Soul Eater is more than a simple Shounen with a little fanservice and a focus on shinigami.
As soon as the anime begins, the intro gives you a life lesson that if understood, can apply to your life in more ways than one.
But on the surface, it seems like nothing more than a “simple” quote that sounds cool. As do most of the subtle hints the anime gives you throughout the series.
Here are 5 of the best life lessons I’ve taken from Soul Eater, which you can learn from as well!
The Best Life Lessons From Soul Eater:
1. Corruption of the mind is corruption of the soul
“A sound soul, dwells within a sound mind, and a sound body.” – Maka Albarn
Soul Eater’s plot is about “cleansing” the world of people who’ve reached a state of “madness”.
At this point, when a person is consumed by the “madness” as the anime puts it, their soul is corrupted, tarnished, and forever lost in the darkness.
They become pure evil.
The concept of madness in Soul Eater is related to the mindset of a person. Including how they think, feel, and perceive the world around them.
Not to mention how well they cope with life and everything that sits in between.
Life works the same way
In life, the health of your mind is just as important as your body.
Unlike the body, your mind, how you think, the thoughts you think, and how you deal with stress can destroy and weaken your physical body.
Stress, depression, and things of this nature can even impact the way you look, your weight, disease, and all kinds of things.
The life lessons in Soul Eater are clear:
When the health of your mind and body is in sync, you’ll feel better. AND life will be a whole lot easier.
When either of these is thrown out of sync, your inner demons will wreak havoc on your personal happiness.
Which eventually will have a negative impact on your lifestyle.
2. There’s a fine line between sane and “insane”
A good example of this in Soul Eater is Dr Stein.
For the most part, Stein is “sane” and level-headed. There’s nothing in the world that could crush his soul or break his spirit into pieces.
And yet: during one event with Medusa the Witch, Dr Stein crosses over to the void of “madness”. And almost becomes insane in the process (before being brought back to his senses).
This happens on a separate occasion with the main character: Maka Albarn.
Life works the same way
In the UK there are prisons so dangerous, that only the most violent, unstable criminals are sent there.
One particular inmate ended up in jail because his ex-girlfriend who still lived with him, decided to bring over her “new” boyfriend. Doing whatever it took to piss him off and drive him nuts.
She succeeded.
In the end, he killed her, hence why he’s in jail for life.
The point? He was a “normal” guy with a calm, nice personality. And all it took was the wrong circumstances to drive him from sane to insane in an instant.
The line between sanity and insanity is thinner than you think.
3. Life is a balance between good energy and “bad” energy
Going back to the main character: Maka Albarn, you see this play out between certain scenes for specific reasons.
Soul Eater as an anime itself is all about fighting negative energy with positive energy. And working on your personal development to prevent yourself from “crossing to the dark side”.
Life works the same way
Just like in real life, every day we’re at war with “good” and “bad” simultaneously. Especially when it comes to your personal feelings, emotions, setbacks, hardships, and the challenges of life.
The only way to get through it is to make yourself:
- Stronger in both mind, body and spirit.
- Surround yourself with good things and good people.
- Put yourself in environments that are positive, uplifting and encouraging.
- Choose your friends wisely.
- Avoid negative sources, people, places and habits at all costs.
It’s a challenge, but it’s one you have to overcome to avoid being crippled by bad energy and bad people who want to bring us down.
RelevantL 28 Soul Eater Anime Quotes That Are Dark And Meaningful
4. Fear is good or bad, depending on how you use it
“I refuse to let my fear control me anymore.” – Maka Albarn
Maka Albarn goes through this experience herself. She deals with her personal fears and eventually manages to overcome it.
She learns fear isn’t necessarily a bad or a good thing. But it can depend on how you use it and how you perceive it.
Life works the same way
What is fear? Fear is when you’re scared to do something because you instinctively feel it’s “bad” for you.
But the problem with this is: your emotions aren’t always right.
Let’s suppose you want to become a singer. And you even have the “talent” for it.
At some point, that means you’ll have to get on stage, sing in front of crowds of people, record music in a studio, and perform in front of others at auditions and what not.
Fear will tell you not to, giving you excuses like:
- What if you fail?
- What happens if you mess up?
- What if you’re no good?
And so on. But assuming music is your passion… in this case, being afraid is a BAD thing.
Instead, accepting those fears makes it easier. And once you’ve done it, you’ll wonder why you were so afraid in the first place.
It’s all about how you see fear, and how you use it.
Context defines whether it’s good or bad for you.
5. Have something to aim for and go for it
The best example of this is the other MC: Black Star.
Black Star might be too much for some because he comes across as arrogant, egotistical, self-important and the centre of the universe.
Despite his flaws, there’s one thing you have to love about him: Black Star thinks BIG, sets goals for himself, and does whatever it takes to succeed.
He never hesitates, makes excuses, or holds himself back. He jumps right in, works hard, and keeps his eyes on the prize while staying optimistic.
Life is the same way
If there’s one thing I’ve noticed in my short life, it’s this:
- When you have nothing to aim for, life gets boring.
- When you don’t have any goals, you have no direction.
- Without something to aim for, you become aimless. And end up doing stupid, meaningless things you never planned on.
- Eventually: that leads to unhappiness or regret.
I’m fortunate because I discovered what I wanted to do out of life earlier than most. It’s the light that keeps me going on a daily basis.
That’s why I wake up focused, optimistic, and crystal clear about what I’m doing and why I’m doing it.
Having something to aim for is one of the most important things a person can have.
Big or small, it doesn’t matter. Do whatever it takes to find it, and you’ll understand why when you do.
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