Soul Eater Manga Discussion

[ellifeedn]

I'm rather interested in this "way/path of magic" they were talking about in this chapter. Is learning magic supposed to turn witches into, in a very loose sense, violent sociopaths?

[animekritik]

Originally Posted by ellifeedn

I'm rather interested in this "way/path of magic" they were talking about in this chapter. Is learning magic supposed to turn witches into, in a very loose sense, violent sociopaths?

Apparently it at least gives them an appetite for destruction. Which I guess makes sense, because even relatively sweet witches like Eruka are filled with glee when stuff blows up.

[lmd_84]

If so, things start to make a bit more sense regarding Shinigami's treatment of witches both now and pre-Shibusen. If Death wanted to keep order, then it stands to reason that he disliked and wanted to eliminate a race of people who were predisposed to chaos and destruction. Eruka's comment actually puts a slightly different spin on it: she states that as she likes destruction, it's a good job she's a witch. Whereas Kim's explanation would perhaps have it the other way around: Eruka likes destruction because she's a witch of the common variety.

As it is, I'm a little concerned about Kim's point of essentially medicating Angela against the way of magic. It makes it sound as though witches who have such instincts are somehow unable to resist them. It's fair enough for a young child like Angela to perhaps act on a whim - especially where Mifune's death is concerned - but what of witches in general.

Are we meant to take from this piece of information that witches are, in Okubo's terms, inherently 'bad' barring intervention from the 'good' intentions of Shibusen and people like Kim?

[Kafriel]

The way I see it, it is in the nature of a witch to have destructive powers, and use them once she comes to realize it. By using them, their character becomes evil since they're inclined to destruction (somewhat like fat Buu from DBZ). But since Kim is the weird one of the bunch, she can change Angela's environment to a more friendly one, causing her to see her powers in a different way once they manifest. Of course it's still an assumption, I expect Mifune's death to make her unleash waves of fury if she finds out about it.

[Kirvee]

Angie WILL find out about it. They can only hide a person's death for so long, unless they play it out to be a case of "he abandoned you" but somehow I'd imagine her to 1) Not believe that or 2) Think it's worse than him dying.

[ellifeedn]

Some thoughts:

1. How can the power of invisibility be used for destruction?

2. Will we have a "nature vs. nurture" argument about Angela and witches in general?

3. I wonder if the witches we have seen so far are of European descent. If so, what would witches from other parts of the world, like China, be like?

4. I see Angela as similar to Black Star since both were taken in by people who killed their guardians, and it stands to reason that Sid was the one who killed Black Star's father, took Black Star under his wing and raised him. Makes me wonder if Angela will live a life similar to Black Star's.

5. What are the odds for a time skip of several years in this series?

[Kirvee]

A time skip would both be slightly annoying but also nice for the plot. I mentioned somewhere (either here or on OM, can't remember) that a time skip would be an ideal way for the influence of Asura's insanity to be shown in full force. Because honestly, it just appeared and it would be extremely crappy for them to come up with a plan in only a short time regarding it. I can see this battle lasting a few years and by then I have a feeling the wavelength would've grown so much in strength that it'd start to spread into normal humans.

[animekritik]

I think the witches have an appetite for Destruction. From the perspective of Shibusen culture, that's a bad thing. So yeah, from a witch's perspective Angela will be brainwashed by Shibusen into becoming something she wasn't meant to become. And Kim here is the white witch, which is basically the "black sheep" in the witch's community.

I would be so happy if Ohkubo gave us a bit more background on Mabaa and the Witches as a whole!!!!!!!

And let me reiterate my suspicion that Angela is a Gorgon...

[lmd_84]

Why do you suspect that? Curious.

@Elifeedn - Well, I'd guess that invisibility is only part of Angela's abilities, as transformation is for Medusa and Eruka. I would like Angela's presence to create a debate about the nature of witches, because I think there are definitely questions there, especially if we're to believe what we're being told about the 'appetite' for destruction.

I think there could be a danger of Angela getting a similar treatment to Black Star due to her background. It'd be an opportunity to see what the people of Death City actually think of witches. The few students reaction to Kim suggests that not all are prejudiced against them, but it remains to be seen what the prevailing view is.

[Kirvee]

@kritik: A Gorgon? She seems a bit too young to be the third sister.....I'd imagine the third sister to be closer to Arachne and Medusa's age.

[Cub-Sama]

I want Angela to be the daughter of the queen witch, imagine a girl with that much power inside her being unleashed at bursts of fury over Mifune's death, her anger could be a different arc in entirety.

[ragweed]

i really doubt angela is the third gorgon

[Kotobasuu]

While I think Angela being the third gorgon highly unlikely, i don't think we should rule it out. I mean, if someone posted that they thought Justin was BJ's killer months ago, I'm pretty sure most people would be like wtf no, and then..

Heck I think it was enough of a shock to see Soul get backstory 56 chapters in, so I think its absolutely fine to make predictions more out there and unlikely than previously.

[Tamad]

Eh, I cant say that I would be too fond of Angela being the third Gorgon sister, but I do like the idea of her inevitable fall to the sway of magic and becoming an enemy of Shibusen.

Now I'm going to have to ask... what's next? Okubo wasted no time getting back into the meat of things right after the Baba Yaga arc, and now the most recent chapter puts a whole new slew of questions for me to wonder about for a month. Justin's motivesand backstory, his connection with Noah, Medusa's next move, Kid's fate, and the Shibusen's Young Elite Unit. He promised new development in the next chapter, so I can't wait to sink my teeth into that.

I don't want to make too many predictions, since Okubo has shot all of them to the ground in the past. I just want to say that I believe Justin wasn't always a worshipper of the Kishin, and he only recently became a victim of the madness. There's no way Giriko is dead either, as I don't see why Justin would purposely hunt himdown in Baga Yaga Castle just to kill him... it's not like he would pose much of a threat to anyone. The only thing I can see is that Giriko is now going to be a pawn of the madness, much as Justin has become. He has nowhere else to go right now, so why not?

Angela's presence does interest me, throwing her into Shibusen can really shake things up, and help us learn more aboutt he Witches themselves and what Shibusen really thinks of them as lmd84 said.

A time skip would also be an intersting turn for the manga to take, and it's probably one of my favorite ideas as of right now.

[animekritik]

I have no evidence whatsoever for Angela being a Gorgon. It's just a hunch. That said, Angela being Mabaa's daughter, or granddaughter, would be pretty neat. It would mean the future political leader of the witches is in Shibusen's hands..

[ellifeedn]

^ You're just saying that you have a feeling that Angela will have an important part.

[wandering-dreamer]

I wonder if Angela's presence will help the Kishin get a hold of Shibusen. Since witches are drawn to destruction, does that mean that they in turn draw destruction to themselves?

[BigGimp77]

IDK about Angela. My Guess would be she won't play a small role unless there is a time skip. The Sway of Destruction wouldn't seem to effect her at such a young age. The only way I can see her becoming a factor is if Medusa manipulates her some way.

I defiantly didn't expect Marie to be that type of weapon. I was leaning more towards what she was in the Anime

[Bonta Kun]

Originally Posted by BigGimp77

I defiantly didn't expect Marie to be that type of weapon. I was leaning more towards what she was in the Anime

I think that goes for everyone here, her name kinda gives away hammer

altho I found it a pleasant surprise and pretty cool, if she had a twin sister would be awesome to see Kidd dual wield.......and the fact theres a twin!!!

[wandering-dreamer]

Originally Posted by Bonta Kun

I think that goes for everyone here, her name kinda gives away hammer

altho I found it a pleasant surprise and pretty cool, if she had a twin sister would be awesome to see Kidd dual wield.......and the fact theres a twin!!!

Wait, Marie has a twin? Or was this hopeful speculation, I don't remember reading anything to suggest she does...