Soul Eater Not!
A spin-off prequel set at the Death Weapon Meister Academy.
Soul Eater Not! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Atsushi Ohkubo, serving as a spin-off to his Soul Eater manga. It was serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan from January 2011 to November 2014, and a 12-episode anime adaptation by Bones aired in 2014.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Comedy
- Dark fantasy
- Slice of life
Facts from the source article.
Plot
The Death Weapon Meister Academy (DWMA) is a school for humans who can transform into weapons and their wielders, called meisters. The NOT (Normally Overcome Target) class helps students control their powers without becoming threats. Tsugumi Harudori, a weapon, joins the NOT class and befriends meisters Meme Tatane and Anya Hepburn, struggling to choose a partner. The story follows their daily lives and occasional encounters with main series characters.
Media
Soul Eater Not! ran in Monthly Shōnen Gangan from January 12, 2011, to November 12, 2014. Square Enix released five volumes between September 22, 2011, and December 22, 2015, and later republished the series in three volumes in 2020. Yen Press licensed the series in North America, releasing the five volumes from July 24, 2012, to July 21, 2015. The anime adaptation by Bones aired on TV Tokyo from April 9 to July 3, 2014, with opening theme "Monochrome" by Dancing Dolls and ending theme "Yūgure Happy Go" by Haruka Chisuga, Aoi Yūki, and Saori Hayami. Funimation simulcast the series.
Reception
The first three manga volumes released by Yen Press were best sellers according to The New York Times. Anime News Network editors gave mixed reviews of the first episode. Rebecca Silverman found the series intriguing and praised Tsugumi Harudori as interesting. Carl Kimlinger praised director Masakazu Hashimoto's different perspective but criticized the lack of edge from the original series. Jacob Hope Chapman compared it unfavorably to Soul Eater, calling the animation and characters bland and the tone similar to K-On!. Theron Martin offered two opinions: the change in tone and art style would disappoint original fans, but as a standalone show its cutesy charm might work better. Martin later reviewed the complete series in 2015, praising the main trio, moe-influenced animation, and prequel setting, but noting inconsistent setting and subpar action scenes. Gabriella Ekens described the art style as modest moe and called the series "a low-rent K-On!" with dodgy facial expressions, concluding it is only for slice-of-life moé fans. Chris Homer of The Fandom Post critiqued that the slice-of-life vibe and cutesy comedy would put off original fans, but felt new viewers could enjoy it based on the three leads, cameos, and dramatic final third, calling it harmless on its own merit.
More in Characters & Soul Resonance
Elsewhere in Soul Eater
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced