| Synopsis |
|---|
| While members of Spartoi argue whether they should follow Death's orders to kill Crona, Maka Albarn has narrowed her search to locate their target in Italy. Meanwhile, on the Moon, Franken Stein draws upon Asura's madness to decimate the Clown Army, but not before Justin Law kills one of Kid's colleagues. |
The War on the Moon (Part 3) is the ninety-third serialized chapter of the manga Soul Eater. It was reprinted in tankōbon form in Volume 22.
Featured Appearances[]
Characters
- Maka Albarn
- Soul Eater
- Black Star
- Tsubaki Nakatsukasa
- Ox Ford
- Harvar D. Éclair
- Kim Diehl
- Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupré
- Kilik Rung
- Pot of Fire and Pot of Thunder
DWMA Moon Unit
- Death the Kid
- Liz Thompson
- Patty Thompson
- Franken Stein
- Spirit Albarn
- Marie Mjolnir
- Sid Barrett
- Dengu Dinga
- Jinn Galland
- Auntie (killed)
- Soldiers
Asura's Army
Locations
Techniques
- Soul Perception
- Wardrobe Change (first appearance)
- Flaming Moon Ring (first appearance)
Objects
- Demon Airship
- Angel's Raiment
- Pelt of the Fire Rat (first appearance)
Plot[]
Italy[]
Soul Eater asks whether Maka Albarn's Soul Perception has yet located Crona. Maka answers that some force is suppressing that soul wavelength.
Elsewhere, Kim Diehl asks her peers in Spartoi whether they truly intend to kill Crona. Harvar D. Éclair answers, "Well, that's Spartoi's mission." Black☆Star is silent. Kim expresses frustration at Harvar's answer, thinking he is too direct when this execution order is against Maka's friend. Harvar responds that his directness is because he is following an order from Death, and despite Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupré's warning to her meister, Kim asks why they should assume Death's judgments must be absolute.
Harvar responds that Death himself knows his judgments are not infallible and that people will disagree with his decisions, yet those decisions are the laws of an absolute being. "The cycle of life and death rules all beings," Harvar concludes, so they too must follow the rules of Death: "That's just how the system works." Kim turns to Ox Ford to ask whether he agrees with his "hard-ass" weapon, even if Death's target was someday Kim herself. Kim then concludes it must be that because she is a witch that she feels this empathy for Crona, but Jacqueline assures her that she is not alone.
While Black☆Star agrees that the mission is to kill Crona, he reminds his peers what Death the Kid told them: "We're the ones who decide." When he concludes his statement, he receives a response from the newly arrived Maka, who agrees that they must speak directly with Crona—and they can, now that Maka has located Crona.
The Moon[]
The Demon Airship has landed on the Moon's surface, and DWMA commandos exit. Franken Stein seems particularly impatient, as his peers notice how mad he seems. Stein inhales deeply, pleased to be "free."
Elsewhere, Kid waits for the debris to settle to see what has become of Auntie, after her suicide mission to take down the clown Moonlight. Once the debris clears, Kid and the Thompsons are surprised to see Auntie has survived and is back on her feet, ready to fight Kaguya. Kaguya is shocked someone like Auntie could defeat Moonlight.
But Kaguya does not have to worry about defeating Auntie: behind the DWMA receptionist, Justin Law has emerged, flames crackling from half of his face. Auntie senses his presence even before Kid and the Thompsons can warn her, but it is too late: Justin's guillotine has sliced her at the waist, killing her. Justin tosses her corpse down, allowing it to reform into Auntie's soul, which Justin's flames consume.
Justin has one word for Kid and his DWMA peers, the same word Kaguya had for them: "Pigs." Kid chastises Justin for defecting from the DWMA and dishonoring Death, as he promises to make Justin pay for Auntie's death. Behind Kid emerge the DWMA soldiers, while Clowns emerge behind Justin: the armies of Death and Asura prepare to battle. Justin goads Kid, telling him that without the order that powers Kid, this shinigami will be useless. But as Justin can draw upon madness, he feels, like Stein said he feels, free. Kid responds that Justin's loyalty to Asura simply shows that the defected Death Scythe is no more than a parasite, changing his allegiance whenever it best suits him. Justin replies that it is Kid who is the parasite, defiling Asura's Moon, but Kid says Asura's madness is still wafting down onto the Earth.
As Kid and Justin yell at each other, DWMA soldiers fight against the Clowns. Stein rallies his troops, reminding them that the DWMA purges madness with order. Justin is not impressed with such "big talk." Stein himself thinks about why this war is taking place, and after considering causes of previous wars, he concludes that this war has no purpose: it is only the inevitable conflict between order and madness, abstract concepts.
Stein then asks why he himself should side with order, but he reasons that, if this war has no purpose, then he may choose whatever purpose he wants—and he decides that his goal is simply "to rip things apart." Stein compares this idea of ripping things apart to opening a giftwrapped box: it is pointless to feel guilty for ruining the wrapping paper, when ruining such paper is in service to finding which gift is hidden in that box.
Stein even feels some concern for other people whom he fights. Stein also admits that, for many reasonable people, a person is not the same as an object like a box. But as he shreds two clowns, Stein remembers that he himself is not like most people because his regard for people does consider whether he should rip them apart. His concern for people is simply about how long he will delay tearing these people apart—seeming to suggest he will inevitably tear apart any person, maybe even his own friends who stand behind him.
As Stein nonchalantly kills the clowns, then adjusts his screw, the observing Spirit Albarn and Marie Mjolnir are stunned by this efficient but brutal display of violence. As Stein laughs to himself about preparing his "operating room," he asks Marie to transform into a weapon and for Spirit to provide back up in this battle.
Elsewhere, DWMA soldiers, armed with weapon partners, attack the clowns. Frustrated, Kaguya removes her Angel's Raiment, claiming her opponents "lust" for her nude body, yet just because she is unclothed and therefore seemingly unshielded does not mean that she will be a weak combatant. Kaguya performs Wardrobe Change, her shoulders and back now draped with the Pelt of the Fire Rat, with which she performs Flaming Moon Ring, a fiery attack that engulfs DWMA soldiers in flames, badly burning if not killing these soldiers. Kaguya looks pleased, claiming that while these soldiers so desire to see her, she is "the shy type" and prefers giving herself the cover of fire.
But through that fire, someone has survived, leaping forward to attack Kaguya: Death the Kid, furious at Auntie's death, attacks the "shameless" Kaguya. Kaguya mocks this "boy," asking why, if he desires to "strip" her, why he brings no gifts, even as she then claims she would not unclothe herself simply in exchange for presents. Infuriated, Kid fires at Kaguya as he shouts that the clown is already naked. Kaguya blushes, claiming the "naughty little boy" Kid is fantasizing her naked. Kid is tired of this talk, intending to silence her forever.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Spirit looks up to see a clown descending towards him and his fellow soldiers. Marie, in weapon form, senses the presence as well, as Stein holds her, leaps towards one clown on the ground, and with one swing knocks his head off, before continuing his assault on more clowns. Marie calls to Stein, sensing something wrong with him. Stein's eyeglasses have elongated vertically under the influence of the madness. A fearful Spirit recognizes that, while he is here to defeat Asura, he is seeing Stein coming to resemble a Kishin himself.
Manga and Anime Differences[]
- In this chapter, Marie Mjolnir fears that Franken Stein is falling into madness, with Spirit Albarn worried that Stein is becoming like a Kishin. Ultimately, as shown in subsequent chapters, Stein remains on the side of the DWMA despite feeling the effects of Asura's madness. In the anime, however, Stein not only falls into the madness of Asura, he is coerced into Medusa's Army before Marie mitigates his madness with her Healing Wavelength and brings him back to alliance with the DWMA. As well, whereas in this chapter Stein, under madness, has his glasses elongated, in the anime, he does not have such exaggerated changes, instead simply appearing more sinister with his usual grin.
Trivia[]
- The Yen Press English translation misspells the word "infallible" during Harvar's conversation with Kim.[1]
- Kaguya's Pelt of the Fire Rat refers to the Japanese folktale, "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter," also known as "Princess Kaguya." In this tale, Kaguya asks her five princely suitors to bring her a rare treasure, one of which is the pelt of the fire rat.[2]