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Forum - View topicREVIEW: Soul Eater DVD 3
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hacksawlol
Posts: 15 |
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Nice review, I hoping to see a video review of this soon, JO
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pachy_boy
Posts: 1338 |
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Even though much of Volume 3 seems to be going in random directions with the new villains it keeps introducing, I'm really surprised at how still engrossing this series continues being despite it being a basic shonen action show. Maybe I'm wrong but I get the feeling it's all going to come together at the end, and I'm so looking forward to seeing how everything concludes in the 4th volume and the outcome of each of the characters. While the new closing theme is definitely catchy, I miss the 2nd one already; it was a very nice tune.
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shamisen the great
 Posts: 658 Location: Oregon, USA |
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I really like the quirky art style of Soul Eater. I'm a little nervous because I heard it falls apart towards the end though. Then again people said the same thing about the Fullmetal Alchemist anime and I liked that ending.
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SoandSo
 Posts: 204 |
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Tres bien review as always, if a bit Kilmnger-esque in places; there are some sentences that get a bit too run-onn-y and modifier-heavy for their own good here and there. Still wonderfully written and very fair.
I have to disagree about SE being shallow, though...to a point. It does show occasional hints of having more depth, at least emotionally, than it's usually given credit for, like with the real stars of the show, Maka and Soul. Like most of the cast, it's true that they're fairly archetypal and don't ever really grow or change(though I'm glad the doe-eyed Maka turned out more bookishly adorable and modestly valiant than the bland, Saya-esque badass cliche I initially pegged her as), but they seem to have a very natural, honest respect and affection for the other, which they explore and test well with the superpowered dark side cliche. The added weight of responsibility and uncertainty when you realize you won't the only one being affected under its slavering thrall is palpable, which brings to mind one powerful scene in particular from the second set where the series shows its rare moments of subtely. A determined Maka is pleading with hesitant Soul to use the black blood for a fighting chance against Chrona, and her steely, though adorable, resolve contrasts quietly against Soul's disapproving, almost maternal glare, the kind we've all gotten from our own parents at one point that practically screams "Please, for the love of God, I'm begging you, do not go through with this." Scenes like this that say so much with so little are already a rare treat in anime in general, so seeing them in what's usually a brash, thunderous spectacle of sparks, souls and arrows really deserves notice. Outside of their cheesier moralizing moments during training montages or eye-roll inducing bits of typical "whay are boys such dumb horndogs?" humor, they really do make a wonderful lead couple and are certainly more natural and fun to watch than anything in, say, Kekkaishi(even if they aren't a couple in the romantic sense, another nice, unconventional touch.) On another note, it's great to see Medusa back. She's so lovably loathsome in that great, classic Disney sense and it's scary how competent she is; not only does she have her coils squeezed tight against poor Chrona and Stein, but manages to angle and point at least three different sides against each other and even her bumbling henchman(who won't get to do much anymore, sadly) proved suprisingly competent in the past. I always considered her the real big bad of the series, since even the Kishin itself was largely just another pawn in her Machiavellan machinations, using his incredible powers of madness to throw Shibusen/DWMA into disarray to create a new order. After all, like Chrona, Asura is little more than a simpering child himself, and assuming she could slither into his mind like she does so many others, Medusa would be unstoppable It's a shame, then, that Arachne is so damn boring by comparison. She's clearly quite intelligent and formidable herself and her machinations move the plot, but she never breaks free of the haughty, arrogant aristocrat stereotype, and does little of interest herself to garner much. More's the pity, but at least Giriko and Justin's squabbles are fun. |
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TatsuGero23
 Posts: 1277 Location: Sniper Island, USA (It's in your heart!) |
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Oh, did the mangaka confirm Chrona's gender or did Hope just pick guy? Personally I still think female.
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SoandSo
Posts: 204 |
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The dub and most subs I've seen just pick one or the other. Personally, I prefer the quirk of keeping it a mystery. :p |
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ArsenicSteel
 Posts: 2370 |
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"The Japanese performances continue to be broader and brasher while the English dub is lower in key and volume, but each serves disparate types of scenes better than the other. Hey, it may even be advisable to flip between the tracks every episode to make the more pointless installments go faster."
Disparate how? Which track is better in specific scenarios? Just a little example saying the JP track deals with action better while the ENG track deals with comedy better would be an improvement over the vagueness in the review. Volume 3 covers episodes 27-39 which are pretty heavily related to the plot, except for Excalibur. Some would say it is even faster paced then the manga because Bones was straying from the manga to provide more action, less side character expose, and a conclusion. The review has too much vagueness when it comes to the audio tracks. "− Emotional moments are limited to hammy friendship speeches, meanders in a labyrinth of unresolved subplots" The majority of subplots are tied to the various villain's plots, which are all somehow tied together. Clearly there is some mysteries that will take time to develop before a reveal. Why not credit this to increasing the tension for the final stretch of the anime? |
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Greg Aubry
 Posts: 224 Location: Detroit, MI |
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Is Funimation putting this series out on Blu-ray? Their dub isn't bad, but DVD is a "legacy format" as far as I'm concerned. Its visuals beg for the hi-def treatment.
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