'Soul Eater' anime ~ so cool so scandalous

There are cases when the story is interesting, but the ending spoils it all. Or when the music is better than all the other aspects. Or when a famous anime director you were having high hopes for does not prove to be as good.

All of it does not have anything to do with 'Soul Eater'. This is a story of coolness.

story

What is the usual result of making an anime based on an ongoing manga which is not going to end any time soon? A poor ending of the anime. The directors either try to follow the manga as long as possible and then suddenly turn everything upside down, or create their own version of 'how it was' and fail to present anything edible credible.

Imagine my surprise when all plot twists in the anime turned out to be interconnected and by the final episode they all came to one single ending with no plot holes or mistakes in the narration. Moreover, even though the story was far shorter 'twas interesting enough.

And now let's forget all the difficult words and phrases I used.

...

This is a true 'shounen' piece, showing examples of brave warriors fighting with evil who know no fear. Oops! They do. In fact, this is the main attraction of the story. You don't have to fight with no fear. You have to have the courage to fight your fear.

In the middle of the series I told +Арагорн Араторнович - tell me my dear friend, why anime is considered to be bad for young people when such pieces like 'Soul Eater' promote friendship, trust and loyalty.

It's the kind of anime series where moments like this remind you that this is 100 times more important than any series created exclusively for entertainment.

Still, SE tries to be something out of the box and overcome the walls created by the 'shounen' genre.

It's not without fanservice, though. Both for guys and for girls.

The characters are abundant, and everyone could find one to relate to, one to respect or admire. Or more than one. Or relate and admire at the same time. Because it's like the first time I felt understood the character's feeling SO deeply.

And despite tons of blood spilled, it is an extremely kind shounen. Because everyone is doing his best to protect his friends, and to protect the whole world. Because even though they explain that they simply want to be cool, or to be greater than god, or to maintain the order, in the end they all fight for peace.

...

......

And still, the biggest merit of this series is...

The humour. The wonderful Japanese humour that rather than simply making you laugh, makes you stare at the screen and say WHA????

Like, have you ever seen a God of Death who is like

Or a singing Legendary Sword whose favourite phrase is

The level of madness in the series reminded me of King of Bandit Jing. I've never ever seen such crazy ideas, be it the story or the design.

music
Welcome my new record-breaker. The playlist I created out of Soul Eater OST, character songs, opening and ending themes lasted for 6.5 weeks. If there were cases when I listened to an anime OST for so long, it's not hard to count them with one hand.
Taku Iwasaki is a genius in OST-composing. Different bands who lent their hand to creating the album gave the OST an original hip-hop feeling. The tracks just didn't fade away with time. 6 weeks in a row they were inspiring me, or better to say - weren't letting me go.

voicing
I've heard Omigawa in a different anime. Her voice made me want to switch it off. I heard Uchiyama in a different anime. His voice impressed me so much I decided to keep my eye on him.
And it doesn't matter here at all. The seiyuus did such a great job I must confess the manga would not be that interesting at all if I didn't read the characters' lines with their respective seiyuus voices.
Welcome the other heroes - Kobayashi Yumiko, Nazuka Kaori, Miyano Mamoru, Takahira Narumi, Watanabe Akeno, Koyama Rikiya, Sakamoto Maaya, Ookawa Tooru, Kuwashima Houko and Neya Michiko, Uchida Yuya, and of course - mr. Koyasu. And many many others. It's not that they simply did their job. They made the black-and-white world of the manga colourful to the fullest.

graphics
I must confess, even the original manga did not look as attractive as the anime in some moments. Maybe that was because the anime was created when the manga was already moving towards its middle, and the anime designers took a bold step to creating a fuller, 'spaced' variation on what they saw in the earlier chapters comparing them to the later chapters.

conclusion
If I had to explain what SE is in one sentence, I think I could use this stop-frame.

'Sore de mo machi wa...' ~ not all yoghurts are equally good

I always say to myself: take a breath and count to ten. In other words, watch at least a couple of episodes before deciding whether to drop. Maybe the initial part is not the best in the series, maybe there will be some improvement, or maybe it's the case when the last episode justifies it all...

story and characters

Shimbo Akiyuki is good... when you see his work for the first time. He seems stylish when you watch other works of his. And then - BAM! - you see a work where his style looks completely odd and does not fit. And you think - how could I appreciate it so much?
This is what it looks like - 'filming' a pot where the characters are reflected instead of the characters themselves,

or traffic lights and beautiful sky which are supposed to create a special atmosphere obviously,

meaningless phrases of an unrelated to the story raccoon in the place which divides the episode in two for the sake of inserting TV ads,

 and 'stop-frames' showing how blue the sky was at that very important moment,

which is all very good but so extremely far-fetched and inaccessible to my simple mind.
Well, every girl has a right to be what she is, even if she only can talk nonsense and drivel about.

No, she does not.

Well, sometimes I kinda laughed at that.

Or at some moments that only a certain group of fans could understand
the original phrase: 宝塚ごっこかしら？

But sometimes I did not.

 Well that's probably because you're wearing shorts during times that are faraway from summer

However, the main reason would be, to be honest, the fact that the heroine was one of those who...

and the other characters just weren't attractive enough. Except for the granny-main, probably.

voice acting
Except for the granny-maid, because she was voiced by Sakurai Takahiro, and that WAS funny.

However, the rest of seiyuus were a sad sight sound? to look at listen to. Why does it often happen that you find something you like and then it turns out the author/creator/performer etc. is no longer active... I am speaking about Yazawa Rieka who quit her job as a voice actress. Her voicing of a boyish girl was just wonderful and one-of-a-kind.
On the contrary, listening to the main character by Omigawa Chiaki was a torture. If there were a prize for the most unattractive voice I'd give it to her.

My dear, this is a phrase I want to say back to you.

music
The OPEDs were bright and original, but I didn't really notice the background very much. In other words, nothing to listen to after you've finished watching.

graphics
has always been good in Shimbo's works, and I have nothing to complain because there are smooth lines and vivid colours, moreover used wisely to create exactly that impression that the director wanted, from what I can understand from watching the anime. However, it didn't manage to make up for the other aspects that I disliked.

subtitles
were just a bit leaving much to be desired. leaving just a bit to be desired? ohhh.

because active and passive voice should not [be] confused. right?

conclusion

you know, I did my best to count to ten. Better to say - twelve, since there are 12 episodes. However, there is a good way to decide whether an anime was worth watching or not. Would you want your memory to be erased so that you could watch it again as if anew? Considering 'Sore de mo...', I know I wouldn't. I have no urge to watch further, no 'aftertaste', no impression. And even though I still respect mr. Shimbo, not all yoghurts are equally good works directed by him deserve high praise

'Hanasaku Iroha' ~ genki! yuuki! nonki!

There was an image song of Degiko in 'Di Gi Charat' called '元気！勇気！のんき！' which translates as 'vigorous! motivated! easy-going!' I always considered these three words as Degiko's principle and supported her wholeheartedly. On a second thought, this motto can be applied to many anime heroines, but carried to the point of absurdity. Almost all manga/anime claim to have 'an unusual story' and 'outstanding strong admirable heroine'. 'Iroha' is no exception. It also has a predictable 'unusual story' and 'outstanding, strong, admirable' Mary Sue

story and characters
There are always two ways to phrase something depending on which aspect is emphasised. About 'Iroha' one would say - 'even though Ohana's grandmother is strict and working in a Japanese-style hotel is not easy, Ohana learns a lot of important things and gradually grows as a person'. As for me, I would like to swift these aspects. Even though Ohana's sudden turn in life is useful to her, even though her strict grandmother and coworkers teach her a lot of things, this doesn't change the fact that Ohana was abandoned by her mother, slapped in the face three times by her grandmother, told to die and never explained properly what to do.
One would say - 'even though Ohana has to get used to ryokan, she learns a lot'. I would say - 'even though Ohana learns a lot, she has to abide by the rules of the ryokan'. She bows and kneels in front of this system. An ideal Japanese woman, is it? Slightly rebellious in the beginning, but docile in the end, always positive, cheering herself up and never reluctant.
And guess what? Despite initial misunderstandings, she manages to get along with everyone, and despite initial harshness or unwillingness to communicate, everybody starts to love her.
Moreover, people love her exactly for how she is. Others may do their best, but they are bound either to be left with nothing, or to find 'their own kind of happiness', which is always nothing more than an excuse for the fact that they do not get as much love as the the Main Heroine does. When the Main Heroine is in trouble she simply has to

and say

or look like

And when something important happens, she only needs to feel depressed for a while, but she does not really need to rack her brains over anything because

and then everybody will say

 and they will say

Here we are. A guy and a girl are engaged, but he tells her in the face he wants to marry someone who is eager to work in the inn with him. She does not give a certain answer. They laugh. I wonder if this is really funny. Probably this humour is beyond my comprehension.
A girl cries complaining that she is the only one left behind while everyone else has found a job. A guy tries to cheer her up. Suddenly they start discussing their favourite manga. Then the mangaka shows up. They are shocked. I wonder if it is enough to see a mangaka to stop crying and worrying about your future. Probably this change of mood is something beyond my comprehension, too.

music
BGM was as soft as one would wish. OPEDs were your usual 'positive' songs, with much guitar and melodic sound, though it will never reach the level of some other OSTs I have heard in my life both as BGM/theme songs, and as independent music albums. However, NANO.ripe's vocalist's voice made me want to cover my ears because they hurt.

art
is here something few other anime can compete with. Nature, buildings, scenery, interior, and of course people were drawn in detail and this level of detailing was of the best I have ever seen. Too bad art doesn't make a complete anime

Fanservice was rare and tolerable

 And this is the level of detailing

Smooth realistic movements of everything

voice acting
in 'Iroha' is something I could not care less about. It was never bad or odd, but I do not even feel interested in any of the seiyuu - except for Minko's Omigawa Chiaki, perhaps

conclusion
When the Inn was closed down, I was supposed to be sad. Qhen Madam was looking at its interior and remembering how lively it was, I was supposed to be crying. When the final credits poured different moments from the story, I was supposed to feel nostalgic. And... I was not. I just felt nothing, except for the relief that it finally came to an end.
In general, 'Iroha' is not absolutely bad. People with that unique ability to take things for granted (which I envy so much) would probably enjoy the developments and the characters' interactions. I simply could not

p. s.
One thing I understood well: it is highly unlikely that I will watch P. A. Works anime ever again