If you have not read part 1 yet, click here.
image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Eater_(manga)
I do not own this manga, so I will be reading fan translations online.
Every post past this point will be a spoiler, so please read ahead with caution!
In chapter 4, we’re introduced to a witch named Medusa and a child named Chrona in Farenze Church of Santa Mario Novella (this is the name according to the translation I read). Chrona is the demon-sword wielder whose demon sword is named Ragnarok. The witch Medusa tests Chrona’s abilities by making him (this is up for debate, but this translation says him) kill humans. There are about fifty souls around him, and though we don’t see the fight itself, Maka tells us that he kills them all in an instant. Her soul perception abilities have improved to the point that she can sense even normal human souls instead of just weapons and technicians even from great distances (this is how she noticed the church and a technician surrounded by humans).
At first, she thought the technician might be Black Star, but when the human souls vanished, she knew something was very wrong. She was scared to open the door, but she knew it was her responsibility as a student of Shibusen to find out who was hunting humans.
Medusa, who is hidden, orders Chrona to kill Maka and take her soul. Chrona’s not good at talking to girls, but he attacks nonetheless. Chrona is unique because his weapon is actually his own blood, which is black instead of red. Ragnarok, despite being Chrona’s blood, actually has its own soul, but when it’s not in sword or its physical form, then it stays hidden inside Chrona’s body.
Maka can’t cut Chrona because the wounds keep hardening and sealing, and she’s unable to attack Chrona’s soul wavelength like Dr. Stein or Black Star can. She quickly realizes that she can’t defend either because Ragnarok can vibrate like a saw blade when it screams, causing Soul to get cut. She tries to run, but the church doors open inward, trapping them inside. Soul tells Maka to defend herself, but she refuses because she doesn’t want him to get hurt. When Chrona attacks, Soul returns to his human form to protect Maka. He gets cut deep across his chest.
Chapter 5: With Soul injured and Maka defenseless, Chrona attacks again, but a blade cuts through the church’s door revealing Dr. Stein wielding Spirit the death scythe. Dr. Stein was sent (and apparently originally recruited as a teacher) specifically to kill Chrona before he can become a Kishin.
Spirit is able to cut Chrona, but his black blood can become miniature weapons known as bloody needles. These attack Stein every time he makes Chrona bleed. Still, Stein fights, and he utilizes his soul wavelength technique to attack Chrona directly. This causes a power struggle between Ragnarok and Chrona’s souls. Ultimately, Chrona is defeated, but this only brings the witch Medusa out of hiding. She is able to hide her soul, so no one had realized she was there. This is one of the witch’s most powerful abilities because they can make themselves appear as normal humans. Maka’s blown away that she couldn’t sense such a strong soul (this is also her first encounter with a real witch). Medusa uses snakes and cobras as her spell incantations.
Medusa flees with Chrona, and instead of pursuing them, Stein decides it would be better to get Soul treated; he’s still bleeding from when Chrona cut him. Once they’re back at the school, Soul undergoes successful surgery and is put in the nurse’s office to recover. While Maka is with Soul, Spirit asks Stein how Soul’s real condition is. Apparently, part of Chrona’s black blood got into Soul. Even though the surgery was a success, his life may still be in danger.
The school nurse comes to check on Soul and Maka (Black Star and Tsubaki came to check on them, too), and it’s revealed to the readers that the school nurse is Medusa. The other characters don’t know that, though.
((rant time: I guess because Medusa was wearing a hood during the fight that they couldn’t see her face well. It was also night time, and she was high in the air on a broom, but come on! I’m looking forward to when a manga lets its own characters realize that their hair never changes. I want characters to recognize each other by their hair; it’s how I recognize different characters xP
Rant over.))
Chapter 6: A lot happens in this chapter xD Soul is still recovering, and Maka visits him seemingly every day. Soul tries to reassure her, but this just makes her more worried for his safety which leads to him beating himself up about being unable to reassure her. While Soul is still recovering, Black Star is tasked with putting away books in the library. Instead of doing that, he sits on a pile of books and reads manga. Kidd comes in because he needs one of the books that Black Star is sitting on. It is the legend of Excalibur, the most powerful weapon in history that only a hero can wield. Even Stein reveals the Excalibur was too much for him. The two boys immediately run off to seek the sword.
While they do that, Spirit goes to comfort and talk with Maka, but he is really bad at interacting with his daughter. They go to the roof to watch the sunset, but Maka would rather read a book. Spirit only knows how to lecture or act like a fool, and he can’t explain to himself or his daughter why he kept cheating on Maka’s mother even though he claimed to love her and Maka the most.
While Maka and Spirit talk, Black Star and Kidd go to the northern part of Priten Island which is supposedly where Excalibur is. They must climb the mountain in order to enter the cave, and through the cave, they will find Excalibur. Kidd flies to the top on his skateboard (I want his skateboard), and Black Star climbs quickly so as not to be left behind. He had nothing to worry about though because Kidd is afraid of the mud in the stream that leads to the cave. So, Black Star carries Kidd on his back. The cave is called the Paradise of Fairies as well as the Cave of Eternity. The two boys meet a fairy and ask if she knows where Excalibur is, but she just makes a terrible face and leaves.
Back to Maka and her papa! Spirit tells Maka the story of the first Kishin. We learn that the first Kishin was a meister that was scared of dying. He was so scared that he disobeyed Shinigami-sama and killed humans that weren’t on the list, and he ate their souls. Good human souls are far more powerful than bad souls, but Shinigami-sama only puts bad souls on his list in order to preserve balance and keep another Kishin from being created. Shibusen was created to hunt down bad souls and keep them from becoming another Kishin.
Back to Black Star and Kidd! They find the legendary sword stuck in rock, and they’re both amazed. While Kidd admires the beautiful craftsmanship and decides that he wants it, Black Star pulls out the sword. Kidd calls it a fluke, so Black Star puts it back, and then Kidd draws it! The sword transforms, declaring they shall both wield him! But he requires that they follow all 1,000 of his rules. I don’t want to spoil too much about Excalibur because you really need to experience him yourself, but Excalibur is a bit of a wacky sword; incredibly powerful! But not the best personality! He doesn’t tend to listen to others, and he jumps around in conversations. The only two facts he manages to tell us about himself is that his legend began in the 12th Century and that he doesn’t give autographs (he wrote his own book, which is the one Kidd had used to find him). Kidd and Black Star -realizing his amazing power and responsibility- immediately stick him back in the ground and leave.
When they see each other at school the next day, they shake hands with quiet understanding. I like to think this experience helped them gain respect for each other, if only a little bit. Soul Eater returns with a full recovery, and everyone celebrates together.
Chapter 7: Tsubaki and Black Star travel to Shin Village in East Asia in order to hunt down the demon blade, Masamune, who is Tsubaki’s older brother. Tsubaki volunteered for this mission even though someone like Stein -who has more experience and is a more ferocious fighter- would probably have a higher chance of success. Apparently, Tsubaki joined Shibusen so that she could defeat the other demon blades. In this village, Black Star is recognized by the star tattoo on his shoulder. His clan, Hoshizoku -also known as the Star clan-, was a clan of assassins who would do anything for money. Apparently, they attacked this village at some point in the past. Even though Black Star hadn’t been around for that attack, the villagers still drive him and Tsubaki out of town. Black Star tells Tsubaki the story of his clan while they wait for the rain to pass.
The Star clan was going down the path of the Kishin, so thirteen years ago, Shibusen wiped them out. The only member they spared was Black Star because he was a new born. Black Star remembers that his parents were cruel to him, so I doubt he was actually a new born. He was taken in by Shibusen after that. He says he doesn’t hate Shibusen for it. He also says that it’s thanks to the history of his clan that he gets recognized by so many people, which is a plus for him as he likes attention. Tsubaki knows that he doesn’t like to be recognized in a bad light, though.
Masamune appears in the town, possessing the kid that recognized Black Star’s tattoo. As a demon blade, he steals souls by possessing someone and then draining their soul while they wield him in battle. This kid accepted Masamune as his blade because he wanted a weapon strong enough to drive away the Star Clan survivor, aka Black Star. Black Star asks Tsubaki what he needs to do to help her with this mission, and she tells him that she needs him to hit the boy with his soul wavelength in order to separate him from Masamune. The wet and slick ground make this difficult, but eventually, Black Star manages it. Once the boy drops the blade, Tsubaki jumps out and grabs it. This begins the battle between her and her brother.
I really like the softer sketch style of the world inside the demon blade! I feel like the mangaka has gotten a better handle on the art style by this chapter. At the beginning of the series, the art was rough, but this scene helped me recognize how far their drawing abilities had come.
Chapter 8: While Tsubaki is fighting her brother within the blade, Black Star is waiting by her side. A village comes up and hits him over the head with a piece of wood, but even after he’s bleeding from the continuous attacks, Black Star doesn’t bat an eye at the attacker; all his attention is on Tsubaki. He gets major points in my book for his steadfast faith in his partner and the way he’s standing by her and waiting patiently. I wouldn’t have guessed Black Star could be patient before this moment, nor did I expect his loyalty. It shows me why they’re good partners because she has endless loyalty towards him as well. ❤
So, while Tsubaki and Masamune fight, we learn a few things. Their clan is known for their multiple weapon styles, and generally, the first born will have all of the different forms. However, Masamune only had one form, and his younger sister inherited all the other forms. He was seen as weak, and she was praised highly, higher than him. He was ridiculed because she was born, but even though he was jealous of her, she was still kind and played with him, always his favorite game of soccer. She kept her own wishes quiet, so she could meet his instead. Instead of being grateful, he became bitter and saw her kindness as pity.
Back in the real world, Black Star is now being hit by four villagers, but he still hasn’t moved or acknowledged them. He recalls when he and Tsubaki met and became partners. It was his first day at Shibusen, and he made a grand appearance and speech about surpassing God. Everyone left except Tsubaki who timidly clapped for him. They became partners after that, and it was because she watched his performance til the end that he will now watch her performance (aka the battle against her brother). One of the villagers tries to attack Tsubaki, but Black Star stops the weapon and threatens the villager’s life. Terrified, the village throws his stick at Black Star and runs away. Black Star keeps waiting for Tsubaki, fully believing that she will win.
Unfortunately, she is losing to her brother. Just as it seems that he’s going to win, Tsubaki finally fights back with the true power of her soul since she apparently has a very strong one. She can’t keep babying him because he has chosen the path of the Kishin and has taken the name Youtou. She defeats her brother and returns from the sword. When Black Star asks if she’s okay, she says that she is, but he can see through it. He offers her a hug, and she breaks down in his arms; after all, she just killed her brother; it was tough. Black Star asks if she’ll keep being his partner, and she says yes. After all, he’s the only one she can be herself around because he can already see through her facade. ❤
When they report back to Shinigami-sama, all of their friends are present. Black Star shows off Tsubaki’s new weapon mode, Demon Blade, but it drains his soul and knows him out. He can’t use it, yet, but I’m sure they’ll work on it.
That was all I could read this time!
To read part 3, please click <here>.
Completed Manga Review 