Soul Eater – Chapter 93

"Why did you think a big balloon would stop him?" "Shut up! That's why!"

I think I mentioned this on Twitter, but seriously, whose idea was it to bring Stein this close to the largest source of concentrated madness in existence? That’s just a natural disaster waiting to happen.

I’m very concerned for what’s been happening with Stein lately. He’s always seemed like a ticking time bomb, and it looks like that’s about to go off any moment now, assuming it hasn’t already. What I’m really concerned about, though, is not so much the effect it will have on the other characters so much as what it will mean for the current large battle. Right now we have half the main cast fighting the Kishin’s soldiers, one or two of the high-ranking clowns and Justin Law, and we haven’t even reached the Kishin itself yet. Where does an out of control Stein fit into all this?

For a little while, I’ve been under the impression that Stein would be the one to fight Justin Law. You know someone in the group has to fight him, and since Marie has to be wielded by somebody else, Stein seemed like the proper opponent. Considering how insane he’s been getting, though, I’ve got a strong suspicion that he’s going to end up killing Justin and taking his place soon after. As much as he’s affected the lives of the other characters, I could never see the current Justin as anything other than one of the Kishin’s stronger henchmen. I believe it’s been a while since any relevant villain has died, so this battle could be where he finally passes the torch.

There’s something else I’ve been wondering about, too. I mentioned before that I thought Maka’s father was going to die before the end of this arc. If we accept that Stein could easily turn into a villain, then could it be possible that he is the one who kills Spirit? It’s a bit like how Crona’s final turn to the dark side was triggered by apparently killing Medusa (again, not buying it). This is a very grim thing to think about, but it’s something I could very easily see happening.

The rest of the battle has been progressing as well, although the only thing I can remember is Death the Kidd fighting that perverted clown/witch thing. I don’t know what will happen when the group finally gets to the Kishin himself, but I have a feeling it’s going to be insane. And maybe Stein will go past my expectations and overcome his madness. All I can say is I wouldn’t place any bets on these next few chapters.