| Synopsis |
|---|
| Recovered from The Clown's madness, Maka Albarn uses the new technique Devil-Hunt Slash to dispatch this opponent, while Blair succeeds in destroying the entire Borscht Seven Factory. Meanwhile, Death receives an anonymous tip about witches within Death City, one of whom is his own student. |
The Clown (Part 3) is the forty-third serialized chapter of the manga Soul Eater. It was reprinted in tankōbon form in Volume 11.
Featured Appearances[]
Characters
DWMA Students, Staff, and Allies
- Maka Albarn
- Soul Eater
- Blair (in cat form)
- Death the Kid
- Liz Thompson
- Patty Thompson
- Lord Death
- Sid Barrett
The Nidhogg Monster Factory
- Flying Dutchman (killed)
- The Clown (killed)
Witches and Comrades
Locations
- Russia
- Borscht Seven Factory (Nidhogg Monster Factory)
- Death City
- Witch's Realm
Techniques
- Devil-Hunt Slash
- Letter "I" Hunt Slash (first appearance)
- Halloween Cannon (called "Pumpkin Cannon")
- Clown Machine Gun (first appearance)
- Clown Lariat (first appearance)
- Magnified Infection (first appearance)
Objects
Plot[]
Russia, Borscht Seven Factory[]
The Clown is surprised that his opponent has defeated its madness infection. The Flying Dutchman and Blair are in awe of the light, emanating from Maka Albarn and Soul Eater's new technique: Devil-Hunt Slash.
Blair unleashes Pumpkin Cannon against the Flying Dutchman
Then the Dutchman is distracted as Blair sits atop his bald head. Blair, having stolen his hat, mocks this "loser" for his baldness, and even as the Dutchman threatens to rip her apart, Blair simply responds with Pumpkin Cannon and hops away from the smoldering ghost. But as Blair has leapt atop a conveyor belt, the Dutchman calls "Nidhogg!!" to order the factory to draw Blair into the metal-tearing thresher at the end of the conveyor belt. Blair struggles to run ahead, but she has a plan: not only is she faking her inability to get off the conveyor belt, but she had left the Dutchman's hat on the conveyor belt, and the thresher is about to rip that hat apart. Spotting his desired object, the Dutchman leaps atop the conveyor belt and seizes his beloved hat—not noticing the thresher in time before its metal teeth tear into him, blood splashing from the machine. Before the Dutchman's outstretched arms, clutching the hat, are consumed by the machine, the giggling Blair uses Zukun to retrieve the hat from the Dutchman's loosened fingers and prance away.
Elsewhere, Maka faces The Clown. Soul asks Maka what kind of soul this clown as, as Soul feels himself drawn towards this being. The Clown answers for Maka, reminding him he is madness itself, now a contagion. Maka, remembering that this clown has the same wavelength as Asura, realizes Professor Stein was correct: madness is contagious. The Clown claims this world is sick, hence madness is now free to roam—but Maka promises to stop this contagion from spreading.
The Clown unleashes its madness at Maka in the form of tendril-like wisps of energy, which Maka's Anti-Demon Wavelength channeled through the Devil-Hunt Slash easily deflects. The Clown leaps at Maka, but she dodges, slicing through The Clown. Yet the madness within it heals its wound. From The Clown's face, its nose fires Clown Machine Gun, fire enveloping Maka. In the blaze, The Clown bursts through, prepared to attack with Clown Lariat. Soul urges Maka to fight this madness, and she does: one slice of her weapon cuts away The Clown's lariat.
The Clown laughs off this injury, allowing his Infection to spread, madness itself slamming into Maka's body and to her soul. But Maka says this madness is not enough to claim her: she smirks at The Clown, standing against madness. The Clown intensifies its attack with Magnified Infection, and even in the face of what appear like the Kishin's own eyes staring at her, Maka listens to Soul's one word: courage. She tightens her grip on her weapon.
The Infection closes around Maka, blasts emerging from the orb. As The Clown pinches its nose, it insists no one can escape madness. The Clown opens its mouth, Kishin eyes revealed as it cackles with delight at the prospect to see Maka squished.
Maka defeats The Clown with Letter "I" Hunt Slash
But at almost the exact instance when Maka slices her way out of the Infection, she also bisects The Clown, longitudinally, with Letter "I" Hunt Slash. Maka stands away from the resulting explosion to allow The Clown's soul to fall into her hands. Soul smiles at his partner's success, yet he is concerned that they never got The Clown to reveal the Kishin's location. As Maka holds the soul, a crack forms around its circumference—then explodes in confetti and ribbons, a face resembling The Clown's leaping up like a jack in the box. The Clown laughs at the two, promising that with a stronger contagion of madness, it will claim Maka, "because I will always be by your side!" The soul then explodes into doves and more ribbons and confetti. Maka shouts for The Clown to tell them where the Kishin is located, but no answer comes.
Elsewhere, blood gushes from the numerous wounds around the Flying Dutchman's body, trying to find where Blair has taken his hat. He finds her—next to the Nidhogg factory's self-destruct button. He warns her not to press it, but Blair holds a paw to the button. The Dutchman says that the button is so powerful that the factory will disappear—not even with an explosion but in a blinding flash, as only the Dutchman will be injured, not the DWMA students and allies inside or near the building. The Dutchman begs Blair not to press the button. Blair agrees that this button sounds important—so she will place something—the Dutchman's hat—to hide that button. Seeing his hat, the Dutchman loses sense, leaping to the hat to clutch it. Blair grins, deviously, because as the Dutchman picks up his hat, his hand grazes the button. "Fuuuck!!!" the Dutchman screams.
Outside the factory, Patty Thompson is poking with a stick her depressed meister, Death the Kid. Liz Thompson is more surprised by the factory disappearing in a blaze of light. With that light, the image of the Flying Ghost, hands clutched and smiling, looks like he is ascending heavenward.
Inside what used to be the factory, Blair and her friends look at the light around them. Soul claims that their mission has concluded, hence they should return to the DWMA to report to Death. But Maka's focus is on The Clown's promise that she will not escape the grasp of madness. She shudders.
Death Room[]
Death congratulates Maka and Soul on their successful completion of the Russian mission, reminding them that their extracurricular mission does not end until they return home, so to be safe during their trip.
Upon concluding this conversation, Death turns back to Sid Barrett, apologizing for that interruption. Death informs Sid that the existence of The Clown proves that, as madness is now capable of assuming a physical form to suck in people directly, it is more contagious. Sid is shocked, realizing that Asura's madness is spreading faster than Stein predicted.
As he would like to learn more from Stein, Death asks Sid whether they have any leads on the location of Joe Buttataki's suspected killer—and asking Sid whether he has been colluding with Stein. Sid admits that he and his peers let Stein escape, but he does not know the scientist's location. Death is surprised at Sid's candor but easily forgives the zombie meister for the deception.
Death then asks Sid why he came to meet with him, receiving a letter delivered to Sid with an anonymous tip about three witches who have infiltrated Death City. One of the persons listed is a DWMA student, but Sid claims this student is on an extracurricular assignment.
Witch's Realm[]
Maba concludes the Witch Mass. One witch, dressed like a tanuki, is concerned how much longer she can maintain this double-life. Her peer, Jacqueline O. Lantern Dupre, urges her to be patient. The witch, Kim Diehl, snorts in frustration, saying she must hurry up and save more money.
Manga and Anime Differences[]
- In this chapter, Medusa informs Death that Kim Diehl, Risa, and Arisa are witches. While her identity as a witch is apparent in the prequel anime Soul Eater NOT! Kim is never revealed as a witch in the first anime. As well, at no point did the first anime ever identify the other two characters, Arisa and Risa as being witches.
Trivia[]
- The Clown's attacks are portmanteaus. In Japanese, "Clown Machine Gun" is "dokeshin gan": "dokeshi" (clown) and "mashin" (machine). And "Clown Lariat" is "pieriatto": "piero" (French for "clown") and "rariatto" ("lariat," a wrestling move).[1]
- Maka's Letter-"I"-Hunt Slash in Japanese is "ichi-manji-gari" ("letter-one-hunt"), in which "I" refers to the Roman numeral for one.[2]
- Sid's shirt says, as appropriate for a zombie, "Living Dead."
- At the Witch Mass, Jacqueline's attire resembles a lantern.
- As with many of the witches' names and chants, Maba's witch mass chant reverses each syllable. The original chant should read "majo, majo, saraba da" ("witch, witch, this is farewell").[2]