A 12-episode anime television series adaptation by Bones aired on TV Tokyo between April and July 2014 and was simulcast by Funimation in North America.

Tsugumi Harudori is a halberd demon weapon who takes part in the NOT class and befriends two meisters, Meme Tatane and Anya Hepburn, becoming indecisive about which one of them to choose as her partner.

She praised the character of Tsugumi Harudori for being interesting and introducing the world the story takes place in, concluding by saying that it deserves more episodes to see how it will move forward from that; Carl Kimlinger, although praising Masakazu Hashimoto for directing the series from a different perspective, expressed criticism in the lack of bravado and edge that Takuya Igarashi brought to the original series; Jacob Hope Chapman commented on how comparing it to the original series seemed fair, expressing disdain over the animation and characters for being bland and the overall tone resembling that of K-On!.

[29] Despite finding some inconsistency in the setting and some subpar action scenes, Martin gave praise to the main trio's presence, the moe-influenced animation and returning to the series' world as a prequel, concluding that, "Overall, Soul Eater Not!

"[29] Fellow ANN editor Gabriella Ekens wrote that the modest moe art style made the series come across as "a low-rent K-On!"

with its dodgy facial expressions and the main girls' "loving and supportive" interactions, concluding with: "Despite light action segments, Soul Eater Not!

cast will put off fans of the original series but felt that new viewers can enjoy it based on its three leads (highlighting Anya and her development), the various SE cameos and its dramatic final third, concluding that "on its own merit, it's harmless.