I think I've mentioned Soul Eater here before because I love it so much, but let me just give you a quick rundown. Soul Eater is the story of a group of very special kids at a school created by Lord Death, the grim reaper himself. Some of these kids are meisters, very strong fighters with supernatural abilities. And some of these kids are weapons, humans with an amazing power to transform their bodies into swords, knives, guns, etc. Students are put into teams of two partners, one weapon and one meister to wield them. They hunt down evil people and take their souls back to Lord Death to keep them from bringing darkness into the world.
The manga is a fantastic mix of action and comedy. This is a series that has all the drama you want, but doesn't take itself too seriously. Each character is unique - Lord Death's son is one of the students, with two weapons, sisters who can transform into pistols; there's a young assassin who is the last of his tribe, who wields a very special ninja's weapon; and our main characters are Maka Albarn, the daughter of Lord Death's current weapon, and her partner Soul Evans, who is of course the traditional scythe. The anime features each of them and many more, and follows their development almost as deeply as the books.
The most appealing thing about Soul Eater, for me, is the art style. Ohkubo has a very distinct look to his manga, and to see it in motion in the anime is really incredible. And the similarity between the original manga and the animated adaptation is uncanny.
So really, if the characters and look are the same, where does the show deviate from the books? That's where we turn to the plotline. You see, the show is over. There were only 51 episodes. The manga is still being published (in English). We're currently awaiting book 22 later this month. I'm not sure why the anime had to be wrapped up so quickly, but that does mean that the end to the show had to take some creative liberties. It follows the manga nearly perfectly until you get to book 12. About halfway through book twelve, you get to where the anime veered off to create their ending while the manga continues in a different direction. There is actually a whole second arc that I believe could be done in a season two of the anime, but I doubt it will happen.
Next week Showdown September continues with a bit of a twist. I think you all will really like it. It's something I've been wanting to do for a very long time. So be sure to return for more, and thank you for stopping by!