Recap: The Ultimate Paper Test

Hello again. Well, it's been a very busy school term, so I've had even less time to do recaps than I've wanted; so now I give you one of the projects I wanted to do in 2013; but couldn't. A recap of my favorite episode of Soul Eater, "The Ultimate Paper Test."

I really enjoy Soul Eater for its gothic art style and paranormal themes; as well as for its very good characterization. I decided to choose this episode to look at to help
ease into writing recaps again. So, let's open it up.

We open on the DWMA, where a ceremony that commemorates Maka being promoted to a death meister and Soul being promoted to a death scythe is taking place. Everyone is there to celebrate.


Then, Maka falls out of her chair and the whole thing was just a dream. Soul then tells her to get ready, or they'll be late.

We then get the theme song, Resonance. While it may not have made the list of my top 13 anime openings, it's still a massive earworm.

At the academy, Dr. Stein says time is short.


The test is announced, which gets the student body all a flutter, save for Maka.

Maka vows to not let Soul cheat; and also points out her rival, appropriately named Ox Ford. He resembles a strange mix of Professor E. Gadd and Heihachi from Tekken.


Soul then asks Black Star why they call it the Ultimate test. Black Star is the resident highly visible ninja that would give pre-Shippuden Naruto a run for his money. They're even voiced by the same person in Japanese!

Maka then vows to make the top score, as her mother did. Apart from the Japanese school system placing much greater emphasis on scoring high in tests (the best way I can describe it is if every standardized test had as much weight as your SAT/ACT scores); I shall also point out that not much is known about Maka's mother, since it's implied she left her father before the series began and I'm in the process of reading the manga to find out. There is also talk of a director's cut version of the anime similar to Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood (which went through a similar pattern and was even animated by the same studio, Bones).

Of course, her father is excited at the prospect of Maka doing well; making poses that  most given toku heroes would find much. I also love how Dr. Stein is acting so stoic at all the crazy situations going on. I love characters like that.

YES! Power Rangers Super Mega Force is starting! And I still have plenty of Goseiger and Gokaiger to watch!

We then get our title card, which is a very nice red and black number with the show's logos on the corners and the title in calligraphy.

With a motivational poster on her wall and her books on her desk, Maka commences cramming. Now all this needs a good motivational song.

Blair, a witch that can turn into a cat; notices how hard Maka is working. I like her demeanor, it reminds me very much of Salem from Sabrina The Teenage Witch. There's a new show about her, but I haven't seen it yet.

Soul is studying as well, but is not as motivated as Maka is. I'm taking reading and success strategies this term. I find the former subject interesting; but I find the latter dull and uninvolving. I noticed this the last time a took a class like that. Only I find this one even worse; given that the teacher's energy is more suited to teaching kindergarten than college, and the class stressed the importance of "emotional intelligence." I had never heard of the concept before then; and when I sought out more information on it, I found the idea disturbing. The intent was "don't let your emotions get in the way of important decisions"; but it was more worded to imply "don't get emotionally involved in ANY decision", leaving no middle ground to make informed decisions with a reasonable amount of emotional involvement. Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system.

Black Star's method of preparation is to do large amounts of exercise for each answer he gets wrong. He finished doing 500 one-handed push-ups.

If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me?

He then goes back to his textbook, with a quizzical expression on his face. The art style of this anime in particular leads to some great faces.

A god named Deus gives kids 14 phones to kill each other with? Wait a minute, this sounds stupid!

Then, it's right back to doing sit-ups while hanging upside down. Tsubaki then tells him to save the penalties for later and get back to work.

Meanwhile, Liz and Patti are cheering for their success in testing.

Then, they get back to work in the most stern and yet silly-looking matter possible.

Death the Kid enters the scene; and his demeanor is just so suave that he's easily my favorite character and one of my favorite Mamoru Miyano performances. He is a key factor in what ruined Tamaki Suoh for me. As a result, Tamaki tried to act classy but came off as a massive upper class twit. By contrast, Death the Kid maintains an image of eccentricity as a result of his obsession with symmetry; but as a result, is much more organized and lively. 

Also, the way he loses control is much more effective as a result of the above description.

Don't you EVER compare me to those fools on Blue Exorcist, or I will kill you where you stand!

He then decides to do some artwork of Liz and Patty.

Lie on the bed, er, couch!

Maka then continues her studying, as the test is coming closer. She takes a break with some strange cocktail with motions that would not be out of place in a sports drink commercial.

 In the street below, her father is performing some weird ritual for good luck. Predictably, Maka dumps water on him from her apartment's window and tells him to knock it off.

Dr. Stein is going over some notes in his office as he gets ready for the test himself.

Oh, Yotsuba, how adorably witty can you be?

Then, Black Star tries to break into the school and steal the answer sheet.

He has seemingly succeeded in doing so when Dr. Stein is standing behind him. I just love this image so much that you will have to wait and see what Black Star's punishment is.

 The day of the test has come, with Death the Kid looking stoic...

...and Patty looking excited.

This will be my face when spring break starts.

Sid, a zombie teacher, will be acting as proctor, and gives everyone 60 minutes to complete the test. 

 Maka, having prepared extensively for this, gets right to work.

Maka says relax.

 Soul, however, has other ideas. He never intended to do the test fairly.

If Future Diary has taught me anything, it's that goodwill and endearment are the enemies of anime heroes!

As if to confirm my belief on how I'm not a fan of the writing of Future Diary, his next line is another quote that maroon Deus would likely spout.

We are the music makers. We are the dreamers of dreams.

He has hidden notes all over his clothes, to the point where the notes ARE his clothes. Tommy Hilfiger would love to try his hand at that, I'll bet.

He then gives his headband a snap in satisfaction.

I should know, I Action Replayed my way through all my DS games!

Then, the next shot reveals that Soul has been stripped to his boxers, which have little bones on them; after just three minutes. Black Star is also hanging from the blackboard by his undershirt.

I'm prepared to have security cavity search you if I have to!

He then sends Soul back to his desk to complete the test in his underwear. By the way, I actually don't think too highly of this type of humor. I know it's meant to invoke the old dream joke of sorts, but I've seen it so many times I got sick of it when I was a fraction of this anime's target audience; and I chose it because the humor from everything else overshadows it. Besides, I believe one isn't truly hosed until one forgets their duck.

The first questions are fill-in-the-blank. What do you know; it's a way to work in the narration that opens every episode. I would get this question with no trouble at all.

Unfortunately, Liz does not.

Now, what's this next bit about Cowboy Bebop at his Computer?

Soul is struggling for more reasons than one.

All these girls are staring at my nethers! Why must I be an attractive young shonen hero?

His next option is to look at Kid's paper, and he's still writing his name. He would fit quite well in corporate.

It's work that would pass for typed, and yet Kid thinks it's hideous.

Like my internet connection on most given days.

Soul then decides it's not worth the trouble, and looks elsewhere.

He notices Patty is doing her test in pastel, and is favoring the yellow one.

Maka catches the trick question, while Tsubaki does not. Yet, Ox Ford glares at her, having already finished.

Show 'em how funky strong is your fight! It doesn't matter who's wrong or right!

Of course, Liz finds him insufferable, as much of the audience does.

Then, she notices something interesting at the 15-minute mark: a single hair on top of his head.

Patty has made her test into a paper giraffe. Soul is astonished at this; but this is actually one of the least weird things she's done.

Kid then has a nervous breakdown about not being able to write his name. The way he reacts is a good way of how extreme the options for self-esteem get in my book. I may consider annotating the more ridiculous passages for future reference.

I could be a death scythe, but instead I'm a male host doing things that would embarrass Rob Schneider!

Then, he tears his paper and is shocked to do so. At first, he's merely irked.

Then, he has one of the most epic breakdowns of any anime character.

This is by far one of my favorite Death the Kid moments.

He then falls down in perfect symmetry. I'd make a joke about how he wants to be buried like this, but since he's already Death's son; it would be very self-serving. 

Gravity is working against me...

Soul then decides to just let him be.

Black Star then tries to get a message out in blood.

In response, Soul then does his best Kenshiro impression. My last swipe at Ouran before the next episode I recap, which I have choice words for: those prudes would look like processed beef even if Ken didn't punch people so hard they explode, which he does in a fight. 

NOW YOU'RE A MAN! MAN! A MAN! MAN! MAN!

Black Star can only sheepishly write his name on the blackboard before passing out.

Patti has snapped the neck of her paper giraffe. And people got mad about things like that happening in Hangover Part III and Man of Steel.

Liz has grabbed the one hair on Ox Ford's head.

Soul then breathes a sigh of relief.

He collapses at all the brouhaha and said it was over when he got busted down to his shorts. No, if you're in your skivvies; you still have a fighting chance. You're not truly on the ropes until you're going at things balls out. With or without grenades on your cojones. 

Maka made the top score, and beat her rival, Ox Ford.

 That night, Maka looks over old photos of her and her father over some pumpkin pie.

As her father wistfully gazes into the moonlight; I am glad for what I have done, and I am glad to be a fan of this series.
"The Ultimate Paper Test" is a perfect encapsulation of why I love Soul Eater; and I am glad to have the opportunity to do well in school and maintain this blog as well. The animation and humor are some of the best the series has to offer; and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Coming up: to close out the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic games and celebrate the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl, my next two recaps will be the Kanga Games of Pikachu's Winter Vacation and the first episode of Eyeshield 21. I will have started work on them by the time you see this. Everyone, stay warm the best you can this winter. Even Oregon is experiencing a bigger cold snap than usual. See you later!

Anime I'm Currently Watching 1/31/14

Hello again. Well, it turns out it's taking longer than I thought to get my computer charger replaced, so I've had a setback in posting more recaps. So, I thought I would post an anime I'm currently watching to give you something.

Astro Boy (1963)

Osamu Tezuka's classic, one of the first series to crossover into the west. To this day, Astro remains an icon in the eyes of both Japanese and Western anime fans. While the animation and voice acting have aged, the story remains very satisfying and the characters likable. I intend to do a recap of the first episode for my From Humble Beginnings series to see what the medium was like in that time period.

Pokemon on Hulu

While it's a given that I am a big fan of the series, this development crosses over with a tinge of anime news. It seems Pokemon Origins and the first 5 episodes of Diamond and Pearl are on Hulu; which is one of my preferred sites for watching anime as well as YouTube when I don't have DVDs handy. There is a contingency for more of the 800+ episodes and the movies. The bulk of them will be on Hulu Plus, but I shall take advantage of the ones available for nothing on the main site. I am glad that the Pokemon Company is working on making a media convergence for the fanbase reaching their teens and 20s, as well as to crossover with new ones.

One Piece

Yep, it's Friday, and that means One Piece day. I'm rewatching the Oceans' Dream arc on Hulu, since most of the Water 7 arc hasn't been officially put online yet and I'm waiting for the big DVD sets (26 episodes a piece as opposed to 13 for the smaller ones) to come out before I order them. It's a good refresher of the events up to that point; as well as having key events for the Straw Hats reanimated to match the digital coloring (prior to that, the series used traditional animation). It's also a good launching-on point for fans watching on the new Toonami who have cable or satellite, but not internet access.

Toriko

This will be the last one I shall talk about before I post this and head to reading. This is an anime about the eponymous hunter Toriko, who hunts food for gourmet restaurants with his bare hands. The first three episodes had some very satisfying adventures, and I would like to see more. I will get more into it in a first impressions post.

That will be all for now, I shall finish watching some of the stuff I mentioned here on other tabs before I head to reading. See you space cowboy.

2014 Blog plans! They stay crunchy in milk!

Hello again, guys. Just dealing with starting school again. Reading has been surprisingly difficult; in addition to my computer charger breaking, meaning I will have to get a new one. Sorry.

So, let me share my plans for this year.

First, I will get to one of the recaps I wanted to do in 2013, but couldn't. I will do a recap of my favorite episode of Soul Eater, "The Ultimate Paper Test", to ring in the new term. I had the screencaps taken before my charger broke; so I hope to get the recap written and posted before the month is out.

Second, I will be doing a recap of the first episode of Eyeshield 21 for the Super Bowl next month, kicking off, as it were, my plans to look at some sports anime series and episodes (I will do more when the Sochi Winter Olympics take place).

Third, I will start covering some One Piece episodes. I will be doing spotlights of the character introductions up to Water 7 to get a feel for how the dynamic works; leading up to a marathon of the Davy Back Fight/Long Ring Long Island arc, which has the most material.

Lastly, among other Pokemon episodes, I will be doing recaps of the feature-length pilot of Transformers Armada when Transformers: Age of Extinction comes out, the first episode of the X-Men anime when X-Men: Days of Future Past comes out, and recaps of my favorite episodes of Cowboy Bebop and Kill la Kill. You will have to wait and see what they are.

All this and more is in store for this year. See you space cowboy.

Space Dandy First Impressions, and General Goings-On.

Hello, and welcome to 2014. I have been trying my best to cobble together a recap as well as watch some of my targets for them this year, but reading has been surprisingly busy. Another year has passed. Much more has happened in anime. There have been many series come and gone, including re-imaginings of old favorites and great newcomers. Hayao Miyazaki is retiring, with his final film, The Wind Rises, scheduled to be released in the US this year (I plan to go see it in the theater). The people from Studio Gainax have formed a new studio, Trigger, and their first major project, Kill la Kill; is the ideal successor to my favorite anime, Gurren Lagann. And yes, I still make time for my weekly new episodes of Pokémon and One Piece.

Even so, I have been experimenting with new series. One in particular caught my eye on a test run on the new Toonami: Space Dandy.

Helmed by gifted animator Shinichiro Watanabe, this science fiction comedy is similar to Cowboy Bebop in many respects (note: Cowboy Bebop is not on Toonami right now. It has been on and off the block since its inception; and I expect Williams Street will want to work out the rights again now that Funimation has gotten the license from the ashes of Bandai Entertainment's US branch); styling itself after many of the sci-fi anime of the 1970s. However, while Spike Spiegel is very down-to-earth and realistic, the eponymous Dandy is full of himself and parodic to the degree of Zapp Brannigan proportions. The only real similarity between the two is that they're hunting bounties to get their next meal.

He also favors a bar and grill known as "Boobies", and wants to visit every single one in the known universe; despite the dubious quality of their food and their waitresses of every known race and species.

Over the course of the first two episodes, Dandy comes across a Beetlejuician; who he dubs Meow for his catlike appearance. He also has a robot named QT, who is essentially C3P0 if he was not merely knowledgeable and whiny; but may even outright hate Dandy. He somehow survives a planet being destroyed by his own volition, but also sets out a new quest for phantom ramen.

So, as you can tell, the story is strange, but quite hilarious. I will have to see where it goes, but it looks to be very much an anti-Cowboy Bebop. The animation is very colorful and fluid; as per its director's credentials. I am also quite interested to see where this woman, Scarlett, in the second episode goes with the story. I just hope that nothing too bad happens.

I think I will try to finish taking the screencaps and write the recap for "The Ultimate Paper Test." Just something that will suit the mood. See you space cowboy.