Oh, Patty, I knew you would be amazing just by glancing at your design.
Death the Kid is amazingly awesome. I think every person on the planet had OCD in some form or another, so there’s no way you can’t tell me that you didn’t see elements of yourself in him, Personally, I don’t have the ridiculous devotion to symmetry; although the concept is certainly biologically pleasing, there’s a certain kind of beauty in asymmetry with good composition. I have more issues with making sure that I don’t step on cracks or tiles of the incorrect color (watching me walk must be a laugh riot at times), so I certainly understand the need for things to be just so, or else you aren’t happy. It’s a primate thing, I think.
The absolute highlight of the episode, though, was the Thompson sisters, Patty and Liz. Mostly Patty. Oh god, Patty. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the “cute-yet-lovably-airheaded” type in anime, and she bowled me over wholeheartedly. Her seiyuu also seems to be new to the business, like Maka’s: I like Takahira Narumi’s voice better than Omigawa Chiaki’s (Maka), but I really don’t have an issue with Maka’s voice as she seems to be less about squeaky cuteness and more about raging power. All that screaming would give anyone a harsh voice, wouldn’t you agree? That and Chiaki’s originally a stage actress, so she’s not as trained in voice acting. I find Maka’s voice fits her character, and most of the hatred probably comes from people desiring a voice more like Patty’s than what they got.
Not only is Patty cuter than a button that has a picture of a kitten on it, but she’s dangerous. I think the single best scene of the entire episiode (and the series thus far), in terms of “you did NOT just do that” action was when they did the mid-air role swap. Patty jumps, transforms into a gun, while Liz goes from gun to human form, grabs gun-Patty, and blasts the mummy. The sheer creativity of that move shows that perhaps Death the Kid, for all the raging passion he exhibits when confronted with assymetry, would probably be useless without Patty and Liz (See, it’s that reversal of standard shounen gender roles again!). It’s also fun to note that it’s Patty who comes up with this move. Yes, air-headed Patty. With adorable poofy jean shorts.
The three prologues of the main characters have done an excellent job in setting up the characters of the series in a way which clearly defines who these characters are. It’s amazing how much detail they crammed into these three episodes, while keeping up the comedy aspect. It’s that comedy aspect that I think helps define these characters and makes them likable and memorable this early on, as humor is the best way to implant something in the human mind. Sometimes, I watch a series and can’t remember the names of characters until 4-5 episodes later, and even then, I’ll forget minor characters easily. Maybe it’s just the high volume of discussion about the series I’ve been seeing, but I have zero trouble remembering these characters’ names, despite only hearing them a couple of times each. When names and faces of characters stick this well, someone’s doing their job right.
I have no idea where Soul Eater is going now (the preview offers no clues); they may branch from the manga early and develop an anime-specific storyline, they may follow the manga until they run out and then do same, or maybe they’ll dispense with a plot altogether and just be manic fun for 51 episodes. The last one is the least appealing, but as long as the series stays this consistently entertaining I’ll stick with it. And it’s a 10th anniversary series for BONES, which is an extra incentive to see what’s up with it. But one never knows with these things.
Anime wa Bakuhatsu da! 
– Patty is so blonde. And it’s friggin’ WIN.
– What color tile do you not step on? I always make it a point to land on white. And of course we avoid cracks. Who knows when you’ll fall through to the center of the earth.
– Maka’s seiyuu is quite awesome if you ask me. Although I caught up with the manga AFTER watching episodes 1 and 2, so I dunno really. I think it’s her cuteness in real life.
– There’s plenty of material to be adapted by BONES. Each chapter’s around 50 pages at least, and episode 4 finally hits chapter 1 (1-3 were all from the ridiculously long chapter 0, which was really 3 one-shots put into one). I have high hopes for this 10th anniversary series.
Symmetry FTW.
I remember spending hours trying to level two wallscrolls, but I ended up wasting it all by failing.
Honestly, I found Patty’s voice annoying. Her seiyuu did a FINE job, but I just found her wrong for the part. On the drama CD, Sawashiro Miyuki did the part, and she does an amazing job on this sort of role.
Let me say this: For whatever reason (money, scheduling, I don’t care) Sawashiro Miyuki and Noto Mamiko–my two favorite voice actresses who have voices that absolutely make me melt–were BOTH replaced on this series by people who do excellent jobs, but, in my opinion, just aren’t as fitting for the parts.
And what are they, my favorite seiyuu with voices that make me melt, doing on other shows this season? THEY ARE PLAYING BOYS. APPARENTLY JAPAN HATES ME.
I don’t know how I missed it, but I wasn’t aware that Soul Eater was scheduled for 51 episodes. My impression of it so far has been great, but I don’t know if it’s 51 episodes great. I imagine it will end up like Hayate, where after the first twelve or so I enjoy every episode immensely but feel a strange lack of compulsion to watch the next one. It’s also going to hurt that every episode I will be thinking of what COULD have been whenever I hear Patty and Tsubaki.
If I had a box just for wishes, and dreams that had never come true… it would be full of THIS.
*SIGH*