maka, Black Star and Death the Kid should bring familiarity for those who have seen the anime from Funimation. The parent company of Soul Eater in Japan is Square Enix, and if you know them for their video games, then it should be no surprise that they also have a publishing department of Gangan Comics which produced other titles that have found success in anime adaptations, with the most notable being Full Metal Alchemist.
When you are living a life to survive it means fulfilling survival needs and wants. Putting it in context of the Soul Eater universe, it takes 99 souls and one witch to what it would take for a demon scythe to become a weapon of ultimate use to the Shinigami. With the partnership of a meister and the guidance of the Death Weapon Meister Academy, (DWMA for short) it seems like the road is ultimately paved with challenges for the rich yet eccentric bunch of characters.
 There are currently 19 volumes in Japanese, and a spin off series. This is Atsushi Ohkubo's first known lead popular series. He has a career so far as an assistant to other artists work, and possibly from those times, he has grown an appreciation toward fan art, since there is a rich amount of it and of his own background as a fan artist.
This should resonate a lot for people who ultimately would come into this series from recommendations or attraction to an element of the series like the contrasting art style. An example of this is to look at the drawings of the characters and then look at the forms of the sun and moon. In the Soul Eater world, looking at its celestial forms should be a scream for people who have enjoy Tim Burton art or like a scary yet funny side to art.
Reviewed by Linda Yau, September 2011
Soul Eater
Anime DVD Review
Soul Eater moves fast, even for anime. There's a cast of really weird characters, all of whom have their own "special" abilities (I mean, aside from having kick-ass abilities, they also all come with bizarre personality quirks). They even have a character named Justin Freakin' Christ, which is pretty damn funny, as far as we are concerned.
Visually, the show is incredibly well-realized, and although a lot of that can be attributed to the manga, it's clear that the anime talent involved LOVED that character designs and designing the world they inhabit. Furthermore, even as an action-series, the point of which is to keep you glued to your seat with the action, the action itself is AMAZING. Really. This is like a new high-mark for how to choreograph and animate an exceptional fight sequence.
 But the characters, you'll either love or hate... with no in-between, and often within the show itself. In other words, while we find Death the Kid's OCD to be pretty funny, Black Star is only interesting because he's even more annoying than Naruto. On the flip side, the antagonists are quite strong since they have the combination of neurosis and intellectual brilliance to have a truly menacing presence.
On the surface Soul Eater looks amazing. Yet for me it feels like the studio isnÃt taking any chances or trying anything new: For starters the plot is pretty much Bleach and the character designs remind me a great deal of One Piece with just a dash of Jamie Hewlett thrown in for fun. The show looks entertaining yet it's evolutionary not revolutionary in terms of the field. Frankly is it just me or is the character of Black Star very similar to the character 2-D from the Gorillaz?
 Soul Eater suffers from excessive filler (as most of the budget seems to have gone into the fight scenes), but, if you are someone who likes shounen action anime, then the over-the-top aesthetics, amazing visuals, the stunning action sequences, and the strong soundtrack will reel you in and make you love it.
If however, you're hoping for a deep plotline, or you're waiting for the next Cowboy Bebop (i.e., a show so cool that it transcends the medium), this just ain't that. Regardless, it's a very entertaining way to kill some time, and once again, we need to emphasize that the action alone, is reason enough to justify watching this.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, January 2010
Below: Scenes from Soul Eater.
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