Some quick first impressions: Soul Eater, Special A and Vampire Knight

Soul Eater

What a fun series! Really, Bones did it again, creating a series with an absolutely terrific sense of style. Everything about this series clicks so far. It may not have the most realistic storyline, but it’s fun to watch without a doubt. It’s also got a great sense of humour, and I especially love that picture of the moon with a big smile. The banter between all the different characters is also hilarious, so I’ve got high hopes for this series. The question now remains: will this series have enough material for fifty-one episodes (at least, that’s what AniDB and ANN say, but these aren’t the most trusted sources)? I must say that it’s great to see another series that aims for such a length, but you do need to have enough inspiration to pull it off.

Special A

The elite are always portrayed in an exaggerated way in anime, and this series is no different. There are about eight very talented people at school, who are looked up to by everyone, they’ve got their own enormous greenhouse, drink tea all the time and they’re superior in every single way to those measly regular students. Still, at least this series gives a good reason for our main female lead to be in that club, unlike a certain Shugo Chara and dozens of other shoujo. Hikari was already quite talented because of an ambitious father, and then she met her male rival, who always stood above her. She basically spent her entire childhood chasing this guy, walking in his shadow. Also, this series knows very well when it needs to exaggerate and when it needs to be serious, so the ridiculous premise won’t get in the way of what’s really important for this series: the relationship between the female and male lead. And I must say that the creators have tackled it very nicely so far. Here’s Gonzo’s next potential classic.

Vampire Knight

This really is THE season for shoujo and science fiction. This season has really turned out better than I expected, and to think that my most anticipated day for this season (Tuesday) hasn’t even come yet! In any case, the thing that really striked me with Vampire Knight, especially after watching Special A, is that its jokes are rather obtrusive. Special A knew exactly when to deliver a joke, though a lot of jokes in Vampire Knight are misplaced, break flow of the drama and aren’t that funny anyway. That was the bad part of this series. The good parts are that the story has a lot of potential, the characters are interesting and the soundtrack is excellent. I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews about the original manga: some people consider it their bible, while others say it downright sucks. Well, I’m interested to find out which is true.

16 thoughts on “Some quick first impressions: Soul Eater, Special A and Vampire Knight

  1. Those who consider the Vampire Knight manga a “bible” are the fangirls.
    Each rational person I know who read the manga will tell you that it’s nothing but another typical shojo with lots and LOTS of angst and emo characters.

  2. Soul Eater is most certainly one of the spring animes I have been looking forward to the most. After reading the first 6 volumes, I hope the anime has the same sense of humour and style the manga did.
    There are 11 volumes so far so it might be enough to reach 51 episodes if they stretch it little.

  3. Finally!! I see a lone review in my search for Special A’s first episode!! Could you possibly post the episode up in youtube or veoh so we,, the unfortunate non-residents of Japan can watch it also? PRETTY PLEASE?? Arigato gozaimasu!

  4. I’ve read the first two volumes of Vampire Knight and.. it’s nothing special,really. It looks good and there are plenty of bishies. That’s it.
    Personally, I see a lot more potential in S.A.

  5. Lol i thought i had a deja vù reading about about Special A’s. Supertalented students? A greenhouse where to peacefully drink some tea? Where did i hear this before? 😛
    After all this series seems to be a mix netween karekano and shugo chara. It doesen’t look promising…

  6. I agree with most people here, i read quite a lot of shoujo and vampire knight is very overrated in my humble opinion the plot is very messy and the characters become tiresome with time so emo you just want to slap them all, you will see it for yourself if this sticks to the manga ,the art on the other hand is terrific for a shoujo.On soul eater,
    that was a blast to watch, bones for the past 3 years is becomeing my favorite studio, and happy that they announce E7 movie so i will look eagerly to that too.On special A so far so good, hopefully they will be fatefull to the manga and in exchange it will become a very nice watch.

  7. There are very few stories in general (be they books, comics, anime, manga, or movies) that deal with vampires in a good way. Unfortunately, Vampire Knight is not one of them. Hot guys and angst. And vampires. Seriously, I think I got more enjoyment out of Twilight than I did with Vampire Knight.

  8. Yeah, same as those above, Vampire Knight is just a plain shoujo manga if you are a shojo manga expert. I will admit there are many bishounens in there but nothing more than that , the storyline is what I have seen thousand times over and very boring. Special A is also the same old elite-group shoujo manga which doesn’t have anything new. So I think of all 3 , I would watch only Soul Eater.

  9. I’m pleasantly surprised by Special A. Gives me strange Ouran vibes somehow. Hopefully the end game will be rewarding enough to get to.

  10. i read 3 vol. of vampire knight some time ago and maybe because i don’t read or watch shoujo that much to me it seems to be ok for now but what really interests me from this 3 is Soul eater since i was looking for a shounen anime now that Kekkaishi is over and this one promises a lot

  11. If anything, I do not think that vampire knight is not really breaking ground in the shoujo genre. It’s just a story that is done pretty well. Special A is just the same in terms of humor, but I do not think you are watching Special A for a revolutionary plot. It’s more of the dynamics between the characters and the random humor.

    Soul Eater is yes, delicious.

  12. in terms of animation quality, bones n production i.g are just unbeatable, imo that is. that being said, zomg, awesomer than awesomest is what soul eater is.

  13. Soul eater is probably the only anime series i’ll be catching this season. the story is worth looking forward to, after reading the 10 volumes. the animation style is definitely an eyecatcher. please do reviews if you can squeeze it in ur busy anime-watching schedule 😉

  14. Like what I hear about Soul Eater and Special A :). Haven’t seen them yet…I admit Vampire Knight is a guilty pleasure and I’ve seen both episodes. It is a soap opera, so if you like soap operas, it’s a great one, but if not, it makes sense that it doesn’t seem appealing…

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