July 2008 saw the release of the manga, <em>Soul Eater</em>. The 51 episode anime adaptation came out later in March 2009. It was released to positive reviews.
Given its popularity, I thought it would be cool if we see a film in the future; either based on the anime or a live-action adaptation of it.
I do have my reservations of course. Most (American made, because the Japanese adaptations are actually quite good) live-action adaptations of anime/ manga have been... well they suck (need I remind you of the travesty that was
Dragonball: Evolution). But, in all honesty, it's like any other film. If done right; it has the potential to be really really good.
Premise: Soul Eater is a dark action/horror/comedy that resolves around the students of the
Death Weapon Meister Academy. Headmastered by the grim reaper himself, students at the academy train to become the future of reaping. Students are sorted into two groups
: Meisters, who are trained to become grim reapers. And
Weapons, students to train to become death scythes, the weapon of grim reapers. In order to become a death scythe, a weapon must devour the souls of 99 evil human beings (before they can become demons called
Kishin) and the soul of one witch.
*Just a little note here. In some instantices, the manga differs from the anime. In my descriptions below, I'll be using plot details from the anime, because I never read the manga.
Heroes
There are seven main protagonists in
Soul Eater: three meisters and four weapons (I'll explain that in a minute). PS, please be gentle here. I have trouble casting teen and child roles. So please try to bear with me.
Maka Albarn: Maka is the main female protagonist of the series. A meister, Maka takes after her mother, another prodigious meister. Her wepon partner is Soul. She is one of the most mature characters in the series. She has a strained relationship with her father, a deatch scythe, due to his lecherous attitude and divorce from her mother. She strives to make Soul a scythe that will surpass the skills of her father.
Chloe Grace Moretz: Of course I'm gonna chose Chloe for this role. She's a great actress. She has the look for the role, and the acting talent to pull off the character. She also has the ability to do the stunts required of the character.
Soul Eater Evans: Soul Evans, nicknamed Soul Eater, is Maka's weapon partner, the main male protagonists, and the show's namesake. Soul’s weapon form resembles the classic Grim Reaper scythe. He tries to remain nonchalant and easy-going attitude, trying to retain a "cool" personality (it gets annoying at times, but he goes on about how "cool" he is). He does care deeply for his meister and is willing to die for her.
Gabriel Basso: Aside from
Super 8, I don't know about much Basso is in. But, from what I have seen of him, he's a pretty talented young actor. I have no doubt he could play a character like Soul.
Black Star: Black Star is meister and ninja assassin. For an assassin, he is incredibly loud-mouthed and arrogant. He prefers to make a flashy entrance rather than remain stealthy, and he will try to outdo anyone who he thinks upstages him. He is one of Soul's best friends.
Leo Howard: I mostly chose Leo Howard because of his action skills. Seriously, he's been training in the martial arts since he was very very young; and those martial arts skills are great for a character who is a ninja assassin. He's also a decent actor.
Tsubaki Nakatsukasa: Tsubaki is Black Star's weapon partner. She can change into multiple different weapons including a chain scythe a katana, and a shuriken among others. She is very patient and tolerant of others, which makes her ideal as Black Star's partner, because she can handle his obnoxious, arrogant attitude.
Rila Fukushima: I've only seen Rila in one film (can you guess what it is? Hint: it's listed in the image above). But, from what I've seen, she's very very talented.
Death the Kid: Called "Kid" for short, Death the Kid is the son of the Grim Reaper himself; he was born from a fragment of death's soul, which he split off. As the son of Death, he is already a reaper, but he decides to go to the academy anyway. However, he suffers from Death's madness of Order, which gives him crippling obsessive-compulsive disorder for perfect symmetry in everyday life. When something is off by even the slightest measurement, he has a complete meltdown.
Alexander Gould: As you can probably guess from the character summary, Death the Kid needs to be played by someone who can be really funny and really serious. That's why I chose Gould. Just watch him in the Showtime dramedy
Weeds. He can do both really well.
Liz and Patti Thompson: Elizabeth (Liz) and her younger sister Patricia (Patti) are sisters, and both of them are Kid's weapon partners; they take the form of twin semi-automatic pistols. Liz has a very cynical and annoyed by Kid's overpowering desire for perfect symmetry. Patti, meanwhile, is very childish and keeps a positive attitude in any situation.
Emma Roberts: A couple years ago, I never would have considered Roberts for something like this. However, now that she's expanded her career, it seems more likely that she could do something like this. Especially after doing
American horror Story: Coven.
AnnaSophia Robb: On this site, Robb is a popular choice for Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man fan casts. And I can understand that. She has some fantasy movies under her belt, and she has also played many bubbly blondes. This just seems like a perfect fit for her.
Death Weapon Meister Academy (DWMA)
Founded by Lord Death, the Death Weapon Meister Academy (or DWMA for short) is where future reapers are trained and future death scythes are made. Lord Death founded the academy centuries ago when he imprisoned the original Kishin, Asura. Death had to contain the monster with his own soul, which now prevents him from leaving the grounds of the academy. Now, he trains new reapers so they can go out and do what he cannot, stop new Kishin from forming.
Lord Death: The Grim Reaper himself, Lord Death is the headmaster of the DWMA and Death the Kid's father. 800 years ago, Death had to bind his soul around the DWMA and (the fictional) Death City to prevent the original Kishin from escaping. The action prevented him from ever leaving the city again. As a result, Death created the DWMA to prevent future Kishin from surfacing. He trains his son, Death the Kid as his heir, knowing he will die when Kid is ready to accept the mantle (because only one "Death" can exist at a time).
James Spader: Because of his appearance, I would imagine Death being a CG character. I chose Spader because of his amazing acting range. He can funny one minute, and deathly serious the next. You need someone who can do that for a character like Lord Death. Death is like that wacky, really cool, old man who's your neighbor. But, he can still be a totall badass.
Spirit Albarn: Spirit is one of Lord Death's current death scythes (meaning he's devoured 99 evil human souls and one witch soul), and he's also Maka's father. Spirit is also a lecherous womanizer, which led to him and Maka's mother divorcing. Despite their strained relationship, Spirit cares greatly for his daughter. He also serves as Lord Death's consort and advisor. Spirit has gone through multiple partners: Stein (a professor at the DWMA), Kami (Maka's mother), and Lord Death himself.
Karl Urban: While he is serious at times, Spirit is also a very funny character. My big concern was "can Karl Urban do funny?" After watching
Star Trek and
Red, I was sure he could pull off the comedy, action, and drama of the character.
Dr. Franken Stein: (Yes, that is really his name) Stein is a legendary meister in the DWMA and was once Spirit's meister; some would even call him the most powerful meister to ever graduate the DWMA. He's a mad scientist who views everything in the world as a specimen to be experimented on...including himself (there's a scene in the series where Spirit recalls how Stein would experiment on him in his sleep). Aside from the stiches adorning his body, clothes, and even his house, Stein's most notable feature is the large screw sticking out of his head (which he constantly turns).
Matthew Goode: Goode is an extraordinarily talented actor. And you need someone like that for Stein; someone who is constantly on the brink of insanity, but able enough to pull himself back and remain sane. For me, only Goode could pull off that kind of role.
Other characters
The other characters that have multiple allegiances or are unaligned.
Blair: Blair is a cat with exceptionally strong magic powers, including the ability to turn herself into an alluring young woman. Maka and Soul initially mistake Blair for a witch and try to take her soul; however, they learn she is a cat and not a witch causing them to promptly fail their exam and force the team to start collecting the 99 souls all over again. After that, she moves in with Soul and Maka, much to their dismay. However, they have been shown to tolerate her presence.
Mila Kunis: Okay, the challenge for this character was finding a bombshell that could play her. I didn’t want to sacrifice acting talent for looks (so no Meagan Fox). I wanted a woman who looks good with a decent level of acting ability. Kunis is a freaking godsend in that respect! By no means is she the best actress, but she tries her hardest, and it works more often than not.
Crona: Crona is the androgynous child of the witch Medusa. All his/her life, Crona was experimented on by his/her mother in her attempts to make a Kishin. Medusa replaced Crona’s blood with a sanity-deterring substance called “Black Blood,” which also contained the essence of the demon sword, Ragnarok. Because of Medusa’s abuse and Ragnarok’s constant harassment and bullying, Crona is very shy and reclusive and afraid of almost everything. He/she is also shown to be mentally unstable at times. Crona’s corrupt soul is purified by Maka and he/she enrolls in the academy.
*It should be noted that though he/she is androgynous, and his/her gender unknown, Crona is addressed with male pronouns in the English dub by Funimation for convenience.
Ezra Miller: This just seems like a role Miller would do: tortured abused child with a glimmer of hope for a better life and a happier ending. I also chose Miller for his somewhat androgynous appearance.
Ragnarok: Also known as the “Demon Sword,” Ragnarok is Crona’s weapon. The witch Medusa melted Ragnarok down and fused his essence with the madness-inducing “Black Blood,” which she then transfused into her child. Ragnarok is very rude and demanding to his meister, constantly bullying and harassing him/her, although it is shown that he does care for the boy… although this could be because the two share a body, and Crona’s death means his as well.
Sebastian Stan: To be completely fair…I have absolutely no clue what convinced me Stan was right for the role. Don’t get me wrong, I like him and everything. He’s a good actor, who has taken a plethora of different roles. And I know he could pull it off amazingly. I just don’t know how I came to decide he was the best choice for Ragnarok. Then again…Ragnarok gave me hell to cast. Actually, this was the final choice I made.
Along with the 99 evil human souls they have to collect, the heroes also have to eat the soul of one witch. Witches are the natural enemies of grim reapers, who are forces for peace in the world. The witches seek to spread chaos, and attempt to create Kishin to do so.
Asura: Although he is the last antagonist introduced in the series, Asura is Soul Eater's ultimate antagonist (essentially what the series builds up to). He is the original Kishin. He was born from a fragment of Lord Death's soul, making Death his father and Kid his younger brother. The soul fragment he was born from contained all of Death's fears. His constant fear and paranoid tendencies eventually drove him mad. Death was able to defeat Asura by ripping off his skin and imprisoning him in it (and then he wrapped his soul around Death City to prevent Asura from ever escaping). He is relased after Medusa's minons inject him with Black Blood. Ultimately, Maka and Soul manage to defeat him.
Byung-Hun Lee: I really like this actor. He's great. He was one of the only good parts of the G.I Joe movies. I thought he did really good...given what he had to work with. I think he could kill it in this role...which is why I cast him.
Medusa: Medusa is the first major antagonist introduced in Soul Eater. She is from a family of legendary witches called the Gorgon sister (Medusa, Gordon...subtle references aren't they?). She is also Crona's mother and a powerful witch, though the familial relation means little to her; she sees Crona more as a specimen for her sick, twisted, sadistic experiments. She attempts to spread chaos through the world by turning her child into a Kishin. She created the substance, "Black Blood," which induces madness. Early in the series, she was searching for Asura by posing as a school nurse at the DWMA. She finds Asura, but she is killed by Stein shortly after. She survives, however, by transferring her soul into a snake. She then possesses a child. Certain events (which will be discussed alter in the list) force Medusa to form a truce with the DWMA. However, she still continues her experiments on a repetant Crona. In the anime adaptation (which differs some from the manga), Maka and Crona battle and defeat her, without harming the child's body. At the anime's end, she's shown to have survived in the body of a snake again, but her fate is left ambiguous.
Scarlett Johansson: This choice gave me a lot of hell. Seriouisly, it was a lot of hell! I know Johansson is a good actress, but the entire time I was working on this, I kept asking myself "can Johansson play a villain? And if so, can she play a villain like this?" Someone told me about a movie she did called Under the Skin. In it, she played the villain, an alien. I was a little bit more convinced that she could pull off a role like this. Also, of all the actors I considered, Johansson looked the most like Medusa.
Free: The "Man with the Magic Eye," Free is a werewolf. 200 years before the start of the series, Free stole one of the eyes of the leader of the witches, named Mabaa, and replaced his own with it, giving him witch-like abilities. For his crime, he was imprisoned. During the series (200 years later), Medusa breaks him out of prison and he loyally serves her out of gratitude. Having been imprisoned for so long, Free had forgotten his name. He chose to name himself "Free" in celebration of his freedom.
Charles Michael Davis: Quite a difficult choice for me. Free is really just a henchman role. I don't know many actors who play the henchman. Then, I came across Davis. He's slowly up-and-coming. And, as an actor myself, I know you gotta start small. And, from what I've seen of Davis, he's an okay actor. Could use some work.
Founded 800 years before the start of the story, Archanophobia is a cult-like organization created to directly oppose the DWMA and their ideals for peace. When Arachnophobia reemerges, it becomes a major antagonstic force in the story.
Arachne: One of the legendary Gorgons, Arachne is Medusa's older sister and the founder of Arachnophobia. She is often considered a heretic and a traitor among witch kind. 800 years before the series began, Arachne created the original Demon Weapons (similar to Ragnarok). Originally, Medusa betrayed her sister, leaving Arachne to face Death alone. Death nearly killed her, and the witch was forced to go into hiding; she hid her soul in a golem. 800 years later (during the story), Arachne returns after Medusa found and awakened Asura. Arachne sought out Asura, planning to spread his madness across the world and the two allied with each other (which forced Medusa to form a truce with the DWMA). In the anime, after Asura defeats his father, he returns to Arachne who claims to love him (which may be a ploy so that she can manipulate him further). Asura, however, fears that loving her could be a threat (as she could be used against him) and he kills her and devours her soul.
Eva Green: In all honesty, there was no other choice. Green is simply phenomenal. Hell, she has this uncanny ability to be good... even in bad movies. Both Dark Shadows and 300: Rise of an Empire were bad movies, but she was thoroughly enjoyable in both. It also helps tha tshe kinda looks like Johansson (which is good, because Medusa and Arachne are sisters).
Mosquito: Mosquito is Arachne's faithful followever, steward, and valet. During her 800 year absence, Mosquito was the one who managed Arachnophobia. He has the ability to drink blood which can heal himself and make himself stronger (BUT HE IS NOT A VAMPIRE! I WANT TO BE CLEAR ON THAT! He's more of his namesake, a mosquito). He can also shapeshift into different forms that represent various stages of his life from the 800 years of existence.
Liam Cunningham: I haven't seen Cunningham in much, but I like him from what I have seen. He's really good. I wish I'd seen more of his work so that I could say more.
Giriko: Giriko is a demon weapon and another loyal follower of Arachne. His weapon form resembles a chainsaw, but he prefers to fight without a meister. Giriko also has the ability to create golems; and bring them to live he created the golem Arachne his herself in 800 years ago.
Ben Foster: I know Foster is a good actor. But, in all honestly, I chose him for Giriko because of the resemblance. I first saw Giriko and went "he looks like Ben Foster in Punisher."
So what do you guys think? Tell me in a comment.
As you know, I appreciate and thank you for all your comments.