Previously in Soul Eater:  Readers were treated to the thrilling conclusion of the Salvage chapters, the ones in which Soul, Maka, Black Star, Tsubaki, Kid Death, Liz, Patty, delivered the final special move to potentially rid us of Noah.  This was done and they proceeded to return back to the DWMA.  Meanwhile Justin Law and the Kishin seemed to have a run in.  What happened and where did it go from here?  Read on to find out if this and more were answered in chapter 82 of Soul Eater.

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Plot Continuation:  Being the chapter that serves as the one immediately following the end of an arc, old plot points had to be concluded while new ones opened.  Discussion of the book of Eibon and Noah’s motives soon ensued in which the characters discussed knowledge (some element from the book spoke to Gopher, while characters in the DWMA spoke of their part).

Next, we find that Tezca Tlipoca didnt die, he just deceived the others in order to pursue Justin’s whereabouts. Lastly, there was a run in with Crona who is still, essentially, under control of Medusa in Moscow.  Crona is tasked with training to improve control of the black blood and make it stronger so that Medusa can gain control over Kishin. Unfortunately, the chapter ends as Crona is fighting a Death Scythe.

Artwork:  Artwork was standard for Soul Eater with nothing special.  The tree was nicely designed though.

Concluding Remarks:  The chapter did well in closing out the previous arc as well as leaving many elements open so that the series can continue. Being that the previous Salvage arc spanned ten chapter in that same environment, ending big and returning people to their Medusa and Kishin was a great move by the author.  The following chapter seems to be great too as we will get to see more action by Crona.

GO Rating - 3.5 / 5

[Mangareader]

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Soul Eater 83

Plot Continuation:  Crona went head to head against Feodor and Czar Puuzuka (meister and death scyth).  For several pages, it repeated the usual fighting tendencies that have been established with Crona. Crona gets beat up and takes damage, then essentially has to powerup with the black blood, finally going crazy with madness.  However in this fight Crona was able to overcome the death scythes special skill (anti-demon wavelength), and taint them with so much blood they they were emanating the dark madness wavelength (later in the chapter).

Meanwhile, news of the incident spread fast, calling for Soul, Maka, Stein, and Kim (the student with from the previous arc) to come to Moscow to see what happened.  Kim resorted to using her regenerative magic on the two rescuers of the defeated, off panel, Czar and Feodor. Meanwhile, Soul and Maka went to examine the two and were shocked to find huge spheres of pure black madness wavelength surrounding the two. Maka used an attack, but later it seems that it had an adverse unexplained effect on Soul! 

Artwork:  The main benefit of the manga is that the souls of characters are always visualized for the madness wavelength.  This is particular effective in this chapter as it helps to show just how intense it is and how effective Crona’s move is.  Character designs are interesting however, one issue is that characters faces are never really drawn as detailed as in other series, with some facial expressions looking awkward and weird. 

Concluding Remarks:  The chapter was full of action and served to quickly accelerate the intensity of this new arc.  The cliffhanger at the end, left us wondering what will happen to Soul who is still dealing with this black blood that was established quite early in the series. At 83 chapters, we have to wonder if this plot point will be resolved soon or if this inner effect will last as long as the series is around.  Stein, too, with the effect is another concern that would be interesting to see resolved. 

GO Rating - 3.5 / 5

[Mangareader]

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Soul Eater 84

Plot Continuation: Simply put, the chapter existed in two forms, the inner war between Soul and the thing that is in him and the outer war between Stein and Soul.  

The inner war was quick to resolve and had some remnants of a previous inner discussion between Soul and it from earlier in the series and essentially played out the same way (Soul overcomes it, of course, in the coolest manner possible).  Outside, Stein attempts to supress him as he seems out of control. Soul utilizes a keyboard and soundwaves to try to pull Stein in, but Maka and Kim manage to keep him calm.  Fortunately, this plot point resolves the second Soul regains control.  Finally, a report came in saying that Crona has gone to Ukraine and delivered yet another attack using the black blood!

Artwork:  Essentially standard artwork for the series. The keyboard was a nice touch, however definitely nothing to write home about here.

Concluding Remarks:  The blood continues to be an alluring feature of the series allowing for interesting things to happen to Soul.  I enjoyed the inner dialogue with Soul and the thing within him as it did lead to a chuckle during the chapter, though was a bit anticlimatic that his fight with Stein ended so soon. The ending was mind blowing when the scale of Crona’s attack was realized in the concluding pages too. Ultimately, there is much to anticipate in this arc!

GO Rating - 3.5 / 5

[Mangareader]