Monster Soul (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It was serialized in Comic BomBom from January 2006 to August 2007 and collected into two tankōbon volumes.
Monster Soul is set in Elvenland, a fictional land that humans and monsters inhabit. The main characters are a group of monsters called the Black Airs, which is recorded as the strongest group of the monster forces in the great war between humans and monsters. The first three chapters consist of three stories that do not have a main plot, but the last chapter of the "first stage" reveals a bit of the past. In the "second stage" the Black Airs travel to Hell to help a human boy save his townspeople who are captured by the evil Drei Kommandos.
Charactersedit
Black Airsedit
Aki
He looks like a normal human but his hoodie jacket hides two small horns on his head. He changes to his giant S class werewolf form when overwhelmed with emotions. In the flashback, he is shown to have been weak when he was young and his S class soul was sought after by others. His parents were "killed" by Beluze but their souls returned and they revived when Beluze was defeated. His weakness is that he must sleep after he uses up his soul form.
Tooran
She has a golem father and a human mother. An unspoken golem law says "when rain falls on the desert where a golem lives, the golem will melt and die there". Her father and tribe died in the rain (her mother's whereabouts unknown). She can transform her body into sand and turn it into a harp shape or use sand in auxiliary roles like forming smoke screens. She claims to be the idol of the Monster World.
James
An android-type monster resembling Frankenstein's creature, he has weapons hidden all over his body, a monster sensor built in his eyes, flight capability, shooting fists and he can change into an armored knight form which Mummy calls "James Striker System". It is revealed that he is actually a robot developed to hunt monsters, however upon meeting with a younger Mummy a strong relationship developed between the two. His face falls off very often and he is usually seen searching for it.
Mummy
The blond-haired big sister of the group, she wears bandages in a fashionable way and controls them freely, such as for attacking and dressing wounds. She carries a giant injection needle containing healing liquid. The group is very close to her. In her younger days she came across James in a lab while escaping from her pursuers. She helped the depressed and then nameless James find a purpose in life. The four have been together since their youth and there was an event where Mummy saved Aki by giving her right eye in exchange for Aki's soul. However, she has recovered that eye by the end of the "first stage"; most likely because Aki retrieved it from the monster that took it. She often worries for Aki. She is a hellion but she prefers it be kept a secret. She has a tendency to start stripping for no apparent reason.
Joba
A small monster with an onion-shaped head and a rare species highly sought after by hunters. Usually its only words is "kpwee".
First Stage charactersedit
Vulcan Brothers
Two poachers who failed in capturing Joba and later Tooran.
Kiyo
An elderly female fairy that the Black Airs encountered in the forest. Part of Bacon's rebellion group.
Bacon
The leader of a rebellion against humans. Brainwashed the monsters in the forest to join him. His parents were killed in the war by humans.
Jenny
A young fairy girl standing against Bacon's rebellion, she is Kiyo's daughter.
Garuelf
A three-headed monster who wants the S class soul of Aki. In the past, Mummy managed to ward them off by giving them the soul of her right eye. They came for Aki again but were defeated by Aki.
Second Stage charactersedit
Selsh
A boy from Driochram. This town came under attack by the Drei Kommandos and its people were captured. Selsh escaped hoping to find a hero to save them. He was found unconscious by a river bank by the Black Airs. He was frightened at first but the Black Airs became the hero he was searching for. In the last chapter of Second Stage, Selsh is revealed to be the prince of Driochram.
Pooch
The three-headed monster guarding Hell's Gate.
Jobo
A soldier under the Drei Kommandos.
Drei Kommandosedit
Kiriko
A female vampire. Main attack is Evil Cross from her palm. The lips tattoo on her throat can extend and become a fanged mouth to attack and suck blood.
Blank
Leader of the three. He captures humans by sucking them into jars, thus collecting souls which are fed to an egg back at their hideout. An agile fighter, able to shoot dynamite sticks from the two holes on his head. Uses the word "Explosive!" frequently in his speech.
Guyna
A bulky being made of rocks. Able to disintegrate into rocks to attack and bind his opponents. His face falls off like James'.
Beluze
The product of the egg the Drei Kommandos were hatching. It also ate all of the Drei Kommandos. A huge black wolf monster which looks similar to Aki's soul form. His first word is Aki's name. In the last chapter of Second Stage, Beluze is revealed to be a figure from Aki's past. Beluze was once a human Soul hunter and he took the souls of Aki's parents. He used the monster souls he collected and performed the secret technique of racial transformation that turned him into an egg form. With the souls the Drei Kommandos collected Soul Eater Beluze emerged from the egg.
Publicationedit
Written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima, the series was serialized in two stages in Kodansha's Comic BomBom magazine; the first was serialized from January to March 2006[1] and the second was serialized from May 15, 2007,[a] to August 11, 2007.[4]
Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network praised the artwork and concept of the story, though she also felt it was generic and lacked plot.[8] Danica Davidson of Otaku USA praised the flow and characters, though she also described their jokes as "crude".[9] J. Caleb Mozzocco of School Library Journal felt that it contained similar elements to those in other Mashima works and recommended the manga to Mashima's fans.[10]
Notesedit
^It began serialization in the June 2007 issue of Comic BomBom,[2] which was released on May 15.[3]
Referencesedit
^"Monster Soul". Mangapedia (in Japanese). Retrieved February 1, 2024.
^ ab"Monster Soul, Volume 2". Kodansha USA. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
^. manganohi.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 30, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
^. manganohi.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
monster, soul, stylized, caps, japanese, manga, series, written, illustrated, hiro, mashima, serialized, comic, bombom, from, january, 2006, august, 2007, collected, into, tankōbon, volumes, cover, first, volume, mangawritten, byhiro, mashimapublished, bykodan. Monster Soul stylized in all caps is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima It was serialized in Comic BomBom from January 2006 to August 2007 and collected into two tankōbon volumes Monster SoulCover of the first volume MangaWritten byHiro MashimaPublished byKodanshaEnglish publisherNA Kodansha USAMagazineComic BomBomDemographicShōnenOriginal runJanuary 2006 August 11 2007Volumes2 List of volumes Contents 1 Plot 2 Characters 2 1 Black Airs 2 2 First Stage characters 2 3 Second Stage characters 2 3 1 Drei Kommandos 3 Publication 3 1 Volumes 4 Reception 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksPlot editMonster Soul is set in Elvenland a fictional land that humans and monsters inhabit The main characters are a group of monsters called the Black Airs which is recorded as the strongest group of the monster forces in the great war between humans and monsters The first three chapters consist of three stories that do not have a main plot but the last chapter of the first stage reveals a bit of the past In the second stage the Black Airs travel to Hell to help a human boy save his townspeople who are captured by the evil Drei Kommandos Characters editBlack Airs edit Aki He looks like a normal human but his hoodie jacket hides two small horns on his head He changes to his giant S class werewolf form when overwhelmed with emotions In the flashback he is shown to have been weak when he was young and his S class soul was sought after by others His parents were killed by Beluze but their souls returned and they revived when Beluze was defeated His weakness is that he must sleep after he uses up his soul form Tooran She has a golem father and a human mother An unspoken golem law says when rain falls on the desert where a golem lives the golem will melt and die there Her father and tribe died in the rain her mother s whereabouts unknown She can transform her body into sand and turn it into a harp shape or use sand in auxiliary roles like forming smoke screens She claims to be the idol of the Monster World James An android type monster resembling Frankenstein s creature he has weapons hidden all over his body a monster sensor built in his eyes flight capability shooting fists and he can change into an armored knight form which Mummy calls James Striker System It is revealed that he is actually a robot developed to hunt monsters however upon meeting with a younger Mummy a strong relationship developed between the two His face falls off very often and he is usually seen searching for it Mummy The blond haired big sister of the group she wears bandages in a fashionable way and controls them freely such as for attacking and dressing wounds She carries a giant injection needle containing healing liquid The group is very close to her In her younger days she came across James in a lab while escaping from her pursuers She helped the depressed and then nameless James find a purpose in life The four have been together since their youth and there was an event where Mummy saved Aki by giving her right eye in exchange for Aki s soul However she has recovered that eye by the end of the first stage most likely because Aki retrieved it from the monster that took it She often worries for Aki She is a hellion but she prefers it be kept a secret She has a tendency to start stripping for no apparent reason Joba A small monster with an onion shaped head and a rare species highly sought after by hunters Usually its only words is kpwee First Stage characters edit Vulcan Brothers Two poachers who failed in capturing Joba and later Tooran Kiyo An elderly female fairy that the Black Airs encountered in the forest Part of Bacon s rebellion group Bacon The leader of a rebellion against humans Brainwashed the monsters in the forest to join him His parents were killed in the war by humans Jenny A young fairy girl standing against Bacon s rebellion she is Kiyo s daughter Garuelf A three headed monster who wants the S class soul of Aki In the past Mummy managed to ward them off by giving them the soul of her right eye They came for Aki again but were defeated by Aki Second Stage characters edit Selsh A boy from Driochram This town came under attack by the Drei Kommandos and its people were captured Selsh escaped hoping to find a hero to save them He was found unconscious by a river bank by the Black Airs He was frightened at first but the Black Airs became the hero he was searching for In the last chapter of Second Stage Selsh is revealed to be the prince of Driochram Pooch The three headed monster guarding Hell s Gate Jobo A soldier under the Drei Kommandos Drei Kommandos edit Kiriko A female vampire Main attack is Evil Cross from her palm The lips tattoo on her throat can extend and become a fanged mouth to attack and suck blood Blank Leader of the three He captures humans by sucking them into jars thus collecting souls which are fed to an egg back at their hideout An agile fighter able to shoot dynamite sticks from the two holes on his head Uses the word Explosive frequently in his speech Guyna A bulky being made of rocks Able to disintegrate into rocks to attack and bind his opponents His face falls off like James Beluze The product of the egg the Drei Kommandos were hatching It also ate all of the Drei Kommandos A huge black wolf monster which looks similar to Aki s soul form His first word is Aki s name In the last chapter of Second Stage Beluze is revealed to be a figure from Aki s past Beluze was once a human Soul hunter and he took the souls of Aki s parents He used the monster souls he collected and performed the secret technique of racial transformation that turned him into an egg form With the souls the Drei Kommandos collected Soul Eater Beluze emerged from the egg Publication editWritten and illustrated by Hiro Mashima the series was serialized in two stages in Kodansha s Comic BomBom magazine the first was serialized from January to March 2006 1 and the second was serialized from May 15 2007 a to August 11 2007 4 Volumes edit No Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN1January 17 2007 5 978 4 06 332061 9May 13 2014 6 978 1 61 262589 8Chapter 1 The Black Airs Chapter 2 Monster rebellion Last Chapter Chapter 3 Changing thought to power 2September 14 2007 7 978 4 06 332098 5August 12 2014 2 978 1 61 262590 4Chapter 1 4 Helta Race Chapter 2 5 Hell District One Chapter 3 6 Gentle Weapon Last Chapter Chapter 4 7 SoulReception editRebecca Silverman of Anime News Network praised the artwork and concept of the story though she also felt it was generic and lacked plot 8 Danica Davidson of Otaku USA praised the flow and characters though she also described their jokes as crude 9 J Caleb Mozzocco of School Library Journal felt that it contained similar elements to those in other Mashima works and recommended the manga to Mashima s fans 10 Notes edit It began serialization in the June 2007 issue of Comic BomBom 2 which was released on May 15 3 References edit Monster Soul Mangapedia in Japanese Retrieved February 1 2024 a b Monster Soul Volume 2 Kodansha USA Retrieved February 1 2024 2007年05月15日のアーカイブ manganohi jp in Japanese Archived from the original on October 30 2007 Retrieved January 23 2024 2007年08月11日のアーカイブ manganohi jp in Japanese Archived from the original on October 14 2007 Retrieved January 23 2024 モンスターソウル Media Arts Database in Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs Retrieved February 1 2024 Monster Soul Volume 1 Kodansha USA Retrieved February 1 2023 モンスターソウル 2nd Media Arts Database in Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs Retrieved February 1 2024 Silverman Rebecca June 22 2014 Monster Soul GN 1 Anime News Network Retrieved February 11 2024 Davidson Danica June 20 2014 Manga Review Monster Soul Vol 1 Otaku USA Retrieved February 11 2024 Mozzocco J Caleb July 14 2014 Review Monster Soul Vol 1 School Library Journal Retrieved February 11 2024 External links editMonster Soul manga at Anime News Network s encyclopedia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Monster Soul amp oldid 1206083343, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
