#soul eater anime criticism

[daystarvoyage]

have you watch anime’s with controversial or bad endings? And see the so called fans defend it and praise it while you are left confused and angry for not getting it like then to the point you know longer enjoy the work anymore plus seeing people who did not enjoy it like you are get harassed or get into internet arguments with those that like the ending?

Oh wow this one is a great question, now I’m an old soul who has seen a lot of classic anime in the '90s, so this one is gonna need some good unpacking, coming into anime of the 2000s. yes fully aware we didn't get the same stories from the manga to the anime so here's my 4 series, I wont say these would be in the toxic category however maybe wrong.

I say anime I didn’t like ending or not

Akame ka Kill, & Future diary

Anime I liked & watched but the ending was meh Soul eater, & Deadman wonderland

Akame ga kill

It was a good watch, it was one of those shows that had a great action-driven pace, with a great female main, alongside a strong cast of colorful characters, however, there were some moments in which it relied too much on fanservice. I don't get the hype of this one, why it really felt its the best thing ever however it still has a fanbase also, (which normalized in anime since going mainstream) Even not even fleshing out the supporting characters, there were times I felt the plot and writing of each character got over shun by the pacing of the show & action Yknow being killing offe such cha era cuter one by one.

Future diary,

Now this was a college watch at an anime club, I didn't really like this show cause it was kinda had so many elements, mashed into together,(Scifi & Harem tropes to an extent, not done right to the point of making Yuno a poster child of bad habits, I see Fans even ones defending or cosplaying yuno with a lewd personality justifying her actions in the show (which is understandable she was Abused, from my memory serves) Heck EVEN JOSH GRELE VOICE OF THE MAIN MALE said he didn't like it, And I Agree however I do congratulate the voice acting along akame ga kil, but come on the show was complete mind Fuck cause it left me in a doozy.

Now to the Anime I did Like But Rushed Horrid Endings

DeadMan Wonderland,

Very great underrated show created by the same person who did Eureka seven (also a great romantic mecha show I need to finish anime-wise) This had a captivating bloody good tie with your into action horror if its not to gorey, in today's mainstream titles. however the manga takes it to a ten while the anime didn't, (cause we had a gay badass transwoman fight alongside the main cast never shown in the anime, who had a great written background alongside others.) yes I felt the show got a bad end of the stick cause it had so much going for it, in the manga, now being Cut down to 25-30 episodes, with potential remake but the ending was a major cliffhanger. I don't see a issue or toxic writing in this one since it obscrued.

Soul Eater

Who could forget an after-school classic in my case, Its a Great series, this was one I watched, after homework alongside (Hell girl, Peach Girl & Aquarion)

I enjoyed the Anime to a high. I need a rewatch of soul eater, i did felt with time and writing progress they had the power to mash everything from the manga to the anime, understanding it takes a lot of work to draw, and pace a story like this anime with so much going for it, The voice acting served ( With Miss Cunty Medusa & Arcane Shouldve gotten more limelight to be more epic from the manga to the anime, Medusa Gave off Cyber Trakneena from Power Rangers)

AND LORD WHO CAN FORGET THE THEMES, yeah felt the show could've gone deeper or enlightened fans on the many ways the show coulda have been better but never experienced any toxicity from these Four, (glad we got Fire Force Though)

But yes felt the ending was a good one but I really wish certain characters even MAKA HAD the black BLOOD GOWN TO FINISH OFF ASHRA THOUGH.

Hope this answers everything have a starry Day.

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

How would the twisted boys of your choosing react to a weapon mc whose dad is stein from soul eater? Talk about a ruff family reunion.

Stein’s Weapon Reader | Yandere Twisted Wonderland

Not only is being a weapon making you different enough but your dad somehow sciencing his way to Twisted Wonderland makes this even worse. Your relationship before disappearing from the world you two hailed wasn’t necessarily bad but having a father who too often stuttered on the line of madness made things tense. Madness aside he unmeaningly shadows your accomplishments whether by his own expertise or his constructive criticism instead of mild praise. If only to make things worse he’s unexpectedly overprotective of you when he accurately dictates when you are in over your head. 

When he arrives he no doubt comes out swinging with his soul wavelengths leaving immediate staff and students paralyzed. Leaving you to push past your friends as you transform to go stop his mad-induced frenzy. 

“Dad, chill out!”

“Widget!? Are you okay?”

“I will be when you stop trying to kill my friends!” 

He’s less than fond to know you’re in a world with magic but his own desire to dissect it and learn about it will ease him…for now. He’s irritable as he observes the obsessive exceeding interest the boys at Night Raven have in you. Angrily twisting his screw as he debates how badly to mess up their soul wavelengths.

“I’m not fond of you hanging around my kid…but I’m curious how you plan to go against that.”

Leona Kingscholar

“You’re right. It doesn’t matter really. I’ll make them mine anyway.”

He’s working overtime 

Attempting to bother your father while also avoiding his attempts to dissect him

Not only as a lion beast man 

but as a lazy pursuer that doesn’t seem capable of even beating you as a weapon

Stein is bothered by him

He claims that’s the only reason he doesn’t like them 

But with him, it's hard to say

They both tend to underestimate one another 

Where Stein doesn’t fully register the height of his obsession

And Leona trying to threaten him without getting experimented on

It's messy 

And it will continue to be as Leona spies the underlying attempt to send you both home

“I’m not letting them leave but if you do we won’t have a problem.”

Idia Shroud

“Heheh from one genius to another I’m not letting them go so easily.”

Both take each other on in a fueled mad-scientist feud

Its the best and worse time for them

With them spending plenty of their smarts dissecting and studying one another

It acts as a distraction until Idia runs off to your side

Who is following up on some experiments you agreed to 

Which include gaming for hours, binge-watching anime, and maybe kissing

Which has Stein working to create little gadgets to sabotage or at least surveil his experiments

Stein gets more invested in thwarting him because he understands his interest in you better

But Idia’s not giving up 

Not in this game 

You were his prize and Stein, while fun, was just a minor antagonist in his romance with you

“This is great! I’ll get the love interest and defeat the villain! This would make a wild otome!”

[insufferableprotagonistpoll]

Please note that a character currently needs at least 3 submissions to make it into the poll

That said:

Has 3 Submissions or more:

Achilles - The Iliad

Adrien Agreste - Miraculous Ladybug

Alexander Hamilton - Hamilton

Batman - DC

Blitzo - Helluva Boss

Charlie Morningstar - Hazbin Hotel

Claire Fraser - Outlander

Clary Fray/Fairchild - Shadowhunters

Daphne Bridgerton - Bridgerton

Dean Winchester - Supernatural

Dr. Heinrich Faust - Goethes Faust

Ebony Darkness Dementia Raven Way - My Immortal

Edward Elric - Fullmetal Alchemist

Elena Gilbert - Vampire Diaries

Feyre Archeron - A Court Of Thorns And Roses

Frasier Crane - Frasier

Gray Wing - Warrior Cats

Holden Caulfield - The Catcher in the Rye

Jimmy - Mouthwashing

Joker - Persona 5

Kirito - Sword Art Online

Kohaku - Dr. Stone

Makoto Itou - School Days

Marinette Dupain-Cheng - Miraculous Ladybug

Navier - Remarried Princess

Nesta Archeron - A Court of Thorns and Roses

Quentin Coldwater - The Magicians (books)

Scott Pilgrim - Scott Pilgrim

Tim Jackson Drake - DC

Tom Paris - Star Trek: Voyager

Victor Frankenstein - Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus

Yukitero "Yukki" Amano - Future Diary

Has 2 Submissions:

Animal Crossing New Horizons' Player Character - Animal Crossing New Horizons

Arthur Pendragon - BBC Merlin

Bakugou Katsuki - My Hero Academia

BEOWULF - BEOWULF

Bloom Peters - Winx Club

Claire - Ship It

Dawson Leery - Dawson’s Creek

Duck Dodgers - Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 century

Eikichi Onizuka - Great Teacher Onizuka

Elizabeth - Bioshock Burial at Sea

Elric of Melniborne - The Elric Saga

Emiya Shirou - Fate Stay Night

Eren Jaegar - Shingeki no Kyojin

Ezra Bridger - Star Wars Rebels

Hazel Lancester - The Fault In Our Stars

Jack Torrance - The Shining

James Bond - James Bond

Jaune Arc - RWBY

John Proctor - The Crucible

Odysseus - The Odyssey

Oliver Armstrong - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Peppa Pig - Peppa Pig

Piper - Orange is the new Black

Rhaenyra Targaryen - House of the Dragon

Riley Matthews - Girl Meets World

Roy Musang - Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

Sasuke - Naruto

Sheldon Cooper - Big Bang Theory

Shen Qingqiu (Shen Yuan) - Scum Villain’s Self Saving System

Snow Villiers - Final Fantasy 13

Wade Watts - Ready Player One

William Afton - FNaF Ultimate Custom Night

Zack Morris - Saved by the Bell

Has 1 Submission

Ahsoka - Ahsoka Disney+

Ahsoka Tano - Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Akiyama Shun - Ryu Ga Gotoku/Yakuza

Aragorn - Lord of the Rings

Arek - So This Is Ever After

Ataru Moroboshi - Urusei Yatsura

August Landry - One Last Stop

Ayin - Lobotomy Corporation

Beatrice "Tris" Prior - Divergent

Betty Cooper - Riverdale

Bill Dickey - The Eltingville Club/Welcome to Eltingville

Billy Buddy/Dr. Horrible - Dr. Horrible's Sing Along

Billy Hatcher - Billy Hatcher and the giant egg

Black Star - Soul Eater

Blake - Pokemon Adventures Black 2 and White 2

Bubsy - Bubsy 3D

Caleb Widogast - Critical Role

character Tommy - Dream SMP

Charley Pollard - Doctor Who

Charlie - Charlie's Inferno - That Handsome Devil

Choromatsu Matsuno - Osomatsu-san

Claire Danvers - Morganville Vampires

Clear Sky/Skystar - Warrior Cats

Colin Bridgerton - Bridgerton

Corrin - Fire Emblem Fates

Cory Matthews - Boy Meets World

Dal - Star Trek Prodigy

Damian Wayne - DC

Damon Salvatore - The Vampire Diaries

Daniel X - The Dangerous Days of Daniel X

Data - Star Trek The Next Generation

Dorrigo Evans - The Narrow Road to the Deep North book

Doug Eiffel - Wolf 359

Drizzt Do'Urden - Legend of Drizzt

Dr. Hanna Heath - People of the Book

Ellison Oswalt - Sinister

Emma Nelson - Degrassi: The Next Generation

Equality 7-2521 - Anthem

Frankie Landau Banks - The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks

Galadriel Higgins - The Scholomance Trilogy

Geralt of Rivia - The Last Wish, The Witcher books

Go Siwon - A Guy Like You

Hamlet - Hamlet

Haruto Kirishima - A Town Where You Live

Haruyuki Arita - Accel World

Heathcliff - Wuthering Heights

Hermione Granger - Harry Potter

Homer Simpson - The Simpson

Howard Roark - The Fountainhead

Humbert Humbert - Lolita

James Bond - The Sean Connery James Bond Movies

James Holden - The Expanse book series

Jaypaw - Warrior Cats

Jean-Luc Picard - Star Trek The Next Generation

Jeff Winger - Community

Jim Hopper - Stranger Things

JJ - Cocomelon

Joaquin Monegro - Abel Sánchez

Jon Snow - ASoIaF

Jotaro Kujo - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

Joy - Inside Out

Jughead Jones - Riverdale

Kade - Down to Earth Webtoon

Kazuya Tsukasa - Kamen Rider Decade

Kai - The Witch King

Kang Jinha - A Guy Like You

Katara - Avatar the Last Airbender

Katnis - Hunger Games

Kaz Kaan - Neo Yokio

Keiichi Maebara - Higurashi when they cry

Kelsier - Mistborn

Khai - Theory of Love - Thai BL Show

King Arthur - King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)

Korra - Avatar: Legend of Korra

Koyomi Araragi - The Monogatari series

Kun-chan - Mirai

Lelouch Lamperouge - Code Geass

Leroy Jethro Gibbs - NCIS

Lily Blossom Bloom - It Ends With Us

Lionblaze - Warriors (Power of Three and Omen of the Stars)

Luna - Retro

Luffy - One Piece

Lyn - Fire Emblem

Makoto Naegi - Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

Mal - Firefly

Manaow - Love Senior

Mark Watney - The Martian

Mary Poppins - Walt Disney's Mary Poppins

Merlin - BBC Merlin

Meursault - The Stranger

Mia - La La Land

Michael Burnham - Star Trek: Discovery

Mike Wheeler - Stranger Things

Miyo Sasaki - A Whisker Away

Mordecai - Regular Show

Nancy Botwin - Weeds

Natsuki Subaru - Re:Zero

Nick Carraway - The Great Gatsby

Nicole - Class of 09

Nightheart - Warrior Cats

North Italy - Hetalia

Okajima ""Rock"" Rokuro - Black Lagoon (Anime)

Okazaki Tomoya - Clannad

Okonkwo - Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)

Otis Milburn - Sex Education

Patrick Bateman - American Psycho

Piper McLean - Heroes of Olympus

Pippa Fitz-Amobi - A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

Ramona Flowers - Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Ramsey Snow - Game of Thrones

Rebecca Bunch - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (TV show)

Remy the Rat - Ratatouille

Richard Cypher - Sword of Truth

Robert Langdon - The Da Vinci Code

Rodion Raskolnikov - Crime and Punishment

Rorschach - Watchmen

Rory Gilmore - Gilmore Girls

Ruby - Max & Ruby

Ryo Saeba - City Hunter

Sabrina Grimm - The Sisters Grimm

Sabrina Spellman - Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Sami Reese - Little White Lie

Satou Kazuma - Konosuba

Senku Ishigami - Doctor Stone

Serena - Pokemon

Sherlock Holmes - BBC Sherlock

Shiori - Six Crimson Cranes

Shrek - Shrek

Souji Tendou - Kamen Rider Kabuto

Spike Witwicky - Transformers IDW comics

Star Butterfly - Star vs The Forces of Evil

Stiles Stilinski - Teen Wolf

Sydney Atherton - The Beetle

Tai Kamiya - Digimon Adventure

Takao - Garden of Words

Tara Webster - Dance Academy

Tarl Cabot - The Gor Chronicles

Teriella Rufeon - My Husband Changes Every Night

The Beheaded - Dead Cells

Tom Wachowski - The Sonic Movies

Traveller - Genshin Impact

Ukiyo Ace - Kamen Rider Geats

Vanellope von Schweetz - Ralph Breaks the internet

Velvet Crowe - Tales of Bersia

Violetta - Disney's Violetta

Winston Smith - 1984

Wolverine - X-Men

Wreck it Ralph - Ralph Breaks the Internet

Yu/Ai - Final Fantasy Unlimited

Yuri Zhivago - Doctor Zhivago

Yuusaku Godai - Maison Ikkoku

Available for Resubmission (needs at least 1 resubmission to participate)

Aang - Avatar: The Last Airbender

Alex Eagleston - YIIK

Anakin Skywalker - Star Wars

Aquamarin Hoshino - Oshi No Ko

Ash Ketchum - Pokemon

Atsuko Kagiri/Akko - Little Witch Academia

Beca Mitchell - Pitch Perfect

Brambleclaw - Warrior Cats

Coriolanus Snow - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Eragon - Eragon/Inheritance Cycle

Erika Shinohara - Ookami shoujo to kuro ouji

Frank Reagan - Blue Bloods

Gregory - FNaF Security Breach

Harry Dresden - The Dresden Files

Harry DuBois - Disco Elysium

Katarina Claes - My Next Life as a Villainess

Kiris - On the Emperor's Lap

Kvothe - The Kingkiller Chronicles

Kyouya Sata - Ookami shoujo to kuro ouji

Mal - Descendants

Naofumi Iwatani - The Rising of the Shield Hero

Peter Pan - Peter Pan

Pucca - Pucca

Rand al'Thor - Wheel of Time

Rey - Star Wars

Rintaro Okabe - Steins;Gate

Scott McCall - Teen Wolf

Skullduggery Pleasant - Skullduggery Pleasant

Sophie Foster - Keeper of the Lost Cities

Stolas - Helluva Boss

Stuart Little - Stuart Little

The Tenth Doctor - Doctor Who

Tori Vega - Victorious

Wanda Maximoff - MCU

Wei (Ying) Wuxian - Mo Dao Zu Shi

Xander Harris - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Y/N - Fanfiction

Currently unavailable for a new Round:

Aelin Ashryver Galathynius/Celaena Sardothien - Throne of Glass

Artemis Fowl - Artemis Fowl

Bella Swan - Twilight

Bloom Peters - Fate: The Winx Saga

Bojack Horseman - Bojack Horseman

Caillou - Caillou

Dr Gregory House - House MD

Elsa - Frozen

Evan Hansen - Dear Evan Hansen

Ferris Bueller - Ferris Bueller's Day off

Harry Potter - Harry Potter

Heywood Floyd - Space Odyssey

Izuku (Deku) Midoriya - Boku no Hero Academia

Kazuya Kinoshita - Rent-a-Girlfriend

Light Yagami - Death Note

Meliodas - Seven Deadly Sins

Oscar - Shark Tale

Owen Grady - Jurassic World

Peter Griffin - Family Guy

Rachel Berry - Glee

Richard Rahl - Seeker of Truth/Legend of the Seeker

Robin - Teen Titans Go

Ross Geller - Friends

Ted Mosby - How I Met Your Mother

Tony Stark - MCU

Velma - Velma

Walter White - Breaking Bad

Zoey Redbird - The House of Night

[theturncoattournament]

Do you love a character with a good redemption arc? Or a corruption arc? Or even just seeing the kind of storylines that emerge from a character who was formerly aligned with an enemy side decide to join a different one?

Then welcome to...

The Turncoat Tournament!

This is a tournament for characters who have changed sides at some point in the story. It can be from good to bad, bad to good, or from one morally ambiguous side to a different morally ambiguous side, as long as the change in allegiance is still clear. Characters can change sides multiple times, and ultimately end up returning to their original side, and still qualify for the tournament!

Due to the subject of the tournament itself being inherently spoiler-y, I will by default not be tagging posts with spoiler warnings. However, below I do have a list of all the pieces of media that have characters in the tournament; if you see something on this list that you do want spoiler tagged, please let me know, and I’ll start tagging it with spoiler warnings!

Media list:

(Arranged in alphabetical order)

2001: A Space Odyssey/2010: The Year We Made Contact

Ace Attorney/The Great Ace Attorney

Animation vs Minecraft

Arthurian legend 

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Bamse - Världens starkaste björn

Bones

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Bungo Stray Dogs

Centaurworld

Chess The Musical 

The Chronicles of Narnia

Code Geass

Critical Role (Campaign 2) 

Cult of the Lamb

DC Comics (Batfamily, Flash characters, Shazam family)

Devil May Cry

Doctor Who

Dog Man

Dragon Age: Inquisition 

Dragon Ball Z

The Evillious Chronicles 

Fable III

Fairy Tail

Fake Princess

Farscape

Final Fantasy XIV

Game of Thrones

Genshin Impact

The Good Place

Gravity Falls

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

Hannibal

The Hunger Games

I Expect You to Die 3

The Incredibles 

Just Dance

Kingdom Hearts

Kinnporsche 

Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts 

Kirby series

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords manga

The Librarians

The Locked Tomb

Machineries of Empire

Maleficent

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marvel Comics (X-Men, Avengers) 

Megamind

Merlin

Mistborn

My Little Pony: Equestria Girls

Nan Quest

Once Upon A Time

One Piece

The Owl House

Pandora Hearts

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Person of Interest 

The Pirates of Penzance

Pirates of the Caribbean 

Portal 2

Power Rangers: Dino Fury

Pretty Cure (Fresh Precure, Kira Kira Precure a la Mode, Suite Precure, Hugtto Precure)

Provost’s Dog

Princess Tutu

Raya and the Last Dragon

RWBY

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Smallville

Sonic the Hedgehog OVA 

Soul Eater

Soul series (Soul Calibur/Edge) 

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Wars (Prequels, Original trilogy, Rebels, Clone Wars, Knights of the Old Republic) 

Steven Universe

The Stormlight Archive

Sunless Sea

Tangled: The Series

Teen Titans (2003 series) 

Teen Wolf

Terminator films 

Transformers

Tron Legacy

Vorkosigan Saga

Warrior Cats

Wings of Fire

Wolf 359

Worm

Young Justice

Yu Yu Hakusho

[thekingofwinterblog]

Soul Eater - The Manga's Unsatisfying Ending.

It is not a big secret that the Manga ending of Soul Eater is not a well recieved one.

There are a lot of very obvious criticisms of it, wheter it be the way the story has no real climax, the relationship between Crona and Maka is a no ending tale that pretends othervise, or the damn madness of boobs.

There are a lot of things to critique about it, just on a surface level. I have seen plenty of them through the years. What I have no seen though is someone delving into why, on a thematic level, the Manga Ending does not work.

Crona

The biggest problem by far, is Crona's choice in the end, because Manga Crona makes the wrong choice at the end. The cowards choice.

Rather than going out and facing the world, and risk the hurt that comes with opening oneself to other people, Crona instead makes the choice to stay to "Atone".

In other words, the lessons of abuse that Medusa hammered into Crona from childhood, of being completely undeserving of forgiveness is not overcome at all.

Crona admits to not being able to go back to the world after everything horrible that has happened, every sin, every crime, every wrong turn.

In the end, this is fueled by cowardice. By choosing to stay, and keep Asura in check, Crona falls back on every single bad lesson Medusa ever taught.

It's all your fault, you dont deserve forgiveness, you dont deserve a happy life, you cannot grow.

I dont think most readers really realised the full implications of all of this, when reading the manga ending the first time,

But the feeling that something is deeply, deeply wrong with this ending is there all throughouth this ending.

The thing is, that on paper this ending could have made sense, after all this kind of self sacrifice ending has been done a thousand times throughout anime and manga... But it does not work here.

It does not work, because in the end, it completely proves Medusa right. She managed to break her child, and in the end, Crona NEVER managed to recover from it.

One of the single biggest problems fans have with the Manga, is that Medusa's death, the final ending of the single best villain the series ever had, feels incredibly cheap.

This is completely true... but not because Crona murdered her in a pique of insane rage and bitterness, but because thats the final note Crona's story ends on.

Medusa's story feels cheap, because there is no real follow up and closure, and far, far more importantly, a thematic rebuttal to her actions.

Medusa getting herself killed by her own child on purpose is not a problem. The fact that she is not proven wrong in the end IS.

The Manga ending with Crona choosing to seal asura on the moon, rather than having to confront the world, and risk it all on a final battle that the crew might, or might not win, proves that Medusa's assessment of Crona as a coward who could never face their fears and always takes the easy way out, was right.

And that is a TERRIBLE note to end the story on.

However the problems with this ending goes much further than that. It also(unintentionally) rejects Soul Eater's themes.

What is the most defining image from the soul Eater Manga? The one image that sums it up it's themes in one go?

The answer is this one, from chapter 15.

An ending where Crona gives up everything for Maka could work as a tragic ending... But it can't work in Soul Eater, because Self Sacrifice for the greater good or even the people you love is not one of it's main themes.

Soul Eater's main theme is comeraderie in spite of every difference, of embracing one another no matter how much it might not make logical sense.

Or as Maka and Asura's final conversation in the anime puts it, that madness and bravery are two sides of one coin.

It is a form of madness to open yourself up to other people, to risk judgement, to risk having your heart broken or hurt by opening yourself up to other people... And yet that is exactly what the protagonists of Soul Eater does all the time.

And it is best summed up in that spread from chapter 15, where 7 different people with a whole ton of personal issues puts all of it to the side, to stand together as friends against the world.

Because they have the bravery to do so, the bravery to take a risk and open themselves up to other people, to take a leap of faith.

Bravery and madness together.

THAT is Soul Eater's main theme, and it is one that it ultimately rejects in the final two chapters of the manga, and not just with Crona, though that is certainly the worst part of it.

Maka and Spirit

But the ending does not just reject it's own themes on the big scale, it rejects it on the smaller one too.

One of the plot points of the last two chapters that left a BAD taste in a lot of peoples mouths, is the interactions between Maka and Spirit.

And make no mistake. It is BAD. Really, really bad, and just like with Crona's choice not to take the risk of going back into the world and having to deal with it all, it COMPLETELY rejects its own themes for the sake of a bad, bad joke, told at the worst time.

Upon the sealing of the moon, Spirit and Maka comes face to face with the seeming reality that Spirit(and several other people) are about to be sealed with Chrona on the moon.

This leads to a very sweet moment from Spirit, where, in what he assumes will be the final time Maka sees him, chooses to give her a smile to remember him by, so her last memory of her dad wont be him cowering in fear from his impending end.

Which is then completely undone in the next chapter.

When returning to earth, and confirming with her own eyes that yes, maba did save her dad with her magic, Maka's response is to revert right back to the spitefull girl she was at the start of the series.

She once more deliberately rejects her dad despite her very, very real feelings of love and relief upon seeing him alive.

It might not seem like much, but in the end, this one, single moment, in the final chapter of the series, proves that Manga Maka could never defeat Asura, because unlike anime Maka, Manga Maka was not, in the end, able to overcome her own personal fears about opening herself up to others.

Just like Crona in the previous chapter, Maka does not overcome her own personal fears of opening her own heart for the people she loves, despite the risks involved.

And that is an absolutely TERRIBLE note to end Maka's entire journey on, given every single bit of character development she has had before this is about doing that exact thing.

Soul Eater Evans

Now the problems with Soul Eater isnt nearly as bad as the problems with Maka and Crona, where their choices ultimately ended up undermining the mayor themes of the story, it simply tries to shove in the idea there was some greater journey for soul eater, where he had some massive lifechanging revelations, just the usual and generic "I have become way stronger thanks to you".

It's not a Bad note to end his character on, but it's telling that rather than just reciprocrate Soul's very obvious flirting, Maka in the final panels is far more conflicted, and in the end, uses his own words to reaffirm her devotion to Crona.

I like Souls a lot, but the fact is, that at no point in this story did he reach a point where he earned this ending, where he could genuienly say that he was done running away from all his problems. At no point did he seek out his broher to reconnect, he did not reconnect with his family, and while I am glad he was able to reembrace his love for the piano in a healthy way, there is a far cry from that, to being able to claim he's conquered all his demons.

Ultimately Soul's actual journey in this story, is the fact that he is not the main character. That is how he is introduced, as a guy who very clearly wants to be this story's focus, but the fact is, he isnt.

Maka is. it is her journey that we actually follow, is her growth and choices that defines this journey, and it is her relationship with Crona, not her relationship with Soul, that this story places all its hopes, dreams, themes, and climax on.

The fact that this climax ultimately failed as a story, does not change that fact.

This is not to throw shade at Soul and his development, as he IS a good character, with his own journey, but the brutal fact is, that he has not earned this ending at all.

He is Maka's partner, and that IS a HUGE part of this story... but it's not the part that the entire climax was built around, and put all its chips on.

The final pages trying to pretend othervise is another way this ending ultimately failed as a story... but its NOTHING compared to the way it failed Maka, Crona, and it's themes.

Conclusion

While im very, very negative towards the climax of the manga, this is not to say that the ending is completely devoid of good parts.

Kid making peace with the witches is a very fitting ending for his character, and fits right in with the Story's themes... Unfortunately, the conflct between Witches and Meisters/Death was not the aspect of this story that everything hinged on.

less said about the madness of boobs, the better though.

Overall, the ending is not the worst thing ever made... It is certainly not Attack on Titan, who's ending and denouncement of free will destroyed it down to it's foundations... Nor is it an ending that does not make any sort of sense within the context of the world and its mechanics... But it is a BAD ending, that completely fumbled its themes at the single most crucial point when it truly mattered at the finish line.

[biconickyoshi]

Okay y’all… I was very critical of eps 3 & 4 (especially 4) of NAtLA. Then all of a sudden eps 5 & 6 kinda slapped me in the face with how much better the show suddenly got.

Spoiler-free thoughts first:

Zuko, Iroh, and Aang have cemented themselves as the best parts about this adaptation - which is really funny considering I’m currently writing a longfic AU where Zuko and Iroh discover Aang in the iceberg right after Zuko is banished at age 13 and end up becoming the first members of the Gaang (albeit reluctantly at first lol). Episode 6: “Masks” (the Blue Spirit adaptation) was so good, I’d venture to say that it actually improved and fleshed out some things from the original series.

Episode 5: “Spirited Away”, while not as good as E6, was not as bad as I heard people say it was going to be. I think that the changes they did make didn’t bother me nearly as much as the changes they made in the last episode, and it was actually entertaining.

There were several scenes that made me cry in both of these episodes (moreso in episode 6, which I’ll get into further down in the spoiler section). These are the scenes that I feel like really tapped into the heart of the original show rather than feeling like a soulless remake.

Now for my in-depth thoughts (INCLUDES SPOILERS):

EP 5: “Spirited Away”

- Staring out, I was bummed because I had just rewatched the first two eps of the original animated series lol.

- It was an interesting choice to have all three members of the Gaang get stuck in the Spirit World, but I think it worked.

- Wan Shi Tong just showing up randomly was a bit unnecessary, but I suppose it will be kinda interesting to see him again in S2 since he’s already met the Gaang

- Hei Bai plays a much smaller role in these eps, but I strangely didn’t mind that either?

- Seeing Katara’s last memory with her mom was devastating, especially the fact that she had to witness her death and hide in the igloo with Kya’s charred body :(( she definitely has severe PTSD.

- Even Sokka’s memory made me tear up a bit

- Koh being the villain and a soul-eater or whatever was a bit of an odd choice, but I guess I can see why they did it. I do prefer him just being an asshole who steals ppl’s faces lol

- Appreciated the Fog of Lost Souls reference from the LoK lore

- Aang reuniting with Gyatso made me cry. I know some people didn’t like him being in the Spirit World, but I really liked it. Also, the fact that Gyatso was the first person to tell Aang that it wasn’t his fault the Air Nomads died, and that if he had been there he would have died too? THANK YOU! My poor boy has been berated enough for “abandoning” the world.

- We got some interesting lore about the afterlife for humans from Gyatso and Aang’s convo, which we’ve never gotten in AtLA media before. Idk if it’s just for Air Nomads, but Aang mentions that Gyatso stayed behind instead of “seeking enlightenment”. I know that the end goal in Buddhism is to reincarnate until you eventually achieve nirvana, so I wonder if that’s what they were alluding to (I’m not an expert on religions so pls correct me if I’m wrong)

- Oh yeah, I forgot June is here lmao. As a queer person I loved her (bc beautiful goth woman) but I didn’t like the weird choice to make her hit on Iroh - I guess to contrast the Iroh being creepy towards her thing in the OG series. I wish they would have just had them interact normally tbh, no weird “flirting”

EP 6: “Masks”

- Here we go y’all. The best episode in the show so far and probably the best the show is gonna get this season. I’m still pretty shocked at how good this one was.

- I think the decision to include flashbacks to Zuko’s Agni Kai was a good decision here. It felt like an appropriate episode for them and the flashbacks were very well done.

- In general, Dallas is doing a phenomenal job at portraying a Zuko who is angry and aggressive, yes, but also so very sweet and compassionate at his core. I love when little inklings of his true self shine through.

- Roku was… not what I expected. He was very much more of a lighthearted and jokey person… I didn’t hate it, it was just unexpected lol. I wonder if they did that to contrast him with Kyoshi. Which, speaking of, I’m glad Roku clarified that Aang doesn’t just need to be a merciless warrior (and that he didn’t berate Aang for “abandoning” the world like she did). But I still am annoyed about the mischaracterization of Kyoshi in general.

- RIP Shyu :/

- Thought it was kind of strange how June captures Aang at Roku’s temple lol. Like how did she get on and off the island??

- Zhao continues to feel like a completely different character to me lmao. I think this version is pretty funny, but it’s so weird to see Zhao being portrayed as so goofy and incompetent when he was such an intimidating force and the main villain of Book 1 in the OG series. Just a weird direction they went with his character.

- The Yuyan archers look cool as fuck. 10/10 no notes

- Still not sure how I feel about Azula already being this insecure and jealous of Zuko. I think it makes her feel a bit more realistically like a child, but the whole point of Azula’s character is that she is really good at maintaining this cool and calm persona on the surface, which she uses to scare and manipulate people. I can see her maybe getting to a point later on to where she hardens herself into that though. We’ll see.

- Baby Zuko asking Iroh how he looks and his little smile 😭😭😭😭 I had a physical “aww” reaction to that. THAT’S MY SON (me and Iroh shouting in unison)

- War Room scene was handled very well. No complaints. I like how Ozai tried to test Zuko with battle strategies.

- Blue Spirit break out scene was extremely close to the original, and it was really good. They adapted it almost shot for shot with all the important parts.

- Here’s probably my favorite part of the episode: Zuko and Aang’s talk inside the abandoned house after they escape from Pohuai!!!!!! Gahhhh I could gush about this scene all day. I love how they expanded it to be an actual friendly conversation between Aang and Zuko. Like we get to see Zuko’s true self coming through - the sweet, kind boy we know he is. Zuko and Aang just have such great chemistry as well, wayyy more than Aang has with either Sokka or Katara. Like I adored them bonding over painting and caligraphy!!! I think this is the best acting we’ve seen from Gordon so far, and Dallas did a phenomenal job switching back to that hurt, angry version of himself (of course a trauma response). And the fact that Aang said “sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you” when he blocked Zuko’s firebending attack??? My sweet boy 😭

- The final flashback to the Agni Kai was really well done too. I’d already heard Zuko fights back, which I wasn’t sure I’d like, but I actually didn’t mind it. I really liked that they showed Zuko’s hesitation whenever he did actually have an opening, and that was what angered Ozai the most - Zuko showing compassion, “weakness”. Daniel Dae Kim is of course doing a phenomenal job (no surprises there), and I really liked that Iroh actually attempted to stop Ozai at one point. It also looked like young Azula had tears in her eyes, which I again actually liked because it humanizes her.

- I loved that Aang was still there when Zuko woke up on the boat 😭 he wanted to make sure he was okay!! I full on started crying when we got the “do you think we could have been friends too?” lines from him. Again, Gordon killed it. I love how you can tell that Aang knows Zuko has been hurt and that’s why he acts the way he does. He doesn’t blame him for any of it. 10/10

- the last flashback to Zuko in his bed recovering from the burn… god the tears just kept flowing. I really liked the choice to have Ozai almost give Zuko a chance to like… idk understand why he did what he did, and how compassion is “weak”?? And then Zuko’s response to give people a chance 😭😭😭 as if I couldn’t love him any more!!! And then of course Ozai gets pissed. But seeing baby Zuko just cry in his bed UGH I’m dehydrated at this point

- Of course I can’t finish this review without mentioning the 41st division. What an incredible way to expand upon the source material by making them Zuko’s crew!!! It shows just how much Zuko truly cares about others and it moved me so much (once again to tears).

I don’t have high hopes for the last two episodes, but honestly, if this is what the live action can be, it gives me a bit of hope (at least for future seasons). I really think that Dallas, Gordon, Paul, and Daniel were the stars of this ep and are a big part of what made it so good.

[nadekofannumber1]

I wish I liked some popular shojo more bc it’s legit a genre that gets way too much hate and is often discriminated against in publishing spaces even having its real genre being changed when being localized bc shojo is locked to a specific context. But since I don’t feel like I can advocate for it as much as someone who prefers shojo magazines like “Halloween”, I feel like a lot of my defenses of shojo josei fall flat to a degree when not discussing the very literal advertising discrimination (Kodansha loves changing genres on their site, instead of using publication or demographical categories, they just make shojo a more “romance” genre.) (also less and less shojo manga are getting anime adaptations in favor of live action shows, josei is treated even worse) (ppl also give shojo too much flak bc of misogyny, even though I’ve seen ppl watch shows with similarly awful qualities of other publication genres).

What I can say is ppl decide if something is shojo based on vibes just because jump’s brand is so identifiable. Even though learning about other magazines could easily let you get the read on the vibes and tropes of the magazine’s publishing contents easily, like, a lot of popular gangan manga hold similar fandom vibe because gangan is more woman friendly creativity wise. Though I must say that ofc more standard shonen like soul eater came out of that as well, along with a slew of adaptions of other material into manga (it is the manga publishing brand of square after all). But even beyond things like FMA they have properties like: Pandora hearts, black butler, nozaki kun, the royal tutors, TBHK, kokkuri San, the apothecary diaries, inu x boku, ojisama to neko, durararara. Of course with things like gangan online and subsequent apps a lot more of the content published gets more varied like daily lives of highschool boys, watamote, jahi Chan, my bride is a mermaid, vermil in gold, how I attended an all guys mixer. As a publisher, gangan is actually very unisex, which makes it have the vibe of being innately less hostile to women. But because it doesn’t have the vibe of being shonen shonen (tm) ppl don’t realize how they think of

I feel like this concept got out of hand but it proves my point that ppl don’t know the difference between a publishing demographic, and a genre. I blame jump for this and thus I mentally hold a rivalry with it (of course I have more legit reasons to beef with jump like how they protect nobuhiro watasuki makes me suspicious, even if I like a good amount of jump manga my mind has beef, there’s more to this but I’ll stop now)

I can say all this but I can’t defend shojo in the way I want to, I can’t say people are too hard on something like peach girl when I haven’t read it. People always act surprised when shojo is good, and I find that, incredibly weird. Criticizing tropes is fine, saying a romance sucks and you don’t like it is fine, saying that a lot of common tropes in said publication genre put you off from reading is ok too, but by treating all shojo the same is weird.

Society is when people don’t know that junji Ito is primarily a shojo mangaka.

[theseaofrainbowclouds]

Maka Character Thoughts...

I think my hardest-hitting Soul Eater opinion is that the biggest missed opportunity (and this is the anime, I know there's a couple) is that they severely underused the fact that Maka is both a meister and a magic weapon.

Like, I feel like it was a great idea playing it down until later. You accept that her father's main role is being kind of embarrassing and you forget what it might imply for her genetics that he is the Death Scythe until you've gotten used to the idea that she's more gifted student pushes herself too hard rather than living steel.

But think about it, how cool would it be if, in a critical moment in a fight, in a move of pure trust, Soul and Maka swap places to get around an enemy's defences. He shifts to human form and she shifts into scythe form and the foe shits because wait what that's not supposed to happen. Picture how cool of a fighting style they could have developed where they do just that, throwing their opponents off-guard with redirected attacks and constantly swapping to change their momentum or keep their opponent from getting a read on them.

There's already a little of this whenever one of the Thomson sisters wields the other, which makes it only more glaring of an omission that we never do anything with Maka's reveal besides having her grow a bunch of blades in the middle of a fight.

[miasmaclockworks]

Inhale (killk me)

kinito pet au ideas (all mine now)

Pirate au, swap/opposite au, frenzy au, beach vally au, valentines au, broken computer virus (BCV) au, house care au, real virus au, mimic au, best friend au, candyland au, light's out au, time traveler au, steam punk au, ghost au, phasmophobia au, dragon barrier au, librarian au, magical forest au, fruit au, fruit au, furry au, sailor moon au, pride au, obsessed au, ice cream au, midnight starlight au, AHIT au, star collector au, broken heart au, rejected friend au, accepted friend au, Poppy Playtime au, Five Nights At Freddys au, Warrior cats au, Midnight driver, killer au, prince of the night au, pool swimmer, Magical boy au, Critical au, Escape room au, god au, AU god au, Au hunter AU, scream au, Mii au, plane crash au, pilot au, mc donalds worker au, driver au, smile tapes au, nightmare au, night gamer au, artist au, over eater au, roblox au, creator au, caseoh au, wii au, wand au, childhood friend au, possessed au, apple core au, string worm au, drunkie au, caretaker au, love maniac au, drier au, washing machine au, Im a pretty princess au, venting au, among us au, gentle man au, Youtuber au, Actual axolotl au, you are what you eat au, mince meat butcher au, butcher au, doxxed au, sally the witch au, autistic au, ADHD au, Autistic and ADHD au, Motherborn au, alien au, Mother Mother au, soul au, dragon born au, vampire au, vampire hunter au, it was all just a dream? au, sunshine au, digital circus au, clockwork au, gymnastics au, rainbow factory au, twisted and turned au, patchworks au, unseen au, joker au, minimum wage worker au, skinwalker au, kinito darling au, forever and ever, everlasting pain, story teller au, time teller au, zoo keeper au, smiling critter au, truth be told au, rizzler au, farmer au, anthro au, Digital pop up au, backfired au, chef au, cuphead au, BABQFTIM au, carnival au, internet explorer au, kidnapper au, robber au, parental figure au, parent au, father au, apple picker au, trans au, siren au, mermaid au, cloud critters, monster energy au, emo au, goth au, alt goth, prince au, princess au, priest au, reality au, Epic the musical au, bass voice au, prince of the sea au, stranger au, never used au, stranger things au, abandoned au, hazbin hotel au, lemon and lime au, softie au, grunge au, sugar crush au, rainbow friends au, block break friends au, sugar crush au, sweet tooth au, undertale au, heartless au, toxic au, waist au, epic au, error au, fresh au, reaper au, horror au, other sans aus, medical au, high school au, ruby and max au, little horrors au, planter au, plant au, crystal au, glass crystal au, rockstar au, ancient Greek au, mario au, shroomba au, sonic the hedgehog au, snowday au, cave monster au, dinosaur au, game show hoster au, lunar moon au, bloodmoon au, eclipse au, sundrop au, moondrop au, dignity au, angels gaurd au, demons gaurd au, king of hell, king of the sea au, mother nature au, king of the land, landlord au, your boyfriend au, planetary au, leopard gecko au, leopard au, train conductor au, mountain lion au, polar bear au, Mad Scientist au, don't die au, raindrops au, seraph au, always watching au, teacher au, birthday party au, husk au, royal au, gummy bear au, cannibal au, discord au, My little pony au, bumblebee au, cat au, animal au, sweet treat au, warzone au, warframe au, roblox au, unicorn au, factory worker au, you au, dihedra au, pee au, every au I forget, Deleted forever au (not really), sleep tight au, Fire borne, dragon au, mythical animals au, goodbye friend, rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles au, Replicate au, smartie pants au, femboy au, backrooms au, gurlie au, too silly au, silly au, TADC au, lovesick au, grand master au, crazy au, lab monster au, (insert every animal here) au, Monster under your bed au, sloozy au, nightmare monster au, aroace king au, your imagination au, salamander au, desktop pet au, ukagaka au, he knows what you are au, roller blades au, you can run but you can't hide au, poison rain au, dementia au, mr worldwide mr 305 au, anime au, welcome home au, Yume Nikki au, gacha life au, gacha club au, Battle blocks au,

[toskarin]

It's funny to me that I've seen multiple people, myself included, say that the exact moment they started really paying attention to what was going on in XIV was the second Oblivion starts

I can't even really figure out why, but it's such a perfect moment in that fight I've never seen executed so well before.

Oblivion is a good moment because it's identity that the game honestly previously was kind of lacking. ARR is a Final Fantasy game. it's fine. the more Final Fantasy games you've played, the less tolerable just fine actually ends up being, though

Final Fantasy is an obscenely old series by prestige game standards at this point. there is literally a codified way to create a Final Fantasy setting, a Final Fantasy narrative, hell, you don't even have to create Final Fantasy monsters because you just use the ones that already exist. that's the mould.

there was already a Final Fantasy mmo and XIV always had to exist in the shadow of XI, a game that was (by nearly all accounts!) very successful at creating its own identity in a series that makes that difficult. XIV had lyrical trial themes before Oblivion, but the key point here is that they weren't edgy action anime insert songs that bled embarrassing amounts of sincerity

Oblivion gets a lot of attention because, in having a boss literally snap and drop a needle onto a song that sounds like it would've been right at home in Gundam 00 or Soul Eater, it forced that identity to exist

now there's questions to be asked about whether reliance on that identity was good for the game's tone going forward, since every single boss theme afterwards has been trying to recreate that magical moment, but I don't want to be killed for being the one to lay out that criticism

as you move past Heavensward, it becomes increasingly apparent that the percentage of songs that are descended from Oblivion approaches 100%. arguably, the musical direction is crumbling under the weight of needing to have so many immediately recognisable insert songs

[questioning-august]

hii here's a quick intro about me ^_^

hi I'm august!

im a silly guy who has sever anxiety, paranoia and close to getting diagnosed w autism

my current interest is anime LOL my top three are Jujustu Kaisen (jjk) Blue Lock (bllk) and TBHK!!

honorable mentions are death note, chainsaw man and soul eater

my kins / comfort characters would be Satosugu (Gojo+Geto) Bachira and Pochita and Megumi

I'm more active on insta or tiktok,, same handle on everything.

pls don't ask to be moots I really don't care!

I <3 my partner in crime 🥰 (V<333)

oh and I'm a silly guy who loves to make art for myself! i don't really post cause I hate unnecessary criticism but maybe once in a while.

I repost jjk fanfics (mostly smuts srry I'm freaky) and bllk stuff too, along w art

(IVE GROWN OUT OF MY STREAMER HYPERFIXATION! PLEASE DONT ASK FOR STUFF SBOUT IT!!!)

top OCS I yap about r my main, Aoki (jjk oc) and my oc w ‘V’ that r dating!! and my persona lore yapyap

DNI - pro shippers, zoos, racist, MAPs, homophobes, anti of ANY of my interests and neo users! (I don't like using neos for my own reasons. please understand that I cannot use them for personal reasons. I'm not willing to share my story public, just understand that I'm not comfortable with using them on others)

👎👎👎❌❌❌❌❌🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈😡😡😡😡😡😡❌❌❌❌❌❌🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

[invested-in-your-future]

I am new to rwde stuff, and I'm wondering why Miles is so often singled out in criticism? Like, with self-insert stuff that makes sense, but I also see people criticize the relics/gods worldbuilding as a Miles thing, without mention of Kerry. Same for similar criticisms like the plot driving them into a corner in v10, or the mishandling of the WF plot line. Is there a reason for that, or is it holdover from not liking him for the self-insert? Is he the one who talks about it the most, or has he specifically claimed responsibility for that, or he writes more than Kerry, or something? Is it because he just seems to be the more public of the two of them, doing things like his cameos? Is he simply the more unlikable one? Thank you in advance, if you answer this question.

I think it is that, yeah - Miles is the one most often putting his foot in his mouth with weird hot takes that come back to bite him.

Him being tasked by Monty to watch a bunch of anime to see what NOT to do and ending up gushing about sword art online and loving the one soul eater character he was supposed to understand about being crass?

Him going on an off-tangent rant about how Korra world building is bad only to then rip off parts of that lore and it all end up a mess.

Him ranting how on how LGBTQ+ rep in Korra has absolutely no build up only for BB ending up getting ZERO PROPER DEVELOPMENT that it SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN FOR VOLUMES (because the show was too busy queerbaiting) and only getting a desperate kiss to attempt to get the views back up... (Mind you Korra was under a LOT of network restrictions and actually doing what the show did took actual guts while the only excuse RT has for dancing around the topic is "we don't wanna")

Him watching Land of Lustrous (a show about an immortal being experiencing trauma and PTSD and dealing with grief and existential crisis) and going "I don't get it" and then delivering the absolute messy v9 nonsense that literally vilifies trauma and goes against basic mental wellness concepts.

There's a trail of Miles stepping on the same rake over and over again going back years so he kind of became the face of all the wrong decisions taken in the show.

Plus, you know, yeah, Jaune is his baby and he somehow ends up being the faux protagonist of the show leeching off the screen time of actual protagonists and getting more development and focus than actual protagonists. And him being the guy to whom "the idea of brother gods came to in a dream" and it's easy to see why he kind of became the poster child for everything bad in the show.

However, Kerry is just as guilty for a lot of aspects of the writing but people are bit more lenient because again two worst parts of the show - Jaune and brother gods both come from Miles.

RWBY having borderline nonsensical setting and offensive problematic writing is a group effort though because RT as a whole never grew out of the "edgy homophobic jokes machinima youtuber" phase - not even after becoming a company that owns million dollar franchises.

[tomyo]

Hi I'm gonna use this figure arriving to have a vent about Soul Eater.

So I'm gonna be so real, my expectations for the franchise are rock bottom. Personally I am pretty critical of Ohkubo and my opinions of him are a dude who really cooked but in an almost Ratatouille esque manner. Idk how this man was revolutionary and created one of the first notable female lead Shonen or a canon non binary character that isn't a stereotype but he did. But like, since the end of the manga, the series has fumbled so hard.

I share a lot of shit on tiktok and people are particularly get hype about the fukuro I own, to which for some reason Shonen GanGan just went ham for a few years with custom computer mice and mp3 players. But often there's a comment like "I wish they made more stuff like this now!" And fully they're right but I'm so defeated with official shit. Said figure above is really the only good shit they've released since the early 2010s and otherwise it's been a constant game of trying to not spend dumb money on secondhand merch. And I've felt the need to take the helm in some more bigger SE fan creations (plush which will go a questioning distance). But really if I think of the most hype shit SE has received, it's all from fan merch; the headphone attachments and the black room oni backpack for instance. Around 2018 was the first major anniversary to come up and since then there's constant "Soul Eater Remake 🥺" and no shame but I just know to give up by now.

So what I mean is, rn we've had the shitty anime anniversary merch release and now the manga anniversary exhibit.....which I'm gonna be real is kinda shit. I know the vague elements used for these types of shows but I sat there like "Is this gonna be 3D recreations or cardboard cutouts?" Turns out both but more of the latter. I'm really kinda disappointed that from what I've seen it's just Shinigami-sama's mirror for recreation and then the rest is blown up manga panels and really subpar cutouts. Tbr I was hoping for the apartment or the school podium maybe. I know the later manga elements would not be on the table sadly. But man, not even weapon recreations or something?

And the other part I gotta be real about, what the fuck happened to Ohkubo's art? I mean last I saw, Fire Force was still quality. But there was the perfect editions and now the main visual for the exhibition and it's baaad. The line art and posing feel amateurish and lazy. It feels like he almost hates the series the way he draws it. I really supported Ohkubo's weirder pieces and even found him a huge influence at one point but the perfect editions are what got me into buying the originals.

Idk I literally have planned to go to Japan for the exhibition but I know it's gonna be so disappointing. This series post mortum is fully just disappointment. The most surprising thing of the exhibition merch was there being any form of plush although they look a little cheap. Either way I know I still want them, I'm just tired of knowing my fandom is obtusely dead. It's become a game of looking at good smile's releases and seeing what niche thing gets a nendo over soul eater. Do that and I promise the results are WILD.

[soul-dwelling]

Thoughts on the clowns going from an interesting representation of one's dark side and the temptation to induldge self destructive madness, into just generic faceless mooks with no personality or point besides bloating the already overstuff moon arc?

It’s wrong for me to generalize, but it seems like most final arcs in serialized stories suffer when they introduce new characters or details that inevitably will not get enough time to develop. This should work: it’s the last arc, break all the rules, so long as the result ends up being a spectacle or too cool not to do or so shocking but concise in reiterating the message that has been reinforced over and over in this story…and the clowns just don’t do any of that--the spectacle isn’t engaging enough, I thoroughly enjoy clowns in pop culture but even these clowns in Soul Eater aren’t that engaging visually or personality-wise, and nothing about the clowns does much to reinforce any message, or at least reinforcing the message of “fear is always with you” in any fashion that another part of the manga didn’t reinforce better. 

And I don’t mean that Soul Eater should be criticized only because the clowns don’t get to develop to their full potential: I can’t think of any series where even main characters reach their full potential in their entire story because that’s not how storytelling works, that’s perfectionism and hence a fool’s errand. No, I mean that the characters and details are just there without any sense of progression, elaboration, or sometimes any use to the story aside from cannon fodder. 

And that is what the clowns feel like: cannon fodder, antagonists that can be done away with easily not only because their personalities are so limited that we feel almost no sadness or any other emotion when they are gone and not only because their power sets are so dull that they can easily overpowered by the protagonists and we won’t miss losing that power set because they weren’t cool enough at all but also because they are dehumanized so killing them off is not regrettable. Oh, Stein wasted a ton of clowns? Who cares--they weren’t human, and they were barely humanized at all, including, again, in terms of having almost zero personality. 

And yet, all of this could be salvaged if the clowns had something to them that was reflective of the larger themes of the story. As you point out, the clowns in parts of Soul Eater were indicative of a character’s dark side. We got to see how jealous Maka can be, how fearful she is of losing her father and her friends and teammates, and how powerless she feels without Soul. All of that is much needed character progression. Yes, I can be frustrated that it still feels a bit forced similar to throwing these details in during the Book of Eibon arc, but it makes sense that Maka would be this emotionally raw after Crona was kidnapped. It is also visually striking: look up just about any Maka clown art by Z-Raid and other illustrators. 

But even then, aside from Maka, what did the clowns actually show us about any character’s dark side? 

We get that with Justin--but even then, the clowns themselves don’t have much in the way of personality to get a sense of how they corrupt Justin. Granted, just about all of Justin’s story only works because of how little is given to us to show how he got corrupted. We know the “why,” we get belated clarification when Justin fights Tezca. But the clowns never have much in the way of personality to give us a sense how this unfolded. It’s good storytelling potential, likely something someone else did in their own fan works. But I wish Ohkubo had committed to some choice. We already have Ragnarok right there at times acting like a bad conscience on Crona’s shoulder--is that how a clown should act towards Justin? Should it be like the Symbiote telling Eddie what he wants to hear, more like what we got in Weisman and Cook’s Spectacular Spidey animated series? 

Edit: I forgot to mention--elliotthezubat once again handles this stuff better: Justin's dilemma works better if you have it more like a clone of himself talking to him, a conversation between two Justins to emphasize different dimensions to his personality and the potential split happening, or the potential for one side overwhelming the other.

When the clowns did pop up to fight for Medusa against Black Star and Tsubaki, and against Team B with the Thompsons, was there really anything gained? Any character progression for Black Star was actually more from fighting Crona, not from fighting a clown, to demonstrate where Black Star and Crona could have gone had each one had different intervention by a parental figure, Black Star at least having Sid and the DWMA, Crona being stuck with an abuser like Medusa. But did the clown unlock any such insight into Kilik, Ox, Kim, and their partners, or Liz and Patty? The clown was just a scientific experiment without any personality of their own. (See also how Ragnarok gets reduced to almost a non-entity as the series persists, and his commentary on what Crona is going through is sorely missed, whether to add insight or just some Falstaff-ian comedic relief with how dire things are getting.) 

The final arc had two major opportunities to justify the importance of the clowns: the characters as their own entities, and the characters as reflective of the path Stein could take. And then the arc fails to live up to either potential. 

Let’s start with the latter first: like the clowns, Stein is falling more and more into madness--and then on the Moon he just doesn’t, instead weaponizing the madness to lay waste to Asura’s forces, re-establishing that even under madness he is still the same person and his commitment to Death and the DWMA does not falter. I’m not asking that the story continue to milk the angst of Stein after Buttataki’s murder, or take the path of the first anime and show Stein falling under Medusa’s sway. But with this being the last arc, this is the last chance to re-establish Stein is a good person. We need that Iron Giant moment hitting us over the head: we didn’t need the Giant to say, “I am not a gun,” but it summarized the point in an obvious fashion. Where is that moment for Stein? Is there a quotation or a panel from the final arc that I’m neglecting that adequately summarizes how Stein’s fight against the clowns is a rejection of the path Stein could have taken and in his last battle in this series recommits to his characterization, how he has progressed throughout almost 100 chapters, where he goes next, and some larger message the manga is trying to say or at least tie into the ongoing themes about courage, fear, and collaborative work? I don’t get that from Stein’s fight against the clowns, but maybe someone else and can share that quotation or panel. 

As for the clowns as their own entities: what do they serve, in terms of their own character progression, or as larger allegorical or symbolic value, or as antitheses or foils to our protagonists? They just seem to be a grab-bag of mythological and literary references: rabbit on the moon, the story of Kaguya. What is Kaguya supposed to tell us in Soul Eater as a foil to Kid? Or, how is she a continuation of ideas Ohkubo is toying with when writing Blair and then later Tamaki in Fire Force? None of these questions really interest me because the potential answers are dull: there is barely anything between Kaguya and Kid to indicate a battle of differing philosophical viewpoints, Kaguya’s shtick is somehow more dull than Blair’s and lacks the other dimensions Blair has (whether in the manga or because fan writers are better at handling her), and the path from Kaguya to Tamaki is just a reminder how gross Ohkubo is when it comes to his attacks against feminism and readers who just get tired of his endless horny misogynistic bullshit. If you just want naked Kaguya, then just go naked Kaguya--that’s more honest and a clearer understanding why this character is here than dressing it up (so to speak) with pseudo-intellectual posturing to try to make her presence and maybe even this arc and this entire manga into something it’s not. 

Or, they’re just leftovers from B Ichi, seeing as they are called “Dokeshi” in the original Japanese version of the Soul Eater manga. Super--this is somehow the less annoying version of Ohkubo’s same trick, that being waiting until the final arc to gesture back to the author’s previous work. I should appreciate that the final arc of Soul Eater referencing B Ichi is a harmless Easter egg, compared to the final arc of Fire Force ruining the continuity and thematic cohesion of Soul Eater. 

And that’s not even getting into how the clowns just re-populating because of Asura’s almost infinite power of madness. 

At least “madness and fear are always with humans” is a clear, understandable message. But clowns? I get that clowns are scary to a lot of people, and their exaggerated details and potentially inhuman grotesque shape is decent shorthand. But this also feels like a failure of using the images to address the message: not everyone is going to find clowns scary, even taking something from childhood enjoyment and making it fearsome isn’t much of a deep message: “I made the things from your childhood edgy” strikes me as lazy. It’s as bad as Ohkubo assuming breasts can only be maternal and must be only a yearning for maternal love as in the final chapter of Soul Eater, or Ohkubo’s regressive cisheteronormative approach to sex as existing only for baby-making and that the idealization of sex appeal is embodied only by an underage teenage girl (again: Ohkubo is fucking gross, fuck this guy) in Fire Force. 

This is Ohkubo latching onto a small set of visual details or story tropes he likes and not letting them go. And it again disrupts what we already had: we go from Shotaro in B Ichi being a good guy who is clownish and literally turns into a clown as a final power-up form, to clowns just being absolutely evil in Soul Eater. Again, what is it with Ohkubo taking something from a previous manga, introducing it into another manga--and then taking a completely different approach in that new manga that contradicts what he did before? I can appreciate an author changing their mind over time, but it also comes across as a failure to let the previous work stand on its own and a refusal to let the message of that earlier story persist without needless contradiction by a later work. It comes across less as the author maturing and changing their mind with time and more like a creator who just wants to keep contradicting themselves for the sake of spurring on an argument (and more attention for the sake of more book sales).

[dissociationswagcompetition]

THE DISSOCIATION SWAG COMPETITION BRACKET IS HERE!!!

Click for better quality as Tumblr likes to eat quality! Goodness RIP my art program putting in all of these characters and texts hahaha!

All characters, including names and media, as well as which group they're in and when their versus poll will open are all under the cut!

ROUND 1

Round 1 will be broken up into four groups to avoid having too many polls at once

Group A - Tuesday, Feb 14, 2023

Patrick "Pat" Sprigs/Rey Sprigs (Mega Man Star Force) vs Crona (Soul Eater)

Darcy Wu (Amphibia) vs Raiden Ei (Genshin Impact)

Steven Universe (Steven Universe) vs Kris Dreemurr (Deltarune)

Ferb Fletcher (Phineas and Ferb) vs Benrey (Half Life VR but the AI is Self Aware)

Jaime Lannister (Game of Thrones) vs Maxim Kischine (Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance)

Sunny/Omori (Omori) vs Yugi Muto/Yami/Atem (Yu-Gi-Oh)

Uendo Toneido/Patches/Kisegawa/Owen (Ace Attorney) vs Harrier Du Bois (Disco Elysium)

Razputin "Raz" Aquato (Psychonauts) vs Dirk Strider (Homestuck)

Group B - Wednesday, Feb 15, 2023

Abed Nadir (Community) vs Olivier Mira Armstrong (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)

Yellow Guy (Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared) vs Jeanne-Marie Beaubier/Aurora (Marvel Comics)

Ienzo (Kingdom Hearts) vs Laudna (Critical Role)

Michael Shelley/Michael Distortion (The Magnus Archives) vs Mae Borowski (Night in the Woods)

"Crazy" Jane (Doom Patrol) vs Raphael Hamato (Rise of the TMNT)

Lord Garmadon (Lego Ninjago) vs Alfendi Layton (Layton Brothers: Mystery Room)

Sora (Kingdom Hearts) vs Veyle (Fire Emblem Engage)

Eda Clawthorne (The Owl House) vs Cecil Palmer (Welcome to Night Vale)

Group C - Thursday, Feb 16, 2023

Oscar Pine (RWBY) vs Shallan Davar/Veil/Radiant (Stormlight Archive)

Shulk (Xenoblade Chronicles) vs Jeritza von Hrym (Fire Emblem Three Houses)

ENA (ENA webseries) vs Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100)

Kujou Hikari/Shiny Luminous (Futari wa Pretty Cure Max Heart) vs Mafuyu Asahina (Project Sekai)

Goldia die Heilige (Pocket Mirror) vs Madotsuki (Yume Nikki)

Gregory House (House MD) vs One-One (infinity Train)

Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Marvel) vs Garu/Karu (NU: Carnival)

Nagisa Shiota (Assassination Classroom) vs Tenma Tsukasa (Project Sekai)

Group D - Friday, Feb 17, 2023

Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII) vs Zenitsu Agatsuma (Demon Slayer)

Harvey Dent/Two-Face (DC) vs Homura Akemi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Blitzwing/Icy/Hothead/Random (Transformers Animated) vs Kayano Mikoto (MILGRAM)

Mike/Chester/Svetlana/Vito/Manitoba/Mal (Total Drama) vs Bruce Wayne/Batman (DC)

Sayo Yasuda (Umineko No Naku Koro Ni) vs Nandor the Relentless (What we do in the Shadows)

Jackson Jekyll/Holt Hyde (Monster High) vs Ingo (Pokemon)

Punch/Counterpunch (Transformers) vs Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog)

Chara Dreemurr (Undertale) vs Ash Williams (Evil Dead)

Thank you SO MUCH for everyone who submitted these lovely characters, I wish them all the best of luck!!! See youse all tomorrow~

[teatitty]

Hello fellow Soul Eater enjoyer

One of my fave childhood manga of all time I genuinely have no criticisms for it it's just so good from start to finish and the anime is also amazing as long as you go in knowing it deviates after a point. SteinMarie my M/F beloveds

Also.... sighs. I did in fact start writing the AU