Soul Eater

Soul Eater is an impressive anime. It's one of those where you will no doubt enjoy watching

::STORY::
After watching some of the first episode you'll think Soul Eater will have your typical Shonen story. Basically, human weapons and their student technicians reside in Shibusen and have to collect 99 evil human souls and 1 witch soul, the reward being that the technician's weapon will transform into a Death Scythe.

It seems pretty formulaic, nothing you haven't seen before. The way the first few episodes pan out will make this seem like the main goal, but soon after you'll realise there is actually a deeper story developing. ... This story isn't something complex or too clever, but events that happen during the story makes Soul Eater watchable and interesting, the action is ever present, it always keeps humour in mind, but can be serious and emotional when it needs to be. Eventually you will forget what the main characters were initially trying to acheive because the story drags it in such a different direction. The problem is that the story isn't anything memorable. At points you might watch and forget the reason why they are doing something. That is the anime's weak point


::CHARACTERS::
This is what Soul Eater will be remembered for. Its colourful cast of characters.

Maka, our main character and a technician, despite being flawed she is always looking to do the right thing, always thinking of others, easily annoyed and determined. She grew on me as I realised she is probably the most human of all the characters. Soul, Maka's weapon. Just your typical cool guy? No. He is much deeper than he looks. Despite what he says he is only concerned about one thing: To protect Maka.

Black*Star is Energetic, rash, loud, bashful and his one goal in life is to become bigger than God. He can provide you with comic relief and become involved in intense battles yet shows his human side often, his weapon Tsubaki is always willing to help him whenever she can.

Death the Kid seems like some 'Mr Perfect' character. And he can be, but also has his flaws, most notable his obssessive compulsive disorder about symmetry. Anything slightly out of alignment will either cause him to fix the problem immediately or spiral into goth style depression. His weapons Patty and Liz are usually around to comfort him when he goes crazy or gets depressed.

The supporting cast are memorable as well. The grim reaper is always cheerful and relaxed; Spirit (Maka's father) is desperate for Maka's attention, even though she doesn't enjoy his company much; Blair is your typical fanservice character; Professor Stein is strong and clever yet deeply maniacal; Crona is shy and fearful, but powerful; Medusa, the main antagonist is pure genious; Mifune is an action and Samurai fan's dream character and plenty more who you'll come across.

Most characters will stand out at least once giving you reasons to like or dislike them. Characters are a strong point in this anime.

::ANIMATION & ART::
The good thing about this anime is that nobody looks ordinary or familiar, you'll notice every character has a certain design, from Soul's sharp teeth and Maka's plain green eyes to Kid's strange hairstyle and Liz & Patty's odd hats, all characters are uniquely styled.

All scenes are quite detailed, the atmosphere is usually dark but manages to look bright at the same time (a rare sight in anime). If its what the background artists were going for, I think they nailed it. Shortcuts are rare which is good, you can see that episodes weren't rushed. The art stays consistent (unlike Naruto) and the quality remains the same throughout.

The action is fluid, creative and non-standard (unlike Bleach) fight scenes aren't just repetitive movements shown at different angles, or just sword bashing and gun blasting. It manages to keep fight scenes interesting. Another strong point is action, which never fails.

::SOUND::
At first you will be introduced to 'Resonance'. A memorable opening track that fits very well to the series. This would be among the best if it wasn't for 'PAPERMOON' the 2nd opening which is even better than Resonance. I'm yet to come across anyone who thinks otherwise. This opening is epic. All ending themes are decent. Some are generic, the best being the current ending 'STRENGTH' and the 2nd ending 'Style' which stands out more than the 1st ending 'I wanna be' and 'Bakusō Yume Uta' which you will not remember at all.

Audio is decent, but there aren't any special moments or tracks that will hype you up or give you that tingly feeling inside when coupled with a good action scene. Songs aren't memorable like something Bruce Faulconer could cook up but do fit well with most happenings.

::CONCLUSION::
Soul Eater is an anime that manages to keep consistency throughout. It's lack of fillers (with the exception of the excalibur episodes which will drive you nuts) is enough for action fans to watch without worry, seriously 98% of the episodes are significant to the story (unlike Bleach which has whole filler arcs. 20+ FILLERS IN ONE GO!!!).

I find this more enjoyable to watch than Naruto or One Piece (which are heavily overrated). Mainly because the anime has a point and sticks to it. The Medusa Arc is to stop Medusa reviving the Demon God. The Arachnophobia Arc is to stop Arachne to allow the Demon God to spread madness over the world.

People complain about lack of originality but I am yet to find an anime that is truly similar. Shinigami's have been used before, but Shinigami literally translates to The Death God or The Grim Reaper, who in this case rules Shibusen and his son. Due to the halloween theme of Soul Eater I find the Grim Reaper necessary and is in no way similar to Ryuk of Death Note or characters like Rukia of Bleach. Let's get this straight their only link they have is the word 'Shinigami'

And finally Soul Eater is a must watch for any Shonen (Action, Comedy) fan. It has already been licensed by FUNimation which means a dub is coming soon and I believe Soul Eater will become another one of those famous anime shows. The only difference is it is actually has consistent entertainment value. show less

Here we have Soul Eater, a shounen anime produced by Bones (Wolf's Rain, Full Metal Alchemist, Ouran High School Host Club) that came out in 2008. I've never read the manga, so this is based solely on the anime. Set in the fantastical Death City, Soul Eater focuses on the Shibusen Academy, where students both work together and compete in order to turn their partners - boys and girls that can turn into various different weapons - into world-class Death Scythes. My university pally and I blasted through all 51 episodes in about a week, if you don't count the days that we were too ... busy to watch any. Let me tell you, this does not make for hard watching.

The first few episodes start off as prequels for the main seven characters - three 'Meisters/Technicians' and their 'Weapons'. These episodes are ones that I found to be somewhat disjointed, and to be honest I probably would have given up on the anime after 4 episodes or so if it wasn't for aforementioned pally. Swiftly afterwards, once the main characters start to interact together, I was hooked. And shortly after that when the frankly ingenious support characters were introduced and fleshed out, I was manic about it to the point where I was screaming in outrage at the screen if any other character DARED to so much as harm a hair on their heads.

Plot - [7/10] I wouldn't describe the plot as being either typical or particularly inventive. I will say, however, that it does dangle a standard premise in front of you for a good few episodes (in order for a Technician to turn their Weapon into the ultimate Death Scythe, they must collect 99 evil souls and then one Witch's soul; cue epic quest) and then almost entirely removes it for something much better - a pleasant surprise that, as I understand it, doesn't quite happen in the manga. While some elements of the plot remain unclear and somewhat incomplete by the end of the series, I ultimately felt that it didn't detract too much from my enjoyment. Bar the very last scenes, unfortunately, in which I was left starving for a bit more of a tie-up, or better yet, a follow-up montage in the ending credits. Still, I suppose that's what the manga's for.

Characters - [9/10] The meat of Soul Eater, with some big-name voice actors who really give the characters life. Firstly, we have Miyano Mamoru-san (Yagami Light of Death Note, Kiba of Wolf's Rain) as the symmetry-obssessed Death the Kid (an awkward-sounding name, I have to say, that belies a truly slick character); the ever-prolific and utterly fabulous Koyasu Takehito-san (Sakarazuka Seishirou of Tokyo Babylon, Zechs Merquise/Milliardo Peacecraft of Gundam Wing) as the Weapon Excalibur, who will surprise you in several different ways with his presence throughout the series; and Kobayashi Yumiko-san (Sarah McDougal of Love Hina, Dan Taichi of Prince of Tennis) as the headstrong Black*Star, to whom a nod must go for the most subtle yet engaging main-character development; to name a few. On top of these, Soul Eater showcases a surprising amount of young, new talent - notably, the voices of Soul (the title character) and Maka Albarn, the female lead who I unfortunately found to be incredibly irritating.

Let me make my point hard on this. Maka is hard-working and academically very smart, with a down-to-earth attitude that helps her to deal with her absent mother and womanizing father, who recently divorced prior to the start of the series. But (and oh, it's a big But) it doesn't last. Rather than character growth, we seem to have a case of the exact opposite as the series progresses. Maka repeatedly ends up making absolutely ridiculous decisions that can in no way be logically justified. As much as I don't like to use Naruto as a comparison, I think I have to. Maka's choices aren't a Naruto-style situation wherein Naruto makes sometimes-stupid decisions because of his raw emotions, because that's Naruto's character and way of life; plus, Naruto has (for the most part) the strength to back up his convictions. Maka, on the other hand, does not. Not only that, but she apparently doesn't learn from her monumental mistakes. And /then/ she'll bitch to the series' headstrong character Black*Star about how he acts before he thinks. Though, come to think of it, at least Maka isn't exactly a hypocrite on that matter because it's shown that she does in fact think about her actions before she carries them out, comes to the conclusion that it's stupid... and then does the wrong thing /anyway/. If it wasn't for almost every other character providing sustained interest and sheer compelling brilliance whenever Maka's off-screen, I think Soul Eater would fall far short of greatness.

Art - [9/10] And of course, there can be no characters without the visual art. While the quality of the animation itself is fairly standard shounen-style fare, the rating for this section gets bumped up enormously for originality. The designs of virtually everything - from the fantastically surreal moon and sun to the laboratory of the anime's resident Mad Scientist (who would have an entire paragraph in the above section if it wouldn‘t turn into an essay on why he’s such a /darn good character/ on both an emotional and a story-telling level) to the eyes of the later villains - positively shines with mouth-watering creativity. I could wax lyrical about the brain-melting inventiveness of the character designs all day. It's honestly worth watching for the artistic genius alone.

Music - [8/10] With the exception of the very first ending theme (which was painful, if I'm honest), I thoroughly appreciated each different ending and opening. They were well-chosen and fitted the style and feel of the anime well. The music used throughout the episodes themselves suited the atmosphere wonderfully - the fighting music was driving, the sad-scenes music was sorrowful and the cheery music gave the anime a smile. While it wasn't as memorable as, say, the music to Gundam Wing or Gintama, it did its job in style. Also in this section, I'd like to add that the song sung by the Weapon Excalibur made me almost die of Sheer Heart-Rending Joy.

Overall - [9/10] Easy to watch and a great mix of creepy, surreal and fun. Objectively, I'd give this a high 8, and then I'm going to take the liberty of bumping it up to a 9 for the downright enjoyment I experienced with this show. I thoroughly recommend this to anyone who enjoys Full Metal Alchemist or Gintama - or, for that matter, any shounen manga/anime - as well as anyone who enjoyed the quirks of such series as Ouran High School Host Club.

Short and Sweet Review:

Soul Eater is one of the most unique anime’s I have ever seen in the sense of graphics and story. The graphics are ultra-high quality, along with very interesting anime cut-scenes. Soul Eater has a little taste of everything an anime should have – a first-class story, superior graphics, a modest bit of pervert, and a VERY interactive world. Camera angle and character motions are very musical, flow very well with each other, and so on - which is one of the biggest plus sides to this anime. The characters are very fun and surprising - which is a big part of ... the story.
10/10 ~ Epic.

This review will be updated as the series progresses.

If you did in fact find this review helpful, I do take value in my “Helpful” rating, so please take a moment of your time to tell me how you liked this review.

Okay, I'm not a fan of reviewing shows in their early stages, but when I read the other reviews here; I just had to write up one, because I don't find it as great as most of the reviewers here on MAL. I find Soul Eater to be a bit of a rip-off from Bleach. It's still decent, though.

Okay, so some people have criticized my opinion that Soul Eater is a rip-off of Bleach (though making an entire review for that is a bit over the top). I'm fully aware that Bleach is very similar to a few older animes too, but the fact still ... stands that Soul Eater is too similar to Bleach. And evt. older animes about shinigami or similar stuff. It's got it's original contents, but overall it's just too similar for comfort.

The story up to ep. 18 has mostly been an episode-by-episode story, but a plot slowly beginning to sneak in behind the scenes from here on. I'm not sure what direction it will take from here, and this is why I don't like reviewing so early. However, I believe that it will get better as we go on, so for now I'll keep the story at a 7, for unoriginality and because only the latest episodes have shown a continuous plot.

The animation is more cartoony than many anime out there, I feel. That's not necessarily a bad thing; I mean, coloring and shading and effects are very good, but some things bugs me a lot - f.ex. the Shinigami, the moon and the sun aren't very pleasing to look at. The animation deserves an 8: It's good quality and lovable character designs, but there's just something about the overall feel of it that bugs me.

The soundtrack isn't very remarkable either. The background music isn't anything noteworthy, but it's not bad either - it fits with the mood. The OP and ED themes are decent, but I think I'd only listen to the first ED theme outside of watching the show. The voice acting is good too. All in all, I'd rate it a 7.

The characters are fair too. I mean, they're funny to watch, but funny isn’t enough to rate it high up. They lose some points for spurs of unoriginality, but there's still some original characters there. I'm especially fond of Death the Kid and his obsession with symmetry, because I can somewhat identify with him (though not on such an obsessed level). There hasn't been a lot of character development so far either - only Maka's desire to get stronger -, and the series is already 1/3 done. However, much can happen, and again, since I'm reviewing at such an early stage, I won't prejudge them. But for now, I'm keeping it at a 7, losing points for unoriginality and low character development so far but gaining points because they're funny as well as the presence of a few original and likable characters.

I'm enjoying Soul Eater, but only enough to watch it. It loses too much because it hasn't got a large amount of originality. It's good entertainment, but not necessarily good.

To 'Not Helpful' voters (and you 'Helpful' voters too): Feedback greatly appreciated =)

Dazzling animation, zany characters, seductive story-lines, awesome music scores - these acclamations yet still fail to justify Soul Eater enough as my favourite anime of the current season.

Produced by Bones, who brought us Ouran High School Host Club and Darker than BLACK, Soul Eater is adapted from the manga by Ookubo Atsushi. It is of personal importance to mention the manga for the animer is a very close adaptation of the latter. In a nutshell, the story follows three student weapon technicians and their respective partners, as they embark on a journey to combat evil, and yet grow up with each other at the ... same time. Each of the main protagonists are attractive in their own right - ranging from the slick yet ridiculously symmetry-compulsive Death the Kid, to the broodingly cool scythe, Soul, Soul Eater provides characters which are strong enough to carry the series on their own backs.

The story follows a general plot-line really, with the student weapon technicians going to school, equipping themselves with combat skills, so as to fight the forces of evil in the context of the show. Throughout however, we are treated to comedy and mere innocence from the characters - for they are really just kids trying to grow up - so Soul Eater as a show generally turns out to be quite the light-hearted pick. Nevertheless, there are episodes which tug at the strings of the heart, where the emotions of the characters really reach out to you, and also episodes which are pure comedy, where you inevitably laugh at the zaniness of the world. Why can't school and friends be like these, you wonder?

The music is awesome - produced by Iwasaki Taku, of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann fame. Responsible for tracks in the latter, like Libera me from Hell and FIGHT THE POWER (remember?), he delivers as well in Soul Eater. The music fits the mood perfectly, fighting and comedy scenes are complimented by their music, and I really believe he does a good job here.

Art is Soul Eater's strongest selling point. Bones did really well animating the fight scenes in the manga, and the colours are so rich and beautiful, that every episode is a joy to behold. The drawing of the characters are good - but these are pretty normal, I must say. It is the sketches of the environment, and the animation that really stands out. Soul Eater was the anime which spoiled me in terms of fight scenes. Used to think that Bleach offered really good ones - but after watching this, the former seemed really average at best.

Characters are attractive, and you will find yourself liking some of them more than the others. Antagonists are seductively evil, and you cannot help but like them. Powerful, and pretty witches make up the cast of the latter - and it is quite fun to watch the inner dynamics where they manipulate each other for their own benefits. Voice talent is not too great, but it is acceptable. Most notable is Miyano Mamoru, who did Yagami Light in Death Note, but that is pretty it, really. The seiyuu for Soul and Maka are making their debuts, and they have quite a mixed reception. Not its greatest selling point, that's for sure.

Nevertheless, Soul Eater is a great show for all its strengths in animation and music. Its light-hearted tone throughout is also ideal for those who seek to enjoy the anime after a tough day at work or school. There is no need to think too much about plot implications (apologies if you are a sucker for these), Soul Eater allows you to just sit back and gawk at the wonders of modern-day art. Definitely a show worth your time.

Soul eater, soul eater, soul eater. What can I possibly say about thee?! The description at the top tells you the base of the story but it doesn't nearly touch on how great and truly entertaining it really is! As I continue to watch this anime is never ceases to make me laugh and I just want more and more and more.

Story:
This story takes place in a area called death city where a shinagami helps humans destroy eggs of kishin by turning them in meisters and giving them weapons to obtain these eggs of kishin and one soul of a witch and turn there ... scythe into a death scythe. Though this is what all students at the school Shibusen school aim for they are also being taught how to fight and protect the world against the development of a demon god and a demon sword. Though the plot seems pretty basic kill the bad guys, it is far from it and has its own unique characters and twist itself. It somehow manages to tie in school life and relationships between people without being overly cheesy and turning everything into a romantic story.

Art:
THE ART IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! When I first began to watch this I just kept saying in my head the art is great the art is great the art is great and thats what it is its great. The art is very different from the typical anime it sleek and it gives something new and fresh to bring to the animation table. By just looking at the first 5 minutes of the show you can see that. Props to the artist. You will definitely not be disappointed in the art.

Sound:
Ah and so TMR strikes again with his poppy tunes. The opening is awesome I suppose it matches the anime very well and not mention very catchy! Th ending theme is well, I've heard better lol. But I guess it also fits it well. So music gets an A.

Characters:
I must say these characters are all hilarious! They all have their own special charm about them. My favorite being death the kid. His obsession with everything being symmetrical provides many laughs for the viewer. Black Star is the overly hyper kid who wants to be the best (sounds familiar) but unlike others he actually doesn't win all the time, very funny character as well. Maka the lovable heroine. Soul the unpredictable side kick always giving maka words of advice. All the characters as I said are very fun to watch and you get to know them well.

Enjoyment:
I thoroughly enjoy this anime. It has its action but is full of laughs. Everything in it just works out really well with each other and theres always something new to learn about everyone and everything in every episode. Very interesting, very addictive, and I expect you who reads this to watch the show!

Trust me you will laugh more than once! Its worth the watch. So now go on whatever site you go and search for it now!

This is my first anime review!!! X )

Story: While Soul Eater does have an pretty good story line, it seems somewhat stereotypical. There is an organization that was created to protect the world from bad guys, and some evil organization is plotting against them and trying to destroy them. (Other examples are Bleach, Naruto, Tokyo Mew Mew, etc). Then suddenly out of nowhere, collecting almightly weapons all over the world comes into play, and now it seems that the characters are tied somewhere between Tsubasa Chroncle and Bleach, and are doing too much at once.

Art: The art is probably one of the most unusual characteristics ... of Soul Eater, a sort of alternative anime look like many that have popped up over the years. The use of 3-D animation is astounding, there is pretty good detail, and colors and shading well support the story itself and the essence of the anime. The art work is not like any other anime that I have seen yet at least, most notibly the bloody sun and moon. The animation is also quite appropriate to the story line, and overall runs smoothly.

Sound: The music was what got me addicted to the show. The opening theme astounded me as I watched all the characters go through the motions. As the theme song ended, I looked forward to the show itself, a sure fire way of knowing that the music is good. But then, the ending theme comes along. While not bad, it just couldn't compare to the opening, and left me slightly dissapointed. The animation and the sound were seemed together almost flawlessly, and that highly raised my liking of the show.

Character: While not all the characters stood out to be memorable and interesting characters, there were a few characters that caught my eye: Death the Kid and Dr. Stein. Death the Kid adds a lot of the comedy with his addiction to making everything perfectly symmetrical, almost a pushover when fighting a symmetrical being, but a complete powerhouse when not doing so. The other Dr. Stein, with the awesome bolt in his head, has a fetish for dissection and experimenting, no matter how cruel. Also somewhat creepy and a sadist, but making him just a more likable character. While these two stood out the most, the other characters unfortunately seemed to blend too much in the background or were too stereotypical of commonly seen character types. All the characters were obviously well thought out however, and I praise that. Each character gets a fair amount of screen time, and have a decent past, and that just adds so much to the anime itself.

Enjoyment: As you can see, I fairly enjoy this anime for many reasons, and I hope you enjoy it too, which I'm sure you will! The show is only about half over, so there still is a lot more Soul Eater to come! : )

Overall: Overall, it's a great anime, and that's why I'll will give it an 8.

I completely redid this review since we are now at the half-way mark of the series. But my mind hasn't changed much: This series went from amusing to downright exciting.

Story: 7 (Good)

Let's face it, Soul Eater doesn't have a really strong plot. We're half-way through the series, and I fail to see (thus far, anyway) why characters such as Excalibur were even introduced, since at first he seemed that he might be a major character eventually, but we hardly ever see him do anything. This might well change of course, who knows, and this goes for more than one character, such as Blair for example.

Anyway, ... whatever plot Soul Eater does have (yes, it does have one) is apparently split up into two "arcs". The first Medusa Arc, and the new Arachnophobia Arc seem to be the two major parts of the series. Neither so far seemed/seems to be too clear in what the final goal really is, but we know there is a main enemy waiting to be defeated, and of course, Soul and Maka's quest to turn Soul into a Death Scythe.

All in all, the story is the weakest part of this show, but it doesn't render it unlikable or unwatchable. Not at all.

Art: 10 (Outstanding)

It's top notch, there is nothing more to say. The quality has remained consistent through-out, and hasn't been cheapened in any way. Worth the watch in HD!

Sound: 10 (Outstanding)

You thought Resonance was awesome? I like Paper Moon even better, myself. Sound effects, music, this show has it all, just the way you'd want it. No complaints.

Character: 9 (Great)

New characters are now being introduced, and all the old ones are still there. Character development in this show is done in such a way that you learn as you go, but still get a general idea what each character is about and how they tackle their situations. Black Star is brash and rushes in without thinking (and has a huge ego), Soul is cautious and calculating, yet can also be somewhat direct, you get the picture. If you're watching the show (which you should be), then I don't have to explain much more. If you're not watching it and are reading this to see if you would like to, trust me, you'll get to know the characters within the first three episodes. It's all you need.

Character development could be better, but is pretty great as it is.

Enjoyment: 10 (Outstanding)

So far, I haven't watched a single episode I haven't found enjoyable. I'm not kidding, every single episode has something in it that will make you laugh or go "YAR! KICK THAT ASS!" You'll find yourself cracking a smile here and there even if you are the harshest anime critic around, and you can't but help rooting for the good guys. Enjoyment is a hard thing to explain, but you always know that you're enjoying something when you... Well, when you are.

Overall: 10 (Outstanding)

Despite some of the obvious flaws in this series, it's really one of the best shows running right now. I won't say THE best, far from it, but for a shounen especially, it's very good. It's not brainless and DBZ-ish like Naruto is becoming, and it's not a take on Bleach. It's entirely different, and in it's own way, brings something new to the shounen genre.

Sure, some of the core ideas have been done, but where Soul Eater wins is on presentation, and that impossible-to-deny, genuine enjoyment factor. Just give it a try, you will not be disappointed. But make sure to watch it in HD, it really is worth it.

Soul Eater succeeds in delivering large amounts of entertaining filled with a combination of fine comedy and action in every episode. Aside from the few obvious shonen-ish vibes there aren’t many flaws that I can find. I, myself, am certainly not a fan of the shonen genre however that does not stop me from finding this anime to be greatly remarkable.

Music:

Possibly the second strongest point is the music department. It’s fast paced and has a nice beat. I rarely skip the opening theme when I watch SE, thing that not always happens when I watch other anime. The new ... ending themes are nice to listen to. No complaints in this department.

Story:

It’s fairly good but it’s not where it shines the most. The story takes place in a Shinigami Weaponry Vocational School, where “technicians” and their partners attend in order to get rid of the evil spirits that wreck chaos upon the world. Likewise, as technicians their goal is to ultimately turn their partners into “Death scythes” for “Shinigami-sama”, the founder of the school, to use for greater good by collecting 99 corrupted souls and a Witch soul.

Art:

Not out of this world but it gets the job done. It definitely fits the anime.

Character

The strongest points are the characters in the show. They manage to be hilarious and mature at the same time. Similarly, they all have strengths and weakness but try their best to every time. Surprisingly enough, I didn’t find much of the so common “I want to become the strongest of all to “protect the people I love”, etc etc philosophy here. To be frank, I lost count of how many times I’ve heard this recycled statement and I bet you have too. Having watched my fair amount of shonen shows in the past I tend to avoid anime that religiously emphasizes this philosophy. Luckily, Soul Eater manages fairly tone it down in and present the anime in a way that you can enjoy the show if you aren’t into the genre.

Enjoyment:

Plenty. After you’re done with the silly “you know what this anime reminds me of?” phase, you will find SE to be a result of clever combinations of factors. I’ve watched 30/50 episodes and not a single one have been ever dull. Soul Eater has not disappointed and hopefully it will never. I’m tempted to buy the manga once it’s released.

Overall

Before I was introduced to SE I expected it to be yet another super clichéd and awfully overhyped show. It came as a nice surprise that it was not. I have not read the manga myself but if there are any fillers in the anime I hardly felt them. If you enjoyed Bleach or FMA there’s a high chance you’ll love this one as well. Prepared yourself to NOT be disappointed.
Verdict 8/10

Soul Eater is a good series with a great sense of humor, art style, and an excellent cast of characters but lacks the strength to be an over 50 episode series. What really stops this series from being a great series is that the story is dull and you feel like that the show is moving like a snail on a freeway in the middle of the series.

Story: 6
From the beginning, Soul Eater threw you the three meisters and their weapons. These short "monster of the week" episodes were exciting with tons of action and humor which kept me laughing and admiring the direction this ... series was going. Once the main plot kicks in you start getting introduced to more side characters and antagonists which keep the story interesting. I would have gave this story an 8 if the other half of the series wasn't so long.
It seems at the second half the action starts to repeat itself and the show suffers from the main plot not going anywhere. The plot is predictable and probably because the second half has not been written in the manga and it just makes the ending seem rushed. It feels to me that the story is your average "Kids save the world" story and acts like a generic show because of this.

Art: 9
I have to say, the art in this show is awesome. The fight scenes look slick and the animation never seems to slow down or I never really notice. Bones is a studio that knows how to use animation right and it amazes me.
The atmosphere of the show is done in a Halloween like style that really works with all the characters and the setting and makes it stand out to other anime out there. The characters all look great and all have a clever design.
The only thing that really bugged me with the animation was that the random people were just purple, I found this to be lazy and question why they make them fit in with the classroom.

Sound: 8
The OST of the show has a varied selection of songs which is I love in Anime. There is a feeling of jazz, rock, and hip hop surrounding the soundtrack and I never felt like I was hearing the same song over and over again. I never felt that there was a song that I was in love with during the show but all and all I recommend you try out the soundtrack for yourself.
As for the Openings and Endings I really enjoyed a lot of them. The first opening "Resonance" felt like it was kind of a pump up to the series and had to be my favorite out of all of them.

Character: 7
All the characters in the show are very unique looking and have a nice style to them. Maka and Soul are both enjoyable characters that are fun to watch. Black Star and Tsubaki were a mixed bag for me and Black Star most of the time felt obnoxious and Tsubaki was dull but they had their moments. My favorite out of all of the main characters has to be Death the Kid and the Thompson Sisters because they were all so goofy and different from other characters I have encountered. Kid's obsession with symmetry was a funny gag and the sisters acted like two nuts but all and all it worked.
The supporting characters (there a ton of them) all have something to offer the viewer and you can choose which one is your favorite. All I have to say is that all of them are unique and throws something different to the table.
The main problem with these characters is the lack of development with them. Since the number of characters is so high I never really got attached to a character and notice their potential. The series constantly jumps from one character to the next which slows down the story. If the anime was more focused on its protagonist than every other character in the show I think it would have been stronger.

Enjoyment: 8
With everything negative I said about this show, I still enjoyed it. The first half was hilarious and the humor is something this series did an excellent job on. The action scenes looked awesome and kept me watching and seeing all these characters throw crap at each other was just so satisfying. The only thing that killed the enjoyment of this show was the second half lacking the same punch as the first and I wish the humor was as well delivered in the second half as well.

Overall: 7
I enjoyed Soul Eater and it was a solid series and I wouldn't mind giving it another watch another time. I will conclude saying that this is a show that you would like if you are a fan of the action and comedy, it does a great job with both of these and if you are a fan of either one of those genres, give it a try. If you are a fan of the series, go check out the manga as well because it does a better job with the later parts of the story than the anime.

If you have any comment you want to share or questions about the review please message me on my page.

OMG!! Another masterpiece in 2008!!!!! This anime is simply the best!!!!
Unlike Bleach and Naruto which has a more slow and simple battle style, Soul Eater is much more faster and the battle style is much more interesting!!!!

Story

This anime begins as Maka Alban (protagonist) and Soul Eater (also protagonist) hunts for 99 eggs of kisshin and a soul of a witch. Maka is a meister and Soul is a weapon who take form in a human form. If they succed in their mission, the weapon (Soul) can become the Death Scythe. If you want to know more, XD you can watch this anime yourself ^_^..!

Art & ... Sound

Truly fascinating!!! The art looked like Tengen Toppa Guren lagann, since the art itself is artictic and yet beautiful. The OST is just nice and perfect for those peace moments you will enjoy throughtout the anime. When battle emerged, you can enjoy another wild and adrenaline-burst soundtrack.

Character & Enjoyment

Maka, Soul, Black Star, Tsubaki, Death the Kid, Thompson sisters (Patty & Liz), Blair, Spirit (current Death Scythe), Stein and the others definitely brings anime to a whole new level, as they all have their own personality. Even though they are mostly phycho (XD), their battle is both artistic and special. Well, you can see for yourself.

Overall

OMG!! T_T this anime sure rocks. Everything is just nice. BUT!~!! Beware of subbers!!!!!! There were severe subbing problems. The sub is NOT accurate!!! (some only)
Beware!!!!!!

SOOOOUUURRRUUUUUU

Yes, that's the annoying scream you will have to endure when watching this anime, the one who screams is the main character of Soul Eater, Maka Albarn. Now before writing this review I was thinking about in which order to put the good things and the bad things that this anime contained. I decided I'd start with the bad feautures. First of all; Soul Eater is a shounen anime, hence it has shounen screenplay which is to say it exists not to be either good nor bad, it's just there so that the characters have something to say. In truth though, the screenplay/script of the ... very last few episodes of Soul Eater was a bit of a joke. What the hell were they talking about? No really, please can someone explain to me what they were talking about? I've never seen such meaningless nonsense.

Let's swiftly move on to storyboard, Soul Eater had a storyboard that was all over the place, which is also fairly akin to the typical shounen storyboard we're used to, still it never deviated far from the overhanging main storyline which is a good thing, then again the story became blurry as the anime continued and it ended in, well I don't want to spoil anything but it ended in a way I found far from satisfactory, I'd even have appreciated some random comic relief ending more than how Soul Eater ended.

Moving onto to the characters; as I might already have hinted the main, main character Maka Albarn is annoying. She's not only annoying because she's an annoying character, she's annoying because of her character design which to me looks like some jacked up hobo and also and foremost her voice actor (seiyuu), it was a bad choice. She screams all the time, and even when she doesn't scream her cracky teenage sounding voice is just annoying. The Shinigami was supposed to be funny, he wasn't funny, he was stupid, not funny stupid, he was really stupid. These two characters pulled this anime down a notch by themselves. Now let me move onto to the redeeming characters. First we have the idiotic ego-trip of a testosterone filled brat, his name is Black Star, his goal and purpose in life is to surpass God. Now we have seen these characters in numerous shounen animes before, one of the most famous ones is of course Uzumaki Naruto. The thing about Black Star is that it works for him. He shows no humility or subtility, he is never humble, he never drops his act even once and for this he turns out to be this animes best character, he knows he's the best, he knows the world exist only for him to have something to walk on and for him to rule. He is genuinly funny. You know who else is genuinly funny? Excalibur. Excalibur is annoying, self centered and has a bigger ego than Black Star himself, but he is funny.

Do not get me wrong now, I have been bashing this anime quite a bit and rightfully so because everything I have said I believe to be true, but I still watched this anime in like three days. It's very easily watched, you never feel weary when watching it and the next episode comes along easily as you want to watch what happens next. Soul Eater pulls this off partly because of some of the characters, partly because of the vivacious and colourful art and animations (not even the CG feels misplaced) and partly because the storyboard, as blurry as it may be at times, still has you compelled to keep on watching.

Soul Eater is a relatively famous anime based on a manga written by Okubo Atsushi. Now, it is from Bones studio. So far the only reviews I've done of their stuff have been Darker than Black, Fullmetal Alchemist and Wolf's Rain and while that doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to like this it does bode well. Let's take a look at Soul Eater and see if the trend of quality continues.

Soul Eater follows a group of students at Shibusen Academy, a school that trains living weapons and their masters. The goal of the students is to collect 99 souls from evil humans and a ... witches soul to advance the weapon to the level of a death scythe, but that's interrupted by a conflict with witches who are experimenting on using souls of regular humans to create a demon god called a Kishin. One big problem with the story in this anime is that the death scythe setup ends up getting dropped pretty quickly and ultimately serves no purpose to the plot. It's just clumsy writing. I'm told that it serves a purpose in the manga, but it is a problem with the anime. The biggest issue with the anime though is that the end is pretty rushed. The series has a lot of subplots and most of them just get rushed resolutions that don't have a satisfactory payoff. The final fight scene is just lazy, which leads to an anti-climactic ending. That being said, there are a lot of good elements to the series. It has a lot of creativity and the series maintains a good blend of humorous and semi-serious moments, for the most part. A lot of the subplots start out pretty strongly, even if they kind of fall apart towards the end. There are some really stupid action elements towards the end, but I'm pretty sure they're intentionally stupid for the sake of humour and they are pretty hilarious, particularly Death City's transformation.

The characters range quite a bit in quality. The main cast works pretty well, but a lot of the side characters get one or two personality traits or, like Maka's dad, get used for the same types of jokes whenever they demonstrate any kind of personality. It especially becomes a problem toward the end when several characters get introduced and ultimately have very little impact on anything. Still, there are a lot of interesting characters in this. Maka, Death the Kid, Tsubaki, Crona, and so on.

The art in this has a very bright and vibrant style. It kind of reminds me of a cel-shaded game, actually. The backgrounds look nice, but the character designs fall a bit flat. The noses just look bizarre and the eyes look pretty blank most of the time. Which can lead to some awkward moments where you don't know what emotion they're trying to express. Although you can usually tell from the context. Also, like Katanagatari, this is a series that tries to have fan-service in spite of an art style that doesn't lend itself to it.

The cast in this is pretty strong. Miyano Mamoru, Omigawa Chiaki and Nazuka Kaori all give strong performances. The biggest issue with the acting is that there's quite a bit of exaggeration. Particularly from the over the top characters like Black Star and Patty. The music mostly works effectively, albeit not spectacularly.

The yuri factor in this one is kind of difficult to measure. Why? Because there's a character named Crona, who is just a great character by the way, who doesn't have a stated gender. The series keeps it vague, always referring to Crona with gender neutral pronouns. I'm not sure how they manage that in the English version given the lack of English gender neutral pronouns, but the fact is that I'm going to have to give to different scores because of Crona's ambiguous gender. If Crona is female, then the yuri factor is a 4/10. Largely because Crona and Maka seem to have a pretty substantial amount of sexual tension. If Crona is male, however, that would qualify as het and the yuri factor goes down to a 2/10. There are still a couple moments in the series, but nothing substantial.

Now we move on to my final rating. I'm giving Soul Eater a 7/10. Yeah, it has some issues, but at its core it's a fun, energetic and creative series with some strong characters. If you can appreciate the goofier moments, you'll probably have fun with it.

Soul Eater is by far an entertaining anime with fresh comedy packed with action.

Story: The story opens into a more comical theme with the introduction of the main characters and the important sub characters along with the purpose they carry. However, it takes a turn off the normal shounen themed animes and dives into an action rollercoaster with the plot taking a completely different direction to what is first thought. Even with the many plot twists and adventures present, it continues to keep its comedy side to an almost perfect proportion. It must be noted though that once the story diverts from the manga ... and into its final stages, it loses some of its fresh style and stability.

Art: Although it may not look spectacular at first compared to the many notable animes, the artwork grows on you. One of the most notable and lovable things about the art of this anime is that there is not one character in the whole show that is designed similarly to any other anime characters which is quite rare to see nowadays.

Another refreshing thing about that artwork of Soul Eater is the imaginative backgrounds and area designs, most notably the school in which the plot centers, Shibusen. Although its impossible to say that theses buildings are realistic, it can be said that they are of a unique style never before seen in any of the anime I've watched myself. This style is continued throughout the whole anime, never once changing keeping the Soul Eater style.

The animation is quite well non-standard especially during the battle scenes, notably unique compared to the normal standard shown in battle animes like Naruto and Bleach. Its this animation style which Soul Eaters animation style notable to all anime fans.

Sound: I would say the Soul Eater music isnt given enough credit, it has a brilliant choice of opening and closing themes aswell as some amazing theme songs to accompany it. Also, the music hypes you up, makes you feel the mood of the anime at the perfect moment whether its action or comedy.

Character: All of the characters, protagonists and antagonists, are lovable, colourful and refreshing in both appearance and characteristics. There is a wide range of personalities mixed into the Soul Eater world aswell as unique attributes in appearances such as the the stripes in Kid's hair and the drool mark on Soul. It is both comical and interesting to watch as these characters with almost nothing in common relate to one and other aswell as taking part in the key events of the plot.

Enjoyment: By far, Soul Eater is one of the most enjoyable anime out there at the moment. It is filled with superb action and outstanding comedy, both balanced out perfectly throughout the 51 episodes!

Overall: It is an anime well worth watching; great story, fresh art and animation, nice sound, lovable characters and very enjoyable! The only disappointing factor of Soul Eater is that its only 51 episodes long, it deserves a much longer run!

The setup of Soul Eater is simplistic and works with perfect charm. You have a team of two -- a technician and a weapon -- and it's their job to collect the souls of 99 evil doers and 1 witch. All the weapons and technicians go to a special school run by the Grim Reaper himself. The series revolves around three different teams: Maka and Soul, Black Star and Tsubaki, and Death the Kid with the twin guns Liz and Patty.

Okay, so first off, the characters: I LOVE the characters. Half of what makes this show absolutely hilarious is the characters and their quirks. For ... example, I love Death the Kid, who retains a serious side but also goes ballistic when it comes to his obsession with symmetry. Then there's Black Star and Tsubaki. Black Star is really annoying, but he has a great heart and his ego is hilariously big (he thinks he has god-like status, though he's really just an annoying kid). Then my favorite pair, Maka and Soul. Maka is really down-to-earth and genuine. Soul is great, and he strives to be "cool" in everything he does (though really, Soul doesn't need to try much harder...he's already cool in every way).

The animation and art in this series is suburb. There are slick action sequences, and the whole series is drawn with a "Halloween-y" feel. The sound is also perfectly matched with the scenes, and I love both the current opening and ending song.

The story itself is very well-written. It has an easy flow to it and you don't have to keep a thousand story lines in your head just to see the next episode. It seems to have a setup where you have a whole bunch of mini-arcs, then a big antagonist appears, then several individual series and so on. This is one series where its easy to go back and watch previous episodes and you can skip around without much difficulty. It's great!

I can't think of any strong downside to this show. Black Star can be a little TOO annoying at times (though I'm sure that's just me). Also, the occasional sexual joke (*cough* Blair) makes me suggest that only 13+ should watch the series. But overall, it's done an amazing job so far, and I'll be watching every episode as the series progresses.

"A sound soul dwells within a sound mind, and a sound body."

What can I say about Soul Eater? Well, it's hard to review this anime since there are times where I hate it and times where I love it. The moments where I find true brilliance and moments that are just flat out annoying. Let's take the show apart piece by piece.

Story and Characters:
The story is the weakest part of the show, but it's not bad it's just it could be better. We have a conflict and that's good, but then halfway through the series we have another conflict, then comes in the MacGuffin. One ... thing that confuses me about the series is that in the first episode (without spoiling anything), the characters do something, fail, and redoing it again seems like that would be the plot of the show but no, that gets thrown away. It's not a hard story to follow, but it's a story that doesn't have a central focus. However, like I said earlier, there are moments in the show where I just stare at it and say to myself, "Wow, that was beautiful." If you happen to see the character Crona, then make sure you pay attention because when he's involved, believe when I say that it becomes among of the best episodes in the show. Although, there are the episodes that are just plain filler which are good episodes except for the one that happens THREE times that I swear to god provides nothing and is literally there to annoy us. I have found it, I have found the most annoying character in anime and his name is Excalibur.

The story maybe weak but the characters are nothing but memorable. You got Maka and Soul, one is the bookworm with passion and her partner Soul who tries his best to be cool. You got BlackStar who wants to someday surpass a god and his weapon the kind hearted soft spoken Tsubaki. Then you got my favorite Death the Kid, a boy who fears nothing but has a obsessive compulsive weakness to things that are not symmetrical and his two weapons, the Thompson sisters, pretentious yet likable Liz and clueless yet cheerful Patty. There is never a dull moment with these characters except for maybe when they give cliche friendship speeches but beyond that these are really great characters that I really wish I could see more of. Every character in the show has a personality and I love every last one of them...except for Excalibur. Really, Excalibur is so annoying even the characters in the show hate him...SO WHY HAVE HIM!?

Art:
The art in Soul Eater among some the best I've probably seen in an anime. The characters all have distinct appearances and not one character is a carbon copy of another just with different features, except for Excalib--OKAY I'M SORRY, but how can I not be upset with him when he looks like something out of Dr. Seuss' trash can. The way I look at the animation of Soul Eater is like if I'm seeing a Japanese Picasso on drugs. It has a dark Tim Burton feel to it but it also has this bright color imagery that you stare in awe at. If there is one thing I can say I don't like about the animation, it would probably have to be the character's noses. Another thing, since this is Bones Animation expect their famous emoticons but unlike FMA: Brotherhood where I felt they didn't fit, it fits perfectly here since this is in fact a somewhat dark-action comedy.

Sound:
The music in Soul Eater is pretty good. You'll get musical cues that sound like the whistles of train and sometimes even the intro to a Reggae song. You'll get the dramatic choir and your epic metal fighting music. There's a different genre everywhere. Now comparing the SUB and the DUB. Both are pretty good, often I would see myself switching back and forth just to hear what each really sounded like the other language. One doesn't have one the shines over the other and I don't really prefer one over the other.However, if there was problem it would have to be the voice of BlackStar in the DUB. First of all it's a girl doing a boy something that is very common but my god is it annoying. It's not unlistenable but it's something that you are going to get over. Everyone else in the DUB on the other hand is actually pretty good including Excalibur despite being the abomination of this anime. Let me just mention that Vic Mignogna is in this doing a surprisingly deep voice which is sort of interesting especially from what he normally sounds in other roles but don't worry his famous screaming voice still gets in there.

Overall:
Soul Eater is a very good anime with great characters and beautiful animation. If the story was a lot better than it is, than this anime would probably get a better rating and probably be in my top five favorites. Is it worth watching? Hell yeah it is. Watch it for the characters and the animation but if your looking for a strong story prepare to expect the least. I'll say it again, when Soul Eater is good, I love it, when it's bad, I'm just waiting for it to end. I definitely recommend Soul Eater for any anime lover. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to now destroy the person who thought Excalibur was actually a good character.

Rating: 8-9

Overall:
Finished Soul eater about a week ago.
Loved the overall concept and the artwork.
Although the ending left me wanting more. I just felt that the anime could have done more with the story.

Story:
The development of the story proceeds pretty well with the exceptions of the excalibur episodes.(after the 2nd one, I got pretty sick of that guy)

... If you read the manga(which is pretty good right now), you notice the anime stays true for awhile and eventually darts off and does its own thing, the ending really threw me for a loop.

From the way I see it, the manga is taking soul eater to its true potential. So if you love the anime give the manga a go. I think the story starts darting off around episode 38 if you don't wanna start from the beginning start there.

But the story in the anime wasn't bad, but like I said It left me wanting more and who knows if this is gonna have a 2nd season.(I hope so)

People have been saying its a typical anime with good vs bad or whatever, but looking past that, this anime is pretty damn unique. There are things to be discovered, you just have to watch. ^_^

Animation/Art:
The artwork has good texture and is unique. The animation is very smooth.

The animators did not get lazy at all. From beginning to end. The animation and artwork is top notch.

Sound:
Not too picky about it, I didn't notice anything bad.

Enjoyment:
Even though the anime darts off and does its own thing. I still enjoyed this anime ALOT, because of the fluidity of the animation, the cleanliness of the art, and I thought the voice actors did an awesome job.
When Maka yelled, it pierced my soul, a powerful performance in my opinion.

Conclusion:
-If you're looking for lovely action scenes that will blow your mind. Watch it

-Looking for unique artwork and characters. Watch it

and it's not a serious anime, so expect a few laughs. ^_^

Well, i think that the guy who wrote before me hasn´t seen sufficient anime, how could you say that soul eater is a rip-off? It is not a rip off its just that the history is about shinigamis but it doesn´t have any other similarity with bleach, this is a very interesting story with an incredible design of characters and sound effects, also the animtion of figths its really good too. Please do not believe that all the stories about shinigamis are rips of bleah. I understand that its the most popular but it wasn´t the first one and it isn´t the best one ether.

There are shows that simply entertain, and then there are those that captivate your very soul. This series belongs to the latter category. From the onset, it was like diving headfirst into a whirlwind of dark, gothic brilliance that I couldn't pull away from.

The art style is nothing short of unique: vivid, distinct, and beautifully dark, reflecting the tone of the series impeccably. The animation is crisp, and the fight sequences? A dazzling display of choreography that is as fluid as it is breathtaking.

What truly enamored me, though, were the characters. Vibrant, complex, and deeply relatable, they form the pulsating heart of the narrative. Their ... relationships, struggles, and growth form a compelling story that's as much about personal evolution as it is about epic confrontations.

The plot, with its inventive take on soul reapers, witches, and the eternal battle of good vs evil, offers a fresh perspective in a genre filled with clichés. It deftly balances humor, heart, and horror, making for a roller-coaster of emotions from start to finish.

To simply say I love this anime feels inadequate. It's a journey that resonated deeply, and its impact has stayed with me. If you're on the hunt for a series that challenges the norm, delivers depth in characters, and showcases action-packed sequences that will leave you in awe, this is it.

In a nutshell, this series is an epitome of storytelling excellence. It's set the bar sky-high, and future binges will undoubtedly be measured against this standard. Dive in headfirst, and be prepared to be completely entranced.

Ahh, Shōnen. Shōnen Shōnen Shōnen. Will everyone please give it a break and please focus on what we came here to read, a pure anime review. When I look at the reviews for this anime, only one thing can come to my mind, is this a Shōnen? Personally I couldn't care less, what I do care about is that this is a really enjoyable anime. So let me begin this journey into a story that eats the Soul by saying, Fairy Blue.
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A little too dramatic ehh?
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O.K. here is the actual review with my IADb rating system:
Story: Soul Eater centers around the relationship between a weapon ... meister and (at least one) weapon that can transform into a human. This relationship is formed with the ultimate goal of transforming the latter into a death scythe and fit for use by the Shinigami. While the story originally appears to be no more than a simple, enjoyable, quest by three teams who attempt to complete this feat, the story quickly evolves into something much more. Even chronicling two separate wars and producing several more relationships.

The Battles: Soul Eater is advertised as a combat anime, meaning that the battles contribute to at least a third of the story. These battles have several positives but a couple of key negatives that do lower the rating a slight bit. The positive part is that the battles are well written and rarely get boring, aka the pace is great. However, this anime to many extents features the "good wins after severely losing," belief, which means that a lot of the battles are protracted and feature the protagonists losing, only to suddenly gain some sort of excess hope and beating the living crap out of their opponents.

The Characters: Very few anime produce this type of array of characters. You have seven main protagonists, two main antagonist, and whole team of supporting characters. As good as the protagonists are, it is the antagonists that truly take command of the show. My favorite charter in the show, by far might I say, is Medusa. I would even go on a limb and call her one of the best female villains of 2008.

Art: A very different type of artwork. This all depends on taste. If you like abstract art then this is for you, if you are looking for the fourth generation (2013/2014) HD anime visuals, then you wont view the artwork for this anime favorably

Sound: The soundtrack for this aime is good, it is nothing notable, but nothing bad. Its good. To be honest it is the weakest part of the anime. All of the voice actors sound close to their age which is a plus though.
The openings and Endings are amazing though. Easily contains some of the best openings and endings in anime.

Enjoyment: This is always a very hard category to digest, as it varies by episode. Most episodes left me very satisfied, however it lacked the desperate feeling to watch the next episode. Don't get me wrong, I gladly watched it, but their were no cliffhangers and several episodes ended with five minute extended dialogues.
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The IADb official scoring:

Plot, Sequence, Flow: 2.5/3 Points
Overall Characters: 1.7/2 Points
Visual Effects: 1.6/2 Points
Soundtrack: 0.7/1 Point
Enjoyment/ Lust to watch the next episode: 1.5/1 Point

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Final Rating: 8.0
NY Grade: B