Soul Eater. Tom 25

ソウルイーター [Soul Eater] #25

by Atsushi Ohkubo, Paweł Dybała (Translator)

Soul Eater to przebojowa seria, odkrywająca przed czytelnikiem pełną humoru historię uczniów szkoły prowadzonej przez... Śmierć we własnej osobie. Uczniowie placówki stoją przed niezwykle trudnym zadaniem: muszą stworzyć dla swego dyrektora potężną broń zwaną Death Scythe, czyli Kosą Śmierci. Jak tego dokonać? Niektórzy uczniowie to mistrzowie broni, inni mają zdolność przekształcania się w broń, którą władają mistrzowie. Dobierając się w zespoły dwu lub trzy osobowe mają jeden cel - na początku zdobyć 99 dusz złych ludzi, a na końcu duszę jednej wiedźmy. Każda dusza złego człowieka zwiększa moc danej broni. Przypieczętowanie duszą wiedźmy, pozwala takiej broni być używaną przez Śmierć.

Soul Eater to niezwykle udana mieszanka groteski, humoru, przygody oraz intrygi. Świetnie wykreowani bohaterowie, wciągająca fabuła i świetna kreska sprawiają, że przy tej serii nie sposób się nudzić!

(opis wydawcy)

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Shonen, Comics, Graphic Novels, Action, Supernatural

252 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 2013

About the author

OHKUBO Atsushi

Atsushi Ōkubo ( 大久保篤), also romanized as Atsushi Ohkubo, is a Japanese manga author and fantasy artist known for his work on the manga series Soul Eater, which has been adapted into an anime. Okubo worked as an assistant under Rando Ayamine, on the manga series Get Backers. He also created artwork for various cards for the Lord of Vermillion game.

Atsushi Ōkubo was not a model student and was more attracted to drawing than to learning. At the age of 20, after finishing studies at a manga school where he met Rando Ayamine, the author of Get Backers, he became Rando Ayamine's assistant for two years. Finally, he won a competition at Square Enix's Gangan magazine with his first manga series B.Ichi and it was published for four volumes. After the end of his last manga, he created Soul Eater, still for Square Enix's Gangan magazine, which brought him worldwide success.

Reviews

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un final medio flojo o yo, que aún no me gusta ningún final de manga.

Triste porque uno de mis personajes favoritos y a quien protegería con mi vida cerró de cierta manera su conflicto aunque no como yo quisiera. No fue del todo satisfactorio y he sentido muy abierto el final.

Y por otro lado, decepcionado porque cuando empecé esta historia me encontré justo con escenas de ecchi que no me gustan nada. Cero conmigo. Y como no podía ser de otra forma, el final ha tenido bastante de eso otra vez lo cual arruina un poco mi experiencia.

Pero a ver, no voy ni a empañar ni a hacer borrón y cuenta nueva. Creo que esta historia a mí me ha ganado por su grupo de personajes y eso es suficiente para mí ya que los villanos siempre me quedaron a deber entre los arcos. El núcleo de amigos conformado por Maka, Soul, Kidd, las hermanas Thompson, Black Star, Tsubaki y mi querida Chrona serán inolvidables y ciertos personajes secundarios que gracias al humor y las constantes escenas divertidas le dieron su toque.

También el diseño de los personajes, el dibujo demasiado espectacular y la secuencia en las escenas de acción que para mí son de las mejores peleas que he visto en el manga por lo fácil que es seguir el hilo de los movimientos. Y eso, fue bueno mientras duró, a excepción de la sexualización de niñas e hipersexualización de mujeres.

[Mary ♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 stars

If we want to change the world, we need to try and change ourselves first of all
-Death the Kid

I am literally in tears

I do not know what I have to say about this manga series. Funny. Adventurous. Magical. Creepy. Full of amazing characters. With twists and turns in every page. Simply beautiful. I just cannot say enough about Soul Eater, literally.

I loved the anime and I also loved the manga. They were really different since a certain point but they both had elements I adored and really enjoyed. They gave me the feels, making me laugh out loud, cry until I couldn't cry anymore, ship characters, fangirl about fictional crushes (Stein's my Soul Eater crush and no, I'm not ashamed) and they just made me have the best time of my life.

I could so easily relate with the characters, love them all (I even liked some of the villains) and get excited about what would happen next (this could be noticed from my binge reading). I simply couldn't keep my mind off it. I could catch myself making references about it or mention it in my daily conversations, acting like a crazy person because I was just so absorbed in this world and this story that it was really difficult for me to adapt myself in real life after I finished one volume.

This is probably one of my favorite manga of all time. I loved every element it had and I swear, every time I was feeling sad about something, I read a little of Soul Eater and then was happy for the rest of the day, like nothing bad had happened. I need to recommend this to everyone The only warning I have to give is that the volumes contain some nudity, which may be a little uncomfortable sometimes (it was a little uncomfortable for me too).

I know that I probably sound like a crazy fangirl, writing this review but I was unable to contain my thoughts and write something serious about it. The only thing I have to say is thanks

Maka
Soul
Black Star
Tsubaki
Kid
Liz
Patty
and everyone else, thanks for giving me such a great time


Soul Resonance



Highly recommended
~Mary

[Kalliope_mp3 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Soul Eater is dumb.

 

Part I - The Good

Soul Eater does an amazing job at introducing characters and showing their personalities. One thing that caught my attention was how the main message of Soul Eater is that balance is everything. No one is 100% good, nor 100% bad, people are much more complex than that. And I genuinely LOVED this part.

Most, if not all, of Soul Eater's characters have very obvious flaws and you still like them regardless.

Spirit is a cheating womanizer but he still does his best to be a good father and doesn't have a problem with admitting that he made several mistakes - and by doing them, he made Maka not trust him. He's aware of that and tries several times to change things and correct a few of his behaviors (not all of them, he still has flaws).

Maka has her own insecurities - It was so refreshing to see a main character that actually suffers from the pressure that you would expect them to have based on their abilities and positions. The pressure of being the daughter of two very powerful people and being Soul's partner - there were some insecurities that would come with those things and Maka suffers that. Multiple times she underestimates herself because of those insecurities.

Tsubaki and Black star also have their own flaws and their own stories. It's nice to see main characters that you can easily differentiate between them because they all have their own personalities, bias, and flaws.

Another amazing point is that Soul Eater has one of the healthiest relationships I've ever seen (even though there are some points that I'll talk about later on). Maka and Soul live together, are able to share a place without major problems. They respect each other privacy, show their affection towards each other in their own ways, respect each other boundaries and choices, and are always there to comfort each other. They fuck up every now and then - which is not only normal but expected as well when you're in a relationship with someone, regardless of the nature of the relationship, may it be friendship or a romantic relationship. Maka and Soul bring the best of each other and that is very cute to see.
Crona and Stein were another mind-blowing part this manga. Crona shows the amount of emotional, physical, and psychological damage that trauma can make on a person. I was genuinely cheering for them and loved to see the positive impact that having a support system can make in one's life. I was sad to see their final arc but kinda expected it. Disappointing, but not surprising.

Stein is a very particular case. I personally can't remember seeing another character that has violent tendencies being so human (would love to see more of it, actually). He makes a real effort not to actually hurt people he cares about. Yes, he made multiple mistakes but you can see through the story that he makes an effort to stay sane. His friends love him, even with his flaws (that everyone is aware of, and they try to help him while they still hold him accountable when he fucks up). Watching him struggling to stay sane for the sake of the ones he loves and cares about was amazing - one of my absolute favorite parts. There are people who struggle with different mental illnesses and conditions that make their brains work in different ways and this story shows that they're human as well. That they're not villains because of this (while still making a point of holding someone you love accountable for their shitty actions). Stein being proud of his students and being admired back by his students was super wholesome and I loved that so much.



PART II - Neutral points

Do I love Death the Kid? Yes, a whole lot.

Even though his OCD is used as a joke multiple times, this manga still made me reflect on the struggles that people that suffer with OCD have and I'll be educating myself more on the subject because of it. I'm not sure if that was the goal in the manga,,,, but I still think it can make you understand more of the rituals, how OCD is serious and affect people's life. I was completely unaware of how OCD can make someone so uncomfortable and even physically sick.



PART III - The dumb points

The amount of sexualization of children in this manga is unreal, even on anime standards. Maka is 12/13 and at the beginning of the manga even during battles, there are multiple panty shots that are not only gross but so unnecessary??? By definition, Ecchi is about "playfully sexual actions. Used with the meaning of 'sexy', 'dirty' or 'naughty'" There is absolutely nothing sexy about a bunch of 13-year-olds????? Like, what's wrong with the team that made that? And it's not only Maka. Tsubaki is 16/17, Patty is 12, Liz is 16/17 and they all have multiple gross scenes as well. They're minors, Patty is a child for fuck's sake. And the whole Blair getting naked and getting on soul's lap even though he's like 14 or 15? JAIL. 

Also, even if the story is good the fanservice is so unnecessary. There were multiple times when a major fight is paused just so Blair could take her clothes off. After some time it gets not only repetitive but also annoying as hell. 



PART IV - Bad points

I feel like most of the characters' issues were not fully explored because the author thought that he was doing a continuation? Like, some things were hushed and not fully explained. Maka's insecurities deserved more time and communication with Soul to be solved. The final arc was really underwhelming and that open ending was..... straight up disappointing. I felt like it build all that tension leading into a really big, epic fight and it didn't really delivered what was promised.



Overall I'm happy I finally sat down and read Soul Eater, even if I got disappointed in the end. I expected much more of a story that had the world-building, characters, and good motivations enough to be an amazing manga.

[Holly Letson · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.6*
---------------
I felt that the ending could have been better, but it was decent.
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I will be trying to read the * Soul Eater NOT! * series as well. There are only 4 volumes released stateside of it, so far, and it focuses on the females at DWMA.

[JoAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Final Thoughts on Soul Eater Manga as a whole.

I mostly enjoyed the read, though I felt it a little shallow at times. I liked the characters, the art, and the plot was easy enough to follow; it just didn’t get too deep or convoluted. Which can be a good thing either for a younger audience, or wanting a straightforward story that won’t become full of drama or thirty plot lines thick.

The character development is visible. Especially if you compare the first few volumes with the last few, in that the core cast of teens go from being idiots who can’t fight well or with each other, to a team that outshines the teachers. They’re still idiots though. XD So it’s nice to see they remain as they are personality wise, but with more weight to back up their bravado. And even in their personalities, they’ve seen some stuff and have to move forward, and I like that they can do that too.

I found some of the attacks interesting, especially with Maka and Soul, and his music, which I don’t think was fully explored in the anime yet. I think the music aspect was my favorite detailing that I wish we could hear and see animated. As well as the fights. There were a ton of those, and if Studio Bones (the studio for Soul Eater) or David Productions (the studio that brought us Fire Force) ever revives this to continue or reboot, I would be ecstatic just for the fights alone. Because a negative for me was trying to follow the action on the page, and I feel it would benefit by being animated.

But there’s more to the story than just the fights. I did enjoy the characters, though I wished at times for more development of side characters and the faculty. Especially of later chapters where new weapons and their wielders showed up and we just accept them and their cool designs without much room for personality or history. Alas, they’re overshadowed by the core cast. Potential for anime original content and context right there. I also need more Marie and Stein. I did enjoy seeing the relationship between Maka and her father, and Death the Kid and his father. Two different types, but by the end I liked how both played out.

The comedy and ecchi is hit or miss. Sometimes I found the ecchi annoying and the comedy flat. I did laugh aloud though, and I was surprised I found Excalibur more funny in manga form than in anime form. Why, I don’t know. And there was one section where they were all gender bent for magical reasons, and the ecchi was more interesting there.

One last thing is the naming of persons. There’s a lot of lore packed into the names of a lot of characters or attacks or such, and I liked reading the notes on where they came from and the meanings. It didn’t always make sense or was used correctly, but it all added to the aesthetics I thought, so I liked it.

So that is that. Enjoyed, but didn’t love it. 7/10

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well... I guess this was an okay ending. I was really worried the final battle with the Kishin was going to be too easy, I'm happy that it wasn't, but at the same time it was. There was a battle, and the kids suffered and got hurt. But when it came down to subduing him, it was too easy. I also was incredibly annoyed by the unnecessary fan service at the end with everyone suddenly being obsessed with boobs. Ugh... so stupid. There is a time for fan service, and then there are times when it's just obnoxious. This was one of those times.

Overall, I enjoyed this series. There were times I was super into it, and times it was just entertaining enough to keep my interest. Despite it's length, I feel like Ohkubo-san did a good job at keeping the storyline relevant and it wasn't a bunch of random storylines detached from the overall storyline to keep the manga going and going. It did drag on, but he connected all the pieces so that it made it okay for the storyline to drag on.

What I liked most about this series were the characters. Though Maka was our main character, I found she was one of my least favorites. As a character, she was very bland and didn't change much at all. Her companions, however, I loved. Black Star was quite literally the star of this series. His character was by far the most interesting and grew the most. I also really enjoyed Kid as a character. He was a bit absurd in the beginning, but he also grew as a character. The slew of teachers were all great, and the other students were also very fun. The witches... everyone! Ohkubo-san really hit a slam dunk with his characters. They definitely brought life to this story.

I also really enjoyed Ohkubo-san's art style. While reading this series, I would describe it to people as punk rock manga. The artwork had a very punk vibe, the style of the kids' clothing. I really enjoyed it. It was different, sometimes creepy, and always interesting to look at.

I'm looking forward to watching the anime now! Well done Ohkubo-san, you had a little mishaps along the way, but for the most part, you created something very fun and different.

[Ian Morando · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gran final, el único problema fue el anticlimático ecchi en el último capítulo. Muy Soul Eater eso por cierto. Otro final que me encanta de este autor, se nota que lo tenía todo preparado, y no lo digo para chuparle las medias, sino que se ve que le gusta escribir gran parte de la historia antes de ponerse a dibujar. Ojala más mangakas hicieran algo similar, aunque es entendible que pocos lo logren, ya que las fechas los corren constantemente.
Al igual que con Fire Force, si el autor se tomase en serio la obra al 100%, Soul Eater podría ser muchisimo mejor. Su ¨problema¨ es que a veces pareciera que escribe para pubertos (es que lo hace, que yo analice shonens teniendo 21 debe ser el verdadero problema).
En ambas series de Ohkubo mueren personajes sumamente influyentes en la trama, lo que no me gusta es cómo se salvan algunos otros de heridas mortales y de manera tan forzada.
Uno de los grandes fuertes de Soul Eater está en el cast, hay muchos muy buenos personajes y a los cuáles uno le toma cariño. Otro es la ambientación, desde el capítulo cero que uno se sumerge en ¨Death City¨. También, los simbolismos, la música, el orden y la locura son temas que toca con excelencia. Por último, el arte es de mis favoritos, Ohkubo es un fuera de serie para dibujar peleas y pensamientos.

Nota final: 8

Pd: el diseño de Soul siempre me recuerda a 2-D de Gorillaz.

[⋆ Ange ⋆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

La diferencia entre el manga y el anime (vi primero el anime) es bastante abismal, ambas cosas me gustaron bastante pero creo que prefiero más el manga porque tiene todos los detalles que le faltan a la serie que son un montón junto con la modificaciones en la historia.

[Katherine Velasquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kid makes it to the moon in time for the kishens return
We view deaths room with Excalibur explaining how once kid becomes a full shinigami Death will no longer be here as the order calls for one
The kishen starts saying that kid and him are both children or pieces of death
Kid connects two lines to be on an even playing field towards the kishen
Maka and soul have started using black blood to aid the fight
Kid connects the last line,becoming symmetrical and ultimately killing his dad unknowingly
Soul learns to control and use the black blood to its full power
Help beings to come from the ground area creating an opening for Maka to stab the kishen and enter his soul
They meet corona saying they can take them with them back out
Corona declines but helps by giving them brew
Maka and soul create a soul resonance with the group and escape the madness
Corona deals the final blow,not killing, but sealing the kishen and them on the moon
The groups arrive home and kid realizes his dead is gone
Kid creates a forever alliance with the witches meaning soul is the last death sytche
This series is amazing definitely recommend for anyone who’s interested

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

That's how you end an epic series! All the main plot lines were resolved with a few loose ends that kept you guessing. I absolutely believe that Maka was successful in saving Crona. Crona goes on to work for Kid as the liaison between them and the witches. Kid is the best Shinigami ever and doesn't fall into madness. Fear is kept at bay and never wrecks havoc on the world. And Maka and Black Star get together.

That's my ending and I'm sticking to it. It's been 4 long years and I've finally finished this series. Thanks for the laughs, gasps, and everything in-between.

[Nakarem · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are tons of issues with this manga but I just love all these characters so damn much (Crona, my baby, I want to protect) and ahhhhh
I'm glad I read it and I am happy with things turned out (except one thing...about Crona...) but even with that I'm okay, because things haveto happen..I'm still gonna think about some headcanons, though..

[Joshua Cuevas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whole 25 volumes is 👌
Blackstar my goat.
Power of friendship wrapped in goth aesthetic wtf? Literally my little pony but for people who's favorite color is black 🖤🥀 What a genius concept.

Stylish, unhinged, low-key wholesome.
Unforgettable.

[Blake the Book Eater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid ending to the series. Can’t say I love every part of it, but I respect the journey that these characters went on. Kinda mad about how Crona’s fate was handled but oh well.

[Lisa ₊⁺✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glad I finally reread this series.
Is it the best series ever? No, especially by today's standards.
Did I enjoy it nonetheless? - yes. Solid read with big nostalgia for me

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The battle against the kishin is on and it's in the air so really only Maka, kid, and black star are able to get hits in. The kishin is related to kid, being an older brother of sorts. Shinigami put a lot of his fear into the kishin so that's why he became the main villain.

Kid didn't get that much fear so he was able to relate to humans better and not be such an egotistical prick like the kishin became. It was a weird revelation but kinda made sense in why shinigami tried to keep the kishin locked up. He'd have to destroy his own son in a sense, and if he couldn't do it than kid, his other son, would have to do it for him and that's stressful.

Kid becomes a full shinigami and connects all three rings in his hair. That means that his dad will have to go since there can't be more than one fully powered shinigami at a time. Weird and sad but those are the rules I guess.

Maka is unbelievable determined to defeat the kishin and get crona back that she goes inside the kishin, with black star and kids help, to find crona. She and soul do find crona and she's so surprised and happy that Maka came in after her that she knows she's the only one to take down the kishin. By self sacrifice. Crona will seal the kishin on the moon with the black blood. I'm kinda glad crona was able to find peace. I kinda wished she would've been able to live a somewhat normal life with the others but since she's bound to the kishin that was impossible.

Happy endings for all and that was a great story.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the series all up until the end. They didn't really "defeat" the Kishin they just wrapped him up in Black Blood. It's almost just the same thing as Death did when Death wrapped up the Kishin up in the Kishin's own skin. To me it just seemed like it was a band-aid put on a gaping wound that is never going to heal. Plus, the MOON is covered up now! I know its a manga and all but its the Moon! No more Moon light ever or at least until some diabolical villain comes along to free the Kishin again or Chrona breaks. Think about what the Kishin said to Chrona in Vol. 24 it makes for good logic.

I did like Maria was pregnant with Stein's baby no less! SEQUEL anyone?? Hm, to see Make and the others as adults would be interesting. I hope they keep that in mind as they work on Soul Eater NOT.

I do wonder though about their strength to fight really evil villains. Soul is the Last Death Scythe what are they going to do in the future when a lot of the Death Scythe's are gone? It's a Witch's soul that gives it strength and the only other thing that makes a weapon stronger is human souls but that turns them into Kishins.

There is just too much left open (not in a good way) for it to be a good (not necessarily happy) ending for me. For me it leaves to much to doubt not too much to hope.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

To no one’s surprise, I sobbed so much during this volume.

Maka and I are the same person. At the end, she ended up hugging Marie over her dad and I would have done the same thing. She was the reason I cried the second time lol

I wasn’t BIG on the ending. Felt like there could have been more. For a second I figured it would conclude in Soul Eater Not but it’s only 5 volumes so I’m guessing that’s not true. Maybe it continues into Fire Force…

Anyways I’m so glad I read this series. Now I’m gonna go watch the anime and shit on it lol

[maria alicia Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soul eater will always be in my heart!

This series has been a good one! I only wished that they made Crona better. Crona in the anime adaptation is more likable. In the manga, I also didn't like when Excalibur was annoying Kid; Kid should've got his moment. I didn't like the madness in the end; It felt weird. But the ending was super good with Kid because he made peace with the witches! Now I'm working on a fan made continuation of the series.

[Bixidu]

Sorprendentemente, y considerando que odie los últimos tomos, este tomo final si me gusto. Buen dibujo, buenas peleas, la historia, y sobre todo la conclusión, tuvo sentido. Sigue habiendo un par de cositas que no me encantaron, pero la pase bien leyendolo

[Tayna Tavares · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is sad to see a good story ending. But at least it ended in a very awesome way, and I couldn't expect something less than this from Soul Eater. Can't wait to see another work from this author =)

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nooooo don't be over I'm in denial

[Addison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Noooo Crona! Ahhhhh.

[Paulo · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.5/10

Soul Eater fue un battle shonen bastante sólido, y lo disfruté mucho.
El mundo es como una caricatura gótica, con una estética de los 2000 tardíos. El diseño de personajes me pareció buenísimo, creo que todos dejan su impresión en ti con sus diseños y te hacen querer saber más sobre ellos.
El worldbuilding no me pareció super detallado pero era interesante cómo incorporaba distintos conceptos, nombres y criaturas mitológicas.
Las creaturas se me hacían muy hit or miss la verdad, no diría malas pero en lo personal no se alineaban con mis preferencias estéticas.

Uno de los highlights de Soul Eater para mí fue el concepto de meisters y armas demoniacas. Los meisters/técnicos son gente especializada en el combate con cierto tipo de arma en específico, mientras que las armas son personas que se transforman literalmente en armas. Para trabajar juntos, sus almas deben estar en sintonía, y al resonar el uno con el otro logran extraer su potencial. La relación entre meister y arma es una relación muy íntima, y se ve reflejado en la confianza que se tienen mutuamente, en las dudas que tienen sobre si no se sienten merecedores del otro, y en el hecho de que muchas relaciones románticas nacieran de ser pareja meister-arma. Creo que estas relaciones hacen a los personajes más memorables.

Maka y Soul para mí son como el ápice de esta idea. Viven juntos, se hacen de comer, se apoyan incondicionalmente y tienen confianza el uno en el otro, y los problemas entre ellos más bien nacen de dudar de sí mismos, sentir que no merecen al otro, o sentir que usan al otro para no enfrentar su pasado. Quizás uno no confía en un plan o en una persona, pero confía en la seguridad del otro, por lo que salen adelante, y eso me parece hermoso.

Crona, siendo todo lo contrario, también es de mis personajes favoritos. Está fusionadx con su arma, quien le golpea y ridiculiza cada oportunidad que tiene, y su madre es una persona manipuladora y abusiva. Para Crona, su madre es como su arma: no puede escapar realmente de ella, por más que lo desee.
Crona duda de sí mismx, pero a diferencia de Maka y Soul, solo puede contar con sí mismx, y cuando no puede lidiar por sí solx con las cosas, se derrumba y se cierra en su pequeño lugar seguro. Podemos ver el impacto positivo que tiene una red de apoyo en alguien como Crona, y vemos que el impacto ocurre en pasos pequeños pero importantes. Su arco me dio mucha tristeza, y en lo que llega a convertirse, y la ideología que adopta, son trágicamente lógicos considerando lo que le ha pasado.

Black Star es cool, medio castroso, pero al final esos factores que lo hacían molesto para mí son casi inexistentes. Tsubaki me cae bien, una chica sensata de buen corazón que siempre presta un oído a sus amigos.

Death the Kid es otro de mis favoritos. Su diseño se me hace increíble (y que sus armas sean pistolas duales que agarra al revés y dispara con el meñique es ridículamente COOL), y aunque no estoy seguro de qué tan realista es su representación del TOC, al menos me gusta que muestre que no solo trata de querer las cosas ordenadas: le causa estrés, le causa malestar físico, lo angustia terriblemente, y es algo muy debilitante. Creo que es muy bueno el arco que atraviesa, aprendiendo a confiar en sus amigos humanos en lugar de hacer todo él, y cómo adopta la ideología de buscar un orden dinámico y cambiante sobre uno estático. Liz y Patty son divertidas y me cayeron bien, no tengo mucho que decir de ellas la verdad.

El fan service es ridículo y da cringe, y es particularmente invasivo e incómodo en el prólogo, donde no solo Blair forma parte de ello sino también los protagonistas de como 15 años. Luego queda relegado a Blair el resto de la historia y está más espaciado y tolerable, pero el final tiene una sección dedicada a hacer callback al fanservice de los primeros capítulos y lo justifica con una Locura de las Tetas que aumenta la fijación de los personajes por los pechos femeninos (para dejarte en claro por si no lo has notado que Ohkubo es un boob guy). Es enserio??????????

Fuera de eso, el final me pareció bittersweet. Veo que a muchos les pareció apresurado o que quedan cosas abiertas, pero yo en lo personal no tengo quejas. ¿Quería un mejor final para ese personaje? Sí, me hubiera gustado, pero a la vez pues había hecho cosas bastante malas y creo que habría sido difícil de escribir un final así, y me parece realista cómo quedaron las cosas. (Secuela de soul eater yo te espero).

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Soul Eater, Vol. 25 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and contains the last six chapters (108–113) of the on-going manga series.

The final battle between Asura and our three main protagonists continues and concludes. Asura reveals that he and Death the Kid share a connection, though Death the Kid has doubts about this. Black Star couldn't care less about this and leaps into combat, fighting in a style that his truly his own, while Soul Evans is preparing something in order to counter the Kishin's Black Blood.

The final battle ebbs between the combatants with everyone exerting their full power, Maka Albarn, Black Star and Death the Kid assault Asura together. The three of them prove to be incredibly determined to win, but Asura doesn't make things easy and even backs them into a corner, but the main protagonist manages to subdue Asura.

The final chapter serves to wrap up everything that happened after the final battle and where the surviving main actors of the series are left off.

This tankōbon is written and illustrated by Atsushi Ōkubo. The tankōbon concludes the final battle on the moon – where the trio of protagonists has come into their powers and has grown much since the beginning of the series as commented by their adults. The battle was done rather well with the trio shining both as a team and individuals. The epilogue was rather mediocre, albeit nice way to wrap up a crazy series.

Overall, Soul Eater is a wonderful series centering on three protagonists: Maka Albarn, Black Star, and Death the Kid and to a lesser extent their weapons Soul Evans, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, and the pair of Liz and Patty Thompson respectively – their mission is to preserve the world order against anyone who threatens it – including witches, monsters, and evil demons.

Ōkubo has created a wonderful world of magic and madness. It is a universe inhabited by various characters capable of using supernatural powers by channeling the wavelengths of their souls. Most of the characters in the series, including the main protagonists, are classified into two groups: humans who are born with the power to turn into weapons, called demon weapons, and the wielders of these weapons, called meisters. It is up to the three main protagonists to stop the greatest of demons that has reawaken – Asura.

All in all, Soul Eater, Vol. 25 is a wonderful conclusion to an equally wonderful series.

[Ethan Knierim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great ending! It is clearly evident the Atsushi Ohkubo pulled out all the stops for this finale. The panels are packed with action, emotion, & a level of detail which was not consistent across the series and the full page spreads punctuate everything with creeping quiet. Character arcs, those which were long-developed, were wrapped up really soundly. The comradery and fighting spirit displayed in the series really came to bear. This whole final volume reverberates with good ol' Shonen-battle-manga-power-of-friendship. This really is a good series and I hate that I don't really like it.

Whilst this series (the anime adaptation of which was my first true foray into anime and manga) is quite good, it really just didn't grab me. I just could not become invested in it. Interestingly, whilst I had virtually no memory of the second half of the story as I was re-reading, I did recall my thoughts upon finishing the series: If I were younger (about the age of the main characters) I think I would have really enjoyed this story. I read it late on both counts and my second, more careful, reading proved my ultimate disinterest in this series which I thought was, for me, beloved.

Now I need to find a young teen to gift my copies of this series to so they (the tankobon) can get the love they deserve.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoa. So that's it? That's the ending?
I'm confused by the ending so I'm going to re-read this final volume before I turn it back into the library, but there were some things I still liked about it. Marie's happy ending, for example.
This whole series felt like a bizarre dream. There were questions that never got answered (what on earth is wrong with the sun and moon?), characters that didn't feel whole (I was looking forward to seeing Blair some more in the volumes leading up to this one, but seeing as how she behaved in this volume, I don't care for her as much anymore and I'll have to be content with my fanon version of her), and I felt that in the final chapter the author made me lose some respect for certain characters that worked so hard to get my approval and think "ok, this kid is alright."
Why am I still giving this book (and the series as a whole) four stars? (4.5 stars, to be accurate)
This infested my brain. I became absolutely obsessed with the characters and the way they interacted in the more peaceful chapters. I loved the dorky dads Spirit and Shinigami-sama, I loved the bond between Maka and Soul, I loved Crona and their character arc, I was enamored with this series. While it was super weird, I enjoyed it a lot.

[Mícheál · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewing all the volumes in this one, because I'm not meeting my reading goal by marking all the volumes as read. Plus, all of this was about the length of a prose novel.
Better than the TV show. Made more sense, except for the epilogue... that got weird fast. But very original and a fun, exciting read with cool characters. Medusa was an excellent villain, and Crona was an interesting anti-hero. Maka was a strong, relatable lead, and her friendship with Soul was developed well and kept the series going. Death the Kid was hilarious with all his neuroses, and his journey throughout the series was fun to watch. His absence toward the middle was noticeable, and kind of detracted from the story, but allowed more focus on Maka and Soul. I think my favorite storyline was Baba Yaga Castle, as Medusa's relationship with our characters was quite the interesting turn of events. All of the fun cliffhangers like "I came to make a deal" were done much better than the show. The only thing I didn't like was the creepy clowns (it just got weird after a while), but to each there own. The side characters grew more than one would expect, and that was neat to see. Overall a great read, even after having watched the entire show first!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series has been a rollercoaster ride. It started off really strong but then went downhill fast. I felt different about every single volume after a certain point. I didn't really know where this story wanted to go. It started off fun and lighthearted but it started to get dark and only went darker from there.

I read this series because I really loved the anime. I expected to really like this series but that wasn't the case. It was simply OKAY and I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone. The dialogue was clunky and the art style is peculiar.

There are so many characters in this series but I really only cared about Death The Kid. He is hardly the focus in this series. He had tiny arcs and we never got to see him as what he was meant to be. He was always overshadowed by the other characters who I didn't really care about.

The ending wasn't even satisfying. It felt boring and I was unimpressed. After all the buildup to the final battle it was really lackluster.

As a whole I would probably give this series a 2 star rating.

[Mélaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ma foi, une fin à la fois à la hauteur de ce que j'attendais, et en même temps légèrement en dessous.

La combat contre Asura et les révélations qui vont avec étaient très bien
je regrette un peu que Maka se batte à côté d'un littéral Dieu et d'un héros de shonen basique qui surpasse toutes les limites humaines. Mais elle non. Et ça l'a fait paraître faible. Et ça m'énerve un peu. Et en même temps, c'est assumé et c'est le fait qu'elle dépasse sa faiblesse qui fait tout le propos du manga. Donc ça m'énerve un peu moins.

La fin de Chrona fait totalement sens, je voyais pas trop vers où on allait, mais ça a du sens.

Je regrette qu'on passe si vite sur "l'après". Que devient Maka maintenant que Soul est la faux du Dieu de la Mort? A quoi ressemble la vie?
Et par pitié on avait besoin de revivre les scènes de fan services infâmes du début dans les 10 dernières pages? On fini pas du tout sur une bonne note.

Enfin, dans l'ensemble, je suis très contente d'avoir lu le manga après tant d'années. Il est clair que le manga TERMINE l'anime. Je rejoins donc la team du "libérez le reboot"

[TrashKat · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolutely amazing series! I'm so glad that I stuck it out through the first few volumes of this manga because it was definitely worth it. The Soul Eater anime was one of the first ones I ever watched and I've always had a soft spot for it, but I've also been told multiple times that the manga is so much better. I couldn't really believe it, because honestly the anime is great. How can you top having a main character kick major butt with pigtails and a mini skirt without being overly sexualized? But boy, were they right. The plot differences and character development in the manga series are worth slugging through the first few volumes of this. This final volume was fantastic . There's a little bit of a callback to the original few volumes in order to tie everything together, but wrapping everything up and showing how the characters have grown together was just so heartwarming. This such a unique series and is a must read for anyone who enjoyed the anime.