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Episode Name
English Title

Tsubaki, the Camellia Blossom – What Lies Beyond the Grief?

Kanji Title

椿の花 〜悲しみを越えた先にあるもの?

Rōmaji Title

Tsubaki no Hana 〜Kanashimi o Koeta Saki ni Aru Mono?

Episode Data Report
Season

1

Airing Date(s)

Japanese : June 16, 2008

TV Rating

TV-14

Episode Guide
Episode 10 Episode 12
List of Episodes |Image Gallery

Tsubaki, the Camellia Blossom – What Lies Beyond the Grief? is the eleventh episode of Soul Eater.

Black☆Star and Tsubaki will claim their first soul if they defeat Masamune - but if Tsubaki falls, she will be absorbed forever by her powerful and bitter brother.

Featured Appearances[]

Plot[]

Recap[]

Maka Albarn narrates how Black☆Star and Tsubaki Nakatsukasa were sent to the Village of Shin to assassinate the Enchanted Sword, a weapon known to possess then consume souls. While Black☆Star and Tsubaki have never captured one soul, there is an important reason why they were assigned this deadly mission: Tsubaki, as the Enchanted Sword's sister, is the only one who can defeat him. Tsubaki's soul has entered the Enchanted Sword, where she faces her older brother, Masamune.

Village of Shin[]

Tsubaki, unconscious, clutches the Enchanted Sword, her soul having entered into him. Villagers surround the unconscious Ryōku, assuming it was that Star Clan assassin who injured him. One villager, a boy named Sonny, clubs Black☆Star for hurting Ryōku, knocking the ninja into a sitting position in front of Tsubaki. Despite more blows from Sonny and other villagers to his head, Black☆Star allows the villagers to beat him, as he promises, with a smile on his face, to stand guard by Tsubaki's unconscious body until she returns to him.

Masamune's Soul[]

Masamune's soul consists of a floor that appears like water, but appears polluted, almost like blood. Tsubaki, clutching her kusarigama, dashes at Masamune to attack, but he disables her, taking her by the head. He shows both his strength and his hostility towards his sister. The ground beneath the siblings is like water, through which he holds her head below to suffocate her. Masamune mocks Tsubaki, claiming she is not fighting at all. He then stabs her with his Enchanted Sword into her side before lifting her with one hand and tosses her away. As he throws Tsubaki away, Masamune reminding her that, if this was the real world, his attacks would kill her.

Tsubaki looks up, refusing to back down: even if she must die in this battle, she will defeat Masamune. Seeing his sister's eyes, Masamune panics, claiming he cannot face her, as it was always her stare, and her presence, that drove him to this point.

Death Room[]

As Lord Death watches the Village of Shin through his mirror, he is impressed how uncharacteristically reserved Black☆Star is, refusing to beat back the villagers. Maka Albarn is curious how Tsubaki can fight within her and Masamune's very souls, but she is interrupted by Stein and the Thompson Sisters, who have brought their lunch. As Stein tries to dine with chopsticks, he inadvertently compares that eating practice to the "tug-of-war" between Tsubaki and Masamune: each sibling is attempting to absorb the other's soul. Death the Kid, his mouth stuffed with food, asks whether Tsubaki has a chance to win, for Stein to respond that her chance is low. This sibling battle brings tears to Liz's eyes, as she clutches Patty and promises never to hurt her like that. 

Stein concludes that every Kishin desires to use such power acquired to win against something: the original Kishin desired to escape fear, but why does Masamune want to become a Kishin? He assumes that the problem concerns Tsubaki's inheritance of weapon abilities that should have, but did not, pass onto the first-born son in the Nakatsukasa family, namely Masamune. 

Masamune's Soul[]

Masamune asks why Tsubaki holds back to fight with only her kusarigama rather than her other weapon forms. He exclaims how he hates Tsubaki for assuming his birthright, the Multi-Form Ability, and also for daring to pity him. Masamune claims Tsubaki's example showed him that he was babied by everyone around them, hence he believes that he must be inferior. Therefore, he covers his face in embarrassment. So he may never have to look at her face again, Masamune promises, he will kill her. Using Puppet's Rain, Masamune binds Tsubaki by her limbs. Struggling to survive, Tsubaki calls out Black☆Star's name.

Village of Shin[]

The villagers increase their attacks upon Black☆Star, more blood pouring from his head. But he senses his weapon, and he asks her whether she remembers their first meeting.

DWMA Quad (Flashback)[]

Students look up to see an odd loudmouth shouting from atop the spire of the DWMA. This boisterous bruiser, Black☆Star, shouts that everyone will recognize his greatness and should bow down to him, but unimpressed by this weird student, all but one student departs: the one who stays is a weapon without a meister, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa. She applauds loudly. Black☆Star stops ranting, silenced, as he gives a thumb up. He leaps from the spire, landing effortlessly onto the quad. Tsubaki introduces herself, praising Black☆Star for his performance--a fact Black☆Star already knows, as he says he is not only a meister but is going to be the best one that the DWMA has ever seen. He compliments Tsubaki for her good taste in recognizing his greatness.

Village of Shin[]

Black☆Star concludes that because Tsubaki stayed through his performance, now he must stay through hers.

Sonny, the first boy who clubbed Black☆Star, stops to attacking in order to walk up to Tsubaki. Recognizing her as the Star Clan's weapon, Sonny intends to knock her down as well. Before he can strike her, Black☆Star seizes Sonny's club, splintering it and ordering the child to let Tsubaki finish her performance, and if Sonny gets in Tsubaki's way, Black☆Star will not hesitate to kill him.

Masamune's Soul[]

Masamune remembers how Tsubaki would always play whichever game he wanted to play--without him having to say that it would be ball (as shown in the previous episode's cold opening)--and now he will take her soul. With his Enchanted Sword, he stabs at Tsubaki, causing his sister to fall limp.

Death Room[]

Maka and Stein cannot believe Tsubaki would attack when she is no match for Masamune. But Soul Eater reminds the two that Tsubaki, even if she is alone inside this soul battle, has Black☆Star with her. Lord Death agrees, saying Tsubaki's strength is not only physical but also in her soul, and it is with that strength that her victory is possible.

Masamune's Soul[]

The soul now takes the form of the Nakatsukasa residence from Masamune and Tsubaki's childhood, the siblings appearing as they had as children. Tsubaki remembers how she did not want to play ball with her brother, and she wonders whether, if she had spoken up, as opposed to living up to the name of the camelia as a silent (scentless) flower, she and her brother could have instead played house, with a closer relationship like siblings could have. Masamune, no longer appearing as a child, stands in his pre-Kishin form, mocking her for the harm he has put upon him to feel worthless, and that it is because of her silence, like that camelia, that she will die. Tsubaki, remaining a child, stays silent and smiling sadly, as a camelia falls to the ground.

"I know all too well that that's _not_ what you're thinking," a voice interrupts. It is Black☆Star, who stands behind the child Tsubaki, lifting that fallen camelia from the ground. With that camelia lifted, so too is Tsubaki's confidence: no longer a child, she stands as the young woman she is.

After considering Black☆Star's words, Tsubaki gains the courage to attack Masasune with all of her strength. With a shout of "You're wrong!" at her brother, she pushes herself off Masamune's sword. She begs her brother to listen to how confident she is: her meister has shown her how much of a scent this camelia can have, and she will defeat Masamune, even if that means killing him. No longer depending on only kusarigama, Tsubaki uses her ninja sword to slash away at Masamune's shadows. She slides across the water before leaping down to deliver one last blow: in the explosion, only one sibling could survive.

Village of Shin[]

The Enchanted Sword forms a mist, drawing Tsubaki's very body into the weapon. Shocked, Black☆Star falls to his knees, asking whether she has failed. Black☆Star seizes a club from the old man in the village, using it to poke at the Enchanted Sword, demanding Tsubaki's performance not end and instead continue with an encore.

Death Room[]

Maka shuts her eyes, as she cannot bear to watch her friend die. Soul clenches his teeth but keeps his eyes open.

Masamune's Soul[]

The waters of Masamune's soul remain polluted. The Enchanted Sword, clutched by Masamune, is stabbed into Tsubaki's chest. It appears that the brother has defeated his sister. But Masamune says that actually it is Tsubaki who has shown what her feelings are. A camelia appears atop Tsubaki's chest, the manifestation of her very soul that Masamune now touches, and he realizes that just as the camelia indeed has a scent, so too does his sister have a voice.

Tsubaki sees that Masamune's body is fading away. His eyes no longer have that look of the Kishin. Her souls has cleansed his own, and has made him realize how strong she really is. Defeated, Masamune's last words are to say that her scent "is a nice fragrance." His body dissipates, leaving behind a Kishin egg. Tsubaki clutches her brother, hugging him, as she sobs amid clean waters and a bright blue sky.

Village of Shin[]

As Black☆Star urges Tsubaki to perform an encore, fog erupts from the Enchanted Sword, leaving behind no sword but only Tsubaki. She says she had to visit her brother. Black☆Star initially feigns a lack of concern before asking seriously whether she is okay. Tsubaki with a smile confirms, before averting her stare. Black☆Star determines to keep up the charade: if she will smile, so will he. He opens his arms, demanding a big hug. Seeing his brave front, his confidence in her, and the injuries he sustained for her, Tsubaki can no longer pretend to be happy: she cries and clutches Black☆Star for a hug. Worried for his injuries, Tsubaki asks whether he is alright, which he confirms he is.

But the pleasant moment is interrupted when the boy clubs Black☆Star again in the head. No longer comforting his weapon, Black☆Star decides to unleash hell on Sonny. Ryōku wakes up to the noise, shocked at Black☆Star's presence. The villagers order this Star Clan assassin, who has attacked Ryōku, to leave. Black☆Star says the only pathetic ones are the villagers, as they are still obsessed with the past of the Star Clan rather than focusing on their own future. The villagers refuse to listen, hurling more stones and sticks at the meister and the weapon. Before a boulder can hit them, a scared Black☆Star departs, shouting back that the villagers are still pathetic, while Tsubaki apologizes for her meister. Ryōku cannot help but smile: even if Black☆Star was not of the Star Clan, the ninja is still so annoying that Ryoku wouldn't like him.

Death Room[]

As they walk from the DWMA hallway into the Death Room, Black☆Star asks, now that Tsubaki has fulfilled her goal for being at the DWMA, whether she intends to stay on his weapon. Surprised at this question to leave him, Tsubaki says she is not going anywhere: she is his weapon. Satisfied, Black☆Star leads the way back into the Death Room, where they are greeted by their friends, pleased to see the erstwhile students finally, after all this time, bag a soul. As Liz congratulates Tsubaki (while lying that it was Patty, not her, crying like a baby), Stein admits to Lord Death that he did underestimate Tsubaki, as he likely has underestimated many of these students.

But Stein and Lord Death's conversation is interrupted, as the students are surprised that Black☆Star instantly appears atop Lord Death's mirror, bragging that their first soul brings with them a new weapon form for Tsubaki. He calls to his partner, who forms the Enchanted Sword mode. He charges the blade, producing a wind that flows past the impressed students--then dissolves. Once wielding the Enchanted Sword, Black☆Star falls to floor because his soul wavelength cannot handle so much power. Embarrassed for their friend, the students and teachers watch Tsubaki fan her meister back to recovery. Tsubaki assures Black☆Star that, for a man ahead of his time desiring to master the Enchanted Sword all at once, he really has no need to rush.

Manga and Anime Differences[]

  • In Episode 11, Maka and Soul are in the Death Room watching Black☆Star and Tsubaki in the Village of Shin. In Chapter 8, Maka and Soul are not shown in the Death Room until Black☆Star and Tsubaki return.
  • In Chapter 8, Death interrupts Stein's lunch. This scene is expanded in Episode 11: not only does Stein bring his lunch, but Liz and Patty bring snacks for everyone, which they and Kid consume but which upsets Maka in the midst of watching a fatal fight between Tsubaki and Masamune.
  • In Chapter 8, Tsubaki determines on her own that she will not let Masamune think of her as only a petty flower that pities Masamune. In Episode 11, however, Tsubaki is initially unable to ignore this complaint by her brother, until Black☆Star enters her soul to tell her that he knows her to be better than what her brother thinks she is. In this chapter, Black☆Star never enters Tsubaki's soul and never makes such a statement.
  • In Chapter 8, Tsubaki and Masamune's struggle to outweigh the will of the other involves the siblings clutching each other and trying to stab their weapons harder through each other. In Episode 11, this final attack begins with Tsubaki and Masamune far from each other, with Tsubaki rushing towards him across the water before leaping to avoid his Shadow Puppets and descend down upon him.
  • In Episode 11, when Masamune dies, his sword pierces through Tsubaki's chest, yet is blocked by a camellia flower. In Chapter 8, however, no such flower appears over Tsubaki's chest wound, and this chapter actually shows a gorier image of the blood seeping from her wound as Masamune lets go of his sword.
  • At the end of Chapter 8, Death is inside his mirror. At the end of Episode 11, however, Death is outside of his mirror.
  • At the end of Episode 11, the students have actual dialogue with Black☆Star and Tsubaki when congratulating their achievements, at which point Liz claims Patty was an emotional wreck over the fight, while Patty corrects her sister that it was actually her who was sobbing. This dialogue is not present in Chapter 8.

Trivia[]

  • In the Funimation English dub, Maka refers to the snack-bringing Thompsons as "ditzes," yet this insult is not present in the subtitles translated from the Japanese.
  • The Funimation English dub of Episode 11 features additional performances by Andrew Sensenig, Chris Burnett, Kenny Green, Linda Leonard, Lindsay Seidel, Megan Miller, Newton Pittman, and Sean Michael Teague.

References[]


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