First Impressions / SOUL EATER

Summary:

Since Maka wants to face Chrona, Black*Star rushes past and heads further down the hall. Maka immediately starts attacking Chrona, and although her punches have no lasting effect, she is happy to hear her opponents finally acknowledge her as more than just a meal. Chrona counterattacks by using her black blood as a weapon and then by performing a resonance with Ragnarok. Maka manages to withstand the onslaught and initiates a resonance of her own with Soul, and the two enemies face off with their respective powered-up weapons. Unfortunately for Maka, Chrona is able to stop Soul with just her arms and furiously strikes back. With Maka now down and getting ever more fatigued, Chrona closes in for the kill. As she does so, Chrona wonders about Maka’s fear and recalls the baby dragon Medusa had forced her to kill a long time ago. Chrona hadn’t been able to do it initially, so Medusa had locked her up and let Ragnarok beat her. After this happened countless times, Chrona finally snapped and killed the baby dragon.

As Chrona now prepares to kill Maka, the red demon inside Soul tempts him again with the prospect of strength if he entrusted himself to the demon. Soul continues to resist until Maka suddenly appears in the inner world of his. She is able to do so because they’re in the middle of a soul resonance, and to Soul’s surprise, she actually wants to use the black blood the same way Chrona is doing. Since she’s determined, Soul finally decides to go through with it, and in the next instant, Maka is able to stop Chrona’s killing blow with just her arm. With a crazed smile on her face, Maka uses her new strength to fling Chrona into the ceiling while Soul struggles to stay in control. Unbeknownst to Soul, the red demon comments on how it is he who’s leading this.

Preview

Well there were some cool looking scenes here, and I liked the look back into how Medusa raised Chrona (it made me wonder who Chrona’s father was), but the episode as a whole didn’t really do much for me. I just don’t find Maka vs. Chrona round 2 is as interesting or compelling as any of the other match-ups going on, and that’s even with the inclusion of Maka’s new-found power (and the creepy crazy faces that go with it). It’s a shame that next week looks like it’ll be more of this fight as well, but maybe something unexpected will happen that will change my mind about the extra focus on her.

40 Comments

  14. Awesome episode, but is it just me, or did they change the scene where Chrona kills her harmless pet bunny into Chrona killing a dragon? I wanted to hear the “rabbit for dinner” line~ D=

    lol Maka FTW.

    Reesu
    Reply

  15. yeah they changed the pet bunny. maybe the director thought it was too cruel to kill that cute little bunny (which is true!!)
    i like the portrayal of maka and soul’s relationship with each other.
    oh, and i hate that demon sword. that screaming? ugh. lol

    Star
    Reply

  25. Hmmm, a baby dragon? I think it had been a baby rabbit in the manga. I think I would have liked it more if it were a rabbit, haha. I don’t know why, I think it just looked more pathetic and more difficult for Crhona to kill. 😛

    Riah
    Reply

  27. I would’ve also enjoyed the rabbit more, it would have been better to include it for the “Maka looks like a rabbit with her pigtails” connection Chrona makes in the manga. The line bye-bye ochibi-chan would’ve been stronger as well.

    Ally
    Reply

  30. I’m not surprised they went from a rabit to a dragon. I mean probably looking out for when some kid goes and kills a rabit and then this anime gets blamed. Good luck finding a dragon to kill. Really is something that Medusa would do all of this to her own child.

    This has been pretty good, but I’m also pretty interested in the other fights. More Stein+Spirit vs Medusa, or the coming fights with Kid and Black Star.

    FlareKnight
    Reply

  31. hey, do you know what the song is that starts at approximately 20:45 minutes into the 18 (yes, eighteenth) episode, and it’s where everyone’s getting geared up for what’s ahead, and does anyone know the artist and title? thanks if you can reply in this post. no one had replied to this message in the actual ep 18 post. thanks.

    madhat
    Reply

  36. While I don’t find a rematch that interesting, I like the Insane Maka so I do look forward to see a little more of this in the next episode.

    I really like the relationship between Soul and Maka. I don’t usually interest in Shounen anime’s relationships that much (because they always do it without any passion between the characters) but Soul Eater is definitely different.

    Kaitune
    Reply

  37. I don’t understand how this series isn’t more popular than it is. Personally i find it to be the most amusing by far than everything else available atm.

    It balances every aspect of being a good anime out perfectly without going to far in any one area, and all without fan service.

    you
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *