Anime Review: Soul Eater NOT!

Hey there. Not much is happening other than Legend of Legacy is getting a Limited Edition hard cover artbook and soundtrack with it's first run, yet Stella Glow isn't despite SG being $50 and LoL being $40. Oh and Nintendo of Korea has announced that the regular size New Nintendo 3DS will grace their region in September while here in America we get NOTHING! DAMMIT NINTENDO OF AMERICA! You are REALLY making it hard to be a fan right now. Anyway, it's time for Soul Eater NOT!

Huh, now that is just weird.

Tsugumi is your normal 14 year old Japanese School Girl. That is until one day she discovers she is a Weapon: A person with the power to literally turn into a weapon. With this discovery she is immediately sent to Death Weapon Meister Academy, where Weapons and the Meisters who wield them are trained to fight evil and hunt witches. Tsugumi's first task as a Weapon is to control her shape-shifting ability and to pick a Meister to partner with. However, she is rather new to this transformation business and she makes two Meister friends, the prim and proper Agna, and the forever forgetful Meme. Tsugumi has to choose one of them to be her Meister, but what is she to do when their friendship is so important to them.

OBJECTION!

Soul Eater NOT! is kind of a side story to the original Soul Eater, and while the focus of the story is on Tsugumi, Agna, and Meme, the other Soul Eater characters do make an appearance from time to time. The original Main Characters are now reduced to cameos every now and then while side characters, like Kim and Jacqueline, are a LOT more fleshed out. The focus also shifts from Shounen Action series to more Shoujo Slice-of-Life. It's far more interested in daily lives of our three protagonists rather than saving the world from evil. To that end, while it may not have the same type of enjoyment as the original series, NOT! is still enjoyable with fun characters hilarious dialogue, and general Hi-jinx mishaps.

A Maid! A Maid! A Maid! A Maid!

As far as negatives are concerned, there isn't much, but there are still a few. For one the series is rather short at only 12 episodes, especially compared to the original's 50 episode run, and the tonal shift from Action to High School comedy is a little jarring. However, the most jarring part of all is the ascetics of this series. The original Soul Eater had an unique look to it, it was kind of like what if Nightmare Before Christmas collapsed into the real world. Almost every location in Soul Eater is based on a real world location, but had a kind of Halloween twist to it. This is most apparent with the world's Sun and Moon being grinning cartoonish shapes hanging in the sky. In Soul Eater NOT! however, all the Halloweenish style was removed in favor of a more "normal" look. We still have the unique Sun and Moon, and the DWMA looks the same as always, but now they feel out of place in this more ordinary world. It just doesn't LOOK like the Soul Eater universe anymore.

Soul Eater NOT! is kind of an odd specimen. I'm sure fans of Soul Eater will enjoy at least the focus on the supporting cast in this series, but the shift to more slice-of-life comedy might be off putting. While those who don't know anything about Soul Eater might feel alienated by the weirdness of the Soul Eater universe that remain (the Sun and Moon, as well as the fact that Tsugumi can turn into a weapon). I mean, I enjoy the series, it's fun and light hearted, but it is a weird one to recommend. I guess if my description sounds interesting then go ahead and check it out. Soul Eater NOT! is recommended.

Until Next Time.

-CRES, and lastly: Sir Not Appearing In This Show.