First Impressions / SOUL EATER

Summary:

Stein’s research leads him to the theory that a certain heretic’s soul is inside the old golem. In the process, he finds a report about an incident in the Czech Republic where half a million people saw mysterious illusions that looked like spiders, and this causes him to conclude that the heretic scattered her body 800 years ago and left her soul in the golem. This heretic was the witch Arachne, and realizing makes Stein want to go help Maka and the others, but Shinigami-sama urges patience. Arachne is the mother of magic weapons, but creating one required the sacrifice of a witch’s soul. 800 years ago, she had been pursued by Shinigami-sama and had escaped into the old golem’s chamber. Back in the present, Maka and Crona are having a hard time dealing with Giriko and the golem, and Maka finds herself unable to move her body after getting sprayed with a special silk. Spiders then appear all around them and combine to form Arachne’s body.

Crona vows to protect Maka, however Crona is no match for either Arachne or Giriko. Crona is nearly finished off by Giriko, but fortunately Justin Law appears and saves the day. Justin is special in that he became a Death Scythe at a young age without a partner, and he’s able to fight Giriko on even ground. Right as Giriko is getting really pissed off, Arachne decides to retreat, and Justin is subsequently forced to deal with the golem instead of chasing after Arachne and Giriko. After watching Justin behead the golem, Soul is awed by how this man is a weapon just like him, yet so much more powerful. Since Maka is still unable to move, they bring her back to Shibusen in the coffin attached to the back of Justin’s car. Arachne and Giriko meanwhile meet up with a small old man named Mosquito, and he drives them to her old stronghold where her men are waiting.

ED Sequence

ED: 「爆走夢歌」 (Bakusou Yume Uta) by Diggy-MO’
Watch the ED!: Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Streaming

Surprisingly, there was no new OP this week, but there was a new ED by SOUL’d OUT vocalist Diggy-MO’. This was one of those songs that didn’t click with me the first time I heard it, but now I can’t stop listening to it. I guess it helps that I’ve been a fan of SOUL’d OUT music, so I’m used to this style. The animation behind the song meanwhile seems to confirm two things: that these next episodes will all be about Arachne, and that Crona will be joining the main three as a protagonist. It’ll be interesting to see if the new OP (which I assume will be coming next week) will reveal anything else.

Oh and one more thing: I’m changing the way I spell Crona’s name because of this.

Preview

Well, Justin turned out to be a much cooler character than I thought he was now that I’ve seen him in action. All the guillotine imagery was a nice touch, and a lot of the credit goes to BONES for animating it all so wonderfully. It’s too bad though that he wasn’t able to stop Giriko and Arachne from escaping. I wanted to see Arachne fight some more because I’m curious to see how she matches up against any of the Death Scythes or against Stein – I assume she’s more powerful than Medusa was, but not as powerful as Shinigami-sama or Ashura. Her real strength though might be that she has an organization ready to do her bidding. Then again, I’m sure we’ll get to see something along the lines of a stormtrooper effect with them real soon.

In any case, it was a little disappointing to see Crona get taken down so easily this episode after seeming so invincible during the fight against Maka. Our heroes will likely need to power up again. However, I’m not sure how much I want to watch a redux of Soul feeling weak/powerless (when compared to Justin), but it seems like one of the plotlines is headed in that direction. The focus next week shifts apparently to Black*Star, Angela, and Mifune. I didn’t think I’d ever see the latter of those two again, but there they are in the preview.

37 Comments

  12. I think it’d be worse if Crona was invicible compared to Giriko(Someone who can go toe to toe with a Death Scythe) and Archne the mother of all Demon weapons. That would totally belittle the threat they posed and as for the golem Crona was already weakened from Giriko’s attack.

    ZOMG Anime
    Reply

  18. I really like the ED song and animation sequence. I’ll be looking forward to the new OP.
    It’s great to see that Chrona will join the main three as a protagonist.
    Chrona’s my favorite character. x3

    Azumi
    Reply

  20. Well we saw that Chrona (or Crona or Krona or whatever ppl want to spell the name) couldn’t really handle Death the Kid well either. Plus Ragnarok is weaker now? Not that it’s (or he) isn’t strong, just weaker.

    Man, Justin just kicked some major ass, and I love Arachne’s voice. And the appearance of old Shinigami ;D whoo~

    Charlo
    Reply

  22. @Omni

    Come on!? Aroduc from Tenka Seiha already has ef ~ A Tale of Melodies #01, Vampire Knight – Guilty #01, Skip Beat! #01, Macademy Wasshoi! #01. Whats taking so long… :/

    Highschool Debut
    Reply

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