Anime on Halloween Night: Soul Eater
Ah yes, Halloween... The time of year where it is fully appropriate to dress up and scare people. It kind of takes some of the fun out of being an cosplayer, but it's a little refreshing to fit in with everyone else just once a year. And of course, for the hardcore otaku, it's also the perfect time for a marathon of horror-fantasy animes. Animes such as Soul Eater.
First off, Halloween isn't fun on it's own. So invite some friends to come over and join you. If you're a frequent cosplayer, then even better. You and your friends can dig through your wardrobe for that Black Star costume you used at that convention last year. Besides, it's not a Halloween party without the costumes now, is it?
Once your guests are assembled, your costumes ready, snacks all lined out, you're ready to watch Soul Eater.
What is Soul Eater?
In terms of anime genres, Soul Eater would be classified as horror-fantasy. Although the show is not actually scary, per se, it does hold many references to classical horror.
The show surrounds a group of students studying at the "Death Weapon Meister Academy" run by none other than the infamous grim reaper, Lord Death himself. The students are divided into two groups: Meisters and Weapons. The Meisters harness the Weapons (Who are actually humans who just turn into weapons in combat) in order to collect souls of Kishins: Human souls who have become evil. In these cases, such souls referenced early in the series include Jack the Ripper and Al Capone. Should a Meister and Weapon team successfully obtain the souls of 99 kishins and one witch, the Weapon joins the ranks of weapons used by Lord Death himself.
There is also quite a bit of parody in here as well, as the show is designed to be quite humorous. For example, the legendary sword Excalibur: rather than only being able to bond with a "chosen one" as contemporary myth holds (It is important that a Weapon and Meister team be compatible with other in the storyline), Excalibur can actually bond with anyone. And in his human form is actually quite annoying.
The main storyline surrounds three Meisters and their weapons. Meister Maka, who has the title weapon Soul Eater; Meister Black Star, and his weapon Tsubaki; and Death the Kid - the son of Lord Death - and his two pistols Liz and Patty. While the objective of each Team sounds simple, there is much more to the show than collecting evil souls. They do battle with zombie teachers, duel against a boy who is both a meister and a weapon, as well as search for the legendary Excalibur - possibly the greatest practical joke ever played by medieval minstrels.
Do be warned: this show does contain a high level of fanservice: In the first episode, Soul jumps head first into the window of a witches house - only to find it was the bathroom window and she's taking a bath. And it's not hard to guess where he lands face first. On a scale of one to ten - one being Hello Kitty and ten being To Love Ru! Trouble - I would put this show on a seven and a half for fanservice content.
But What About The Party?
First off, there are 59 episodes of Soul Eater so be sure to set aside enough time. You won't do the entire series, but you could do, say, a dozen episodes. Maybe fifteen. If you have enough coffee and the next day off work, maybe try the whole series, but I don't recommend it. You will have to start early to plow through a high number of episodes. If you're only watching a dozen, I suggest starting no later than 8pm.
Now for the costumes. Thanks to the wonderful world of Cosplay, costumes for anime characters are really easy to find. Cargo pants and a Varsity Jacket make for the perfect Soul Eater costume, and Maka sports an average North American "Catholic School Girl" outfit. If you're portraying Death the Kid, be sure to book an appointment at the salon before the party - you're going to have to get your hair foiled. Died black with white stripes on one half.
Of course, be creative. Don't just limit yourself to the major cast. You could modify a "Ghostface" mask from the Scream movies to go as Lord Death. There are also a numerous other supporting cast members that it would be fun to cosplay as.