r/souleater

Soul eater was my first anime, like, to most of the everyone out there. I got to the show when I saw the clip where Black Star got Maka chopped at the hospital. It was a bit gore, a bit dark to my child self back then but I got through. The 51 episodes were immersive experience that got me completely hooked to the show, to an extent after the ending I felt sad. Unpopular opinion, I think the ending was okay. It just could’ve been executed much better with less cringey stuffs and rush in between. A bit of polishing and adjustment here and there would’ve made a good ending. I won’t be surprised if this was the author’s original concept of the ending anyway. I was 17.

But after that I was in a void. So as told by people there might be brotherhood, remakes, I just headed to manga and got really confused by the panels and chapters to start, and got lost even at the chapter people told me to read. In the end I just lingered at FUNIMATION forum to do DWMA role play with strangers to resolve it. Of course it didn’t resolve. At about 21, after getting to other anime, K-ON, Haruhi, Monogatari and other anime, I got back to SE again. I read the manga, and got myself again in another immersive experience to solve that itch. And was very curious of how the ending would be. Everything was well. I loved SPARTOI, love the rehash of design in that era. Maka’s black dress was dope. Book of Eibon arc was insanely fun. Then when the battle of moon started, at one point it suddenly felt rushed again… and when the ending comes, it just didn’t resolve. It’s weird. Even weirder honestly. I felt the OG anime ending could work better if adapted the other arcs in manga + a bit of smartening.

And by then I was aware that it’s basically a studio’s charity work to animate a finished manga because no point to promote an ended manga. A brotherhood might never come.

Years later Fire Force happened, I was 23-24. I tried. But it just didn’t work, it’s just weird to see my favorite characters somehow “reincarnated” into a different being (and later on turned out to be the forebears of my favorite characters, I know, still weird). Then now anime of FF ended, awesome anime btw. But it just didn’t feel the same to me… the author said he’s retired from long projects.

And now I’m holding this void. 31 years old. Like remorse. I’ve retired from anime for few years and the last visit to Akihabara just reminded me of how old and irrelevant I am now. As my heart soothes yet aches at the same time whenever I thought of the first ED song of SE and that view of Death City in the desert under the laughing sun.

Anyway. I miss the show.

https://preview.redd.it/qqnj4cbmqhug1.png?width=244&format=png&auto=webp&s=41094c0531e706a608e6c799c651bfe40cf0aa78