Also by Panda, editted by yours truly
What Is Soul Eater?
Soul Eater is a Japanese manga/anime set at the "Death Weapon Meister Academy," the series revolves around three teams consisting of a weapon meister and (at least one) human weapon. Trying to make the latter a "death scythe" and thus fit for use by the academy's headmaster, Shinigami (better known as Death), they must collect the souls of 99 evil humans and one witch, in that order or they will have to restart all over again.
Meisters
Meisters are those who wield weapons, and have exceptional soul wavelengths compared to weapons.
AbilitiesMeisters are best known for being paired with a weapon, but top-level meisters can fight on their own.
The skills of a meister vary from person to person but they all must know how to channel their soul's wavelength. This can either be through themselves or through a weapon. During both these instances, the meister can unleash a variety of abilities.
It also seems to be a prerequisite that a meister be physically fit.
Weapons
Weapons are human beings who have the ability to transform completely or partially into the form of a class of weapon
AbilitiesHumans with active Weapon genes have the ability to change their entire body into some variety of a weapon. When becoming a weapon, their clothing and everything on their person is carried on into the transformation. After becoming a weapon, the person is seen in his/her human form as some sort of reflection on the weapon and is seen in a completely black space when viewed inside the weapon.
Inside their weapon, Weapons seem to be able to have easy access to their soul rooms.
Some Weapons in their Weapon Form have certain components that move similarly to facial expressions; such as Soul, whose Weapon Form has a red eye on top of the haft.
Most Weapons can also transform parts of their body (mostly their arms) into Weapon Form to enhance lethality in battle, however with the exception of a few Autonomous weapons, most are stronger when being paired with a Meister. It seems that transforming parts of their bodies into weapons doesn't affect their clothing either.
When paired with a Meister, a Weapon becomes extremely deadly. By performing resonance between a Meister and a Weapon, the Weapon can unleash a variety of abilities and can even change its physical form.
Soul Resonance
Soul Resonance is a special technique used by Meisters and Weapons, in which, they synchronize their Souls wavelength. By doing so, they can release highly powerful techniques and, more often than not, change the tide of a battle.
Resonating SoulsResonating Souls is the foundation of using the Soul Resonance technique and are how most partners are matched up. The souls of both Meister and Weapon should compliment one another for the best result. Resonating souls with partner's souls that are too similar can result in feedback effect, hurting both parties and resulting in failure in technique or form of combat.
Resonating requires both meister and weapon to be calm and of one mind. Should one of the soul not be in sync, techniques can not be performed. If a technique is being used and one soul loses focus, the technique will lose power or direction. Common reasons for soul's not to sync are fear, arguing, stress, etc.
There is apparently no restriction on who is capable of wielding a Weapon, even another Weapon, but when a specific Weapon is wielded by someone who cannot effectively resonate with them, a rejection reaction occurs.
This reaction is derived from a misalignment in the users' Soul Wavelengths, resulting from incompatible personalities, and appears to differ depending upon the individuals involved. For a Weapon and Meister to be compatible, they have to be able to accept and understand each others' personalities. Most compatible Weapon and Meister pairs seem to be opposites in personalities. People with similar personalities like Soul and Black Star cannot become an efficient team.
Symptoms of this rejection seems to vary on how much the Wavelengths are incompatible. When Black Star tried to wield Soul, their Wavelengths were so incompatible, that Black Star could not even lift Soul from the ground, and when Black Star sent his Wavelength through him, it caused the Demon Scythe physical harm. In the brief moment when Maka couldn't resonate with Soul, the rejection reaction was milder, but still harmful, as even though Maka was able to wield Soul, his Weapon Form was extremely hot to the touch and she severely burnt her hands until she could resonate with him again.
Chain ResonanceChain Resonance (or Team Resonance), just as it would indicate, is a kind of Resonance that involves a team of Meisters matching their wavelengths with one another in order to empower each other. It is extremely difficult to maintain, unless all the team can easily keep their souls on a balanced level. There is no set number to the amount of meisters required to perform the Chain Resonance, but it is more powerful yet more difficult in a larger team. Also, Chain Resonance seems to work best with weapon's of similar elements.
Soul MenaceSoul Menace is a form of "self resonance" with one's soul, meaning that the user's own soul becomes powerful enough that it is not restricted to using the amplification of a weapon in order to attack. This allows the user to use attacks that cause damage to a target internally. This can even affect a user of the Black Blood, causing damage and even causing the blood to reject it's host.
Witches
Witches are powerful beings and the natural enemies of Shibusen, as almost all of them have a destructive nature. Most witches featured in the series are based on a distinct animal and have some of their traits in both their personalities, fighting styles and appearances. Witches are also distinguished by their uniquely-purple soul.
MantrasTo make use of certain spells, most commonly when they are initially demonstrated within the series, numerous witches (and other beings capable of using magic) preform a specific mantra or chant preceding the statement of the desired ability. Each witch has her own unique phrasing that often pertains exclusively to their respective animal theme; for example Medusa Gorgon's mantra comprises entirely of words relating to her theme of snakes, being "Nake, Snake, Cobra, Cobabara".
However; despite the various instances that follow this magic casting system, it is apparently not a requirement for all witches.
AbilitiesEach witch has their own abilities that are as unique as their animal theme. However, all witches share a few common abilities.
* Soul Protect: As the witches' soul wavelength can be easily distinguished by trained meisters, they developed an incantation named "soul protect" which conceals their presence, but renders them unable to use their powers unless the incantation is lifted.
* Flight: Most, if not all, witches have the ability to fly. This done by simply floating in the air, or flying on a broomstick.
* Spiritual Flexibility: There have been instances in which witches have a high understanding of soul wavelengths -- enough so that they can break their soul into small fragments and reform in due time, as emulated by both Medusa and Arachne.
* Meister Capabilities: Although it is unlikely for a witch to partner with a weapon due to strife between them and Shibusen, it is feasible for a witch to use a weapon.
* Longevity: Witches, at least the powerful ones, appear to have incredibly long life spans. Medusa is known to have been alive 800 years before the start of the series. Even after eight centuries, Medusa still has the appearance of a young woman. Both Risa and Arisa confirmed that witches have a longer lifespan and so have more youth.
Black Blood Users
The Black Blood, as its name suggests, takes on the shape of normal blood cells, only pitch black in color. Since its primary function is to make whoever it infects into a Kishin, the Black Blood induces insanity in the person who is infected by it. The madness of the Black Blood has different effects, depending on the user. Maka enters a sort of crazed and demented euphoria, Crona becomes more violent and Soul, who rarely uses the Black Blood because of the consequences, is constantly persuaded to use the Black Blood's power by Little Ogre in the Black Room. The main purpose of the madness is to erase all fear in the users, which prevents hesitation or weakness of will during battle. It is possible for a person to have his/her blood completely replaced by Black Blood. Likewise, Demon Weapons can be melted into the Black Blood, which in turn, turns them into a Dark Weapon. The madness of the Black Blood can be potent, but with enough strength of will, it can be controlled. However, using too much of the Black Blood's power beyond one's capabilities risks the person being devoured by the Black Blood and the insanity it produces.
PropertiesIf a person manages to control the Black Blood, he/she has full control of the abilities the unique substance offers. One of the Black Blood's properties is that it can hyper-densify to the user's will. When a user is cut and the Black Blood bleeds out of the wound, the user can will the Black Blood to harden and take on the shape of sharp objects, such as blades or needles. This is used as a counter-attack. It can also take on the form of a protective armour for the body. However, without the user's will, the Black Blood does not harden, meaning that this property is not an automatic function of the Black Blood.
The Black Blood also grants the user almost complete invulnerability. The Black Blood can harden the entire body, making it impervious to slashing or crushing attacks. Crona and Maka both exhibit this characteristic of the Black Blood, shown when Maka is stabbed by Crona, but is not even slightly affected by the attack. If the user is wounded, the Black Blood can harden and staunch the wound, preventing it from bleeding and healing the wound incredibly quickly. A great amount of strength is needed to break through the user's Black Blood, but it is possible to do so.
The user's speed and strength is also enhanced by a great deal when using the Black Blood. Crona, who is frail and rather unathletic in appearance, can move incredibly swiftly and can stop strong physical attacks with one hand. This makes the user a formidable opponent in battle.
The Black Blood also has a speculated infectious property. Black Blood can very easily be infected from one person to another. Ragnarok, a Weapon made up of Black Blood, immediately infects Soul after injuring him with his Weapon form. The Black Blood can also infect people via Soul Resonance. However, because of the Black Blood's highly dark properties, individuals who have a Soul Wavelength that dispel darkness (like Maka's Anti-Demon Wavelength) can only be infected by the Black Blood temporarily. Creatures made up entirely out of Black Blood can also fuse with other Black Blood users.
The power of the Black Blood is immense, but if a large amount of a person's Soul Wavelength (like a Soul Menace attack) is applied to the user, then the user's bond with the Black Blood is temporarily broken, leaving the user unable to use Black Blood for some time. Therefore, Wavelength-based attacks are one of the best ways to fight against Black Blood users.
Other Types
KishinKishin ("Demon God") are beings created as the final result of a corrupted soul. A soul becomes corrupted when it devours pure human souls to gain power, usually as a means to escape fear. As a result, the person's soul deviates from the path of a human and begins to walk the path of a demon, becoming a "Kishin's egg".
Dark Weapons
Just as Humans and Meisters are susceptible to the afflictions of Madness after the consumption of a pure human soul, Demon Weapons are also capable of descending down the path of the Kishin and losing themselves to their insecurities, becoming referred to as a Dark Weapon instead.
Dark Weapons are born of the particular individual's fears and although these vary greatly dependent largely on the past events of the specific weapon, it is the succumbing to these vices which begins the descent towards becoming a Kishin. Eventually the weapon's desperation to be rid of these fears, develops into an insatiable craving for power that inevitably drives them to consuming the soul of a good human. The ingestion of such a pure soul corrupts the weapon in question, meaning that even with the substantial boost in power afforded by the act, they find that neither their fears or hunger are quenched in the slightest. This begins a vicious cycle in the consumption of a significant amount of human souls, until they either achieve the status of a Kishin or are hunted down and killed at the hands of Shibusen.
