Soul Eater Not! (Review)
When it Comes to Soul Eater Not! the Title Pretty Much Says it All…
Soul Eater Not! is nowhere near what fans would want from a spin-off of Soul Eater and instead seems to be about as far from the spirit of original as it could possibly get. Instead of being an action-packed series taking place in a unique world with interesting characters, we get a bunch of pre-teen melodrama.
The series takes place as sort of a prequel to Soul Eater, but instead of getting more Maka and Soul, we’re given Tsugumi (voiced by Bryn Apprill), Meme ( voiced by Lindsay Seidel) and Anya (voiced by Alexis Tipton), none of whom come even close to having the same depth and likability of the originals, which is a shame considering that the series is by Atsushi Ōkubo, who did the original Soul Eater manga (the anime though is not directed by Takuya Igarashi though). Instead, the series focuses on the fact that Tsugumi (a weapon) will have to decide between partnering with Meme and Anya (Meisters), which is oh-so hard because they are such good friends. Personally, I found them both insufferable and if I was Tsugami I wouldn’t choose either.
The series desperately tries to find comedy in the flaws within its characters and only comes off as bland and cliche. Meme spends the series forgetting everything and being a buxom flake, Anya is a princess who has no idea how commoners live and delights in seeing how the lower class gets by from day to day, and Tsugami is your typical preteen filled with self doubt and lack of confidence. Even with these terrible protagonists, the series could have at least given us another look at the world of Soul Eater, but most of the series takes place in a cafe and the dorm that the girls live in. Needless to say, it feels very much like a television sitcom trying to use as few locations as it possibly can. What’s most disappointing though is that a series with primarily female characters can’t find real strength in any of them and instead just emphasizes their weakness in order to make their call to action in the last episode all the more dramatic.
Some of your old favorites from Soul Eater do make an appearance in the spin-off, but even they seem watered down. I think to problem lies in that Soul Eater Not! tries to be a slice of life comedy, but when an anime takes place at Death Weapon Meister Academy, slice of life isn’t what you’re hoping for. So instead, it feels like the anime is punishing us by hiding the good stuff that is most likely happening far away from the three girls bumbling their way through the series. Luckily, the horrid thing is only 12 episodes long.
I can’t remember the last time I was so disappointed by an anime. The short lived series feels like a waste that doesn’t live up to the original or even what it was attempting to be (a comedy). Soul Eater Not! is cringe worthy at best and is almost painful to sit through. If you enjoyed the original anime at all, do yourself a favor and skip this one. If you’re looking for something light with preteen female protagonists, you’ll have better luck with something like Madoka Magic Girls instead. I can’t stress how little enjoyment I actually got out of this series and I hope you all will heed my warning.
