Death

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Shinigami (死神; Literally meaning "death god"), referred to with the suffix -sama as a term of respect, and formerly known as "Death" (デス, Desu) is the Shinigami himself (the Grim Reaper in Western legends). He is also called 'honorable father' (父上, chichiue) by his son, Death the Kid. Shinigami sealed the first Kishin Asura (His first son, created from the Fear he took out of his soul) under Shibusen and rooted his own soul to Death City to keep him sealed, which is why he cannot leave Death City. In the English dub of the anime, he is always referred to as "Lord Death."

Appearance

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Shinigami

Shinigami sports probably the most eccentric appearance among the Soul Eater characters. He appears as a tattered piece of pitch black cloth with many jagged edges, decorated with a cartoonish skull mask, which seems to serve the sole purpose of imitating an otherwise absent face—a means of rendering Shinigami more humanoid and thus making it more comfortable for humans to communicate with him. It has not been shown what he looks like without the mask on, but since his son appears as a human, Shinigami may also have a human appearance. This possibility is supported by Mosquito′s comments in chapter 53 regarding the Lines of Sanzu. However, the very shape of the black cloth and the spectacular properties of his arms and hands suggest a non-human nature of his physical host. Shinigami′s mask has broken on several occasions during his battles with Asura, however, rather than revealing his actual face, it merely appears that what is behind the mask is the same black cloth. The shape of the mask changes to convey his current mood, e.g. round eye sockets become triangular at moments of anger or seriousness. Also, Shinigami is arguably among the tallest characters.

Shinigami during his fight with Asura, the first Kishin.

Shinigami's soul is vast enough to surround whole Death City, and is of pale yellow color. Its orb features three prominent spikes set off-center, resembling the shape of his current mask.

In the past, Shinigami sported a much more intimidating look. He wore a grim-looking skull mask, which he had to abandon after the establishment of Shibusen in favor of children, who were scared of it and would flee on sight. He also had black claws instead of hands with his signature “Death” written on the right forearm, and a deep, menacing voice. He has been shown to have skeleton hands during the scene of flaying of Asura.

Personality

“	If you don't shut up I'm going to use my Reaper Chop to split your head open!	”
—Shinigami, Episode1

In most cases, Shinigami comes off as a bit of a joker with a cheerful demeanor. He also prefers to be optimistic and treats every situation as such. He also has a great sense of humor.

Shinigami's usual punishment

He has a special move called a "Direct Noggin Shinigami Chop" (which is normally shown when Shinigami shows his large flat four-fingered hand appearing from his robe; often called Shinigami Chop for short). This move is normally administered on Spirit whenever Shinigami refuses to put up with the Death Scythe's antics when it comes to Maka or her progress. He has a habit of giving warnings to people about to be punished with it after the punishment was carried out. He also seems to take on a more playful attitude when talking with his son (he says the stripes in his son's hair are cute), but at the same time thinks he can be quite the handful and is glad that Patti and Liz look after him. As the headmaster of Shibusen, he is highly respected by teachers as well as students, not only because of his great power, but for his desire for peace in the world. It is for this reason, that Shibusen was created. Despite his past and his powerful position in the school, he tends to be kiddish and joyful as to not scare the children.

Death accidently scaring children with his old appearance

Shinigami also seems to be a understanding & lenient individual, contrasting to the the general people thinking of him as a strict person who is bound by rules. Many people are surprised at his reactions to serious matters and anticipate him to be more strict. During the discussion on how to deal with Angela, he was surprisingly okay with proposals on how to deal with her potential Sway of Magic and seem to have no problem helping her out, to the surprise of Kim, Tsubaki, and Jackie. In another instance, he only demanded a apology after Stein and Marie confessed to "breaking regulation" and Spirit being a accomplice, and then letting it go. However, he does have a limit. He wasn't above punishing Maka for using a Level 4 book and after Crona killed the Deathscythe and his miester stationed in Russia, he put him on his list of those to can be executed, despite Maka's pleas.

However, Shinigami has shown to have flaws. And has sometimes called himself on on this. Asura had revealed that Death created him to become a more perfect Shinigami. This is somewhat resembles Death the Kid's initial, humorous quest for correcting anything that is Asymmetrical, except it's not as low-key. And because of this, he inadvertently created what will be later known as a Kishin. Shinigami also explained that he thought he would be able to rule alongside Asura so that Fear and Order can coexist without problems. And compared him doing so to Medusa experimenting, saying that his actions isn't far off from what Medusa did to Crona. He's also shown to regret these actions, as he realizes that despite his immense power, he is unable to move outside Death City and put the problems he's helped created on other's shoulder. It's because of this he worked hard to teach Kid to not make the same mistakes he made.

Azusa once mention that Death was also stubborn, a trait which is seen also in his son. In the anime during the Battle between Death City's mech and Baby Yaga's Spider Mech , Kid's comments suggest that he is also somewhat reckless.

Relationships

Due to his status as the Grim Reaper and his vast wealth, he's a well known figure & icon in Soul Eater. Possibly the biggest. He's known as a World Ruler(though is very low-key about it) and the one who leads Shibusen. Many of his supporters follow him with great pride, almost blindly. Many of his enemies, however, see him as a ruler who dictates life. Many also seem to fear him, as most of his enemies never directly confront him. This extends to even his own staff and students, who don't often like to tell Shinigami certain things, fearing he might go with a decision they don't desire due to his status and strictness, overestimating his judgments on matter.

Family

Death the Kid

Death the Kid is Shinigami's son and heir. There are few scenes between the two, but Shinigami seems to get along well with Kid and encourages him and his partners to succeed. Shinigami is confused by Kid's obsessions, but tends to ignore them. Shinigami is confident enough in his son's skills to - if a little reluctantly - assign a three-star mission to him at the start of the series. When Brew causes one of Kid's Sanzu Lines to connect, Shinigami seems genuinely pleased at his son's progress. (Even if it does seem to affect his health in a negative way). When discussing his sons with Excalibur he shows great pride in Kid becoming a fully realized Shinigami and confidence he will be a fantastic one. In Chapter 110, Shinigami died when Kid becomes a real God and cheered him on as he connected the final Sanzu Line. Despite their differences, Shinigami loves his son. In the anime version however, their relationship is slightly strained when Kid gets supspicious of what Shinigami is planning to do with the Demon Tools. This causes Kid to slightly distrust him and so he also becomes withdrawn and distant towards Shinigami. Kid later in the series begun to distrust him more when Shinigami made a deal with Medusa, making Kid more withdrawn and distant towards Shinigami. Shinigami started to feel sadden over Kid not trusting him, with that reason being the only time he shed a tear in the anime version. Kid stopped feeling distrust towards him when Shinigami finally revealed what he planned on using the Demon Tools for. In the end, Kid felt gulity for not trusting him and felt partially responsible for Shinigami losing to Asura, since it was because Shinigami used his own body as a shield to protect Kid from Asura's attack that he lost.

Asura

“	You filthy, unforgivable swine! That's it, I'M GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE AGAIN!!!	”
—Shinigami, To Asura

Shinigami skinning Asura

Despite Asura being his son, Shinigami has a very powerful hatred towards Asura, and the two treat each other as mortal enemies. Originally, however, the two were once great comrades, and Asura has even recounted a friendship between them prior to Kishinizing(Possibly a normal father/son relationship). Shinigami valued Asura as a very valuable part of his personal guard and saw him as the most skilled and powerful out of all the Eight Powerful Warriors. However, he also acknowledged him as the most frightened one as well, and the one most obsessed with power. When Asura succeeded in becoming the first Kishin, Shinigami hunted him down and defeated him without hesitation. As a punishment he skinned him and sealed him in a bag made from his skin and rooted his soul to spot where he hid him. When Asura is revived, the two do not actually jump into battle immediately, and Shinigami decides to first have a friendly conversation with the Kishin. Even Asura participates for a short time. However, Shinigami then cuts the politeness and engages Asura. When in battle with Asura, Shinigami completely drops his usual demeanor, uses his real voice, and looks at Asura with a fiercely angry expression on his mask. The only time Shinigami has ever been shown to be so enraged that he actually becomes frightening is when he is in battle with Asura. When referring to Asura, Shinigami still believes that he is a coward and knows that he is reluctant to do any damage individually. The two also have completely opposite opinions of humanity, peace, and how the world should function. When Asura believes that mankind's greatest weakness is their imagination, Shinigami believes that it is their greatest strength, for example. Shinigami's opinion towards Asura's view of these ideals is that of believing that they would drown mankind in despair, and that they are of useless nonsense of no other significant outcome to following them but destruction, recklessness, and even more fear. Ultimately the two are complete opposites, and Shinigami feels nothing but disgust and betrayal from Asura. However, Shinigami seem to feel regret for putting all his fear into Asura and stated that he has no right to judge Medusa as he used his own son for an experiment.

Partner

Shinigami with Spirit ready to combat

Spirit aka Death Scythe

Spirit is Shinigami's Weapon partner, the current Death Scythe. Shinigami is disapproving of Spirit's flirtatious behavior and occasionally reprimands him by way of a Shinigami Chop. They do seem to share a sense of humor however, shown during their meeting with Medusa in which they ignored the witch - much to her distaste - in favor of discussing children's underwear. When Spirit was panicking about being fired following Asura's escape, Shinigami told him he needed to have more confidence in himself.

Eight Powerful Warriors

Eibon

Shinigami and Eibon have only ever been shown acting formally and friendly to one another. Shinigami is familiar with a lot of Eibon's past, and seems to acknowledge that he has been through much unhappiness. In the past, Shinigami seemed to be concerned for Eibon, and pleaded with him to not try to achieve immortality for his dying wife, and that even if he did so that he would find nothing but grief and sorrow after his triumphal over death. Eibon then ignored Shinigami and found as much, and forever resented not taking his advice. The two still appear to share a friendship, and Eibon even assists Shinigami in trying to stop Asura. Shinigami seems to be very secretive about his relationship with Eibon, and usually avoids speaking about it. It is possible that he does this in an effort to not have others find out that he befriended someone who is commonly viewed as an ally of Witches.

Excalibur

Shinigami does not actually see Excalibur as very annoying as others do, rather, as an old ally and acquaintance. This is probably because Excalibur acts substantially more seriously and rationally around Shinigami. Evidently his trust in Excalibur is the reason why Shinigami asks him to look over Kid after the battle with Asura, after he is gone.

Shibusen

Maka Albarn

Maka seems to be the meister at the DWMA that Shinigami respects the most. He has shown to have great confidence and pride in her, often trusting her with important tasks, and gets annoyed with Spirit when he makes irritating comments regarding Maka. He always congratulates Maka on her achievements and is very proud of her hard work at the academy, of her highly advanced Soul Perception abilities, and of her ability to master and learn difficult techniques, such as the 'Genie Hunter'. However he is not beyond punishing her once she has done something wrong, such as when Maka takes a level four book from the library to research Medusa and the black blood. Although, it is never actually shown how he punishes her, and he still respects her enough to reserve her punishment until later so she can help with saving Kid. It may even be possible he forgave her, as she is never shown going through any punishment after Kid's rescue. Shinigami's reaper chop is similar to Maka chop.

Arachnophobia

Arachne

While much of their history is unknown, Arachne is one of the few witches known to personally fight Death and survive. He seems to show hostility to her like any opponents 800 years ago and even called her a "whorish swine", showing vulgarity that contrast to his present attitude.

While they may be enemies, he surprisingly was somewhat concern of her well-being, citing that she was too damage and was probably dying. He also showed a concern face. It is unknown why he showed such concern toward Arachne.

Powers & Abilities

“	What? Seriously? You seriously believe you can beat me? It's a shame but, the battle was decided the moment that you were brought here.	”
—Shinigami, To Asura when latter was about to attack

Shinigami's soul encompassing Death City

• God-Like Combatant: Shinigami is by far one of the most powerful characters in the series — with Asura and Mabaa being the only other characters that could possibly match him in power, and among those two, only Asura could actually defeat him in combat (anime only; it is important to note, that Shinigami's defeat was due to Asura attack on Death the Kid. Shinigami used his own body to shield his son from Asura's blast, which led to his defeat) and he really believes that he is the most powerful character. His Power is so immense that he was able to defeat Asura by skinning him alive, who is his equal and has been seen giving the Main Cast a thrashing in the Manga, despite their power ups. Sid has stated that with his power, a serious fight between Death and Asura can level the city.

• Godly Wavelength: Another testament to his power is size of his soul wavelength. When Maka used her Soul Perception ability on the Shinigami, she was unable to see his soul, but what she didn't realize is that Shinigami's soul wavelength is so large that it covers the entirety of Death City.

• Madness (発狂, Hakkyō): As the former leader and founder of the Great Old Ones, Shinigami is a tremendously powerful god-like entity that presides over one of the pursuits that drives men towards madness, which in his particular case is the quest for "Order". Kid has said this Madness has the ability to suppress one's emotions and become a mere puppet. However, Kid states his father never used this because he believed even with Asura's Insanity Madness, people wouldn't succumb to it.

• Death God Powers: Death seems to have some sort of abilities as a Death God. Though not magic, his powers are shown to be somewhat magical-like. His son, Death the Kid, has also displayed similar abilities.
  • Seals: He has the ability to place seals, Such as when he bound Asura to what would later be known as Death City. Its implied they weaken overtime since they were made.

Death's Seals

• • Mass/Size Manipulation: Shinigami is also seen with the ability to change his size and shape. This is seen when he is damaged by Asura and is left with holes in him. It is also seen in his second fight in the anime with Asura when he uses numerous punches from afar, and also enlarges the palm of his left hand to block an attack.
  • Konso: Grim Reapers like Death The Kid & Shinigami can store Souls within themselves without actually consuming them.
  • Soul Confiscation: Death has the ability to confiscate souls collected by weapon(Whether its a Human or Evil(Kishin Egg in anime)

Shinigami "Jets"

• • Shinigami Jets: This has yet to be confirmed to be an ability for Shinigami or just an item at his disposal. Either way, it has been shown to give him the ability to fly.
  • Magical Hands: Shinigami's hands are very strong and are able to deflect Asura's energy blasts. He normally does not display hands, they appear at his sides when he is attacking or defending with them. He can alter their size to make them large enough to cover his entire body. He is also able to hold up a hand behind his skull shield, strengthening it's defensive capabilities and serving as a backup defense for if it is breached.
  • Elasticity: Death has the ability to stretch his arms and various parts of his body to incredible distances.
  • Barrier: Death has the ability to create barriers.

Maka calling Shinigami

• • Mirror Interaction: Shinigami has he ability to interact with people in various ways using the mirror in his chamber as a medium. Anyone who wishes to speak with him can create a communication link to his mirror by inscribing the numbers 42-42-564 (shini-shini-goroshi), which literally means death-death-murder (死に死に殺し) in Japanese, on any ordinary mirror. A scene in the DWMA Anniversary arc suggests he can also pass through mirrors to return to his chamber, under normal circumstances. He can also watch the outside world in a manner similar to watching TV.
  • Limited Materialization: It seems Death has the ability to materialize objects from seemingly nowhere such as Mandolins, his hands, and Contracts.
  • Limited Shapeshifting: It seems Death has the ability to shapeshift. He was able to shapeshift his hands into cat paws.

• High Magical Intellect: In a scene in the DWMA Anniversary Arc, he was seen familiar with Spatial Magic that entrapped him and his fellow allies. He also gave Death the Kid BREW, the result of Eibon's research to immortality and Arachne's negative research. He seems to have understood the capabilities of BREW, which is why he entrusted it to his son . He was even aware of Eibon's Chapters in the Book of Eibon.

• Soul Studies Master: Being the Grim Reaper, he has a high amount of knowledge of Souls. He is also the one who is able to judge them before putting evil souls on a list. He normally, along with Stein, is the character who provides the explanations of anything related to the topic. It should be noted that he was able to thoroughly explain how the Demon Weapons were created, even detailing it to a sscientific level, displaying much intellect in the subject.

• Soul Perception: Like many of the Staff members and EAT Students, its possible he has the ability to utilize this technique. His sons both are gifted in using this ability. In the Manga, he is the only character who was able to distinguish a good human soul from a evil one.

• Versatile Meister: Although he was never shown in manga he must posses skill to wield all Death Scythes despite their various forms like a sniper crossbow, a hammer or even a magical lamp.

• Fragments: It has been revealed that he is able to create other Shinigamis(Asura and Death the Kid) by using his own soul. How he does this is unknown.

• Soul link with Death City: As he has linked his soul to the city, he shares a special bond with it which he can manifest in special ways. Drawback of this skill is fact that he can't leave City because of it. In the Anime, he uses this connection and the combination of BREW to turn it into a mech.

Shinigami's Sanzu Lines.

• Lines of Sanzu: Not much is known about the Lines of Sanzu. It shares a connection between Shinigami and Death the Kid. When Death the Kid taps into this abilities, he gains the abilities of those from Shinigami. Also, whenever Death the Kid taps into this, Shinigami experiences pain. It has been shown that Shinigami does, indeed, have 3 Lines connected. And it was also revealed the Lines of Sanzu allows a shinigami to tap into their true power, which is the "Madness of Order".

Techniques

Stand-Alone Techniques

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Shinigami Chop

• Shinigami Chop: This is one of Shinigami's signature moves. He strikes at his target like a regular chop, but with enough power to strike down powerful foes. This attack had enough power to hit Asura into the ground and cause a small crater upon impact.

• Direct Noggin Shinigami Chop: less brutal and more comical variation of Shinigami Chop used solely in punishing people's silly antics. Shinigami refrains from using his full power, so it only causes little to no damage at all. Though the blow will often leave a large temporary dent in the victim's head and hair.

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Hand Hole Energy Blast

• Absorption: He is able to open a void in his hand which is able to swallow energy blasts. As he demonstrates this ability while wielding Spirit in the other hand, and not in the original battle, it may be that he requires a weapon partner to do this, or adequate preparation for the blast to open it, which he was not able to do when caught by surprise by Asura's first attack.

• Shockwaves: Shinigami used a blast of energy to counter one of Asura's attacks. After stopping the attack, shockwaves traveled down Asura's skin scarfs and attacked him directly. Asura called this shockwaves, or he may have been referring to the nature of the attack.

• Shadow Skull Arms: Shinigami calls out four shadowy claws from his body, with black skulls at the end of them. The nature of this attack is unknown since it failed to connect. It can be assumed that the attack probably slashes or grabs an opponent. Before Shinigami used this attack, he said he would rip off Asura's skin again, suggesting this may have been the attack he used to rip off Asura's skin in the first place.

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Skull Shield

• Skull Shield: Shinigami creates a shield that resembles his mask to protect himself. He can also use the shield offensively, as he used it to try and crush Asura in his fight with him.

Combination Techniques with Spirit

Shinigami performing Kishin Hunter

• Kishin Hunt: In anime, he can perform this attack with Spirit. It is possibly the most powerful form a scythe-weapon can assume. It is unknown what the attack's capabilities are, but it can be assumed it is effective in killing immortals like Kishin Asura. He could possibly use the attacks that precede the Kishin Hunt.

• Soul Wavelength Beam: While never done by Death himself(instead by a Shibusen Soldier), With Spirit at Hand, he is able to fire a Wavelength Beam.

• Radiation Range: Spirit can utilize his ability to read a Meister's Wavelength and produce a wave using that Meister's Wavelength(Radiation Range). With Shinigami's Wavelength, the attack can be assumed to be very powerful

Soul link with Death City Techniques

• Coffee Table Flip: Using Death City Mech he is able to flip large objects as shown in his fight with Mosquito.
• Eye Poke: Using Death City Mech, Shinigami is able to perform the martial art move when one uses two fingers & pokes one in both of the eyes.

History

Grim Times

Spoiler Warning: Spoiler details may follow.

Shinigami (800 Years Ago) hunting Arachne

800 years prior to the start of the series, the Shinigami wore a normal skull mask, black claws, with his signature written on one, and had a deep, menacing voice.

At an unknown time, Shinigami had visited the Lost Island, an area Witches had used as a construction facility for Demon Tools. As it turns out, Shinigami was lured to the island by witch Arachne. After she had obtained Eibon's blueprints, she planned to blow up the facility along with everything related to Brew and presumably kill Shinigami. Somehow, Shinigami survived/escaped the explosion.

Later, Shinigami fought and hunted Arachne after she had killed a member of her kind and used the soul to join a human and weapon together to create the first Demon Weapon. Arachne escaped by separating herself into small spiders and spread across the lands.

In the past he lead 8 warriors, now he is one of 5 remaining

Before the start of the series, Shinigami lead a group of 8 Meisters and Weapon partners, known as the Eight Powerful Warriors, to hunt down witches and prevent Kishin from being born. Among the group was his son, Asura. He had created him from the fear within his soul in an effort to become a more "perfect" Shinigami. He was regarded as the strongest, as well as the most feared and suspicious, of the group. Overwhelmed by fear, Asura became addicted to power and followed the path of the Kishin, leading him to consume his own weapon and numerous pure souls without regard. This ultimately led to Shinigami ripping all of his skin off and sealing Asura away inside a bag made of it. The process of sealing Asura forced Shinigami to root his own Soul to the ground ultimately preventing him from leaving the general radius of the spot. Afterward, he built what is now known as Death City and Shibusen to prevent the birth of another Kishin.

Later in the story, it's revealed that, 800 years ago, Shinigami removed "fear" from his soul to create another shinigami with the purpose of ruling alongside him. Asura was born from the "fear" of his soul.

Post Kishin's Sealing

Under his rule, there are currently 8 active Death Scythes in the world. 7 of 8 are normally stationed in different parts of the world, as Shinigami's eyes, ears, and if need be, on call support Weapon for himself or a highly trained Meister. The strongest Death scythe (ironically the only one that is an actual scythe other than Soul) stays with him at Shibusen. That Death Scythe being Spirit, Maka's Father.

Part in The Story

Prologue

Soul Eater Evans

After Maka collects her ninety-ninth evil human soul, she calls upon Shinigami to inform him on this achievement. He congratulates her and warns her of the dangers involved with hunting down witches. He then sees them off. When Spirit keeps making annoying comments, Shinigami threatens to administer a Direct Noggin Shinigami Chop.

Later on, Shinigami is seen watching the battle between Maka and Blair. When Spirit attempts to go save his daughter, Shinigami stops him. Maka would soon manage to defeat Blair. Soul Eater then consumes the soul, but much to his dismay, it was not a witch soul, but a cat soul. Shinigami confiscated all the souls they had collected, forcing Soul and Maka to resume their quest anew.

Black☆Star

Black☆Star and Tsubaki appear to Shinigami after their failed mission. Tsubaki apologizes for their inability to obtain more souls, despite being partnered for an extended period of time. Shinigami then proposes a "shortcut"--a way to obtain the 99 evil souls and 1 witch soul. He begins to explain to them that Alcapone and his gang of around 100 men are going after the Witch Angela Leon and her bodyguard Mifune.

Death The Kid

Kid calls upon his father to report in on his mission. Once he appears, he immediately compliments Kid's three stripes on his hair, despite Kid's discomfort with it. The topic then shifts to Kid being a Shinigami, so he does not need to raise weapons. Kid simply responds by saying he wishes to create his own weapons to his own specifications. Shinigami replies by saying he will have to collect twice as many souls for his two weapons. Kid replies that he will take all the souls at once. With this, Shinigami sends him on a mission in the country of Egypt to take care of the Necromancer Witch and the wandering souls of Pyramid of Anubis.

Kid, however, despite completing the mission, literally destroys the Pyramid. As punishment Shinigami confiscates all of Kid's souls.

Extra Lessons

Shinigami calls Maka, Soul, Black☆Star, and Tsubaki to his room. There he tells them about a mission he wants them to take extra lessons. When Maka and Soul express their disapproval, he reminds them of their duties, and that they all have accumulated a total of zero souls.

Shinigami begins by informing them about Sid Barett, a former teacher who who died, turned into a zombie, and began attacking students. He tells them the reason he attacks students and about the man who is responsible for Sid's transformation. Finally, Shinigami wraps things up by threatening to expel them should they fail.

Shinigami is later seen watching the students battle Sid through his mirror. Kid eventually appears. They soon discuss who it was that killed Sid and turned him into a zombie. Later, when the culprit is revealed to be Dr. Stein, Shinigami explains that not only was the current Death Scythe, Spirit, originally raised by Stein but that he was the strongest student to ever graduate from Shibusen.

Later, Shinigami and Kid are both commenting on the battle between Stein and the students. Kid is noticeably surprised by Stein's feats while Shinigami simply explains everything to Kid. Kid is soon unable to watch the onslaught brought on by Stein and wishes to aid them, but is stopped by his father, who states that this is for Shibusen students. Kid then decides that, henceforth, he will be a Shibusen student.

Pre-Kishin

Shinigami appears on Kid's first day of school to pick him up. Seeing Kid on the floor, passed out, reminds Shinigami how much of a handful Kid can be.

Shinigami is talking with Tsubaki Nakatsukasa about the Demon Sword Masamune Nakatsukasa who is walking the path of a Kishin. He asks if she is ready for the mission. Tsubaki accepts it. Shinigami is later talking to Stein about Masamune. Stein believes he should be the one sent for the mission. Shinigami replies that, since the Demon Blade is Tsubaki's brother, it takes precedence over him being a threat to Shibusen. In Shinigami's next scene, he is watching the battle. When Kid asks what happens, Shinigami asks Stein to explain.

When Black☆Star and Tsubaki return from their mission, they are surprised to see their friends there, waiting for them, to congratulate them for obtaining their first soul.

Sometime later, Shinigami is visited by his son, Kid, after his mission. Kid feels that, as a Shinigami, he must inquire about "The Kishin closest to us". He feels that it is related to his father being unable to move from Shibusen.

Foundation Commemoration

Kid brings everyone's attention to Shinigami, so he may give a speech; though Shinigami simply thanks everyone for their efforts and calls that his speech.

Eventually, Medusa enacts her plan and manages to seal Shinigami into the party room. Kirikou then proposes that Shinigami escape through a mirror. Shinigami responds that it is impossible, as the space is isolated from the rests of the world. In the next scene, Shinigami is discussing with Sid, who confirms that Medusa was a Witch. Shinigami soon commands the attention of the children in the room and origins explaining to them the origins of the Kishin who was sealed beneath Shibusen.

When the children sent to stop Medusa fail, resulting in the awakening of Asura. Asura quickly escapes from his imprisonment and into the sky of Shibusen, where he is greeted by Shinigami. The two exchange dialogue concerning each others change of appearance. The conversation ends when Shinigami threatens to "kill" him again and delivers a Shinigami Chop, sending Asura spiraling down and crashing into the ground below. Asura only laughs, and tells Shinigami how he forgot how painful it was to have all his skin ripped off. He asks Shinigami to help him remember the pain as he sends his scarves of skin towards Shinigami. Shinigami counters by blasting away the scarfs, sending down a shockwave that travels to and damage Asura. Asura recovers, and propels himself to Shinigami, intent on drilling through him with his weapon. Shinigami summons a shield to block the attack, but it is quickly overcome and Shinigami is subsequently run through by Asura. Livid, Shinigami threatens to rip Asura's skin off once more and summons his Shadow Skull Arms. Before they could reach Asura, they are repelled by the very same force preventing Shinigami from leaving Death City. Before escaping, Asura tells Shinigami that he predicts they will never meet again, and with that he leaves Shinigami along with Death City behind as he ascends through to the skies.

As Asura leaves, the dark clouds that surrounded Shibusen clear up. Shinigami settles onto the ground, with Sid awaiting him. Shinigami tells Sid that the children underground are the highest priority and also tells him to contact all Death Scythes in the world to meet at Death City.

Daily Life

Four Death Scythes and Stein discussing current situation.

Shinigami is with Sid, who informs him of the 3 Death Scythes who answered the call and the remaining who could not. Later, Justin is sorrowfully asking Shinigami why he is not speaking to him, until his earphones are kicked off by Spirit. With that settled, Shinigami thanks all the Death Scythes who made it and begins to bring them up-to-speed with the current situation of Asura. After the explanation, he forbids Spirit from leaving Shibusen and, to strengthen Shibusen, he partners Stein with Marie. He also delegates Azusa with the task of using her vision to search for Asura, while simultaneously taking over Marie's position of Death Scythe of Australia. Finally, he leaves Justin with no special task aside from living happily, with a sense to kill. He dismisses everyone, but tells Spirit to stay. In Spirit's flashback, Shinigami tells him to keep a close eye on Stein.

Trial Run

Sid, asks Shinigami what they should do with Crona. Shinigami tells him to start a trial period starting the next day. Later, Shinigami asks Sid about Crona's condition, who replies that Crona is coming along fine. As such, he partnered Crona with Maka to investigate an incident of a Golem attacking people. Shinigami is surprised, and tells Sid to call Stein so that he can hear his opinion. Stein soon answers his call and tells Shinigami that The golem is possessed by Arachne. Stein proposes himself to be sent, but Shinigami stops, for he has already sent Justin.

Shinigami cogitates about the sudden news of Arachne, and recalls his battle against her during the Grim Times. Shinigami admits he never considered Arachne would separate herself into tiny spiders to hide the fact that she was alive. He worries that he now has to face Asura and Arachne.

Pre-Brew

Shinigami congratulates Sid and Nygus on successfully completing their mission and asks if they had obtained the blueprints for The Moral Manipulation Machine. Sid says yes and confirms that it is a fragment of Eibon's Book. Nygus asks if they should destroy it. Shinigami denies the proposition. As Nygus and Sid leave, Shinigami grimly tells them to keep it a secret.

Shinigami is seen in his room with Justin and Spirit. Because Justin can't read his lips, he delegates Spirit with the task of relaying his speech to Justin. Shinigami changes Justin's mission to an assignment of acting as the "legs" of Azusa and investigator. The goal being to flush the Kishin out by causing a ruckus. Justin gladly agrees.

Shinigami informs Stein of Arachnophobia's current plans to obtain Brew. In preparation for the big battle, Shinigami tells Stein to help the students progress in duel arts.

Brew Tempest

Shinigami expounds the past of the Lost Island, an island, just north of Alaska, where the demon tool "Brew" was located, for over 800 years prior to the beginning of the series. It was previously a settlement for numerous witches, featuring a large construction facility for demon tools, but an accident annihilated the entire facility and it's population along with it. He tells them of the conditions of the magnetic environment, that being no one can stay in there for more than 20 minutes lest their body be destroyed.

When the mission for Brew is over, Maka calls Shinigami via mirror, to inform him on the failed mission. Shinigami is tacitly distraught, but tells them all worked hard.

Later on, Shinigami is with Spirit who discusses Stein's recent plunge into insanity, despite Marie's healing wavelength. Shinigami, although hesitant of the prospect, decides to call "Internal Affairs". Spirit is against this decision, and questions Shinigami on his current suspicious eyes. Shinigami remains adamant and orders Spirit to call "Him".

Pre-Operation: Capture Baba Yaga's Castle

Shinigami speaks with Azusa, who reports to him the unceasing attacks by Arachnophobia. The result being the East Asia section and the Africa section being heavily damaged. The two continue to discuss Arachne's advantage over them until Sid appears and informs him of the person who had divulged the information on the three hiding witches appearing. Sid states that the person was placed in prison. Shinigami, puzzled by this, asks why. Sid explains off screen that it was Medusa.

Shinigami soon discusses with Spirit whether or not they should have an audience with Medusa. Ultimately, in light of their current position in the battle against Arachne, Shinigami decides to hear Medusa and tells Spirit to bring her to his room. When Medusa is brought to him, a few words are uttered by Shinigami before he hits her with a Shinigami Chop. Spirit attempts to calm him down, but Shinigami says he wanted to hit her once, for now. After some antics, The three discuss the deal Medusa had proposed: the disclosing of the location of Baba Yaga's Castle and how to capture it, in return for her leading the operation.

Operation: Capture Baba Yaga's Castle

During Shibusen's raid on Arachnophobia's castle it has been shown that the Sanzu Lines that are in Death the Kid's hair are some how related to Shinigami's own powers since once Kid activated one of the lines it caused him to fall to the ground and proclaim to Death Scythe that he is proud of his son's progress. Spirit's concern over Shinigami at this point suggests that the Sanzu Lines aren't entirely a positive thing, yet the god stills tells his Weapon to cheer up, saying that any parent would be proud at their child's achievements.

There is Someone To Admire

Kid, Stein and Death Scythes in Death Room.

He put Crona on his Shinigami's list and the Spartoi received the order to execute her/him. Meanwhile, Shinigami and the other Death Scythes found out from Tezca Tlipoca that the Kishin is maybe hiding in the Moon. Shinigami asked if it was true and Tezca said that while looking for Justin's soul he was able to sense a small reaction from the moon. Since his body was destroyed by Justin, his soul was still able to be reflected by the mirror and he contacted them through this method. Maka and Soul came running in to tell them that they have found the Kishin as well. Her soul perception was able to sense his soul in the moon. Marie said that was great of Maka to find the Kishin. Maka said that while sky whale hunting she felt the atmosphere in the higher level was thick and that she was looking for Crona's soul. Sid said now they know for sure that the Kishin's lair is at the Moon. Nygus asked about what they should do. Spirit said that he was grateful for Maka to find the Kishin, but as her father he can't allow her to fight the Kishin. Stein said to organize a team to suppress the Kishin. Stein wanted Kid off the mission from Spartoi so that as a Shinigami his skills are needed. He asked if that was ok. Shinigami said that would be fine since they will be fighting on the moon and Kid's skateboard skills are best suited for this mission and because this battle was to regain "peace" back to the town.

Shinigami signed. Spirit said that was rather irritating. Shinigami agreed. He said that Kid was a fabulous Shinigami already. When Kid does become a completed Shinigami it wouldn't matter if he was unable to move. However Kid's eyes has become rather cold and that irritated him. Spirit said that when Kid does become a completed Shinigami, he will understand. Whatever he chooses, he will probably not be able to see his smiling face ever again.

Battle on the Moon

Shinigami sends his troops to fight Asura on the moon and communicates with Tezca that he fears that Crona and Gopher will cause a four way struggle for the Kishin. In addition, Shinigami made negotiations with the witches in order to stop the Clowns' regeneration.

Witch Trial

Shinigami was with Risa, Arisa, Free, Eruka, Kim, Jacqueline, Kid and the Thompson sisters for the Witch alliance.

Dark Side on the Moon

In the dark side of the moon arc Shinigami is mostly seen watching over those who went to the moon for battle. When Kid begins to align his last sanzu line, Shinigami's mask begins to crumble away, and his sanzu lines appear on top of Shinigami. As he watched Kid connects his lines, he proclaims that he is very proud of his son, and then tells Excalibur that he is leaving the rest to him and to watch over his son. After Kid's last sanzu line connects, Shinigami's robes drop into the ground, indicating that Shinigami has passed on, and Kid becomes a full-fledged Shinigami.

Versus Asura

The Demise of Shinigami.

In the Anime

Shibusen vs Arachnopobia

In the Anime, Medusa and Death make a deal. This time, he agrees to let Medusa go along with her associates and in returns, reveals the location of the Kishin. From this point on, he had Joe Buttataki put together a mech for Death City that'll be connected to BREW, in which Medusa gave to DWMA in an effort to gain an audience with Death. He would periodically ask Kid to gather the Demon Tools such as the Eternal Springand The Key. His son, however, becomes suspicions of his actions.

He oversee's the operation of Shibusen launching the attack on Arachnophobia. When his son returned with the Key, he revealed his plans to use BREW to turn the tide of the battle after the unveiling of Arachnophobia's new Weapon. He would then create The Death City Mech and battle Arachnophobia's Spider mech. He would defeat their mech, capturing Asura and sending him into the Death Room.

He would later battle against Asura with Spiritat hand, exchanging various philosophies and gaining the upperhand with Asura until he fired a shot aimed at Death the Kid and Azusa Yumi and he took the blast. He was gravely injured. He later recovered, being one of the staff waiting outside the Death Room for the result of the Battle between Death the Kid with Liz and Patti, Black*Star with Tsubaki, and Maka with Soul against Asura.

In the End Credits, He was seen burying a Kishin Soul within the Death Room and praying, hinting it may have been Asura's soul, as he was defeated by Maka.

Spoiler Warning Ends: Spoiler details end here.

Popularity

Shinigami's character has become iconic to the Soul Eater series. Death is even more well recognized than the main character such as Maka and Black☆Star. His popularity has given rise to fan merchandise such as notebook decals, t-shirts, and much more.

Voice Actors

• Japanese Dub: Ryusuke Ōbayashi (drama CD), Rikiya Koyama (anime)
• Funimantion Dub: John Swasey
• Italian Dub: Oreste Baldini

Trivia

• Kid doesn't seem to be bothered by his father's appearance, despite his obsession with symmetry. This is likely due to his great respect for him.
• Shinigami's prominent symbol of his mask was based upon the symbol involved with the character "Shotaro" and his "Kyoukotsu" in Atsushi's earlier series B. Ichi.
• Although Kid calls Shinigami "honorable father" in the original Japanese version, in the English dub he calls him either "dad" or "father".
• In describing the five remaining warlords of the Great Eight, the black mass says, "Order, Knowledge, Power, Rage, Terror". It can be assumed that "Order" describes Shinigami, which goes in hand with the Madness of Law, of which Shinigami and Death the Kid are associated with.This was later clarified when Excalibur referred to him as "former God of Order".
• In episode 47 "The Miracle of Overturning a Table in Anger: Our Death City's Robot?", Shinigami physically leaves both his room, and the academy to snipe a large cannon being used by Arachnophobia, this is the second time in the anime .
• Shinigami is considered to be one of the most iconic Soul Eater characters, considering his mask is referenced everywhere.
• The reason why Shinigami looks and sounds very comical in comparison to his old mask 800 years ago is that since making the Academy, he had feared students would be afraid of his scary appearance.
• When he fights Asura, he adopts a more murderous persona. This is notable through his voice, which becomes much deeper and scarier, and through his personality towards Asura. He often shouts incredibly violent comments like "Let's end this traitor; he's lived long ENOUGH!!!" and "If that's the case, allow me to kill you quickly!" This is probably because of his deep hatred for Asura, since Asura was his son who betrayed his very cause.
• After a conversation with Excalibur about how "It wasn't very smart to put all your fear in just one of your fragments", it maybe that more(Not all) of the 'great old ones' are fragments of Shinigami. This is unlikely, however, as this would mean Shinigami would not be able to feel the emotion personified by the great old one as is the case with Asura, and we have seen that Shinigami at least can feel 'rage'.
• Despite creating Asura out of Shinigami's fear, a widespread version of scanlation stated that Death "Feared death" himself in a conversation with Excalibur. However, this is a blatant mistranslation on the scanlators' part: in the original Japanese, Death clearly says that he does not fear death. The page in Japanese. Excalibur: "Hmm... even though you're a god, do you still fear death?" Death: "No..." "Because I gave away all my fears..."
• The one of the times in the anime that references Shinigami's father/son relationship is when Asura tells Shinigami that "Why don't you say goodbye to your son," Shinagami then freezes. This maybe just because he doesn't want Kid to be sad but it is more likely that he is Asura's father. Also, In the credits at the end of the anime, Shinigami is seen putting Asura's soul under one of the crosses in the Death Room. He is then seen with his hands together, as if he's praying. This may be because his son is dead.
• Though Death's face has yet to be seen, Death has mentioned that there's "nothing interesting" behind his face and expressed nervousness. Kid in the Anime has also has commented that he never takes off his mask. In the Dutch version of Soul Eater(Manga), he stated that he looks like an ordinary person behind the mask. Mosquito has also commented on Death the Kid on his Sanzu Lines, meaning he's seen a Grim Reaper that's has a full set of Sanzu Lines. Also, both sons of his have human forms. It's very well possible Death does have a human-like appearance under his cloak. In the chapter of his Death, dust came out of his Cloak, meaning there was something under the cloak and mask. However, much like Crona's Gender, the Author has commented that he himself doesn't know and has left the true appearance of Death in ambiguity.