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[anime] Soul Eater #1-7
( my specific reactions to episode 1, never posted them until now. )
General Thoughts: I'm a little confused about what the distinction is between a human, a meister, and a weapon. In episode 1 Soul says that he's not a human, he's a weapon who happens to have human form. But Maka is human, albeit a meister, and her father is a weapon. So... are they human or not?
When I started the show, I was assuming that when Soul Eater said he was a weapon, that it meant that his "self" is a device, a tool, not unlike a cyborg (or a demon), and that the human form is just a convenience, as I might wear a wool coat but no one would ever assume that I was a sheep. As I've gone another several episodes, it looks to me like rather than being a weapon that transforms into a human, Soul is more like a human that transforms into a weapon. Important linguistic distinction.
This makes the whole concept slightly less cool, in my opinion. I rather like the idea of the weapons as being a separate "species" if one could call them that, something fundamentally distinct and not human, especially if they're forged, or created, like the name 'weapon' implies. But if Death Scythe is Maka's father then clearly being a weapon or being a meister is more like having a talent than actually defining what you are in the physical sense. That seems a little lame, a little to easy, because it takes away the alienness and the menace of what Soul Eater is/does. Right now it just looks like another generic kind of shapeshifting, only he's able to turn into a giant scythe instead of something cool like a falcon. I hope the show elaborates on this more in the future.
Characters: I could do with less of the almost-pornographic fanservice, especially since it's in a series that's otherwise very teenybopper and shonen in its presentation, like something for the 10-15 age range. But when the show moves away from that and focuses on the partnership between Maka and Soul, it gets more interesting. I like that they're partners in the work that they do. Equal partners mostly, but if anyone is in charge it's clearly the meister, in this case Maka. I was watching this episode and trying to think of another anime series where there's an ongoing job to do and the male and female character share an equal, co-dependent partnership like we see here. I've seen tv shows that have it (Bones, X Files, even Sanctuary in a way), but I don't know if I've ever seen a partnership presented like this in an anime before. Usually we get teams or one person and his/her sidekicks.
Side rant: Will someone explain to me why Death Kid and Black Star's weapon partners appear naked when reflected in their weapon form, but Soul Eater has all of his clothes on? That's so nonsensical that it's past annoying fanservice and into rage-inducing pointlessness.
Music: I like the opening song, but the closing song follows the same irritating pattern of rock bands of the last decade of having singing/screaming in alternating choruses/verses with no original composition style whatsoever.
General Thoughts: I'm a little confused about what the distinction is between a human, a meister, and a weapon. In episode 1 Soul says that he's not a human, he's a weapon who happens to have human form. But Maka is human, albeit a meister, and her father is a weapon. So... are they human or not?
When I started the show, I was assuming that when Soul Eater said he was a weapon, that it meant that his "self" is a device, a tool, not unlike a cyborg (or a demon), and that the human form is just a convenience, as I might wear a wool coat but no one would ever assume that I was a sheep. As I've gone another several episodes, it looks to me like rather than being a weapon that transforms into a human, Soul is more like a human that transforms into a weapon. Important linguistic distinction.
This makes the whole concept slightly less cool, in my opinion. I rather like the idea of the weapons as being a separate "species" if one could call them that, something fundamentally distinct and not human, especially if they're forged, or created, like the name 'weapon' implies. But if Death Scythe is Maka's father then clearly being a weapon or being a meister is more like having a talent than actually defining what you are in the physical sense. That seems a little lame, a little to easy, because it takes away the alienness and the menace of what Soul Eater is/does. Right now it just looks like another generic kind of shapeshifting, only he's able to turn into a giant scythe instead of something cool like a falcon. I hope the show elaborates on this more in the future.
Characters: I could do with less of the almost-pornographic fanservice, especially since it's in a series that's otherwise very teenybopper and shonen in its presentation, like something for the 10-15 age range. But when the show moves away from that and focuses on the partnership between Maka and Soul, it gets more interesting. I like that they're partners in the work that they do. Equal partners mostly, but if anyone is in charge it's clearly the meister, in this case Maka. I was watching this episode and trying to think of another anime series where there's an ongoing job to do and the male and female character share an equal, co-dependent partnership like we see here. I've seen tv shows that have it (Bones, X Files, even Sanctuary in a way), but I don't know if I've ever seen a partnership presented like this in an anime before. Usually we get teams or one person and his/her sidekicks.
Side rant: Will someone explain to me why Death Kid and Black Star's weapon partners appear naked when reflected in their weapon form, but Soul Eater has all of his clothes on? That's so nonsensical that it's past annoying fanservice and into rage-inducing pointlessness.
Music: I like the opening song, but the closing song follows the same irritating pattern of rock bands of the last decade of having singing/screaming in alternating choruses/verses with no original composition style whatsoever.