I love Soul Eater. My first time reading was the digital versions of the original comic's run.
Later I decided to purchase Soul Eater physically. After some determining, I decided on buying the Perfect Editions for the price save and larger format.
The perfect editions came with a lot more differences than I knew of. Some of these aren't documented anywhere, so I will try to put as many as I have found below, using the first volume as an example.
Covers
You don't actually lose the front cover artwork, as it is displayed at the beginning of the second chapter in each volume.
Each back cover of the original run features many miniature sketches that add some personality to the volumes. These are removed.
Page Quality
The originals are made out of the same type of paper as most manga. Perfect Edition's is glossy. Its so much of a difference in quality that I find myself cautiously turning each page so as to not tear an edge.
Size
Length
Each volume of Soul Eater Perfect Edition contains 1.5 volumes of the original run.
| Volume Amount | |
|---|---|
| Soul Eater : | 25 |
| Perfect Edition : | 16 |
Translation
(Before --> After)
'Shinigami-Sama' is changed to 'Lord Death'.
'Shinigami Chop' is now 'Reaper Chop'
- Some sentences have been reworked to either flow differently or to change ways of speaking.
- Instead of being refered to as 'he', Crona is now a 'they'.
- Onomatopoeia is written inside text bubbles when available.
- The translation notes at the end of each volume are gone.
Color Pages
At the beginning of most chapters, you get 1-2 pages of colored art. Some of these are from the original run, with them now being colored.
Removed Extra Bits
These are what--in my eyes--stops the Perfect Edition from being, well, the perfect edition.
Atsushi-Ya, a 2-3 page comic placed at the end of each volume, is removed.
Each entry would be either wacky short comedic skits or the author writing about how Soul Eater's production is doing, like getting voice actors for the Anime adaptation.
At the beginning of each volume, there would be a unique little sentence surrounding the SOUL. These are removed.
