The Soul Eater manga and anime series features an extensive cast of fictional characters created by Atsushi Ohkubo. It is set in a fictional universe inhabited by various characters capable of using supernatural powers by channeling the wavelengths of their souls. Most of the characters in the series, including the main protagonists, are classified into two groups: humans who are born with the power to turn into weapons, called "demon weapons", and the wielders of these weapons, called "meisters". The main protagonists attend a school called Death Weapon Meister Academy (DWMA) located in the fictional Death City in Nevada, United States. DWMA is run by Shinigami, also known as Death, or the Grim Reaper, as a training facility for weapons and meisters to hone their powers, as well as an organization to preserve world order against anyone who threatens it, including witches, monsters and kishin, which are essentially humans who become monstrous creatures by devouring the souls of innocent people. The main Soul Eater manga and its anime adaptation follow three meister/weapon partnerships—Maka Albarn and her scythe, Soul Eater; Black Star and his shadow weapon, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa; and Death the Kid and his twin pistols, Liz and Patty Thompson. These three teams and their fellow students act as field agents for their school, reaping the souls of evil humans to prevent them from turning into kishin. The spin-off prequel manga titled Soul Eater Not!, also created by Ohkubo, follows the everyday lives of three other DWMA students—halberd Tsugumi Harudori and her two meister friends, Meme Tatane and Anya Hepburn.
Creation and conception While creating Soul Eater, Atsushi Ohkubo was heavily influenced by the manga series Dr. Slump and wanted to create a story in which serious or intense action scenes would be defused or interrupted with comedic moments. The story element in which characters transform into weapons is an expansion on the idea of weapons being personified, which Ohkubo frequently saw in other fictional stories. Ohkubo decided to make the main protagonist of the series, Maka Albarn, a female in response to other shōnen manga having male main characters, and paired her and the other main characters with those of the opposite sex to demonstrate an equal representation of gender. He also decided to use a scythe as Maka's weapon for its unique fighting style. He resisted drawing influence from other people for most of his characters, particularly the main protagonists, whom he instead based on assets on his own personality—the arrogant Black Star is based on Ohkubo's narcissistic side, the neurotic Death the Kid based on his manic side, etc. However, he did base a few characters on people he was familiar with, such as Excalibur, whose personality he based on his own father. He also designed supporting character Kilik Rung to be black after noting a lack of African characters in other manga series. The names of several characters are based on the titles of other films as a form of tribute, such as Blair being named after The Blair Witch Project and Kilik after Kirikou and the Sorceress.
Main characters
Soul Eater
Maka Albarn Voiced by: Junko Takeuchi (drama CD), Chiaki Omigawa (anime)ep. 1 (Japanese); Laura Baileyep. 1 (English) Maka Albarn (マカ=アルバーン, Maka Arubān) is one of the main protagonists of Soul Eater. She is a young but dedicated student who takes after her mother, another prodigious meister. However, her relationship with her father, Spirit, is strained due to his constant flirtations with women, leading her parents to divorce. As such, Maka is obsessed with turning her weapon partner, Soul Eater, into a death scythe that will surpass her father.[ch. 0a] She collaborates well with Soul in battle, but sometimes gets frustrated at him when he does something foolish. When in danger, however, Maka does everything she can to keep Soul out of harm's way.[ch. 4] Early in the story, Soul is infected with black blood during their first battle against Crona, which causes Maka to become infected as well, risking her going insane under the black blood's influence.[ch. 11] She later gains some control over the black blood by developing a soul wavelength inherited from her mother called the Anti-Magic Wavelength, which helps her resist the effects of insanity.[ch. 60] She is also adept at a skill called Soul Perception, which allows her to detect the souls of other people and measure their strengths.[ch. 2] After turning Soul into a death scythe, Maka gains the ability to combine the power of her uniquely shaped soul, called a Grigori soul, with Soul's and grow angelic wings on Soul's weapon form, enabling her to fly.[ch. 63] Maka can fully synchronize with Spirit due to their bond as father and daughter.[ch. 106] In the anime adaptation, Maka is shown to have demon weapon powers inherited from her father and mother, allowing her to conjure blades from her body while she is unconscious.ep. 51
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