Manga-ka: Atsushi Ohkubo
Publisher: Yen Press
Rating: Teen (13+)
Release Date: November 2012
Synopsis: “Arachnophobia has taken the offensive and spreads the Kishin’s madness throughout the world, using “BREW” to threaten anyone who stands in their way. In the wake of attacks at home and abroad, DWMA sends its top students to quell the madness and gather information wherever they can. But the madness is spreading much quicker and is stronger than they had anticipated. When confronted by an incarnation of the Kishin’s madness itself – the sinister Clown – will Maka and Soul fall victim to its manipulations?”
Volume eleven of Soul Eater picks up right where volume ten ended, with the DWMA on the defensive under Arachnophobia’s assault. The first chapter focuses exclusively on dealing with Stein, who is the main suspect in the murder that ended the previous book. It’s filled with good use of emotion and shots without dialogue, though it is at times not the easiest narrative to follow. This only increases when most of the other chapters in this volume are solely dedicated to focusing on Maka and Soul, which leads to some disconnect in the volume as a whole. While of course these chapters were originally published in a serialized format, I still do prefer for a volume to have some sense of unity, which this one definitely does not.