Death City is home to a famous technical academy and ran by Lord Death himself. At this academy, meisters train with their human weapons in order to evolve them into Death Scythes to be wielded by the Grim Reaper, Lord Death. Only by consuming 99 evils souls and the soul of one witch will a weapon be able to evolve. This is the story of several students of the academy as they try to grow stronger and protect Death City in the process.
With Halloween fast approaching, I can think of no anime series that is so quintessential of the Halloween spirit as Soul Eater. These other anime recommendations may not be Tim Burton: The Animation, but they are still pretty good if you are chasing after that Soul Eater vibe.
Anime Like Soul Eater
For Fans of Supernatural Shounen
Blue Exorcist
Rin Okumura is an ordinary teenager with a bit of a temper. One day he is ambushed by demons and his world is turned upside down when he discovers that he is the son of Satan himself and his father wants to conquer the world with him. Having no interest in doing so, Rin trains to become an exorcist so he can protect the world from demons.
Both Blue Exorcist and Soul Eater fit the criteria of your typical shounen series, but they both deal with the battling of supernatural enemies and know when to end their anime series instead of going on for hundreds of episodes. Both series also have main characters deal who have to deal with their demonic urges.
D.Gray Man
After three years training with one of their prestigious Generals that saved him as a kid, Allen Walker is finally ready to join the Black Order, an organization of exorcists that fight Akuma and their leader, the Millennium Earl. With their Innocence weapons, Allen and his fellow exorcist embark on a journey to stop the Earl’s plot of ultimate destruction.
Unlike Soul Eater, D. Gray Man tends to go on for awhile with some filler. However, both have the same overall feel, embracing a darker setting than most shounen series. D. Gray Man features an array of characters, each with unique weapons and dealing with people who hop the line between good and evil.
Shaman King
There is a battle about to begin in Tokyo, the Shaman Fight. This tournament is held every 500 years where shamans, those who command spirits, test their skills in combat. The winner becomes the Shaman King and gains command of the Great Spirit. Shaman King follows the story of the carefree Yoh Asakura and his spirit Amidamaru.
Shaman King is less about the battle between good and evil like Soul Eater, and more a free-for-all among strong fighters. However, like Soul Eater, Shaman King also has a long list of characters who also wield other human-like souls. While an older anime, Shaman King is definitely one of the more unique shounen series.
For Fans of Strong Females
Shakugan no Shana
One day, Yuuji Sakai had his regular school life end when he becomes trapped in time and attacked by an unknown being. Right as he is about to die, he is rescued by a nameless hunter with brilliant red hair. After being saved, the girl tells him that he is a Torch, a soul that has already died and is just waiting to fizzle out.
Shakugan no Shana and Soul Eater both have a lot of the same ideas, but they are done differently. For instance, both deal with the idea of eating souls to gain power, the flame hazes are essentially meisters, and weapons in the series each have sentience. However, Shakugan no Shana tends to be less action-oriented at times and more dramatic.
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Aladdin, a talented young magi, has lived his life in seclusion, but he is eager to go explore the world. After he sets out, he becomes friends with a courageous Alibaba Saluja who, after seeing his powerful Djinn Ugo, suggests they go conquer a dungeon for fame, power, and treasure.
Did you enjoy Soul Eater because of its wide array of unique and memorable characters? Well, in Magi, the characters have a way of sticking with you, despite there being a lot of them. Magi also succeeds in blending addicting action and comedic scenes while still having some drama to it.
Pandora Hearts
To the young noble Oz Vessalius, the Abyss was just a world of folklore, a myth told to scare children. However, on the day of his coming-of-age ceremony, he is attacked by the Baskerville Clan and thrown into the Abyss, a world that is very real. Now he must confront this terrifying world with the help of a powerful Chain called Alice.
Pandora Hearts is an excellent series for those who like the way that Soul Eater blended a creepy atmosphere with well developed characters. However, Soul Eater had a lot more humor than Pandora Hearts, which is much more drama-oriented.
For Fans of Human Weapons
Erementar Gerad
After a routine sky raid, the sky pirate Coud finds a special being named Ren in the cargo hold. Ren is a member of a special race of humans that grant special combat powers to their partners. However, Ren is more powerful than any of them could have expected and hunted by those who want to possess her. Now Coud finds himself tasked with her protection.
Erementar Gerad is essentially Soul Eater without the Halloween Town setting. Both feature humans that turn into weapons, but the major difference is that Coud develops love for his weapon whereas it was just lightly inferred in Soul Eater that Maka and Soul had feelings for each other.
Noragami
Yato is a minor deity that dreams of having thousands of worshippers, but without a single shrine to his name, things look bleak. He spends his days doing odd jobs until his weapon partner abandons him. In his depression, he gets his life saved by a human, and offers to help her get her soul back in her body in thanks. Unfortunately he needs a new weapon to do it. As he looks for one, he finds his luck may just turn around.
Both Soul Eater and Noragami are about gods with a partner that can be used as weapon. However, while Noragami is often about gods interacting with humans, Soul Eater rarely has interaction with regular humans. However, Noragami isn’t quite as serious as Soul Eater.
Absolute Duo
Individuals who can materialize weapons from their soul are called “Blazers,” and they attend Kouryou Academy High School in order to harness their abilities. However, each student needs a partner. Tooru Kokonoe hopes to attain this power after the death of his sister, but at the opening ceremony, he is forced to duel against the person sitting next to him, with the loser being expelled. As Tooru prepares to give the match his all, it is not a weapon that manifests from his soul, but a shield, an irregularity which catches the attention of a foreign student named Julie Sigtuna.
Both anime series feature the same concept: Using humans as weapons. However, one should not go into Absolute Duo expecting the same high octane fight scenes as Soul Eater. It is very much a romance anime with just some light fighting.
Have your own recommendations for anime series like Soul Eater? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
