Soul Eater ep.17-18

August 5, 2008 | 26 Comments

Episode 17 was 30 minutes (well, more like 15 or so since I keep fast-forwarding the episode) that I'll never get back. I'm just glad that I didn't watch it on its own or I'd have lost enthusiasm for the whole series. Thankfully episode 18 is the complete reverse of 17 and delivers a lot of tense moments. I kind of wish that there wasn't that break between episode 16 and episode 18 because it feels weird going from a not-so-funny comedic episode to a serious one. Anyway, it looks like the next few episodes will be full of cool-looking battles between the Shibusen students versus Medusa and her freaky friends. I just hope that Square Enix gives Bones the budget to animate all of the fights.

Episode 17

A Shibusen student called Ox Ford decides to seek Excalibur only to find out that the sword's other form is a stupid-looking penguin who talks a lot about nonsense like his coffee-drinking routine. He also talks about his past exploits like this one time where he helped Sherlock Holmes solving a crime and takes forever to explain things only to accuse Watson as the killer. He also never finishes any story that he tells like that's supposed to be funny. As it turns out, Ox didn't want the sword. He just want to write a report on it but now he doesn't want to anyjmore. The episode ends with Black Star revealing that his report only consists of one word: "Bakame".

Impression

With this episode, I've had my fill of "Excalibur" and wouldn't mind if I never get to hear it again in any popular entertainment medium. First it was in Fate/Stay Night, then it's on Code Geass, and now it's on Soul Eater as well. Not to mention various live-action movies who use that sword in their story. Excalibur is the most used device ever in anime and fantasy-type shows. Isn't there other swords out there that can be used as inspiration for powerful sword storyline? It's probably because I'm not that fond of Arthurian legend that I don't understand why it's so revered in many fictional stories.

Episode 18

Shibusen is having Shinigami commemoration party so Maka and the others are dressing up like it's 1999. Black Star, on the other hand, is only concerned with foods while Kid is concerned with what his father said to him beforehand. The two later on end up fighting because they want to upstage each other. Meanwhile, Maka is unhappy because Soul refuses to talk to her about his problems. She then tries to persuade him to go dancing with her but before she can drag him to the dance floor, her father appears wanting to dance with her. Soul urges her to dance with her father so she'll leave him alone. After Maka left, Soul wonders why Maka has salmon on her plate even though she dislikes them. He quickly realizes that she put it there because he likes raw salmon.

Meanwhile, Stein pretends to be drunk and drags Medusa into the dance floor. Once they're in the public, however, he tells her that he knows she's a witch. Medusa eventually drops her pretense and tells Stein that if Shinigami is not here she'd have kill him right away. Stein points out that she needs to lower the barrier to do this. It turns out she wants to awaken the first generation Kishin, whom she felt have the power more than anyone can comprehend. She finds living day to day life without any kind of improvement is boring and as a researcher, Stein should know this. She then pulls Stein tightly and tries to kiss him. Before she can do so, Sid-sensei appears and asks everyone to get out.

Unfortunately for them, Medusa is already out into the balcony to join with Devil's eye. Together, they produce a magic which creates barrier around the area where everyone is having party. The two then lock the barrier with a key, ensuring that no one can get out. Before the lock is in place, however, Sid manages to send Stein and the 6 techs/weapon out of the tower. Stein then tells the kids that there's a first generation Kishin inside the school and Medusa wants to set it free. Kid confirms this by saying that this is the reason his father can't leave the school. Meanwhile, Shinigami tells the other students that the magic that traps them only last for one hour so for now they can only maintain peace. The episode ends with Stein and the 6 techs/weapons getting ready to fight Medusa.

Impression

Maka seems to have a major crush on Soul that it's kind of amusing. The girl really wants the boy to be more attentive but he's a bit thick at the moment. Not only he doesn't like to share his problem, he even refuses to dance with her. It's a good thing that he finally realizes that she went out of her way to put his favorite food on her plate. The highlight of episode 18, however, is Medusa's all-out attack on Shibusen. She cleverly chose the day when Shinigami is out of his mirror and with the other teachers so that she can lock all of them for one hour. While this happens, she plans on releasing the first Kishin, which is guarded in school. It now makes sense that Shinigami-sama can't leave the school. Come to think of it, the plot is kind of similar to the plot of that an RPG called Enchant Arm, where a magic school is being used as a fortress to imprison a dangerous being.

The consequences of this is that when someone wants to release the being in question, there'll be some casualties amongst the students. Now that Shinigami-sama and the other teachers are locked inside the tower, the only ones who can stop Medusa are Stein and the kids. Having said that, I can't help but wonder if Stein has enough power to defeat Medusa. After all, she did say that she can easily kill him if Shinigami-sama is not around. Anyway, there are some impressive-looking sequence here. Sid-sensei sending all 7 out of the tower was definitely the highlight for me. I've never seen the guy performing his ability before but this is definitely a cool one to see. I can't believe Eruka fools the Nezumi witches but I guess when her life is on the line, she has no choice but to follow Medusa's order. The thing is, I can easily see her being killed off as soon as Medusa no longer has any use for her. In that case, why bother helping her at all?

© memento 2003