Experience the quirky, action-packed adventures of Maka and Soul Eater like never before, with this all-new, deluxe collector's edition to celebrate Atsushi Ohkubo's global hit!!
The saga of the Meisters and their Weapons takes on a whole new look in the gorgeous Soul Perfect Edition ! Dive into Maka and Soul's adventures in a unique larger format on high-end paper stock that maximizes the dynamic art of the series! Each volume of this deluxe omnibus edition of the megahit manga includes the content of approximately 1½ original volumes, the original color pages, an updated translation and lettering, and to top it all off, brand-new cover art drawn by creator Atsushi Ohkubo himself!
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.
Such a well drawn manga with really cool character designs!! Stein and Death the Kid stood out as particularly unique; I’m interested to see where their stories will go.
Although Soul Eater has an interesting premise with weapons that become human, it still took me a while to get into the plot. There was a lot of weird fan service and humour in the first half that had me verging on DNFing this, but I’m glad I didn’t, since the new characters made things really worthwhile. I’m definitely looking forward to what's coming!!
Also: Megan the Stallion’s Death the Kid costume this Halloween was so awesome!! Definitely got me interested in this manga.
full of quirky characters with really fun character designs and the story itself is so chaotic.. but in the best way. loved how everybody seems to have a magical weapon who’s also a person whenever they’re not used in fights lol
The story sounds like it could be really good and the art is cool, it just literally oversexualizes women every other page. Absolutely ridiculous and unnecessary, especially since I have read so many good manga last year where that wasn't even included. I will not be continuing on with the series.
dr. stein <333 i love this as much as i love the anime! i’m obsessed with the friendship between soul and maka, i cannot wait to get the rest of the manga and finish the series.
Soul Eater is a weird series for me, in my personal history. At some point in ninth or tenth grade, I decided I was "too old for anime," and so stopped following things. Really, the big thing was the channel number for Cartoon Network changed and was no longer included in my family's cable package, so I could not keep up with dubs; when I learned how to torrent not long after, I felt it was best used for "Film" (capitalization necessary for the time period). In eleventh-ish grade, I got bored of life and school and friendship, and thought it would be funny to get back into anime. I mostly watched artsy-ish stuff (Bakemonogatari), but also some things I remembered from [adultswim] which I hadn't seen in full (Cowboy Bebop, Trigun). I do not know how or why I learned of the BONES adaptation of Soul Eater. I think maybe it did run on [as] at some point, but never when I had access. It's not really artsy. It's the only shōnen battle series I tried watching at this time, and it should also be noted I did not then enjoy Gurren Lagann because it was "stupid" compared to Evangelion. So, surely, Soul Eater is even dumber? Well, anyway, I dropped the anime about halfway through because I was watching it in English dub (Jesus fucking Christ), and after a certain point I decided I could not stomach Blackstar any longer. I think this actually coincided with the anime spinning into original plotlines, much like the studio's first crack at Fullmetal Alchemist, (co?)incidentally another Square-Enix manga. It's also maybe important to note that when I was sixteen I was in a mindset when I thought it was foolish/childish to be sexually attracted to cartoons, as I had been when I was like twelve (and which I'd get back into at eighteen or nineteen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯), so I could not at the time appreciate stuff like Blair. So it's a bit funny and possibly-ironic that I would watch the adaptation of Ohkubo's next manga, Fire Force, enjoy all its fanservice, and feel intrigued about returning to Soul Eater....
I can find no evidence of it, but around 2010/2011 there was a Wikipedia page for an aesthetic named some shit like "Neo-Goth Expressionism." The poster-child was Jhonen Vasquez. I think the Burton/Selick stop-motion flicks as well. And, most relevant here, an image of the moon (or was it the sun?) as drawn by Ohkubo, or, I think, actually, the BONES version. This, I'm quite sure, is why I started watching the anime, having been a fan (well, I still am, I guess; I just haven't read it in a while) of Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. There's this super-stylized "I listen to Mindless Self Indulgence" vibe to the art-style. It intrigued me as a teen, when it did actually also border on "cringe," but it interests me much more at age thirty for strongly Nostalgic reasons.
Being partly familiar with the BONES adaptation of this manga, as well as DavidPro's adaptation of Ohkubo's next major manga series, it seems I've developed a preconception about the man's art-style. I have a vague and unimportant memory of having seen copies of Ohkubo's earlier B.Ichi in a Books-a-Million, and its style looks very different indeed from what I expected of Ohkubo from the anime adaptations' character design. But, being Ohkubo's second serialization, Soul Eater more closely resembles the jankier art I recall from B.Ichi (which, by the way, I haven't yet read). Put another way, BONES wholly disrespects Ohkubo's art-style, unless he changes/evolves too drastically as this manga continues, in which case maybe BONES is more faithful than I'm assuming, based on having seen half their show versus reading these first few manga chapters. As it stands it feels like a "Madhouse versus Togashi" level of disrespect and utter disregard for a mangaka's unique vision. (I cannot attest to Fire Force's manga based on what I know of the anime, but I will mention I am currently reading Rave Master by Hiro Mashima, which looks quite a bit different from how that author's later Fairy Tail and Edens Zero look, so it's possible the post-B.Ichi style here will eventually grow to meet the appearance of DavidPro's character design for Fire Force.)
(New paragraph, less because it's strictly warranted and more because I felt anxious having a long wall about character design.) With the above, I have to say... the women here look far sexier to me in spite of the janky art-style versus their... sanitized(?) appearances from what I remember of the anime. When I say "janky" I really just mean the faces look weird. Or... they remind me of like a distant cousin of Hajime Ueda, which I would say is a weird thing for battle manga. Or, like, the way Ohkubo is drawing faces here might work better for some kind of absurdist gag manga, but stands out for a battle manga being read by a person more familiar with the DNA of Jump manga? But, anyway, the boobs all look fantastic, and other parts (legs, thighs, hips, butts, tummies) are great, too. But take Blair, for example; her anime version is maybe more "palatable," more "lowest common denominator"; her manga version could "filter" anime-onlies from her face alone, but there's also an inherent "otaku-ness" to her boobs et al. that I would say may be likewise off-putting to casuals. These aren't boobs for "people who are watching the series firstly because it has fights," they're boobs for "people reading the series firstly because it has boobs."
When I was like twelve, I read a lot of random manga from my local library, and it colored my perception of the medium in general. There are two stand-out series I never actually read much of, but which are firmly rooting in my mind as examples of a specific aesthetic. The manga are King of Bandits: Jing and Peacemaker Kurogane; the aesthetic is "C-list battle manga you will not find on purpose." This is assuming the Jump classics are "A-list" and other shit from lesser magazines (but which had adaptations airing on Toonami/[adultswim]/&c.) are "B-list." There may be anime adaptations of these C-listers, but the average American preteen isn't going to find them by any means but "blindly browsing the DVD shelves at the library." So... basically the same method of discovery as their manga sources. Soul Eater (the manga) has this "hidden gem" sort of quality... except that the anime did air with obvious and accessible presence. It's just the manga itself looks like it would (have) be(en) "niche." I'm actually reminded a bit of Rave Master in an inexpressible way.
****
A manga review would not be complete without autistically noting almost every instance of sexiness:
Blair hips and heavy fucking hangers the first time we see her in the bath...!
Blair's ass, and her boobs squishing against her arm, on the next page...!
Blair's soapy hangers on the adjacent page...!
Blair squishing them together to seduce Soul on the next page...!
Blair's sideboob, thigh-high "skindentation," and the effect that makes her dress fit her body so closely that her tits are clearly separated...!!! 🤤
Rather close-up panel with Blair's boobs taking up roughly 1/12 the entire page, and also her nipples are hard just because...!!! 🥵
Maka panties and her ass looking actually kind of big when she "kills" Blair...! 😯
Tsubaki cleavage...!
Tsubaki cleavage again...!
Tsubaki cleavage again...!
Tsubaki cleavage again, and also her one (1) thigh-high with garter...!
Tsubaki cleavage again...!
Tsubaki squishy boob-meat when standing in the bath...! Also her hips and tummy...! Also it kind of looks like Ohkubo drew a bit of a pussy-cleft if you squint...!
Tsubaki flat butt despite wide hips...!
Tsubaki underboob as she readies a shuriken...!!! 🤤
Tsubaki squishy boob-meat, hips, and thighs after hitting Blackstar...!
Tsubaki boobs and hips in the bath again...!
(Okay, I lied, or else I'd forgotten a bit; I said I didn't care much for Blair when I watched the anime because I wasn't attracted to cartoons at the time, but I think I actually did think Tsubaki was cute and sexy the whole time and didn't want to admit it to myself back then.)
Liz and Patty titties and tummies...!
Kid squeezing Patty and Liz's squishy boobers...!!!
Liz and Patty's legs, tummies, panties, and squishy boobers...!!!!! 🥵🤤🥵 Also, Liz's ass...!!! 🤤🥵
Liz's ass in jeans...!!! Liz's pubic mound visible from the back...!!! 🥵🤤
Liz having a hole in her top, showing off her cleavage...!!! Patty's boobs look great, too, even though her clothing wasn't really ruined...!
Soul's Aphex Twin and Portishead posters are a fun touch.
Blair's heavy hangers draping over a sleepy Soul...! The side-view of Blair's body where we get some hip/ass...! Blair smooshing her boobs in Soul's face...!!! Also, pretty good panty/ass shot I almost didn't notice because I was distracted by the boobs...!!!
Tsubaki boobies and hips...!
Maka pantsu-covered butt when Soul saves her from Sid...!
Blair boobs, tummy, thighs, legs, back, ass, hips on the bath... in color...!!!!! 🥵🤤🥵🤤🥵
Maka panties as she narrowly dodges the Living End...!!! 🤤
Maka thigh and a slight peak of panty when she slams Sid into the ground...!
Tsubaki's surprised tits, thighs, and panties...!!! 🥵
Extreme close-up of Maka's panties, including a bit of butt visible from the front...!!!!!!!!!! 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤
"My queen..." 🤣
Patty pits when she, Liz, and Kid show up to school...!
****
Unironically very excited to see Excalibur.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This was a great way to revist one of my fave series! I never finished the series, but am looking forward to doing so in the new perfect editions. The introductions to our main crew of dysfunctional, lovable kids were awesome, the art is stellar, and the fight scenes are dope as fuck. Love this series, love this new edition!
Reading Soul Eater after almost 15 years is nostalgic and reminds me of easier times, when all I cared about was manga, anime, friends, and school. It is somehow refreshing to read an older manga, compared to more recent things. In the early 2000s, the shonen stories were not afraid to joke around and reinvent themselves multiple times during the publishing, and even though the fights and conflict were the main point, they still had this sense of pure joy and fun and not taking themselves too seriously. Of course shonen back then were hornier and set in the classical tropes of the genre, but it just screams fun from the first pages.
The first 3 chapters are an introduction to our main characters. And I cannot imagine this slower approach working in 2025. It reflects the stage of the publishing, but shows how shonen really evolved in the past 20 years. This is really an introductory book, where very little happens, and the bizarre world with a huge smiling Sun and Moon are just there, and nothing is explained. It is not the best introductory book ever, but it is charming, loud and full of action and nice little seeds, which will grow into great stories in the future.
What ruined this book for me was the over sexualization of every single female character and the unnecessary fan service. To make it even worse they are all MINORS. It’s disgusting and made me so uncomfortable while reading this book. The storyline has potential, but I couldn’t even enjoy the read. I don’t recommend this book at all and I’m extremely disappointed. Happy reading.
Si te gustó el anime y el antiguo manga merece la pena reerlo.
Es curioso qué se lleva malos comentarios en Goodreads en relación a la sexualización femenina de sus personajes.
Hay qué tener en cuenta qué el manga salió en 2004 y el anime por 2007/2008. Es bueno entender qué pierdes credibilidad cuándo analizas material del pasado con los ojos del presente.
Podemos estar de acuerdo qué ha llovido mucho de 2004 a 2025. El mundo no es el mismo ni tampoco la cultura japonesa a la occidental.
Honestamente para mí es un manga para sacarme risas.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Totally forgot this manga was written by a perverted freak who has every woman basically naked… but I loved this anime it’s dark aesthetic and characters are everything. Death the kid and black star are my favs tho
Still a fun introduction after rewatching/reading several times. Unfortunately the fan service is even more off putting here than in the anime and it would be 10000% better without it.
These perfect hardcover editions are so pretty. Featuring the original parts the were coloured in the single issue releases. A good opportunity to collect these all & hopefully finish the manga for soul eater. The anime holds a special place in my heart & the manga is starting off well. The original episodes of the anime are pretty faithful (though I do know it deviates massively as the manga was nowhere near finished when the anime aired). The only real difference so for is there is more Ecchi fan service jokes in the manga.
I've actually read this before but as these beautiful hardcovers came out so I decided to stop reading the paperbacks and move onto this. It was the right decision, the paper quality is some of the best I've ever had in a special edition and the hardcover itself it excellently made with a ton of colour pages spread throughout the manga.
As for the story wow there is a lot of fan series, every single girl in this gets naked and the only one that doesn't gets their clothes ripped and underwear exposed. So if that is something that'll put you off then this isn't for you, however with that being said I did actually quite like the premise of this. It's got a lot of good stuff with the world building and people transforming into weapons heck even the school aspect is intriguing.
Even though I've read it before I didn't actually remember most of it, so it was like reading it for the first time. It's quite impressive for an older manga and the art is superb, very stylish. Story wise I do think the mangaka's later work Fire Force is better, it just pulled me in a lot more but I will keep reading this series.
pros: the plot is just as good as i remembered and i still really love the story and all the characters. the art style is also one of my favourites!!!
cons: i forgot how sexualised the women were. not even women actually. girls. 14yo girls. i don't even know if this registered the first time i read/watched this since i was still in hs and its so common esp in older anime/manga to have the ~fanservice~ or some ecchi sprinkled in for fun. it did really bother me, especially the full pages of blair basically naked?? and not to mention the bath scenes with tsubaki and black star :/// it would've def been a 5 star if it weren't for that.
Ça a beau être un titre culte, je dois bien avouer que je n’ai jamais lu un tome ni vu un seul épisode de Soul Eater. Et je dois bien dire que ce fut une grosse erreur. J’ai profité de la sortie de cette nouvelle édition pour pouvoir enfin découvrir cet univers. Ce premier tome était vraiment excellent! J’ai adoré cette lecture. Maintenant je dois bien avouer que je vais, je pense très prochainement, me plonger dans l’anime! Il serait temps que je me mette vraiment à découvrir les animes cultes comme celui ci!
Dans ce premier tome, afin d’accéder au rang suprême de » Death Scythe « , une arme démoniaque doit ingérer 99 âmes humaines et 1 âme de sorcière. Cette mission est confiée aux Meisters, des spécialistes du combat qui vont récolter les âmes au péril de leur propre vie. Dans Soul Eater, partez à la chasse aux âmes en compagnie des élèves de l’institut Shibusen, école de formation pour faucheurs d’âmes !
Parlons d’abord de l’univers. Pour être honnête, je connaissais Soul Eater de nom, je ne me suis jamais penchée dessus et je n’avais même aucune idée de quoi ça parlait! J’ai été très surprise, mais dans le bon sens. Je trouve l’univers tellement original et surtout très passionnant. J’adore le fait de voir des armes démoniaques qui, au final, se trouvent être des êtres humains qui se transforment en arme. Concernant les personnages, j’ai vraiment beaucoup aimé les découvrir tous. J’ai beaucoup aimé celui de Maka, je l’adore tout comme celui de Soul Eater! J’adore le duo qu’ils forment tous les deux. Parfois, ils me font vraiment rire. Maka est une Meister spécialiste du maniement de faux, tandis que Soul Eater, lui, est une faux démoniaque. Quand Maka a besoin de lui pour faucher une ��me, elle se sert de Soul Eater. J’ai vraiment adoré ce principe. Quant à l’action, on peut le dire, il s’en passe des choses. Ce premier tome démarre sur les chapeaux de roues. On a des super combats qui sont incroyable. J’en ai pris plein les yeux pour le coup. C’était excellent et je suis déjà impatiente de découvrir la suite de cette histoire!
Un premier tome que j’ai trouvé vraiment excellent. Il nous donne vraiment envie de découvrir le reste de la saga. Un univers original et hyper bien travaillé, des personnages passionnants à découvrir, qui sont eux aussi bien travaillés. L’histoire nous plonge directement dans le bain avec beaucoup d’action, beaucoup d’humour aussi. J’ai vraiment hâte de découvrir la suite et découvrir ce que le reste nous réserve. Je sens que ça va être de plus en plus passionnante!