is a Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by Atsushi Ohkubo. Set at the "Death Weapon Meister Academy", the series revolves around three teams, each consisting of a weapon meister and at least one human that can transform into a weapon. Trying to make the latter a "death scythe" and thus fit for use by the academy's headmaster

Shinigami () are that invite humans toward death in certain aspects of Shinto, Japanese religion and Culture of Japan, culture. have been described as monsters, helpers, and creatures of darkness. are used for tales and religions in Japanese culture. ...

, the

personification of death Personifications of death are found in many religions and mythologies. In more modern stories, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that per ...

, they must collect the souls of 99 evil humans and one witch, in that order; otherwise, they will have to start all over again. The manga was preceded by three separate one-shots published by

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...

in 2003; the first two published in two '' Gangan Powered'' special editions and the last one in '' Gangan Wing''. ''Soul Eater'' was regularly serialized in Square Enix's ''

Monthly Shōnen Gangan is a manga imprint owned by Square Enix Holdings. It originated as a manga imprint for Enix before the company merged with Square to form Square Enix. It publishes manga in several anthologies aimed at different reader demographic groups in t ...

'' magazine from May 2004 to August 2013. Its chapters were collected in 25 volumes. A 51-episode

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series adaptation produced by

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

was broadcast on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.drama CD Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

, an

art book Artists' books (or book arts or book objects) are works of art that engage with and transform the form of a book. Some are mass-produced with multiple editions, some are published in small editions, while others are produced as one-of-a-kind ob ...

, and three video games. A

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

manga series, titled ''

Soul Eater Not! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Atsushi Ohkubo. It is a spin-off to Ohkubo's ''Soul Eater'' manga series, taking place prior to the events of the manga. It was serialized in Square Enix's ''Monthly Shōnen Gangan'' maga ...

'', was serialized in ''Monthly Shōnen Gangan'' from January 2011 to November 2014. ''Soul Eater'' was licensed for distribution in North America by

Yen Press Yen Press is an American manga, graphic novel and light novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published '' Yen Plus'', a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, ...

; it was serialized in Yen Press' ''

Yen Plus ''Yen Plus'' was an American monthly anthology magazine of Japanese manga, Korean manhwa, and original English-language (OEL) manga published by Yen Press. History The first issue of ''Yen Plus'' went on sale on July 29, 2008, with five manga ...

'' manga anthology starting in July 2008, and the first manga volume was released in October 2009. The anime series has been licensed in English by

Funimation Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...

(later Crunchyroll). The ''Soul Eater'' manga had 20.4 million copies in circulation by February 2022. The manga and anime have garnered positive reception for their distinctive Gothic aesthetic—frequently likened to

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

's ''

The Nightmare Before Christmas ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (formerly known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American stop motion Animation, animated Gothic film, gothic musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick in his f ...

''—though some critics have noted excessive

fanservice , fanservice or Example: A frame (numbered "25") from the English opening sequence of '' New Cutie Honey'', in which character Danbei Hayami fires a Rocket Punch as main character Honey Kisaragi lies topless and prone in the background, i ...

and conventional tropes.

Synopsis

Setting

''Soul Eater'' is set at — for short—located in the fictional Death City in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, United States. The school is run by

, also known as

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

, as a training facility for humans with the ability to transform into weapons, as well as the wielders of those weapons, called . Attending this school are

Maka Albarn The '' Soul Eater'' manga and anime series features an extensive cast of fictional characters created by Atsushi Ohkubo. It is set in a fictional universe inhabited by various characters capable of using supernatural powers by channeling the w ...

and her

scythe A scythe (, rhyming with ''writhe'') is an agriculture, agricultural hand-tool for mowing grass or Harvest, harvesting Crop, crops. It was historically used to cut down or reaping, reap edible grain, grains before they underwent the process of ...

partner,

Soul Eater is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Atsushi Ohkubo. Set at the "Death Weapon Meister Academy", the series revolves around three teams, each consisting of a weapon meister and at least one human that can transform into a w ...

; assassin Black Star and his partner,

Tsubaki Nakatsukasa The ''Soul Eater (manga), Soul Eater'' manga and anime series features an extensive cast of Character (arts), fictional characters created by Atsushi Ohkubo. It is set in a fictional universe inhabited by various characters capable of using supe ...

, who turns into various

ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

weapons; and Shinigami's son, Death the Kid, and his pistol partners, Liz and Patty Thompson. The meister students' goal is to have their weapons absorb the souls of 99 evil humans and one witch, which dramatically increases the weapon's power and turns them into "death scythes" used by Shinigami.

Plot

Maka and Soul battle the witch

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; ), also called Gorgo () or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her wa ...

, who forces Crona, her child and meister of the demon sword Ragnarok, to collect non-evil human souls and eventually transform into a , an evil god. Medusa and her cohorts attack DWMA to revive

Asura Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the wor ...

, the first ''kishin'' who nearly plunged the entire world into madness before being sealed beneath DWMA by Shinigami. Despite the combined efforts of Maka, Black Star, and Death the Kid, Medusa's group successfully revives Asura, who leaves to spread chaos around the world after a brief battle with Shinigami. Medusa is seemingly killed by meister and DWMA teacher Franken Stein, while Crona surrenders to DWMA and enrolls there. As a result of Asura's spreading madness, Medusa's sister

Arachne Arachne (; from , cognate with Latin ) is the protagonist of a tale in classical mythology known primarily from the version told by the Roman poet Ovid (43 BCE–17 CE). In Book Six of his epic poem ''Metamorphoses'', Ovid recounts how ...

comes out of hiding and reforms her organization, Arachnophobia, which poses a serious threat to DWMA. Shinigami calls in death scythes from around the world to aid in the fight against Arachnophobia. During this time, Medusa reappears with her soul possessing the body of a young girl, and forms a truce with DWMA so they can annihilate Arachnophobia together. The DWMA students and Medusa's entourage infiltrate Arachnophobia's headquarters, where Maka kills Arachne, only for Medusa to betray DWMA, possess Arachne's body, and brainwash Crona into rejoining her. Meanwhile, Death the Kid is captured by

Noah Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...

, an artificial construct created from the

Book of Eibon Many fictional works of arcane literature appear in H. P. Lovecraft's cycle of interconnected works often known as the Cthulhu Mythos. The main literary purpose of these works is to explain how characters within the tales come by occult or esot ...

. Following this, Maka uses Arachne's soul to turn Soul into a death scythe. The duo become part of the newly formed meister unit Spartoi along with their friends, who rescue Death the Kid and defeat Noah. Crona resurfaces in a city in Russia, destroying it and the death scythe stationed there, before being provoked by Medusa into killing her and getting taken by insanity. Maka is ordered by Shinigami to hunt down Crona; while searching for Crona with her powers, she unwittingly detects Asura's location on the cartoonish

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

within the atmosphere. DWMA launches an attack on the moon to defeat Asura, aided by the witches after Death the Kid convinces them to establish a temporary alliance. During the battle, Crona absorbs Asura's body before being overtaken by him. Maka, Black Star, and Death the Kid eventually restore Crona's sanity and defeat Asura by sealing him on the moon with his own blood; Crona willingly remains with Asura to keep him imprisoned, and Maka promises to one day rescue Crona. The DWMA forces return to Earth, where Death the Kid becomes the new Shinigami following his father's death, and establishes a peace treaty with the witches.

Production

After the end of his first manga series, '' B.Ichi'', Atsushi Ohkubo created a one-shot story called "Soul Eater" published in June 2003 by '' Gangan Powered''. Japanese readers were so fascinated by it that Ohkubo created two other one-shots called "Black Star" and "Death the Kid", published in September and November 2003, respectively. Since the results were high, the editor of

Gangan Comics is a manga imprint owned by Square Enix Holdings. It originated as a manga imprint for Enix before the company merged with Square to form Square Enix. It publishes manga in several anthologies aimed at different reader demographic groups in ...

asked Ohkubo to create a series from his one-shots which became the introductory chapters to ''Soul Eater''. In an interview, Ohkubo said that the series was greatly inspired by ideas from

's animations, and by concepts from

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has List of best-sell ...

's ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

''. Ohkubo also stated he decided to make the main protagonist of the series,

, a female to differ from the traditional male hero found in most manga, and paired her and the other main characters with those of the opposite sex to demonstrate an equal representation of gender. He also said the series' title, ''Soul Eater'', was intended to refer to

and his desire to eat innocent souls, and not to the character, Soul "Eater" Evans. Ohkubo has explained that, when he began ''Soul Eater'', he already had the plot and details like the DWMA fully formed and shared with his editors. He thought too many manga had characters who were developed through flashbacks, which he considered too clever. Therefore, he decided to develop his characters in the present rather than referring to their pasts, and to focus on "action and momentum," so he could "write freely".

Media

Manga

Atsushi Ohkubo wrote three

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'', a ...

chapters published by

. and were published in the summer and autumn special editions of '' Gangan Powered'', released on June 24 and September 22, 2003, respectively; the third one-shot, "Death the Kid", was published in '' Gangan Wing'' on November 26, 2003. ''Soul Eater'' started in Square Enix's manga magazine ''

'' on May 12, 2004, and finished after a nine-year run in the magazine on August 12, 2013. Square Enix compiled the series' 113 individual chapters into 25 volumes, released under its

imprint, between June 22, 2004, and December 12, 2013. Square Enix republished the series in a seventeen-volume edition, titled ''Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition'', released from July 12, 2019, to March 12, 2020. The manga has been licensed by

for distribution in English in North America. The manga was initially serialized in Yen Press' ''

'' anthology magazine; the first issue went on sale on July 29, 2008. The first English volume of the manga was published on October 27, 2009. The last volume was published on March 24, 2015. In July 2019, Square Enix announced the English release of ''Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition''. The first volume was released on July 28, 2020. Another manga series by Ohkubo, ''

'', which ran alongside the main series, was serialized in ''Monthly Shōnen Gangan'' from January 12, 2011, to November 10, 2014. Five volumes were released between September 22, 2011, and December 22, 2014. It was licensed by Yen Press in North America, with its five volumes released from July 24, 2012, and August 4, 2015.

Drama CD

drama CD Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

was released on August 31, 2005, by

titled . The CD came bundled with an art book and a script of the CD dialogue. Of the cast used for the drama CD, only Black Star's voice actress

Yumiko Kobayashi is a freelance Japanese voice actress from Chiba Prefecture. She was formerly affiliated with Arts Vision until August 2007. She made her voice acting debut as Mita in '' Kirara'' while still in college in 1998, and her first lead role was as K ...

was retained for the anime voice cast.

Anime

A 51-episode

adaptation was directed by

Takuya Igarashi is a Japanese freelance storyboard artist and director who has worked for Toei Animation and currently Bones. He has also sometimes used the alias . Anime involved in Director ''TV Series'' ''Films'' Other *'' Alien Nine'': Episode Dire ...

and produced by

Aniplex Aniplex, Inc. (株式会社アニプレックス, ''Kabushiki-gaisha Anipurekkusu'') is a Japanese entertainment company and a subsidiary of Sony, Sony Group Corporation, founded in September 1995 by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The company fo ...

Dentsu , simply known as , stylized as dentsu, is a Japanese international advertising and public relations joint stock company headquartered in Tokyo. Dentsu is the largest advertising agency in Japan and the fifth largest advertising agency network in ...

Media Factory , formerly known as , was a Japanese publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing. History The company was founded on December 1, 1986, and was a subsidiary of Recruit (Japanese company), Recruit Co., Ltd., based in Shibuya, Tokyo. ...

, and

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.Shinji Aramaki is a Japanese anime director and mechanical designer from Fukuoka Prefecture. He graduated from Fukuoka Prefectural Fukuoka High School and Okayama University. He was a member of Artmic and is currently the Chief Creative Officer (CCO) at ...

. The episodes aired on TV Tokyo between April 7, 2008, and March 30, 2009, and two animated specials aired on May 29 and June 1, 2008. The series aired in two versions: the regular evening broadcast and a late-night "''Soul Eater'' Late Show" version, which included special footage. The dual broadcast of the series was billed as the "world's first evening and late-night resonance broadcast". The "resonance" term refers to a story concept in which Maka and her living weapon partner, Soul Eater, achieve maximum power by synchronizing their souls. Media Factory collected the episodes in thirteen DVDs, released from August 22, 2008, to August 25, 2009. The series was rebroadcast on TV Tokyo, under the title , on September 30, 2010, featuring new opening and closing themes. Media Factory and

Kadokawa Kadokawa may refer to: *Kadokawa Corporation, the holding company of the Kadokawa Group **Kadokawa Content Gate and Kadokawa Mobile, both former names for BookWalker **Kadokawa Future Publishing, a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the publis ...

brought the two previous Blu-ray box sets together into one box set released on February 26, 2014. In North America, the anime has been licensed by

, who released the series in four half-season DVD box sets starting with the first volume in February 2010. The anime made its North American television debut on

Funimation Channel Funimation was an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime and other foreign entertainment properties in North America. It streamed popula ...

in September 2010. It later aired on

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representativ ...

and s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

Toonami Toonami ( ) is an American late-night television programming block that broadcasts Japanese anime and American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and currently produced by Williams Street, a subsidiary of W ...

programming block from February 17, 2013, to March 16, 2014.

Video games

Three ''Soul Eater'' video games were produced. The first, is an

action-adventure An action-adventure game is a video game genre, video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements f ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

exclusively for the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...

and developed by

with

. It was released on September 25, 2008, in Japan. Two characters that appear in the game, and , are original characters designed by author Ohkubo; Ponera is the titular Monotone Princess and Grimoire is known as

in the manga. A soundtrack called was released as a pre-order bonus CD. The second game, is an

action game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, rhythm games and ...

produced by

Namco Bandai Games is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher, and the video game branch of the wider Bandai Namco Holdings group. Founded in 2006 as it is the successor to Namco's home and arcade video game ...

for the

Nintendo DS The is a foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens worki ...

and was released on October 23, 2008. Despite being created by two different companies, there are similarities between the Nintendo Wii game and the Nintendo DS game. It is a third-person hack-and-slash game. The third game, is a

fighting game The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...

developed by BEC and produced by Namco Bandai Games for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

and

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...

, and was released on January 29, 2009. This game follows the story line of the first 24 episodes of the anime series and allows the player to engage in the training and battles the characters experienced first hand. Along with new costumes and items, the player gets to experience the minds and wardrobes of each playable character.

Music

Six pieces of

theme music Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

are used for the episodes: two opening themes and four ending themes. The first opening theme is "

Resonance Resonance is a phenomenon that occurs when an object or system is subjected to an external force or vibration whose frequency matches a resonant frequency (or resonance frequency) of the system, defined as a frequency that generates a maximu ...

" by T.M.Revolution for the first 30 episodes. The second opening theme is " Papermoon" by

Tommy heavenly6 is a Japanese singer, songwriter, producer, actress, and model from Kyoto. She is the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Brilliant Green. She also has a solo career under the alter-ego pseudonyms Tommy february6 and Tommy heavenly6. ...

from episode 31 onward. The first ending theme is "I Wanna Be" by Stance Punks for the first 13 episodes and the 51 episode. The second ending theme is "Style" by

Kana Nishino is a Japanese Pop music, pop singer signed with Sony Music Entertainment Japan, SME Records' Newcome Inc. She debuted on February 20, 2008, with the single "I". Considered one of Japan's most popular songstresses of the late 2000s and 2010s, s ...

from episode 14 to 26. The third ending theme is by Soul'd Out's Diggy-Mo from episode 27 to 39. The final ending theme is "Strength" by

Abingdon Boys School Abingdon Boys School (stylized as abingdon boys school and abbreviated a.b.s.) is a Japanese rock band formed in 2005. It consists of vocalist Takanori Nishikawa, guitarists Sunao and Hiroshi Shibasaki, and keyboardist Toshiyuki Kishi. They have ...

from episode 40 through episode 50. The anime rebroadcasting features two additional opening and ending themes. The first opening is "Counter Identity" by

Unison Square Garden Unison Square Garden (stylized as UNISON SQUARE GARDEN, or USG) is a Japanese Rock band signed to Toy's Factory. The band includes Kosuke Saito (vocals/guitar), Tomoya Tabuchi (bass/backing vocals), and Takao Suzuki (drums/backing vocals). Career ...

, and the first ending is by

Yui Makino is a Japanese actress, voice actress, singer, and pianist. She is best known for her work in the anime '' Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle'' where she voices Sakura and some of the theme songs for the ''Aria'' anime series. She is associated with ...

. The second opening is by Shion Tsuji and the second ending is "Northern Lights" by How Merry Marry. The first

character song In Japan, an image song or character song is a song on a tie-in single or album (often called an image album or character album) for an anime, video game, drama, manga, or other commercial product that is sometimes sung by the voice actor or ac ...

maxi single A maxi single, maxi-single, or maxi CD (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. Maxi singles are often mistaken for extended plays (EPs), especial ...

sung by

Chiaki Omigawa is a Japanese actress and Voice acting in Japan, voice actress. Career She entered a theatrical company at the age of 4 and started stage activities. After leaving the group at the age of 10, she continued auditioning after receiving her own au ...

(Maka) and

Kōki Uchiyama is a Japanese actor who specializes in voice acting. He is affiliated with Himawari Theatre Group. He won Best Male Rookie at 5th Seiyu Awards. He also received one of Best Voice Actors at Tokyo Anime Award Festival in 2015. Uchiyama's voice r ...

(Soul) was released on August 6, 2008, by

. The second single by

(Black Star) and

Kaori Nazuka is a Japanese actress and singer. She played Tsukasa Ayatsuji in '' Amagami SS'', Nunnally Lamperouge in '' Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion'', the eponymous character in '' Eureka Seven'' and Cosette in '' Les Misérables: Shōjo Cosett ...

(Tsubaki) was released on September 3, 2008, and the third single by

Mamoru Miyano is a Japanese actor and singer. He is best known for his roles in ''Death Note'', ''Steins;Gate'', ''Mobile Suit Gundam 00'', '' Durarara!!'', '' Soul Eater'', ''Wolf's Rain'', '' Ouran High School Host Club'', '' Ajin: Demi-Human'', '' Fullmeta ...

(Kid),

Akeno Watanabe is a Japanese voice actress and narrator affiliated with Office Osawa. Some of her notable voice roles include Robin Sena in '' Witch Hunter Robin'', Chachamaru Karakuri in ''Negima! Magister Negi Magi'', Halle Lidner in ''Death Note'', Rit ...

(Liz), and Narumi Takahira (Patty) was released on October 1, 2008. Composed and produced by

Taku Iwasaki is a Japanese composer and arranger. His hometown is Tokyo, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japa ...

, two CD

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

s have been released for the ''Soul Eater'' anime series. ''Soul Eater Original Soundtrack 1'' was released on August 27, 2008, with 20 tracks, and ''Soul Eater Original Soundtrack 2'' was released on March 18, 2009, with 22 tracks by Aniplex. The theme song for ''Soul Eater: Monotone Princess'' is "Soul's Crossing" sung by T.M.Revolution, and is included on the "Resonance" single.

Other media

art exhibition An art exhibition is traditionally the space in which art objects (in the most general sense) meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is occasionally true, it is stated to be a "permanen ...

to celebrate the series' 20th anniversary is set to run at Tokyo's Space Galleria from August 23 to September 23, 2024, and at Osaka's Space Gratus from October 25 to November 25 of the same year. A special video featuring

and

Koki Uchiyama is a Japanese actor who specializes in voice acting. He is affiliated with Himawari Theatre Group. He won Best Male Rookie at 5th Seiyu Awards. He also received one of Best Voice Actors at Tokyo Anime Award Festival in 2015. Uchiyama's voice ...

, Maka and Soul's voice actors respectively, was released alongside a teaser visual for the event.

Reception

Manga

''Soul Eater'' was the seventh best-selling manga in 2008, with 3,076,351 copies sold. By October 2012, the manga had over 13 million copies in circulation; by April 2018, the manga had sold 18.2 million copies worldwide. By July 2019, it had 19.6 million copies in circulation, and by February 2022, it had over 20.4 million copies in circulation. Danielle Leigh of ''

Comic Book Resources ''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...

'' praised the first volume's stylish visuals, comparing Ohkubo's art to

's ''

'' and '' The Corpse Bride'', noting its effective pairing with references to

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also ...

and ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

''. However, she criticized its excessive

and "pattern-oriented, shallow" art style. Penny Kenny of ''Manga Life'' awarded it a "B+", commending its dynamic action sequences and varied art styles ranging from ''

Blade of the Immortal is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroaki Samura. It was serialized in Kodansha's Seinen manga, manga magazine ''Monthly Afternoon'' from June 1993 to December 2012, with its chapters collected in 30 volumes. The ...

'' to ''

Yu-Gi-Oh! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuki Takahashi. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' between September 1996 and March 2004, with its chapters collected in 38 volumes. The ...

'' and Burton-esque aesthetics. Julian Gnam of ''

Otaku USA ''Otaku USA'' is a bimonthly magazine published by Sovereign Media, which covers various elements of the "otaku" lifestyle (such as anime, manga, video games, cosplay and Japanese popular music) from an American perspective. The issues were acc ...

'' appreciated its weapon-meister dynamics, but found the plot conventional and the fanservice excessive, though noted its accessibility for casual readers. Chris Zimmerman of ''Comic Book Bin'' rated the second volume 7.5/10, praising its creative character designs and action, but criticizing its lack of character development and formulaic structure.

Shaenon Garrity Shaenon K. Garrity is an American webcomic creator and science-fiction author best known for her webcomics '' Narbonic'' and '' Skin Horse''. She collaborated with various artists to write webcomics for the Modern Tales-family of webcomic subs ...

of ''

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...

'' awarded the first two volumes 2/5 stars, describing its world as a "hyperkinetic Halloween" that is equally similar to ''

Shaman King is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroyuki Takei. It follows the adventures of Yoh Asakura as he attempts to hone his shaman skills to become the Shaman King by winning the Shaman Fight. Takei chose shamanism as the m ...

'', ''

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1987 to 2004, and was transferred to the monthly manga magazine ''Ultra Jum ...

'', and ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'', but criticized its "bland characters" and "meandering story." Nicholas Dupree of ''

Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...

'' gave ''Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition'' a B+, praising its unique charm and Gothic aesthetics, but felt that its humor has aged poorly and criticized its excessive sexualized content.

Anime

Critics praised ''Soul Eater'' for its distinctive Gothic aesthetic and energetic execution. Casey Brienza of ''

'' (''ANN'') observed that despite conventional tournament tropes, the series' Burton-inspired visuals (comparing it to ''

Beetlejuice ''Beetlejuice'' is a 1988 American Gothic film, gothic dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Michael McDowell (author), Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren based on a story by McDowell and Larry Wilson (sc ...

'' and ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'') demonstrate greater stylistic refinement than the comparable ''

D.Gray-man ''D.Gray-man'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Katsura Hoshino. Set in an alternate 19th century, it tells the story of a young Allen Walker, who joins an organization of exorcists named the Black Order. They use an ...

'' series. Jacob Hope Chapman described it as " rk but lively, visually imaginative, explosive great fun." James Brusuelas of ''

Animation World Network Animation World Network (often just "AWN") is an online publishing group that specializes in resources for animators, with an extensive website offering news, articles and links for professional animators and animation fans. Content Specifically ...

'' highlighted its unapologetic entertainment value as "a series that takes the guilt out of your guilty pleasure." The animation style received particular acclaim. Holly Ellingwood of ''Active Anime'' noted its "zany yet creepy" quality and consistent visual flair, while Sandra Scholes praised its "dark humour in a Gothic vein", and found the series similar to ''D.Gray-man'' and ''

Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

'', with art reminiscent of

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...

videos. Chris Zimmerman of ''ComicBookBin'' awarded an "A−" rating, praising studio Bones' cinematic design and "eye pleasing animation" within conventions. Zimmerman later gave the ''Meister Collection'' Blu-ray set an A+ for balancing "flashy fights and themes of friendship" with exceptional production values. Reviewers emphasized its Western influences. Jason Green noted its death god concepts executed with ''

Gurren Lagann ''Gurren Lagann'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese mecha anime television series animated by Gainax and co-produced by Aniplex and Konami. It ran for 27 episodes on TV Tokyo between April and September 2007. It was directed by Hiroyu ...

''-style energy rather than ''

Death Note ''Death Note'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from December 2003 to ...

'' seriousness, featuring characters inspired by

, ''

The Blair Witch Project ''The Blair Witch Project'' is a 1999 American psychological horror film written, directed, and edited by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez. One of the most successful independent films of all time, it is a " found footage" pseudo-docume ...

'', and other Western icons. Paul Chapman emphasized the series' incorporation of American horror motifs and varied architectural designs, describing the conclusion as competent though not particularly innovative. Serdar Yegulalp praised its climactic "gloriously absurd wide-scale action" evoking ''Gurren Lagann'' and ''

Neon Genesis Evangelion , also known as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production, and directed by Hideaki Anno. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from October 1995 to March 1 ...

''. The series appeared sixth in Charles Solomon's ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' top ten anime series and was featured in Yegulalp's essential anime guide. Kara Dennison included it among ''

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

s recommended Halloween anime, while Stephanie Donaldson and Jacki Jing (''ANN'') listed it among anime deserving reboots. ''Soul Eater'' was one of the Jury Recommended Works at the 12th

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival was an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by ...

in 2008.

Notes

References

External links

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