The Artstyle of Soul Eater

Soul Eater's visual strength wasn't just in its spectacular animation but also its art style. So join me today as we look as the art of both Atsushi Ohkubo and Yoshiyuki Ito and look at what made it so unique.
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💿Music credits:
Soul Eater OST - PSYCHEDELIC SOULJAM
BIG BLUFF - Trigun OST
Joeyy - Eminem (Music Video)
Free! Iwatobi Swim Club - Beautiful Sea [HD OST] 1-27
Kazumi Totaka - Wii Shop Channel Music
Sunshine Samba - Chris Haugen
GARX - Shallow Vibe
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[@mechajay3358]

Soul Eater's Art Style has that distinctive appeal that really makes it stand out from other series. Glad that it's getting more attention.

[@leafyfeathers]

I think you mean art style. The only anime with an Arr style is One Piece because it’s about pirates.

[@yassirbeniaz6645]

​@@leafyfeathers chill he Just made a mistake lol

[@BigA207]

@@leafyfeathers And Captain Harlock. It has “ar” in the title!

[@poonamchauhan3495]

​@@leafyfeathersI Think You Meant 'An' Cause And Is Not An Article

[@user-cn7oj3ws8q]

@@yassirbeniaz6645 he knows he was joking with him lol

[@thehopeofeden597]

I seriously appreciate anybody who gives Soul Eater the attention it deserves, especially in a way this articulate and well-made.

[@shilohoward6085]

I seriously wish the anime lasted longer.

[@NormalMew]

agreeeee

[@viktorsavic7326]

@@shilohoward6085 I wish it got remade

[@cranburrey]

​@@viktorsavic7326 Nah, it just needs another season

[@Louisville_]

@@cranburreyI want it to be given fma brotherhood treatment, because the anime doesn’t follow the manga

[@visjules]

I love how Soul Eater’s art style is like a mix of western and eastern animation

[@FilmmakerJ]

I adore the subtle and unique choices that were taken with the Soul Eater art style, particularly the noses. It makes everyone look like they have a skull-like nose cavity instead of a nose because of how pushed up they are. It's so perfect given the Halloween-centric world they inhabit.

[@nedarangelova9595]

Omg yessss i noticed it yesterday i thought i was the only one when i brought it up among friends 😭

[@XxDigitalDaftPunkxX]

I always thought the noses looked like animal noses, kind of like dogs.

[@ShimyIa1]

It's style is borderline perfect. The mix between east and west sensibilities make it so incredibly appealing than i cringe whenever people discard it due to its ending , or when people demand a brotherhood treatment. It's gonna take a miracle to recreate this mazing blend of 2D, 3D and incredible character design and animation.

[@kaylemathewcomendador6964]

Maybe the potential reboot could just stick with the old anime’s art style for the most part?

[@Nopeasaurus]

@@kaylemathewcomendador6964 if its created by a different animation studio, it will base its designs off the manga, not another studio’s work

[@ShadowCD624]

One thing I actually like a lot about the way noses are drawn in the Soul Eater anime is that from the front, they look a bit like the nose hole of a skull. Which seems fitting for the series. Doubt it was intentional, but always thought it was neat regardless.

[@aaronhowser1]

It's actually noted at 5:46 that their noses are similar to Jack Skellington's, who is of course a skeleton

[@Unownzone]

I've never seen an analysis of Maka's silhouette actually put to words, let alone comparing it to the NOT version. Thanks for such profound insight!

[@zaratahanagi4924]

Atsushi Ohkubo is hands down my biggest art inspiration

[@cinemaphar]

in a weird way, i like soul eater's fights more then say fate series, opm, jjk, demon slayer, etc. there's just something so unique about the art style that i didnt know but i was obsessed with it for years for that reason. im so glad soul eater is still being talked about too and fire force.

[@stiffmeisterM87]

I personally like the way that everyone has their own unique styles, and you can see that. DTK has fast, sweeping movements, using Liz and Patty as tonfas and a way to string together attacks without letting up. Black☆Star has hard, piercing attacks, usually using Tsubaki as an extra body part. Again, everyone has their own style, and I like being able to pick up on that style.

[@trueaura369]

Soul Eaters Art style is underrated imo. The characters artstyle is good and simple, and then the effects will sometimes look amazing

[@lottchen7976]

pfp checks out

[@robymessina1998]

I can't be the Only One Who wants a reboot that follows the same exact events from the Manga. Don't get me wrong, I love the anime the way It Is, but the Manga Is so Epic! Especially the Final Battle.

[@cinemaphar]

same here ngl but atleast we got fire force

[@serosss5708]

@@cinemaphar fire force is nothing compared to Soul Eater man.

[@wackyfox7398]

​@@cinemaphar Fire Force cirnge when Tamaki exists

[@cinemaphar]

@@serosss5708 opinion. Though I agree, that’s just an opinion fire force was still good nothing to complain about. Also I’m talking about the manga as well.

[@cinemaphar]

@@wackyfox7398 I mean if you let one character define a series sure, it’s cheesy asl but atleast fire force is aware of that and uses it more as a gag then actually shoving perverted crap in your face

[@dirtyoup4830]

as an aspiring comic book artist your channel is PURE GOLD POURED DIRECTLY FROM HEAVEN, no srsly you're so great at analizing art and i feel like this videos makes me a better artist, thank you so much

[@forgottenrelics1197]

no problem, glad it's helpful

[@user-kk7vy7xd9u]

​@@forgottenrelics1197 hello my name is Mariyan.I need some help.

[@user-kk7vy7xd9u]

​@@forgottenrelics1197 you help me

[@impactframes6514]

@@user-kk7vy7xd9u What do you need help with?

[@user-kk7vy7xd9u]

@@impactframes6514 well....

[@tana-mm8bp]

soul eater deserves a comeback and to be appreciated again this is by far the BEST anime to me

[@KeyLeech]

Always thought the simple oval shaped noses were pretty unique. Like or hate them they were definately eye grabbing and caught your attention, reminds me of Dragon Ball Z's rectangle eyes, different but it's unique and interesting. The style for the original anime and his character designs in general are always a treat to look at.

[@PuffedGill]

Soul Eater is one of my all-time favorite series and one of the reasons it was so memorable to me is because of its art style and character design. I realized that I tend to really like anime styles that break away from more “traditional” anime looks and integrate some more cartoon-ish and exaggerated elements. I guess that’s why I was so drawn to bnha as well

[@urtoryu_dy_althraidn]

Ohkubo is a VERY big artistic inspiration to me, it has such a distinct style that I've never seen any other work come close to, which makes more iconic scenes (Like every Madness or Adora Link scene for example) that much more memorable.

[@theprinterdude9687]

The characters give out a sonic character proportion vibes

[@graycosplays]

it makes me so happy when people talk about soul eater :D

[@megamillion5852]

You and me both! It's so refreshing to see my people all gathered here for this amazing analysis.

[@spiredman3094]

Fr, I haven’t seen anyone talking about it in years I thought the fandom was dead

[@epicepic-gv5ed]

man their animation is god tier

[@kirakira878]

The designs were made in a very smart way, simple enough to draw consistently throughout the series, but also unique, recognizable, and loved. I have so many fav. characters in this series, much more than any series out there, and is one reason why I enjoy Atsushi Ohkubo's work so much. It is very important to have characters made properly. If I can't have at least 1 favorite character in a series, I can't enjoy it as much, or at all. I attach and relate to characters a lot, it's also like being with them while their story is played out. Like for example, Game of Thrones, it started off great and I was hooked..... until literally all my fav. chars. died off (the bl00d was also starting to get too frequent) and I just felt like there was no point in continuing. Anyways, I am glad that Atsushi Ohkubo is doing a lot of collab work and going to events lately. We might end up seeing an SE reboot someday, who knows?

[@digitab4446]

As someone who has taken MUCH inspiration from Soul Eater (anime and manga) I absolutely loved this video and it felt really cool to see you go over aspects of the style that I've studied and absorbed into my own. NICE!

[@atlasroyale5294]

Your character design videos are the best, bro. I love these kinds of analyses.

[@forgottenrelics1197]

thanks, appreciate it 👍

[@iggyiggyiggy3418]

Great video! Ohkubo's art style was always my biggest inspiration so I enjoyed this thoroughly. It's amazing how strong the designs in Soul Eater are. The shape language is wonderful.

[@Cam1417-TK]

I really like Soul Eater art style, I feel like it had a huge impact on my own drawings.

[@binchlipusfukaroniiandchee464]

I've always adored the style of Soul Eater, and I was happy to see this

[@DenDencrab]

I just found your channel and I love how you break down the character design style on this video. Soul eater was one of my biggest inspirations when I was starting drawing, but I never was completely sure what I like it so much about it, after seeing this I can identify the aspects that I like, I’m gonna try to apply it to my own work, thank you so much for the video

[@houstonwehaveagamermoment]

This was genuinely an informative video and I love how in-depth you went even bringing up specific animators to contrast which I though was really cool. Ohkubo and the Soul Eater anime have my favorite art styles of all time and if it ever gets rebooted I pray they bring Ito back cuz his designs were so iconic

[@jaylenh.5928]

It's cool to see how much ohkubo's style changes throughout the manga and how the anime interprets the style. I've been reading it recently, and it changes a bunch in such a short amount of time

[@ehy7663]

First of all, thank you for talking about Soul Eater !! its my favorite anime and it has completely influenced and shaped my art style and my own stylistic art choices as an artist myself. There's been a lot of those art style break down videos popping up a lot recently so this is really cool to see !! It makes me reflect on what i've learned and what I can take away more from this video. Secondly, the way you described the details of the style is verbalized really well!! I havent been able to put into words why some aspects of the design were so satisfying or appealing to me until I watched this ^^

[@impactframes6514]

This right here, is what I signed up for. Thank you for going so in-depth as to what makes this art style so distinct! I’m taking mental notes lol.

[@blckmage3198]

Love the art and gothic Halloween atmosphere the most

[@ectoGeranium]

Growing up with this anime in my young teen years helped shape my art style, and even though I’ve mostly evolved past it, I can still see bits and pieces of Soul Eater in my work. It’ll always be apart of my heart for sure

[@honey-snap]

upon growing up and being an adult and more familiar with inspiration and influence and such i noticed that soul eater influenced me GREATLY in how i draw humans growing up and it still lightweight stands to this day. ohkubo and ito have created very bold and stylized artworks that really stuck out to me, and the fact that even when i got out of the hyperfixation and moved onto more things, it still followed me after all these years. i really wish people would draw more inspiration from the styles, theyre just not only pleasant to look at, but so fun to draw as well

[@lil.leighstern]

I always had an impression that Okubo Atsushi was influenced by Gorillaz's artist Jamie Hewlett to a certain extent. Note that Maka's surname references 2D's voice actor Damon Albarn

[@BovineDesigns]

This is so interesting! This art style has always stuck out to me but I've never thought about why. Thanks for making this!

[@ElDerk_]

NEW FORGOTTENRELICS VIDEO YESSSIIIIRRR

[@ascexmir]

Soul eater characters are creative and unique. I love how they give off a Halloween vibe. The series is special to me because I first watched it back in middle school in like 2011. I rewatched the series more recently and still enjoyed it!

[@averroes815]

I've never seen breakdown of anime art styles down in such a clean and organized way, I love it ! I hope you're going to do more of them, I haven't seen anything like it on youtube yet!

[@impactframes6514]

Seriously though! I would love to see this breakdown for other series as well, even outside of anime

[@epicguy9678]

It's very interesting too, from reading the Perfect editions from someone who first started out with the anime it is interesting seeing how his artstyle progressed overtime. I think a bit before the Baba Yaga Castle Arc is when he really starts coming into his own, and I notice almost no differences from the anime.

[@roccoy5982]

Read the soul eater manga if u were a fan. I hope we get a completely loyal manga adaptation.

[@Progamer-vz8hd]

You encapsulated everything I love about soul eaters art style it’s probably my second favorite art style in anime/manga but I’d love to see you do a video on my favorite art style in anime/manga Kaiji because its nothing I’d ever seen before. Great video hope to see more videos like this in the future from you

[@thepandabookkeeper3180]

Soul Eater is the main inspiration I have for being an artist today, literally wouldn't have gotten into drawing without reading the managers and watching the anime

[@mrmechamac]

I think soul eater will be my next anime, thanks for the video.

[@albertocamacho2261]

another banger by ForgottenRelics! love your videos!

[@forgottenrelics1197]

thankk ya

[@3DBosa]

Love your videos fire as always

[@Blub31]

Love Ohkubo's art, they did a good job adapting it for animation.

[@doyi984]

Ahh now I see why character design is a big thing. I was tempted to think it was an easy job assuming the designers have the manga to reference. But things like shading, shape consistency (in profile or side view), consistency between camera angles and how easy it is to animate. A lot of thought goes into it

[@yaoi.devil.]

brilliant video!!

[@Esau2hu]

Soul Eater was my introduction to the world of anime and manga. For anyone wanting to get into Soul Eater: 📢start with the manga

[@kirbybie]

i love SE anime’s art style so so much. i would love to see more vids abt it- i feel like there’s more to explore here!

[@fishpastethe4th340]

Always great to see a video from your channel!

[@forgottenrelics1197]

thanks man :)

[@discript7701]

The fricking nose jump scare😮, got me good. 😅

[@Screw064]

Honestly the style is so distinct that when I seen fire force for the first time w no context I felt such a familiarity that when someone confirmed they’re the from the same creator I wasn’t even surprised even tho I literally hadn’t seen any part of soul eater since the last episode came out😂

[@OD-dh6rr]

Good Analysis, keep up the work👍

[@thisrandomdude_]

Man. I love your videos.

[@Kamikang]

As a kid, me and my fam would point out the uniqueness of the noses all the time. Glad to see we aren’t the only ones who it fascinated!

[@michaelmcneill5647]

I really enjoyed this video! You should break down more artstyles.

[@Riplodok]

Thanks for the detailed nose examination, i appreciate it

[@randokku]

YESSSS I NEEDED THIS PLEASE DO RANKING OF KINGS NEXT

[@karenichiwa]

i need this vid in my life~ thankyou soul eater art style needs more recognition 🎉

[@peachenelle]

This was such an interesting breakdown!

[@aloop1650]

i think yoshiyuki itozs style s one of my fav in all animation, his work with soul eater designs s so good

[@invinciblemikey]

The soul eater anime’s art style has influenced my own a LOT. I knew it had an influence before, but this video made me realize just how much of an effect watching the show as a kid had on my art

[@_widas_]

Great vid

[@TrueMakedonia]

This was an enjoyable and informative video. Good work

[@forgottenrelics1197]

thank ya

[@buggybuggs7035]

I might have to take some of these ideas for my own art. I never knew there was so much to this style

[@Potto999]

Hey, suggestion for a video. Maybe you can breakdown jjk's new trailer that came out. Would love to see that. Great video btw

[@SOLO.DANDELION]

As an aspiring story teller (through images) Starting from anime your content is very helpful thanks

[@piklemannn5322]

Finally, someone makes a vid on this

[@kuroko990]

the ovalish noses and geometric-triangular type hair reminds me a ton of gosho aoyama's art style as well, but even with those similar traits they're so unique and distinct. ive always liked soul eater's art style but back then i couldnt tell what made it out to be so different

[@yuriikrasylovych3939]

snap, I wanna rewatch it now

[@kageneeks6393]

Let's go, more Soul Eater content from a youtuber

[@leavemealone802]

I am so happy to see more soul eater content! My 16 y/o heart is extremely happy

[@OnePunchManAnimation]

soul eater one of my favorits animes it s good to see ppl still gives it attention :D

[@EleumNoice]

Also Sid‘s headband displays the kanji for hole (穴, ana), foreshadowing the nice big whole decorating his forehead for the rest of the series

[@xxangelthebearxx]

i grew up with this anime, it will always remain as my favorite. one day i'd love to learn how to draw in that artstyle.

[@Freshel]

informative video, very well made

[@timoschmitt8317]

I love the eyes of soul eater characters. I dont know why, but i have a weakness for souls lazy eyes and shark teeth mouth.

[@dabi_]

This is sick

[@napasensei133]

I appreciate slayers being the anime you choose when mentioning 90s anime in my opinion slayers is peak 90's anime and the best 90's anime glad to see it get some love and btw your breakdown of soul eaters art style was really good I remember when I first discovered your channel and you had like 100 subs and like 20 comments if I recall correctly I am glad that your channel is doing so well and I look forward to see what other videos you make in the future

[@VodkaChan_]

i always admired the dark jazzy feeling. the sound track is a masterpiece itself too.

[@a123b123c123d123c123]

A tattoo that says "death" is always prophetic.

[@nyoon690]

The sun and moon were crazy tho

[@user-tu3zi6dn2b]

where did u find all art that u used in ur vid? amazing video btw

[@shardarahmed9222]

just found your channel and you NEED NEED NEED to watch the Digimon Adventure film the pilot to the series. There's a great interview made by the creator at the time going over the details and perspective. It's exceptional imo

[@timefragment5387]

Soul Eater is amazing

[@aigeee]

i loved that anime

[@mikewzowske]

I feel like soul eater is criminally underrated

[@ster_joke2880]

Ty for the Lina inverse insert massive w

[@cynical_chai8922]

make more!! Id love a vid on different takes on anime art styles (maybe a comparison to okubo's recent work fire force)

[@Artyom64824]

Love this anime with a burning passion... Also love my ZX-6R... more

[@gh0stwithpants]

Something else funny about Sid is that in the manga it's mentioned that the kanji on his headband means "Hole," which then becomes a literal hole when he dies lol

[@ShaunBrown8378]

Soul Eater is one of my all-time favs.

[@squidcat5311]

I love Soul Eater it was one of my favourite anime when it came out ^^ And i loved the Art Style ^^

[@flanthief]

I really hope any reboot keep Yoshiyuki Ito's rough and gritty style. I love the manga and I know his style shifts over time, it's only natural when you draw so much for so long, but I would hate for a reboot to have the bubbly round nature of NOT and FF. There is great appeal in the simple uban feel of the orginal adaptation and I want it referenced in any kind of reboot

[@jando5980]

It's a descriptive video. I like it

[@lester44444]

I do wonder how much artists actually consciously think about all these things while drawing, and how much of it is just based on personal habits

[@hudibaba]

I cant wait for you dissect the the character designs of Kaiju No8 anime 🙂

[@RancorSnp]

So this video has been very informative in terms of aking unique character design, and it does leave me wondering about what sources could I explore to learn more on the topic?

[@crestofhonor2349]

I'd love to see a video on Fire Force's fire effects as that series had some spectacular effects in that category

[@cinemaphar]

soul eater never had flashy fights. but it focused a lot more on what was actually during the fight and explaining while also having clean animation in every frame. fire force has great fights which id say is more hype and fun then most soul eater fights but i feel like im more likely to watch a soul eater fight. (in fact i rewatched soul eater atleast four times now 😅)