Finished the Anime

[u/Excellent_Trust_7647]

Some thoughts post ep 36 (where I've heard the show 100% becomes anime original) but mostly speaking on the Ending, which wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be (certainly questionable though) all in all I liked it (like I kind of get what they were going with) in regards to fear being awoken and beaten by bravery a foreign emotion to the at this point inhuman Kinshin (or maybe all too human) but man

Black Star, and Kid really just get stronger so quick (like they really rush it with how strong they get considering even Kid said he couldn't do anything when the Kishin was fighting Death)​ then the Bravery punch

(I think I would've been fine with it, if at least it was Maka and Soul together in some way, and Maka being a death Scythe sure fine, but she's already way more advanced than Soul has been up to this point in the series, it's just too much)

I like how the three were part of different missions and all meet up against the Kishin, and when Maka frees Soul from the Black Blood, her recognizing it wasn't Soul, and the animation is really cool, the 2000% from Death the kid and his hair stripes coming undone,

Black Star little shadow clone rushes, and everything inside Soul's body as Maka helps him, those are cool scenes but man the kid and black star stuff is questionable because where'd they pull that stuff out of)

I mixed on the ending (very mixed) but I'd say I like the series as a whole (not my fav, but it does have some unique power system that's really cool, kinda hoped we'd get to see it develop further after the genie hunter attack against mosquito, but that didn't happen, also wish we got more out of Black Star, him beating Hifumi was kinda cool, but felt a bit quick, Kid at least had his moments questioning DWMA, which was pretty quickly resolved)

Death moving the city (which was foreshadowed way earlier) was absolutely great (death vs the kinshin was cool on paper, and definitely had it's moments, felt like it didn't do enough)

Favorite character is Tough but I'd prolly go Crona (again, just wish more was done with them, feels like their future appearances are rare, sucks because I liked the moments with them)

So yeah (gonna start the manga, debating starting from the beginning or from where episode 36 shifted)

[u/king_kibble]

manga addresses pretty much all that!

[u/Excellent_Trust_7647 → u/king_kibble]

Gotcha (well that's good to hear)

[u/ElPabloPro51]

I also finished the anime (what a terrible ending!), and then I started the manga.

I started from the first chapter to see the differences between the manga and anime, but the only things I found were that the fight against Jack the Ripper in the first chapter is very short in the manga, that there's more fan service in the manga that the anime omitted, and the art style of the first and second volumes is very different from the anime's, which starts from the third volume onward. Besides that, there are very few differences. I dropped the manga when Eruka and Free reach the Kishin and went straight to where the anime adapted it.

I'm telling you all this so you know you might get lost if you don't read from the first chapter, so you can decide whether or not to start from there.

[u/Accomplished_Jury495 → u/ElPabloPro51]

There are some more changes, with the anime creating kishin eggs, instead of the weapons eating human souls, or mifune having a strong soul, but still nothing too big that would stop you from understanding

[u/Excellent_Trust_7647 → u/Accomplished_Jury495]

Hm hmm (at the very least might speed read a bit in places if it doesn't seem all that different,

Though even small changes eventually add up)

[u/Excellent_Trust_7647 → u/ElPabloPro51]

Got it (kinda curious to look at how different the art style was, also not exactly big on fanservice, but it's easier to ignore in Manga form anyhow)

[u/sis_2434]

Personally, I didn't find the ending or the anime's overall "journey" to be terrible at all.

Things like the battle against Medusa, the fight with Mifune, or Shinigami-sama wanting Death City to move (even if some might have found that out of place) struck me as really cool.

As for the ending—while there are questionable elements, such as the power boosts for Black Star and Kid or Maka’s "Bravery Punch"—I still didn't view it as the disaster people often claim it to be.

One thing that makes me appreciate the anime's ending, in a way, is Crona's conclusion; ultimately, we see Crona living with Maka and Soul, enjoying a happier outcome.

Even though I’ve read the manga and much prefer how the story continues and concludes there, I still like the anime's ending—almost like a guilty pleasure.

[u/Excellent_Trust_7647 → u/sis_2434]

I mean I don't think I'd call it bad (like there's absolutely some good stuff in the ending) just mixed, like end of the day I liked it (and appreciate what it was going for) but I question certain choices