Summary:

Maka and Soul have arrived in Italy for an extracurricular lesson that involves hunting down a murderer. While they are out doing this, a boy named Chrona armed with a sword finds himself surrounded by a large group of thugs in a church. A witch floating high above the church is telepathically telling Chrona to eat a lot of souls, and she infuses him with some magic that causes him to declare himself a demon. He then activates his sword Ragnarok, and it starts screeching at a high-pitch. By now, Maka and Soul have taken out the murderer, and shortly after Soul eats the soul, Maka senses something coming from the church. By concentrating, she’s able to tell that there is a meister and his weapon inside there surrounded by over fifty humans. It bothers her enough to investigate, and when they arrive at the door to the church, she’s shocked to find that all the human souls have suddenly disappeared. Inside, she finds just Chrona standing alone, and she then realizes that his weapon is inside of him. This is confirmed when Ragnarok sprouts out of Chrona’s back in the form of a dark and burly figure.

Since Maka sees Chrona as having broken the rules by taking these human souls, she prepares to fight, and Ragnarok changes into his sword form for Chrona. Chrona charges first, but Maka blocks his sword and counters by smacking him in the face. She manages to knock him down, but when she goes for the finishing blow, she finds that she can’t cut him. The only effect that her attack had was that it caused Chrona to bleed a little, and seeing the black blood makes Maka realize that Chrona’s weapon is his blood, meaning that she can’t damage him with any of her normal attacks. The witch then telepathically suggests that Chrona kill Maka, so Chrona turns on the sword’s screeching ability and attacks. When Maka locks blades with Chrona, the screeching Ragnarok injures Soul, forcing Maka to kick Chrona away. She figures out that the blade’s screeching causes it to vibrate in a deadly way, and this is bad because now she can neither attack nor defend with Soul. Maka doesn’t want him to get hurt any further, but she finds out too late that she can’t run either because her back is against the church doors, and, as Chrona points out, those doors open inward. When Chrona takes a powerful swing at her, it’s Soul who changes back into his human form and protects her with his body.

Preview

Well it looks like our primary antagonists may have finally arrived. At least, that’s what I hope Medusa and/or Chrona will be since we’ve so far had a lot of cool fights and background information, but we haven’t had a significant story arc yet. I get the feeling though that, due to how Chrona appears to be manipulated by Medusa, he’ll end up joining Maka and the others. I’d also say he’s got an interesting fighting style, but that’s due largely to Ragnarok, and that sword felt very familiar looking to me. To take two Weekly Jump examples, it reminds me of Creed’s Imagine Blade from Black Cat crossed with with Cirucci’s vibrating blades from Bleach. The battle between Maka and Chrona thus ended up being mainly interesting because of the cliffhanger it ended on (a very nice one I might add).

Related to that, I think the preview this week was perhaps a bit too spoilerish. I’m now really looking forward to seeing Stein kick some ass (shame he doesn’t have his chair with him), but it I suspect it would have been even better if I didn’t see it coming.

67 Comments

  1. Hm, watching the raw now, I notice Chrona’s using ‘boku,’ so that’d suggest Chrona is in fact a ‘he.’ Was a bit amazed over the argument of this issue that broke out in the comments for 06.

    Tryptomine
  2. @Jenn: That’s why I said ‘suggest,’ since ‘boku’ is very rarely used by females, but not completely unheard of. If I’m not mistaken, I believe it tends to have masculine connotations, so it’s certainly odd to hear a girl use it.

    Tryptomine
  3. It looks like this might clear up the confusion on Chrona’s gender, byte the voice it looks like Chrona really is male (though I was hoping Chrona would be female :-/, thought the comedy routine between Ragnarok and him worked better that way).

    Anyway, this was another great episode, but I really wonder if they planning on doing one chapter = one episode? I was hoping the anime would give us some more background information on the cast, but by doing it this way I guess it ensures that the anime will always be interesting.

    [T.O.S.C.]

  4. Argh… I forgot to add that I thought that they would give Ragnarok a more demonic sounding voice, but they didn’t making him sound like a normal character :-/ was a bit disappointed on this one, ah well..

    [T.O.S.C.]

  5. If I recall correctly, I believe there’s a scene where Ragnarok tries to peep on Chrona (i.e. flipping her cloak over). That only make sense if Chrona is a girl.

    shirokiryuu
  6. Tryptomine: He keeps saying he does not know how to talk to a girl in this episode; I think that shows that he is a boy, or at least to me with my common sense =P I could be wrong tho, what do I know? =)

    rc
  7. I’m a bit surprised they split up this chapter into 2 eps since up until now it’s been one ep per chapter. Oh well~

    The episode preview doesn’t seem too spoilerish. Especially since there’s a lot more to it that Stein kicking some ass with Death Scythe x:

    Yee can’t wait for more Chrona and Ragnarok though c:

    Jin
  8. Chrona is voiced by Maaya Sakamoto (Haruhi from Ouran, Rip from the Hellsing OVA, etc.), so take it as you will.

    @A Day Without Me:
    Considering Chrona’s “ability”, I don’t see how much Maka could actually do.

    lollerskates
  9. @A Day Without Me

    Don’t forget she isn’t Black Star, who we know is a very capable fighter with and without a weapon, so without Soul (she didn’t want Soul to get hurt again after the first vibrating clash with Ragnarok) she is pretty much useless :-/.

    Anyway, about the who Chrona gender I have read Chrona as being both male and female, so saying that we should all read the manga is kind of point-less :-/ (well unless the official NA translation say that Chrona is a girl?)

    [T.O.S.C.]

  10. Ugh, this debate again? 🙁

    Chrona’s gender is official “unknown” according to the anime site. Morever, any scanlations that use gender-specific nouns/pronouns with regards to Chrona are wrong. It has ALWAYS ambiguous, even up to the latest mention of he/she/it in chapter 47.

    Zoe
  11. Stein’s fight… CAN’T WAIT TO SEE IT!!!

    Although the preview didn’t spoil me anything as I have read the manga, I understand how annoying it is for you… (What the preview-makers were thinking? -sigh-…)

    Kaitune
  12. Im kinda confused in chrona’s gender really. Cuz in some translations he is referred to be a “he”, this being shown because of chrona’s attraction to maka.

    But “______” called her her daughter and whenever ragnarok tries to lift chrona’s dress/skirt ( whatever it’s called ), chrona always pushes it down giving the idea the he/she is a girl

    hell, Im seriously confused now. BUT for fun and spoilers I’ll say that because of a certain event in this episode, a certain someone gets a certain infection that gives that person the power to do a certain something that infects a certain someone. : P

    Crazyguy
  13. @Dragoon

    I never said Black*Star would be able to defeat Chrona, it’s just that he wouldn’t just freeze up like Maka did. He obviously is the power house of the 3 meisters, so he most likely would have lost the battle fighting to the end.

    [T.O.S.C.]

  14. @Soul Caster,

    I know, but my point is that it wouldn’t make any difference. B*S tends be foolhardy and would fight any battle even unnecessary ones. Maka only froze up due shock that Soul could be damage and that present time she could not attack or, defend (or Soul would be killed) nor, escape from Chrona.

    All 3 meisters are really strong, however does not mean that aren’t people out there who are stronger.

    Dragoon
  15. @Dragoon

    I see what your saying (when I say power house, I meant the most capable fighter), but I still can’t believe that Maka is strong, other than she being the brains of the bunch (though Death the Kid seems to be able to much her intellect) and the ability to sense Soul Wavelengths she seems pretty weak, but that is just me.

    The reason I say this is because *this could be considered spoiler to some* as the story goes on I can’t help but think that Maka is the holding Soul back from being so much more than what he is now and I have a feeling they both know this.

    [T.O.S.C.]

  16. @getsu,
    Are serious comparing B*S to Stein?

    @Soul Eater

    B*S only real adavangte over Maka his he can attack Soulwavelegth due being born with a large Soul. Most meisters fight the way Maka does except she is one of few who can pull off a SR like Witch Hunter and see Souls at her age. Stein was even more impressed with her ability than with B*S who got knockout during the fight.

    I’m not saying the B*S is weak just that Maka hardy far from him in strength.
    She also has highest chance making her weapon into deathscythe than B*S or, Kid does.

    AS spoiler, Soul actually thinks the direct opposite of what you said.

    Dragoon
  17. @getsu,
    Are seriously comparing B*S to Stein?

    @Soul Eater

    B*S only real adavangte over Maka is that he can attack with his Soulwavelegth due being born with a large Soul. Most meisters fight the way Maka does except she is one of few who can pull off a SR like Witch Hunter and see Souls at her age. Stein was even more impressed with her ability than with B*S who got knockout during the fight.

    I’m not saying the B*S is weak just that Maka hardy far from him in strength.
    She also has highest chance making her weapon into deathscythe than B*S or, Kid does.

    As for the spoiler, Soul actually thinks the direct opposite of what you said.

    Dragoon
  18. Do I hear Haruhi in Chrona? As in, Haruhi from Ouran? Omg, yay!!! I want to hear how she sounds like when she’s crazy… oh wait, she already is! Now I wonder how Maka will sound like if she were crazy…

    Ahem… so, the violence finally begun huh? YES! Hope that they’ll keep as much of the violence and madness in the anime as possible. As for _____ sitting on the broom, I had imagined her voice to be a little higher-pitched, with a tad of sexiness + cunningness + sadism, so I was a littke surprised when her voice was so low… but hey, I’ve only heard a few lines from her character, so who am I to judge?

    Btw, while I think this screenshot is still cool (https://randomc.net/image/SOUL%20EATER/SOUL%20EATER%20-%2007%20-%20Large%20Preview%2003.jpg), I don’t think it’s as cool/wicked as the way she’s drawn in the manga. Still cool though. I just hope that she looks better (her emo face) when she fights ____ in the arc where she tries to release ______. … ……. dammit, I wish I never read the manga!!

    42-42-564
  19. @ SoulCaster
    “He obviously is the power house of the 3 meisters”
    oi oi oi, the powerhouse is without any freaking doubt Death The Kid, not only is he a talented shinigami, he, unlike the other meisters have a complete resonance with his Demon weapons, moreover he has a bunch of other added bonuses for being the son of the Shinigami-sama (explained later on in the series). Well, the only problem is, he gets distracted way too much ^_^

    Now, on to whether Maka is useless; Meisters with the black blood, or rather, those unlucky chaps who lost the control of the demon weapons and had the weapon controlling them instead tend to be more powerful like chrona. Maka had no chance whatsoever at this stage considering how she and soul’s souls are not in resonance with each other.

    Whether Chrona is a boy or a girl doesn’t really matter until the mangaka decides to associate a gender to Chrona, it’s getting annoying having some asshats coming here bashing others for thinking chrona is a boy/girl. No doubt the story is getting better as from next week and when medusa little plan will be revealed.

    Cain
  20. @lol_matt

    Using that same site on Chpt. 5 Pg. 24, Ragnarok refers to Chrona as male, so as it stands I guess Chrona’s gender really is unknown :-/. I will still be thinking that Chrona’s female for the manga (just because I think the comedy between Chrona and Ragnarok works better that way, yes I know I stated this before), but the voice for the anime is going to have me think Chrona’s male (will be thinking like this until they make it official). Also, relaying on Ragnarok (this probably contradicts my statement above) as a source of guidance is faulty, being how weird he? it? is I’m sure Ragnarok’s choice of gender preference can go either way :-/.

    Bah… I didn’t want to restart this whole gender argument again, but if you and anyone else believes Chrona is female that is fine just try not to push your opinion on other people without concrete proof…

    @Cain

    When we are talking about mystical/demonic powers than yes Death the Kid rains over all, but I was talking about physical prowess (sorry for lack of better words/wording at that time).

    *This could be consider spoilers* Even Stein commented on how Black*Star is the best attacker on the their team and that was what I was going by. *End spoilers*

    Anyway, I should probably mention that up until recently, I have been dropping in and out of reading the manga (I hate reading, lol…), but will make an effort to read the manga from start to where I started this weekend.

    [T.O.S.C.]

  21. At first i thought he was a boy as well…but then later on in the manga, before i saw this episode i could have SWORN she was a girl…now i’m just confused as to her/his gender.

    Inuhanyou
  22. Well at least during the later chapters

    Maka also have some black blood due to Soul and that was how she was later have better resonance with Soul after they solve their problems with one another. Furthermore, it was very nice seeing Maka much more powerful and nearly beating Chrona.

    Silver
  23. Gah… read previous comments at the least. Chrona’s gender has always been officially and intentionally ambiguous.

    Citing the “Manga” only cites MahouX’s inaccurate translations.

    There are… pages and pages of this on various boards arguing about Chrona’s gender, all using circumstantial evidence and a distinct lack of actual proof.

    Might as well call Chrona “It” for now.

    Ekental
  24. Just to clarify: actually when Chrona’s mom talked about Chrona, she called he/she “my child”. So using daughter was quite incorrect. And “Boku” is used by some girls in anime (Rika in Higurashi, Souseseki in Rozen Maiden for example). So it isn’t clear yet is Chrona is a she or he. Anyway, he/she is kinda cute and disturbing at the same time :P. And Ragnarok is funny to watch xD.

    meromero
  25. By the way, Chrona is a female… Even though during some point in the manga as well, they say she is a he… But after the fight is over they decide she is female.

    Ellric
  26. Chrona’s gender altough not yet revieled in the anime is given in the manga.

    Anyway Chrona is indeed told to be a girl and not a boy, altough both the anime and manga have done a very good job to make us doubt about it.

    The following sentence is a spoil so i suggest you do not read it id you haven’t the manga.

    ” Chrona is actually is actually Medusa’s child, at some point of of the manga, she speaks of Chrona as her”girl”. ” Now i can’t garante the fansubber did not misstranslated that, but i don’t think he did.

    Masame
  27. @Ellric: Learn to read from people that know what they’re talking about.

    @Masame: They did mistranslate. There is not supposed to be any gender reference to Chrona whatsoever. This is why we’re all having such troubles.

    RmX
  28. From reading the manga, I’m pretty sure Chrona is female. But it’s a lot more fun if she remains sort of non-gender specific. If anything it makes the inappropriate things Ragnarok does seem ambiguous and even more perverted.

    JacksMom
  29. soul eater has become one of my favorite shows these season..in fact i think it may be second only to code geass r2…lol soul is such a great main character…i love his loyalty, and i think maka is actually quite cool in her own way…i agree with the main analyzation tho..i think the preview was a bit to spoilerish…but i still think the next ep will seriously kick ass..i just hope that since they already show us who is going to rescue soul and maka, it will turn out different than i expect…

    Whatchamini
  30. @RmX What are you talking about? This episode ended exactly where chapter 4 ended.

    Really? It’s been awhile since I’ve read the earlier chapters so forgive me ^^;

    Jin

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