In the 2000s, the shonen ecosystem exploded with a new generation of anime and manga that would go on to influence the medium with their style, writing, and characters. One of these was Soul Eater. Complete with an interesting premise, a creative setting, and intense fight sequences, it was no surprise that Soul Eater rose through the ranks of shonen popularity.
Soul Eater's strong, compelling characters were another factor in its ascent. Maka and Soul anchored the show and manga, Death the Kid had incredible amounts of style, Black Star gave a lot of the energy, and Stein was irresistibly enigmatic. Unsurprisingly, Soul Eater also had a lot of cool villains. Their motivations and methods differed, but many of them had fans cheering.
10 Gopher Is Loyal & Silly Even When He Is The Enemy
At a certain point, the anime adaptation of Soul Eater diverged from its manga. Due to that, many of the manga's villains were not included in the show. One of them is Gopher, a demon tool created by Noah. Gopher is extremely devoted to his master and makes cute faces whenever he thinks about him. This light-hearted aspect balances out his ugly temperament.
Gopher gets jealous of anyone who garners Noah's interest. This makes him lash out and insult those he fights. If he were nicer and loyal to someone on the protagonists' side, his antics would have been far more endearing.
9 Fans Cannot Deny The Allure Of Arachne Gorgon
As far as the anime goes, Arachne was the second-biggest threat in the show, dwarfed only by Asura. She was gorgeous and self-assured. Her ambitions were gargantuan, but she never faltered nor weakened her resolve. Also, the spider motif was super cool.
As the eldest sister of the Gorgons, she was destined to be capable and powerful. If fans could have had her as a hero, she would have been an instrumental force in the fight against Asura. A witch of that power aligning herself early on with Death's team would have drastically changed the story.
8 Noah In The Manga Was Equal Parts Of Cool & Menacing
Calculated and calm, Noah does not flinch in the face of danger. As soon as he is introduced in the manga, he betrays Arachne. He kills an incredibly powerful Mosquito with no effort and captures the obsessive Death the Kid. His real goal is to possess everything that he finds valuable. Once he captures everything, he will feel like he is everything, which includes trapping Asura.
His laid-back attitude makes him one of the relaxed presences in the manga. As a protagonist, he would have contrasted Stein's deranged demeanor. Fighting with him would have made things simpler than fighting against him.
7 Masamune Should Have Spared Viewers From His Family Infighting
Masamune Nakatsukasa is one of the earliest antagonists in the show. While he is Tsubaki's older brother, she's the one who's blessed with talent. This instills an inferiority complex into him, which leads him down a dark path. As the Uncanny Sword, he preys on the weak by provoking their deepest fears. Once done, he controls them and forces them to wield him.
Watching the siblings fight can be heart wrenching. Tsubaki clearly still loves her brother, but understands she must defeat him. If there was a way to save him and spare Tsubaki the heartbreak of killing her own brother, then fans of the show would have wanted that instead.
6 Justin Law Takes The Madness Of Soul Eater To New Levels
Fans exclusive to the anime might not have viewed Justin as a villain, but his intentions were made clear in the manga. The story pushed Justin's madness further. He became a religious zealot for Asura. Instead of adhering to the law and principles of the Death Weapon Meister Academy, he gave in to his need to violence and chaos.
This betrayal rattled readers since Justin was one of the strongest Death Weapons in the series. Not only that, but his guillotine transformations and nonchalant attitude also made him a fan favorite. He went from being the protégé that readers loved to the chaotic fanatic they feared.
5 Getting Free To Switch Sides Sooner Would Have Been Better
Free was an immortal wolf man who owned a witch's eye, making him an indispensable part of Medusa's group. He was the muscle and the shield of the organization. If there was any danger that presented itself, he would throw himself in the line of fire just to take them for his team.
Occasionally, Free's goals coincided with the kids from DWMA. There were many moments when they fought side by side. However, most of this took place after he had already achieved his worst deed: reawakening Asura. If he joined the good guys earlier, the madness and chaos of the show could have been avoided.
4 Eruka Needs To Be Protected & Taken Somewhere Safe
Eruka Frog did not ask to be in the situation she was in. She was a haughty witch who underestimated how dangerous Medusa could be. Due to this oversight, Medusa was able to threaten Eruka into doing her bidding. She broke Free out of prison, fought the DWMA students, and resurrected Asura.
All that considered, she was not that bad of a person. She showed genuine compassion and empathy towards Crona. Her friendship with Mizune was also pretty sincere. While not completely innocent, she was forced to do a lot of bad things.
3 Medusa Was An Awful Person But An Electric Presence
On a superficial level, almost every fan of Soul Eater might have wanted Medusa to be a hero. She is cunning, powerful, intelligent, and resourceful. If it weren't for her awful and unforgivable conduct as a mother, she would have had more fans.
If Soul Eater diluted her cruelty and gave her a more reasonable objective, she could have been a femme fatale figure within the show. She had chemistry with Dr. Stein that could have been built on further had she not gone completely off the deep end.
2 The Short Lived But Powerful Impact Of Mifune
Mifune was never a villain from a moral standpoint. Everything he did was to protect the small witch named Angela Leon. Despite that, he was always on the opposing side of the series, particularly against Black Star. All of Mifune's major fights were against him and Tsubaki, even his last fight.
The swordsman embodied a stoic version of cool that often contrasted against Black Star's hotheaded personality. His ability with the sword was undeniable. All of his fights brought the hype and affected Black Star's outlook on combat. While he had no ambitions of ever becoming an ally to DWMA, fans of the show would have loved to see him as one.
1 Painful Internal Conflicts Kept Crona From Being A Hero For Most Of The Series
Crona endured a miserable upbringing due to their mother's cruelty. Medusa saw Crona as nothing but a tool for her ambitions. She wanted to turn them into a Kishin at all costs, even when it was detrimental to Crona's well-being. Eventually, Medusa's methods got through to them, twisting and warping Crona's mind until they became the Kishin.
Crona's transformation is tragic because they had a legitimate friendship with Maka Albarn. Crona tried to let go and accept the possibility of being a normal teenager like everyone else. Unfortunately, that is not how their story played out. More than anyone else, fans would have wanted Crona to have a fairytale ending.