Summary:

In the shadows of a gangster’s refuge, the Meister Black*Star and his weapon Tsubaki are observing the gang boss Al Capone feast on souls. Instead of quickly going in for the kill though, Black*Star makes a flashy entrance and announces who he is, thereby ruining the element of surprise and causing all the gangsters to shoot at him. He and Tsubaki are thus forced to retreat without having gotten a single soul and have to face Shinigami-sama the next day. Black*Star remains confident that he’ll make Tsubaki into a death scythe, and he gets excited when Shinigami-sama informs him that Al Capone is now going after a witch named Angela. He thinks defeating both sides will give the souls that they need, and he doesn’t stick around to hear the rest of what Shinigami-sama has to say. Tsubaki, however, warns him that it’s impossible for them to fight a witch when they can’t even handle a normal mission. Black*Star nevertheless vows to make her into a death scythe, and the two head to Angela’s castle after an incident where Black*Star tries to peep on Tsubaki in the bath.

At the castle however, they find that the place is full of the red souls of Al Capone and his men. When the swordsman who defeated Al Capone suddenly strikes, Black*Star is barely able to get out of the way. The swordsman introduces himself as Angela’s bodyguard Mifune, and once the fight really starts, it quickly becomes clear that he’s much stronger than Black*Star and Tsubaki. Even when Black*Star has Tsubaki transform into a giant shuriken, Mifune has no trouble avoiding it, though he does get a little disoriented when Tsubaki then changes into a smoke bomb. Black*Star isn’t able to take advantage of the chance though because he yells loudly when he tries to attack, and Mifune counters with a potentially lethal swing across Black*Star’s abdomen. Fortunately for Black*Star, Mifune uses the back of his sword instead of the front, and he lectures Black*Star afterwards about relying too much on his weapon. Hearing Mifune call him a small fry really pisses Black*Star off, and, completely serious now, he has Tsubaki transform into a ninjatou.

However, the Black*Star that emerges from the smoke of Tsubaki’s transformation is not the real Black*Star – it’s just Tsubaki disguised as him. Mifune doesn’t realize this until too late, and Black*Star makes full use of this opportunity to knock him out with a blow to the back. Before Black*Star can finish Mifune off though, the child witch Angela flies in and protects him. Seeing how young Angela is, how determined Mifune is to protect her, and how he personally doesn’t want to kill a child, Black*Star decides to turn around and leave. He and Tsubaki do bring back to Shinigami-sama all the Mafia souls that they had been originally sent out to get though, and in the aftermath, Black*Star returns to trying to peep into the girl’s bath.

Preview

Note: Patrik introduced this series last week, so I’m going to pick up with the second episode.

Some overall thoughts of the series first: Iwasaki Taku‘s music here is very similar to his work in Gurren Lagann, and I love it already. It’s especially at making the action scenes extra exciting. The animation quality meanwhile is very impressive, and BONES has done an incredible job making the world feel vibrant and alive while retaining that stylish feel (just look at the moon and the sun). But all that aside, I really just enjoy watching this – it’s ones of those shows that’s just a lot of fun (and I don’t say that very often). It feels much more fresh and exciting than some of the other shounen-oriented shows airing these days, and I don’t think I’d ever have to say bad things about the animation quality like I do for Bleach.

As for this episode, Black*Star turns out to be the most annoying/obnoxious of the main three (Maka’s voice actress notwithstanding), and Kobayashi Yumiko did a pretty good job with the voice, but I kept thinking though that this was a role that Paku Romi would have been perfect for. The fight scene between Black*Star and Mifune was of course impressive, however what I actually like more is how the story is raising questions about what’s good and what’s evil by having the witch be a little kid. I wonder if that’s going to be a prevalent theme once we get past these introduction episodes (I haven’t read past the first three chapters of the manga, so I really don’t know).

The end of this episode and next week introduces my favorite of the main three, Death the Kid. It’s a shame he’s voiced by Miyano Mamoru though. I swear everything I’m watching involves either him or Fukuyama Jun or both (as is the case in Vampire Knight).

49 Comments

  1. blackstar looks like someone who likes to peek at female bathroom eh, and that ninja lady is just so good with her… how u call it? sunkei? anyway, blackstar crews things up too, eating 100 souls ~___~

    mysterious
  2. Black Star is awesome! He reminds me of Laharl from Disgaea, who was pretty entertaining too. I can’t wait to see DtK though.

    Anyways, thanks for blogging this show! Iwasaki Taku and Bones create a recipe for success!

    Darklord
  3. “C’mon man, the biggest reason I’m watching this is because of Maka’s voice… It hurts me to read you saying its obnoxious.”

    Personally I like the sound of the voice itself, seems to fit her well. However her acting abilities are atrocious, I barely know any Japanese and it still manages to grate me. Though honestly I think half of it is me noticing it more because everyone keeps singling her out.

    Tryptomine
  4. I don’t get all the Maka VA bashing, honestly I think everyone is picking on her because she’s a debutant, to me her voice is unique, it’s also a nice change from the generic voices all around anime, as for her acting it seems perhaps below average but not as atrocious as many make it out to be, give her some time and I think she’ll become better except while keeping the same unique voice.

    Ducky07
  5. I too like Maka’s voice 🙂

    the good thing about this show is the fight choreography. Maka’s fight with the serial killer in Ep1 was really well animated, and I hope they keep it up.

    panda monium
  6. Omni, i recommend that you stick with this one.

    At first I didn’t like its story or art style for the first few chapters so usually read it last in the magazine i get. That was until it reached somewhere near chapter 10, things started to get more interesting and the art style started getting darker. Right now I’m at chapter 23 and it’s gotten really good.

    Can’t wait to see kid in action.

    Kagekyuubi
  7. Black Star’s VA was one that seemed weird to me. Needs a more male hot blooded voice. But meh, chosen already. Maka voice is unique, its a little annoying, but fits her character. Funny how Mamoru and Jun are in every single season for the new releases.

    Btw, OP is Resonance by T.M Revolution and I wanna be by STANCE PUNKS.

    Sora no Kaze
  8. oh! i hope this anime can blog till the end! XD
    great job as ever Omni-san!
    this episode was great intro for Black Star & Tsubaki!
    nice fightings scenes ever!next episode would be the intro
    for Death the Kid and the Thompson sisters!
    can’t wait for their action!

    k0na-yume
  9. I wouldn’t say this quite like Naruto, I mean it has a lot more style than Naruto, better animation, better fights, better world, better characters, and the last monthly manga that Bones then animated was Full Metal Alchemist, so I wouldn’t be so quick to discount this as just another shonen.

    Ducky07
  10. I was thinking the same thing when I first heard Black star’s voice omni. I think Paku Romi would have been perfect! But Kobayashi did a pretty good job, I liked her as Tetsu from Peacemaker & I’m sure I’ll love her in this role as well. The next ep looks like it will be awesome!

    astridstarr00
  11. this show doesn’t seem anything like naruto so far. there are no annoying catchphrases and every character isn’t an emo kid. if the characters start crying after every fight about how lonely they are, then it will become like naruto. otherwise the only similarity is that they are both action shows.

    urtistly
  12. I really don’t get why so many people have a problem with Maka’s VA. Personally, I think she sounds fine. In fact, I thought her voice was more realistic and down-to-earth than the other cast members, as if she was treating it as a live-action role rather than putting on an “anime voice”.

    Penguin_Factory
  13. If this show keeps up the way it is it will have huge replay value. I can already watch the episodes over and over again. I love the vibrant colors, the animation, the style. The OP is awesome. The music is good. I hope it keeps up at this pace.

    Newbfy
  14. I am interested to see that this is gonna be a 51 episode anime. I also like the fact that they are taking turns being the protagonist. Can’t wait to see them all obtain those death scythes!

    Dando008
  15. Sigh~ after watching Black Star I don’t think I can stand hearing him ever again. In the manga he’s at least bearable, but now he’s just extremely annoying even when he goes all serious still an annoying brat. Can’t wait to see Death the Kid though =P

    Mi-Ki
  16. yeah i have to agree, this show is simply enjoyable to watch, and i am totally digging the animation style..it is truly different from anything i have ever seen in anime before..i also really like this story, its just cool. i also agree that i don’t like black star’s voice like, at all! romi paku would have probably been perfect, but at the same time she usually does boys that have a tendency to lack emotion…

    i can’t wait to see where they take the plot after they introduce all the characters…and i think this next ep will be a lot of fun…totally insane characters are very funny to watch. i do think that death the kids va will do a good job tho

    Whatchamini
  17. How is this even close to being like Naruto? That’s a completely random thing to say. He throws a Shuriken wham ”LOL NARUTO STEAL!”

    They aren’t even close to being the same. Similarities doesn’t mean anything. Almost every anime has something similar.

    Llednar Twem
  18. Oh wow… in the manga Al Capone and gang’s dead bodies, not souls, were lying everywhere in front of Angela’s castle, and the swords were already all over the place when Black Star got there. In fact, most of the swords were stuck in the Al Capone gang’s bodies.

    SOSAnimeBoy
  19. I think it reminds me of Naruto the most because of the ED. XD
    Especially since its played by one of the same bands that made on of Naruto’s OPs, and the fact that all we see are Maka and Soul Eater running… That totally made a link pop into my head.

    Roku

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