Horror of Witches
So one of Soul Eater's more halfbaked concept is the conflict between Death and Witches, and what it actually means.
Sure, we have Witch antagonists, but we're never really given a full look into the history of this conflict. We are instead just shown normal people's hatred and distrust, and while the manga acknowledges that this kind of phobia is wrong, it at the same time its kinda afraid to really explore the other side of the coin. To show us WHY people in universe have VERY good reasons to be utterly terrified of witches.
However, there is one moment that nails this idea. Where it uses Soul Eater's delving into horror tones, to tell the story of a single witch destroying an entire family. Namely Medusa's possession of Rachel.
In the Manga, this is a very creepy moment, but it's not anythign special.
The anime though, took this very basic possession scene, and made it a showcase of exactly why witches are FEARED in this universe.
It begins the same in both versions, with young rachel running off from her mother to chase a dog(currently possessed by Medusa) because she, a young child wants to pet the doggo.
And as any good old european fairy tale, the young child is punished for doing what she is not supposed to, by supernatural means, namely Medusa body hopping from the dog to her.
Her Mom then takes her home, oblivious that something horrible has happened.
What i love about the way the anime does this, as opposed to the manga, is that this isnt as simple as Medusa just erasing Rachel's will and taking over. That's what happens in the Manga, but here there is something much, much more disturbing going on.
Namely a battle of the mind, not too disimilar to the fight Tsubaki had with her brother.
Medusa's fight with Rachel is showcased on the Tv, where instead of the tv program Rachel's mom thinks her daughter is watching, Rachel's eyes are instead glued to something else, which we the audience gets to see.
We get to see Rachel's mind scape shown on the tv, as the same scene plays over again, and again, with the same words repeated ad nausea.
An apple, an apple, an apple, an apple, an apple-
I love how if you have payed attention to how this world works, you will pick up on the fact that this creepy scene isnt just some random TV scene that RAchel happened to watch, as it first appears.
No this is something deeply personal to her. Her soul. Just as Tsubaki's soulscape is a blue sky and the surface of an ocean, this orchard of apples is Rachel's.
It's just her, and the apples, her soul represented by the golden ribbon, and the red by what she wants, the things that make her happy, her mom, her dad, her love for her mom's cocking, her dog.
then it flashes to something else. suddenly the random girl is gone, replaced fully with Rachel herself, and in the tree, a snake. A black Snake with Golden arrow markings.
the scene repeats itself as the girl climbs up the tree, until suddenly, the snake sliters over, and into the girls face, dissapearing from sight as it enters into Rachel.
The symbolism here is very clear too. Medusa is the snake in Rachel's garden of Eden, but what is most important here, is that it's not the apple that is portrayed as the bad thing here, no that is Medusa. The orchard and the little girl was doing just fine, until Medusa FORCED herself into it withouth the girl being able to do anything about it.
Even if the watcher has completely forgotten about the fight between the two siblings from so long ago, it's still a very disturbing scene, but what i find the most interesting is how this section of the fight between Rachel and Medusa ends.
Because rather than coming to a decisive conclusion, it's instead interrupted by Rachel's mom telling her daughter to turn off the TV, which is so strong in Rachel's mind, that it forces Medusa to instead fall back to telling rachel to be a good girl, and listen to her mother, because Medusa isnt strong enough to just break Rachel's will.
She needs time, and in the end, it's rachel's mom who buys her that time.
Then, after the sun has gone down, and the parents have gone to sleep, Rachel and Medusa are still battling it out in Rachel's mind, the worries that something seems... Off about Rachel today being the last words before they fall asleep.
But of course, Medusa IS surely going to win this contest. There was no questions about that. Her, and ancient and powerful witch, against a what, 6-8 year old girl? With no particular training to thriumph in such a contest to begin with.
There was no way this was going to end with Rachel expelling Medusa with her own strenght of will.
And so, after having achieved what she determines is a sufficient level of control, Medusa goes to the parents bedroom, very, very clearly planning to murder both of them...
Only for Rachel, upon seeing her parents, to completely regain control, and throw herself on her parents bed crying, about a scary snake that was gobbling her up whole
This is a surprising moment, but also very much in line with Soul Eater's themes.
Alone, Rachel stood no chance... But with her parents at her side, even she was able to draw out the strength to keep Medusa at bay.
Against all odds, Rachel managed to stave off Medusa, winning back complete control over her body, and she is rewarded for that by her parents tucking her in at night, thinking she had a bad dream, and in response giving her their unconditional love.
So long as she has that, she will win.
So having suffered a surprising defeat, Medusa pulls back and looks for another strategy... and she finds it during breakfast next morning.
She confronts Rachel with the reality that her mom's coocking, which the little girl adores because she loves her mom, is simple and bland.
It's really not much, but it immediatly sows seeds of doubt in Rachel's young heart, allowing Medusa to once more gain control, if not fully.
However, she then finds herself being forced to put her current battle with Rachel on hold, as she realises her big sis Arachne is spying on her through a spider in the kitchen, which she kills by grabbing it, and then squishing it in a fist...
An action which completely freaks out Rachel's mom.
Medusa then decides to leave, not because she wants to, or feels ready, but because of necessity. she has to leave before her sister makes another move while she is still weak.
It's a very precarious position, as as it is, Rachel could break her control at any moment, which for obvious reasons makes it precarious to use this body for combat.
However, Rachel's mom then grabs her before she can leave, and terrified of her daughter's actions and weird, weird behavior asks her a logical question... That in Rachel's young mind, currently balancing on a knife's edge no doubt sounds like her mom is questioning her love for her, the same love she used to take back control the previous night.
And just like that, Medusa wins.
With that decisive moment of doubt in Rachel's heart, She takes full control over Rachel's body, and using her own voice now coming out of Rachel's mouth, mocks her mom by telling her that her little girl was easy to manipulate as she, something unnatural has come into her home, and taken her baby from her.
She has broken this woman's entire life, and is so happy about it. This is what "The pull of Magic", Every Witch's natural inclination for causing destruction actually looks like to most people in this universe.
It's a great scene, showcasing How even at her weakest, Medusa is still a great villain, but this moment also illustrates so, SO well why the average population of Soul Eater FEARS Witches.
Withes are capable of terrifying magic in this universe... But this isnt that.
This is a witch, using low level magic, at her weakest, DESTROYING a family, out of nowhere with no problems. This could happen Anywhere in the world, at any time, but the fact that this is happening here, in Death City, in the heart of the world order that exists speciffically to kill witches so this very thing doesnt happen, and Death was unable to do anything about it, really showcases the kind of horror witches are actually capable of inflicting upon the world.
You are not safe. anywhere. your protectors cannot sense us. we can infiltrate anywhere as we please, and you cannot do anything to stop it.
I really wish we got more of it, becuase this scene fleshes out just how terrifying Witches actually are.
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