Soul Eater, Part One

This anime offering from filmmaker Takuya Igarashi takes place in the fictional town of Death City, where Death himself runs the Death Weapon Meister Academy. The curriculum is somewhat limited—Mr. D. and his staff of monsters train human students in the art of retrieving souls. The trainees work in pairs, with one serving as the death meister and the other actually turning into a soul-sucking scythe. Soul Eater focuses on one such team: Maka and her weapon partner, Soul. If the premise isn't weird enough, there are also characters named Dr. Franken Stein (get it?), Death the Kid (son of you know who), and Al Capone! Maka and Soul find themselves in endless misadventures, with no shortage of monsters, witches, zombies, and other freaks. With its school-age heroes and journeys into inane horror settings, Soul Eater often feels like a perverse riff on the Harry Potter and Scooby-Doo franchises, albeit it with significantly more violence. Soul Eater boasts a strong cult following in Japan, due to its stylish animation and utterly bizarre concept, and anime fans stateside are likely to enjoy its sheer weirdness as well. Compiling 13 episodes from the 2008 first season in a dual-language two-disc set, rated TV-14, DVD extras include commentary on one segment, and the short-clip compilation “Soul Eater Late Show.” Recommended. [Note: Soul Eater, Part Two is also newly available, with Part Three slated for release on June 1.] Aud: P. (P. Hall)