Anime Review: Eden of the East

-Andy
Reviews Editor

Ohisashiburi! Sorry I have been gone for two long months. Work and school consumed me for the past two months. I tried posting since I still had many anime ideas to post, but I was unsuccessful. The life of an otaku who works and studies is never easy. Anyways, I have a very nice anime for you guys today.

Today's anime is Eden of the East. It was first shown in 2009. Although it is quite old, I think the story is very futuristic that it applies to any era we live in.

Before you jump into conclusions based on the poster, this is not a shoujo anime. In fact, this is so un-shoujo in many ways.

The anime is unlike your typical anime - this did not start from a manga. The anime was created and directed by kenji Kamiyama, who became famous for directing animations such as Ghost in the Shell and Blood: The Last Vampire. Basically, most of Kamiyama's work moves around science fiction and this is what Eden of the East is exactly.

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Story Plot That Would Throw You Off

If you have been following my posts for MSP, you guys would know that I am a big sucker for graphics. Although Eden of the East is designed really well, it does not at all appeal to me. I like shoujo drawings. Shounen drawings are tolerable. However, I was blown away by the plot of the story. I was totally dazed for days (I'm not joking). It was like reflecting about your life.

The story begins with Saki Morimi. She visits Washinton DC, USA to see the fountain at the White House in the hopes of throwing a coin and making a wish (weird, I know). There she meets Akira Takizawa. Their meeting isn't exactly normal. He was naked when it happened and Saki was being arrested for throwing a coin. Akira had no memory, and carried with him only a gun and a cellphone, which he later found out contained ¥8.2 billion.

In the later episodes, Akira Takizawa slowly learns of the state he is in. He is one of the Seleção, a group of 12 individuals handpicked by a "Mr. Outside" to save Japan. There had been missile attacks before Akira returns to Japan. The phone is operated by Juiz, a digital operator who you can command for anything - even impossible illusions. Each individual is given ¥10 billion. They cannot use the money for individual purposes or steal the other Seleção's phone. Only the individual can use the assigned phone.

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The twist to the game is that if you use up the money or use it for individual purposes, the 12th Seleção, called the Supporter, would kill you.

Where does Eden of the East come in this? Eden of the East is a program created by Saki's club. The program allows for information exchange via images. It is really quite handy. You upload a picture into the system and people comment about what or who it is.

As the story progresses Akira finds out who bombed Japan and what the reason for wiping his memory is.

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HITS

The story is definitely the biggest hit in this anime series. The progression of the scenes is exciting and the twists are mind-boggling. Ever had a "What the hell" moment? You will find this a lot in this anime.

The anime also developed their characters really well. All the Seleção characters who appeared had their character well-written as if the writer took time to develop each one of them, instead of creating one just to add more to the story.

The psychological impact of the story is also one very important HIT. Like I said, I was dazed for days, thinking about how I could change my country if I had the same powers as Akira has.

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MISSES

The only miss for me is the graphics. But, maaah, it's probably just my ultra-hyper-shoujo-graphics-loving self kicking in.

One miss you might find is that the ending is vague. But that's reasonable since there are two movie sequels to the 11-episode anime. Conclusions and more explanations can be found in the movie

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FINAL VERDICT

Overall, this is a very nice anime. I have no sympathy for science fiction as an anime genre (although I like scifci English books and movies), but this is definitely an anime you guys should watch. This is one of my most favorite anime especially since I think it impacts your life. Anime should be like that right? It should teach you things.


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-Andy-chan :3