<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/2010-10-2513530411m.jpg">
<b>Review of Soul Eater #3 by Raz112</b>
The last volume saw the end of the Medusa arc, with the apparent demise of the Snake Witch Medusa and the escape of Death's grand nemesis: the Kishin Asura, now able to spread madness and chaos across the world. With Death calling an emergency meeting and bringing nearly all the Death Scythes together, they set off in search of Asura. To gain an idea of where he could be, they look for instances where madness seems to have set in, which leads Maka and Crona to an area called Loew Village. It was here they met a mysterious figure known as Giriko and a golem that was inexplicably able to move. Giriko then became a weapon for the golem, and attacked Maka and Crona.
This volume starts where the last left off, with the fight continuing between Maka, Crona and a mysterious old golem using Giriko as its weapon. When Stein solves the mystery regarding the golem's existence and nature, he also uncovers the significance of that village, and the most likely identity of the heretic soul hidden within the golem itself. That soul reveals itself to be the Spider Witch Arachne. Crona is frozen with fear upon seeing her face for a very good reason, and Maka is immobilised by her web. Just as doom leers, Justin, the young Priest Death Scythe with an affinity for hip-hop, appears in the nick of time; forcing Giriko and Arachne to strategically retreat with a little old man named Mosquito, who leads them back to their lair. These events signal the rebirth of an organisation called Arachnophobia.
Arachne's plot involves assembling all the various magic tools created by an apparently evil and mysterious wizard called Eibon, in order to use them against Death and defeat him. Death strives to stop her, leading to, among other things, a head-on assault on Lost Island for Eibon's most coveted weapon; the Brew. As this happens, we see that not everything is as it seems and certain anomalies starts to appear. Furthermore, some odd behaviour inside the DWMA, including from Death himself, makes Death the Kid suspicious and pushes him to investigate. This leads to many questions he's desperate for an answer to, such as the truth of what exactly happened on Lost Island many years ago, the true nature of Eibon and the relationship between him, Death, and Arachne. Kid's progress leaves him tormented and confused, questioning his judgement and faith in his role model and father.
Death the Kid is not the only one who is preoccupied, as most characters have their fair share of problems. The other main students all seem to be having confidence issues and the insatiable thirst for power. Maka suffers from jealousy over Blackstar's seemingly insurmountable strength, doubting herself and her abilities and questioning why she is not improving. Soul Eater begins to question his own strength upon seeing the nature of Giriko, awed by the capacity of his power as a weapon. This leads him towards a dangerous path down which he had already tread once before. Blackstar is also having confidence issues regarding the repetitive nature of his results in battle in spite of his hardest efforts. With his pride battered, he sees something unexpected within him that almost shakes him to the core. Crona becomes torn over his loyalty, having to choose between family or friends. Other problems facing characters include Sid's and Naigus' faith in Death's motives and actions, Mifune negotiating between his morals and his responsibility protecting Angela, and Stein's descent into madness as certain influences go undetected and unchecked.
All of this, plus the reintroduction of other DWMA students into the foreground has drawn criticism of overcrowding of characters and subplots, resulting in poor development and a disconnected collection of episodes. I would argue against these criticisms on the whole. One can argue that five significant new characters is a substantial number in most series, when they are being added to the already numerous known characters over thirteen episodes. However, if their screen time is handled effectively, it does not become a hindrance and serves to possibly enhance the story further. This is dependent on the plotline and whether they provide character development as well; here it is generally well done for most of the characters. As for the revival of some older characters, they are relevant to the plot and worthy additions. To not include them - especially the other students - could then be seen as a wasted opportunity. The subplots are also imperative to the story; most of them are part of the characters' development, and they relate in some shape or form to content from the earlier volumes, showing continuity and progression. Every episode, save for the obligatory Excalibur episode, has built upon the plot of the anime. Apart from the two minute recap after the three episode battle at Lost Island, there was also no filler to speak of. Though many state that this is a new plot, arc given the introduction of a new villain and new additions to the cast, the fact that the episodes connect interestingly with present and past characters makes the story feel more substantial and intriguing than convoluted drivel.
Although there's the usual amount of exquisite action, with all of this plot development concentrated in this particular volume, the flow is somewhat hampered at times. Indeed, the series' usual adrenaline is completely absent in key moments, especially at the end of the collection this time. Instead the series opts for a plot twist cliffhanger end to this instalment, which isn't so bad; it makes a change after all.
The video quality as usual is superb for DVD, providing a crisp and vibrant picture, full of colour with well-drawn characters and environments. The audio is the same as always; the Japanese dub is of a higher quality yet it suffers from western priorities of granting a 5.1 mix to the English dub only. Still, both are adequate to listen to. New songs were added again for the opening and ending respectively. The opening changes to yet another exciting sequence, whereas the song, despite its suspect lyrics, is a nice rock number that won't affect your love for the show. The ending is hip-hop with an urban, brick-walled, graffiti-filled end segment, which really gets going in the chorus with its funky sounds. Again, it's pretty catchy, which is of course the aim.
The extras are the same as usual, with the wonderful and often very funny Late Show skits, a commentary track for one episode, and textless videos for the new songs.
In this collection we see the birth of both a new arc, and a new villian in Spider Witch Arachne. However, as mentioned before, despite this being a new arc it has become clear that everything is connected. This collection - while not ending with a bang - provides a lot of interesting questions waiting to be answered, as well as some surprising plot developments and twists that will keep you on your toes, waiting for the next collection to see how all is resolved. This will still split people because of some of the concerns people have mentioned above. Though I never understand the logic of starting a series from the middle, given that the series is usually delivered to us in instalments we must take into account the possibility that some people will do so. If so, this is perhaps the weakest of the three Soul Eater sets so far, but not to the degree that other fans have implied. Its significance will most likely be more appreciated with the final collection, when everything should finally come to a head. Until that day comes we will be left pondering how everything will end.<br>
<b>Final score: 8 out of 10</b>
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2010-10-25vlcsnap-2010-10-26-05h08m33s179.png">
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2010-10-25vlcsnap-2010-10-26-05h26m13s3.png">
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2010-10-25vlcsnap-2010-10-26-05h31m04s105.png">
<b>Review of Soul Eater #3 by Raz112</b>
The last volume saw the end of the Medusa arc, with the apparent demise of the Snake Witch Medusa and the escape of Death's grand nemesis: the Kishin Asura, now able to spread madness and chaos across the world. With Death calling an emergency meeting and bringing nearly all the Death Scythes together, they set off in search of Asura. To gain an idea of where he could be, they look for instances where madness seems to have set in, which leads Maka and Crona to an area called Loew Village. It was here they met a mysterious figure known as Giriko and a golem that was inexplicably able to move. Giriko then became a weapon for the golem, and attacked Maka and Crona.
This volume starts where the last left off, with the fight continuing between Maka, Crona and a mysterious old golem using Giriko as its weapon. When Stein solves the mystery regarding the golem's existence and nature, he also uncovers the significance of that village, and the most likely identity of the heretic soul hidden within the golem itself. That soul reveals itself to be the Spider Witch Arachne. Crona is frozen with fear upon seeing her face for a very good reason, and Maka is immobilised by her web. Just as doom leers, Justin, the young Priest Death Scythe with an affinity for hip-hop, appears in the nick of time; forcing Giriko and Arachne to strategically retreat with a little old man named Mosquito, who leads them back to their lair. These events signal the rebirth of an organisation called Arachnophobia.
Arachne's plot involves assembling all the various magic tools created by an apparently evil and mysterious wizard called Eibon, in order to use them against Death and defeat him. Death strives to stop her, leading to, among other things, a head-on assault on Lost Island for Eibon's most coveted weapon; the Brew. As this happens, we see that not everything is as it seems and certain anomalies starts to appear. Furthermore, some odd behaviour inside the DWMA, including from Death himself, makes Death the Kid suspicious and pushes him to investigate. This leads to many questions he's desperate for an answer to, such as the truth of what exactly happened on Lost Island many years ago, the true nature of Eibon and the relationship between him, Death, and Arachne. Kid's progress leaves him tormented and confused, questioning his judgement and faith in his role model and father.
Death the Kid is not the only one who is preoccupied, as most characters have their fair share of problems. The other main students all seem to be having confidence issues and the insatiable thirst for power. Maka suffers from jealousy over Blackstar's seemingly insurmountable strength, doubting herself and her abilities and questioning why she is not improving. Soul Eater begins to question his own strength upon seeing the nature of Giriko, awed by the capacity of his power as a weapon. This leads him towards a dangerous path down which he had already tread once before. Blackstar is also having confidence issues regarding the repetitive nature of his results in battle in spite of his hardest efforts. With his pride battered, he sees something unexpected within him that almost shakes him to the core. Crona becomes torn over his loyalty, having to choose between family or friends. Other problems facing characters include Sid's and Naigus' faith in Death's motives and actions, Mifune negotiating between his morals and his responsibility protecting Angela, and Stein's descent into madness as certain influences go undetected and unchecked.
All of this, plus the reintroduction of other DWMA students into the foreground has drawn criticism of overcrowding of characters and subplots, resulting in poor development and a disconnected collection of episodes. I would argue against these criticisms on the whole. One can argue that five significant new characters is a substantial number in most series, when they are being added to the already numerous known characters over thirteen episodes. However, if their screen time is handled effectively, it does not become a hindrance and serves to possibly enhance the story further. This is dependent on the plotline and whether they provide character development as well; here it is generally well done for most of the characters. As for the revival of some older characters, they are relevant to the plot and worthy additions. To not include them - especially the other students - could then be seen as a wasted opportunity. The subplots are also imperative to the story; most of them are part of the characters' development, and they relate in some shape or form to content from the earlier volumes, showing continuity and progression. Every episode, save for the obligatory Excalibur episode, has built upon the plot of the anime. Apart from the two minute recap after the three episode battle at Lost Island, there was also no filler to speak of. Though many state that this is a new plot, arc given the introduction of a new villain and new additions to the cast, the fact that the episodes connect interestingly with present and past characters makes the story feel more substantial and intriguing than convoluted drivel.
Although there's the usual amount of exquisite action, with all of this plot development concentrated in this particular volume, the flow is somewhat hampered at times. Indeed, the series' usual adrenaline is completely absent in key moments, especially at the end of the collection this time. Instead the series opts for a plot twist cliffhanger end to this instalment, which isn't so bad; it makes a change after all.
The video quality as usual is superb for DVD, providing a crisp and vibrant picture, full of colour with well-drawn characters and environments. The audio is the same as always; the Japanese dub is of a higher quality yet it suffers from western priorities of granting a 5.1 mix to the English dub only. Still, both are adequate to listen to. New songs were added again for the opening and ending respectively. The opening changes to yet another exciting sequence, whereas the song, despite its suspect lyrics, is a nice rock number that won't affect your love for the show. The ending is hip-hop with an urban, brick-walled, graffiti-filled end segment, which really gets going in the chorus with its funky sounds. Again, it's pretty catchy, which is of course the aim.
The extras are the same as usual, with the wonderful and often very funny Late Show skits, a commentary track for one episode, and textless videos for the new songs.
In this collection we see the birth of both a new arc, and a new villian in Spider Witch Arachne. However, as mentioned before, despite this being a new arc it has become clear that everything is connected. This collection - while not ending with a bang - provides a lot of interesting questions waiting to be answered, as well as some surprising plot developments and twists that will keep you on your toes, waiting for the next collection to see how all is resolved. This will still split people because of some of the concerns people have mentioned above. Though I never understand the logic of starting a series from the middle, given that the series is usually delivered to us in instalments we must take into account the possibility that some people will do so. If so, this is perhaps the weakest of the three Soul Eater sets so far, but not to the degree that other fans have implied. Its significance will most likely be more appreciated with the final collection, when everything should finally come to a head. Until that day comes we will be left pondering how everything will end.<br>
<b>Final score: 8 out of 10</b>
<b>Additional screencaps</b>
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2010-10-25vlcsnap-2010-10-26-05h08m33s179.png">
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2010-10-25vlcsnap-2010-10-26-05h26m13s3.png">
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/screens/2010-10-25vlcsnap-2010-10-26-05h31m04s105.png">