Genre(s): Shonen, Comedy, Dark Fantasy
Age-Appropriateness: 14+ (Blood, minor language, frightening imagery, occasional suggestive themes)
Platforms: Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hulu
Episodes: 51
TheAwersome Rating: 8.2 / 10 (Somewhat niche-y, but if you’re into it definitely worth your time, bingeable)
Premise: At Death Weapon Meister Academy (DWMA) in Death City, there are two categories of students: Weapons, and Weapon Meisters. Each Meister trains with their partner, a sentient Weapon that can take human form, in order to collect 99 souls of evil humans and one witch’s soul. Doing so will transform the weapon into a “Death Scythe” fit for use by the academy’s headmaster, Lord Death himself. That is of course, if Death can stop cracking jokes and be serious for a minute. But it seems that lately the witches haven’t taken too kindly to having their souls be targeted by the DWMA, and are up to something…
TheAwersome’s Thoughts: Despite being the embodiment of 2003-2004’s “Scene” fad, this is a fantastic anime with a lot of heart in it (I’m going to opt out of the obvious pun). If you never much appreciated the Tim Burton/Hot Topic “thing,” it might take a few episodes to get over the style and vibe of this show, but once you do you have a great story set in a unique world with a very fun cast of characters. Soul Eater does a very good job with exploring the characters’ stories and development in-depth without being tedious or slowing down the pace of the show (*glares at Bleach*). And much to my surprise there was actual, lasting character development!
Soul Eater tackles some difficult and heavy issues in a way that I appreciated, and as such there are some rather emotional episodes. If there were to be an overarching message from the show, it’s that it doesn’t matter if you’re not perfect, even if you think yourself to be broken or have serious problems you’re dealing with, you can still make a positive difference and are worth it. がんばって！
TLDR: Take Hogwarts, throw it into HalloweenTown, and add sentient weapons and general anime Shonen vibes. The result is a surprisingly enjoyable ride that tackles some heavy issues.
You’ll likely enjoy this if you enjoyed:
- Great shonen action in Demon Slayer, Naruto
- Dark Fantasy and psychological elements of Madoka, Ancient Magus’ Bride
- Anything Tim Burton flavored, Harry Potter
At a Glance Anime 