Monster Soul (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It was serialized in Comic BomBom from January 2006 to August 2007 and collected into two tankōbon volumes.

Plot

Monster Soul is set in Elvenland, a fictional land that humans and monsters inhabit. The main characters are a group of monsters called the Black Airs, which is recorded as the strongest group of the monster forces in the great war between humans and monsters. The first three chapters consist of three stories that do not have a main plot, but the last chapter of the "first stage" reveals a bit of the past. In the "second stage" the Black Airs travel to Hell to help a human boy save his townspeople who are captured by the evil Drei Kommandos.

Characters

Black Airs

First Stage characters

Second Stage characters

Drei Kommandos

Publication

Written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima, the series was serialized in two stages in Kodansha's Comic BomBom magazine; the first was serialized from January to March 2006 and the second was serialized from May 15, 2007, to August 11, 2007.

Volumes

Reception

Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network praised the artwork and concept of the story, though she also felt it was generic and lacked plot. Danica Davidson of Otaku USA praised the flow and characters, though she also described their jokes as "crude". J. Caleb Mozzocco of School Library Journal felt that it contained similar elements to those in other Mashima works and recommended the manga to Mashima's fans.