SoulTaker

I loved this anime. At the beginning you might have a bad view of the anime as just an all killing, no story anime. As the story moves on it becomes much deeper, so don't be too influenced by the first few eps. I recommend that you should watch this anime in segments, don't watch it all at once or you won't enjoy it. There are some that will like this style of art, it is a different, somewhat darker, little gothic style that keeps things interesting. Music's pretty good, I epecially like the opening. I really loved the characters too, each person hadtheir story and it played out. Some people might feel that the story is a waste of time, watch and see why, but it still has a point. I'm not going to guarantee that everyone will feel the same, but if you want to watch a powerful anime you should really try SoulTaker. Remember that you shouldn't watch this anime in one day, or you won't be able to fully enjoy it, just trust me.

The one word about SoulTaker is "colours". Colours, colours everywhere! The art of this anime is simply astounding. It breaks all the rules about colouring patterns, uses innovative games of light and shadow and the overall achievement is a confusion of bidimensional planes: awesome! But... While the art is original and superb, the rest is pretty much mediocre. We can't really ask too much from a plot that mixes winged monsters, aliens and shotguns, except for high doses of bloody entertainment. They give it to us and, somewhat, the amazing art is appropriated to the flow of the events. The characters don't have any especially original trait: they"work for the story". Amazing for the eye-breaking art, you should not hold any more expectations about SoulTaker. It's still a very enjoying and easy to watch series (except if you have epilepsy, of course, then it would not be recommended)

How often does an anime successfully combine a highly stylish atmosphere containing an intricate storyline, that is packed with character development and metaphors without turning into complete mush by the end? I can't exactly recall many, but The Soul Taker happens to be a diamond in the rough which succeeds in pulling off the almost impossible. However, it doesn't reach its climax completely unscathed because it certainly has those rough moments. Still, truth be told, I was very satisfied with it and this is still a series I can watch from beginning to end. Now, some folks claim the visuals take getting use to and it'salso original. Well, I was hooked to the visuals immediately, and the originality claim may be valid but I have some doubt. It's still very difficult for me to shake off the influence of Dario Argento's Suspiria. The visuals manage to combine wild combinations of colors into the backgrounds. Most of the colors really shouldn't go together, but the direction, camera work, and constant color shifts blends effectively and creates a dream like atmosphere. The backgrounds can be amazing at times yet creepy during some segments. I will admit that the color schemes can be a put off for some because it creates a disco like effect. I enjoyed many of the character designs concerning the robots and monsters appearances. They never came off generic to me. While paying more attention though, the monsters appeared to share some type of resemblance to Jedah of Darkstalkers fame. Now for the meat of the animation which happens to be the awesome action scenes. The action is very fluid with very good choreography during the fisticuffs at times. The fast paced battles do not consist of that Dragonball Z reused cel style. The gun battles are very good as well, with the camera angles working their magic during the fusillades of bullets, in combination with missiles soaring through the air with such velocity. During the first several episodes, the viewer will be delivered some good action scenes. The battles aren't heavy on gore, but they really didn't need to be. The animation does have its flaws which creeps up close to the end. Most of the later battles really didn't measure up to the earlier ones, and at times they consisted of stills with the scenes shifting to something else. I really enjoy the soundtrack which is done by Kou Ohtani. The opening theme called Soultaker is a rock track that seems to fit the show. I happen to enjoy the BGM a lot more than the opening and closing themes though. The BGM is very well used for the action scenes with different variations. They would alternate by using the same instrumental accompanied by either whistles, or guitar rifts that have a nice sound which fits with the style. I don't think it's the greatest BGM ever, but it gets the job done. I didn't have a problem at all with the English cast or Seiyuu. I feel both cast worked out very well during the heated battles and drama filled scenes. They also worked out well for the very light comedy, which doesn't clash with the content too much. The plot is very complex and requires an ample amount of patience. There is very little given in the beginning, and the writing wants to keep viewers in the dark as well as add some confusion. Many times it's difficult to tell if something is real or not. The writing is very strong for a good while, but later events would sometimes border on incoherency, and one may wonder how certain elements began to fall in place. Another thing about the writing I didn't enjoy at times was the transition from one place to another. Some things happened with no explanation. Fortunately, I found the ending to be strong. Even though there were speed bumps, at least all loose ends were tied up, and there were no questions left hanging from where I saw it. Character development is another plus because everyone is given a realistic drive. The main character Kyouske has a good feel about him, and he doesn't seem to fall into the stereotypical shonen hero role who loves to fight. Kyouske seems to be an atypical character with a little depth. The side characters are well used for the most part, but I could have done without the teenage girl whom came off too saccharine for my taste. Overall, I find The Soul Taker to be a very solid series, but I would be lying if I said the series was completely well put together. I found a lot of the symbolism to be miss, and several things really didn't add up when taking many of the revelations under consideration. Still, it delivers on telling a good story with a very good amount of style to back it up. I mainly recommend this to the most die hard fans. Warning, one must have a little patience with this one. Highs: Complex storyline and visuals, very stylish and action laden Lows: Complexity also works against it

I know average score around 6.67 cant be all that good of a show, WRONG. This show surprised even me but honestly it's the best when your not expecting it. First- the story which is nothing great at first but just wait, woo does it get interesting its my believe that a number of people vote it down, for lack of paying attention to the story witch sometimes has a complicated method of putting things. If you lack a attention span turn away if not dive right in. anime gives of a real Ergo Proxy feel at times. Second - Music, for me i really enjoyed themusic from the series. The theme "Soul Taker" comes up when he enters battle, at first i thought cheesy gave off a real superhero type of vibe but the song grows on you. Opening was great i like it personality. Art- made in 2001 the art i found smooth no awkward movements, nice lighting and the Characters are well drawn. A few scenes in fact reminded me so much of SHAFT including Misaki, Maya who looked just like Senjougahara, Hitagi from Bakemonogatari my opinion. Characters- Nice Characters development for some it didn't really dive into heavy detail, but this did not take away from story. Overall- Great story, nice art, and very good music earned it a 8 i would have gone higher but didn't like a couple of things. But overall if your into action, sci fi, drama and can follow a story there is no reason i can give no reason not to watch the series, Cheers.