It would be easy to discount “Soul Eater” as just another quirky shonen for the kiddies, but despite the show’s decidedly immature sense of humor, there’s a lot more to the anime than silly pratfalls and goofy faces. Set at the Death Weapon Meister Academy in Death City, the series follows three teams of students as they battle supernatural forces in an attempt to collect the souls of 99 evil beings and one witch, thus making them powerful enough to become one of the Grim Reaper’s personal Death Scythes. Each team consists of a Meister and a Weapon, and while Maka and Soul (who transforms into a razor-sharp blade during battle) could be considered the main protagonists, they’re also joined by friends like Black Star and Tsubaki, as well as Grim Reaper’s son, Death the Kid. It’s a concept that could have easily fallen victim to a monster-of-the-week formula, but thankfully, it has an overarching story that holds your interest beyond just the fight sequences. The show does take some time to get going (it spends four episodes introducing its large cast of characters), but once all the niceties are out of the way, “Soul Eater” moves at such a brisk pace that you’ll be left wanting more. It’s still mostly targeted towards the teenage set, but thanks to some Tim Burton-esque aesthetics (think “A Nightmare Before Christmas”), there’s no reason you won’t enjoy it as well.
