There are two things that come to mind when I think of Soul Eater:
1) I love Maka’s outfit, especially in combination with her scythe.
2) Black Star could have used a kick in the rear. Or two. Or three. Or four…
I read the series about four years ago courtesy of my local library, and while I liked it, I couldn’t say I loved it. But what better time to give Soul Eater a second chance than with this omnibus version courtesy of Square Enix Manga & Books?
This re-release is similar to VIZ Media’s Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition. Both are hardcover books collecting about one and a half volumes of the original release, are the same height, use brighter and thicker paper, and feature new, character-centric covers against a solid background. Plus, just like Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition, Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition does not feature a new translation; there are edits throughout, most notably the removal of honorifics, but otherwise the two versions are identical. However, the lettering is completely re-done with a new font. So for those of you wondering if it’s worth a double-dip, probably not unless you love brilliant black-and-white pages, and/or a larger trim size in a hardcover format. Yes, there are color images, but I believe almost all of the color images here are in the original Yen Press version.
Anyway, Soul Eater started out as a series of one-shots, and boy, can you tell. It’s not just the comparatively (compared to the main chapters) weaker art; the three prologue chapters thrust you into three unrelated groups of teenagers all on a similar mission: take down 99 human souls and 1 witch soul to create the ultimate weapon for their leader, Death. Each group is made up of one weapon user (Meister) and one or two humans who can transform into Weapons. But while this sounds very action-oriented, all three stories have a heavy comedic basis. A philandering dad who keeps hanging out at clubs even while knowing it upsets his daughter; A loud-mouth assassin who loves to make grand entrances; A symmetrical enthusiast with OCD tendencies. These sections include more punchlines than punches, and much of the humor is based on ecchi (sex appeal, groping, etc.).
Only after these groups fail in their mission does the manga start numbering chapters. The setting moves to the academy for Weapons and Meisters, DWMA. Having more chapters in The Perfect Edition compared to the original volume 1 makes a huge difference. The comedy continues to play a key role, such as the reveals about the new teachers, but Soul Eater becomes a group adventure with more formalized world-building. You can see where the story is going versus ending one chapter (which is a part 1) after the one-shots in the original volume 1.
So who are those adventurers? All three groups are made up of pairs with differing personalities. While Maka (cover character) is studious and a hard worker, her scythe partner Soul is lackadaisical and a bit rebellious. Ninja Weapon Tsubaki is quiet and more practical than the boisterous Black Star. Death the Kid, Death’s son, focuses on symmetry even though gun twins Liz and Patty know there are bigger issues in the world than whether toilet paper has been folded. But just as in most manga of its class, the main characters all compensate for each other’s weaknesses. Everyone is very quirky to the point that there will be likely someone (or, more specifically, someone’s actions) you find irritating, whether that be Black Star’s bragging or battles ending because of OCD versus a brilliant move.
The art is one of the standout aspects of the manga. It’s a very stylized approach combining the lankiness and the absurd. The sun and moon have long noses, Kid has three white stripes on one side of his head…the whole world has a Tim Burton feel to it, and while Ohkubo hasn’t settled into his style yet in these early chapters, I can’t help but admire his immense creativity.
Soul Eater: The Perfect Edition volume 1 helps better establish the story over the Yen Press version, but so far, I don’t see the need for owners of the original to upgrade. That’s disappointing. For new fans, there’s little reason to not get the better print version here, but be aware this series is not dynamite right from the beginning.