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Saturday, June 5, 2010

DVD Review: New villains and twists in "Soul Eater"

The third box set of "Soul Eater" brings in some more villains to twist the story into a visually exciting thriller.

This series has a bad habit of rehashing much of the same shonen formulas, by adding in more opponents. From the start, the new goth-dressing woman and her band of misfits seem to have nothing to do with the ultra-powerful demon god which was introduced in the previous story arc.

So the series struggles to tie the connection to these new villains, led by a woman in a black dress named Arachnophobia. However, the series has always maintained an spectacular collection of powerful fight sequences. Everything is packed in Episodes 27 to 39. There's a brawler who fights with chainsaws on his limbs and a midget who can transform into a rolling gorilla.

Among other things, Death the Kid takes center stage in an incredible battle on a flying train. That's right: he fights in an epic battle on a train which almost resembles the one in the old classic, "Galaxy Express 999." This sequence is one of the best in the entire series.


Although the plot seems to make almost no sense as it plods along, there are plenty of clear stories to tell. Arachnophobia is seeking to spread madness throughout the world so that everyone will be her slave. Crona, the purple-haired boy who once tried to kill Maka and Soul, is now their friend and classmate. However, the boy's mother, Medusa, uses him for other fiendish purposes in this show.

I still have issues with how the story is structured. The focus on "Soul Eater" tends to zero in more on the battles than on the actual story, which wasn't that interesting to begin with. Thankfully, "Soul Eater" characterizes its run with some of the most impressive battles to ever grace a shonen series. And if anyone needs their fix of wanton violence and humongous fights, this show packs it all.

Image courtesy of photobucket.com

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