The animation is different from the average anime (but not to the creepy extreme of One Piece), it adds a unique touch to the series, especially the characters.
The music is also amazing, especially the first opening.
Story: The first arc of the series is captivating. Full of action, comedy, and character development. It has a good balance of lighter and darker moments. We get to know the main characters, their strengths and weaknesses. The filler episodes usually involve Excalibur, the first such episode is still one of my favourites, but it got a little old after the second one.
The first arc, which is about the first 26 or so episodes, are amazing. The series should have had the final battle at this point, or continue in that way, but alas it did not. There are plenty of ways the stories could have continued from this point on, without introducing characters that don't develop and could easily vanish without being noticed. The first arc gains a 10/10 on all fronts!
However, all of these good qualities are somewhat lost in the second arc. The story of the second arc seemed forced, and wasn't all that interesting, dragging on for pretty much all of it. There are all these demonic tools and the mysterious Eibon, which seem like they're going somewhere interesting, but really aren't. Medusa comes back, but really the series could have gone on well if she didn't. Her role was small, and overall unnecessary. The addition of the new deathscythes is also a bit forced and unessential. Besides Mary, they just seem to fill roles existing characters could have filled.
Arachne isn't anything special either. Mosquito provided one good battle scene, and left some "foreshadowing" that he had stronger forms, hinting that perhaps we'd see them, but we don't.
The finale left much to be desired as well. It was meant to stir emotions, but just didn't do it. The climax of the black blood in Soul occurs, but was a bit anti-climatic for something that had been built up for so long. So, for that matter was the battle with the kishin.
His madness has supposedly spread, yet the only person this seems to occur in is Stein. Otherwise it doesn't seem like the world is in danger at all. And all of the pointless gadgets just seem to be fillers to make things seem worse off than they are. You would think they would at least show more soul-collecting, considering that the madness would bring out more dark souls.
Overall, the second arc was pointless. I didn't care about the story at all, and just watched it because I like the characters. The best quality of the second arc was the development of Crona's character. (episode 26 is priceless)
Character:
This is Soul Eater's finest quality. The three main characters all have their strengths and weaknesses, and throughout the series they grow a lot. They are all entertaining, although Black Star can get on one's nerves easily. There were a couple of battles where I was cheering against him, and happy to see him get the crap beaten out of him. Death the Kid is one part serious, one part neurotic. His obsession with symmetry is hilarious. Maka is also a good character. She is the most developed, and really is the strongest. Medusa and her minions make for a fine villains, however in the second arc, her minions are only there because they didn't die in the first arc.
All of the characters are well done. (and chibi ragnarok is awesome!). They are what kept me watching even when the story started to fail. In that respect, the enjoyment value of the series was high. I watched the last arc and kept watching just to see them.
Overall, I recommend this series. It is entertaining in spite of it's flaws, and is still worth the watch!
