The SoulTaker is an anime series that focuses on seventeen-year-old Kyosuke Date who was killed by his mother Mio Date, and afterward gained the ability to turn into an incredibly powerful winged mutant known as "The SoulTaker" and that he has a long-lost twin sister named Runa, and that his past is all a lie. The show was Tatsunoko's first attempt at a more adult series. There is a spin-off OVA featuring Komugi, Nurse Witch Komugi. It is somewhat similar to Magical GirlPretty Sammy, but shares more in common with Puni Puni Poemi. The series was directed by Akiyuki Shinbo and was Tatsunoko's first anime to utilize digital animation as well as the first anime to be broadcast on high-definition television. The SoulTaker shares a lot in common with Devilman and Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Plot
After being stabbed in the chest by his mother, Kyosuke Date returns from the dead to find out he has a twin sister named Runa, and the ability to transform into the amazingly strong, powerful and dangerous superhuman mutant known as the SoulTaker. As he seeks out his twin sister, he is being pursued by the strange mutant doctors and nurses of the Hospital, led by his own father, Richard Vincent, as well as the evil Kirihara corporation, led by Yui Kirihara, who are also tracking down Runa for their own malevolent purposes. Assisting him along the way are the mysterious Shiro Mibu and the nurse mutant girl Komugi Nakahara, who betrayed the Hospital out of strong romantic love for Kyosuke.
Characters
;Kyosuke Tokisaka ;Mio Date ;Dr. Kyoya ;Yui Kirihara ;Shiro Mibu ;Maya Misaki ;Komugi Nakahara ;Richard Vincent ;Tsubaki Tokisaka ;Runa Tokisaka
Terminology
Applicon Buster - A very deadly antidote that was created by Daigo Tokisaka for the sole purpose of destroying the Beta Applicon. It is powerful enough to be hurled like missiles to wipe out all mankind on Earth.
Beta Applicon - A virus capable of turning humans into mutants by altering their DNA.
Flicker - These are fragments of Runa that she generates as well as being reflections of her existence.
Hospital - An organization founded by its' director Richard Vincent and many surviving mutants to relieve those who were infected with the Beta Applicon.
Kirihara Corporation - Originally a funeral business company, the Kirihara Corporation is a large global conglomerate. Armed with cutting-edge science and power, facilities and factories are set up around the world.
Anime
This thirteen episode-series produced by Tatsunoko Productions and directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, premiered on the Japanese television networkWOWOW on April 4, 2001 and ended on July 4, 2001. Two days after the last episode aired, North American anime licensor Geneon Entertainment USA had licensed the series and released it on 4 volumes on DVD and VHS. In 2004, Geneon had re-released the series under their Signature Series label. It originally aired in the United States on TechTV as part of Anime Unleashed, and later aired on G4 after the TechTV merger. The series' opening theme is "Soul Taker" by JAM Project while the ending theme is "Memory" by Shinji Kakijima.
