Soul Eater Vol 2

  I always try to read a few volumes of a manga series before I decide whether or not to pick it up. I thin it is unfair to judge the series by the first volume partly because the author has to not only establish its basic storyline but also introduce its main characters. I was a bit disappointed after reading the first volume of Soul Eater, but I hoped the second volume would be better. For the most part, it is better.

Description: Since the meisters and their scythe's have failed to capture one soul, they have been placed in remedial classes where they must confront Dr. Franken Stein, the strongest meister ever to graduate from Death Weapon Meister Academy. Even without a weapon, his massive soul dwarfs them all. Will our meisters succeed or will they fail in this mission impossible?

Review:  The second volume of Soul Eater brings two interesting characters: Dr. Franken Stein and Kishin. Both of these characters impede our main characters' mission in welding the ultimate weapon of Death. Dr. Franken Stein shares similar characters with the famous monster and scientist of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. He is disturbing and funny at the same time. Kishin is a mystery that our meisters are trying to figure out and it is mainly why I kept reading in this volume. 
 Like the first volume, the drawing of the action scenes were eye catching and are done well. The other panels, however, still looked too crowded with both Japanese words and English translations squeezed into the panel. If one language was chosen, it would have made things a lot easier to read. The translation of the second volume seems better and I chuckled a bit more in this volume.  There is still lots of violence in the volume, but the female nudity (the bodies are still distorted) was a bit toned down. I would definitely take the "Older Teen" rating seriously with this series and maybe place it in the adult section of the library just to be safe.

Rating: 3 stars

Words of Caution: There is language, strong violence, and some female nudity in this volume. Recommended to 17 yr old and older.

If you like this book try: Soul Eater Vol 3 by Atsushi Ohkubo

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