Reviews for Higashi no Eden (7.16)
dangime
Kamiyama Kenji
Nakamura Satoru
Eden of the East is a refreshing post-modern story set in the real world and isn`t afraid to address it. Let`s face it, one stereotypical thing anime fans are associated with is simply not d...
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03.05.2012 04:05 - direct link
(rs8592)
Eden of the East is a refreshing post-modern story set in the real world and isn't afraid to address it. Let's face it, one stereotypical thing anime fans are associated with is simply not dealing with reality. Most anime tends to center around unrealistic things that will take our minds off the real world, sudden girlfriend appearance, giant mecha, magical powers, the rise of the undead, and so on. While Eden of the East doesn't entirely abandon the creative license bestowed on anime, it does offer up a not too far fetched near future that deals in a world we can easily identify with, the real one.
Story (9)
I really don't want to give too much away, because half the fun of Eden of the East is the process of discovery the characters go through. The male lead makes his appearance in front of the white house, naked and wielding a mock pistol, with no memories of his past. He bumps into the female lead, a girl from Japan who just graduated from college and taking her graduation trip. Against the odds, its the hero who ends up bailing out the heroine as she is confronted by a pair of police officers who find her activities in front of the White House suspicious. The two form an unlikely bond and travel back to Japan with more questions than answers.
The male lead possesses among other interesting items like multiple passports and firearms, a smart phone which is loaded with the equivalent of a hundred million dollars. Make a request to the operator, even an outlandish one, and it will be done and the cost of the action will be deducted from the balance. Quickly it is learned that there are others who possess phones with the same capabilities, and the hunt to answer the questions behind the phone is on.
Behind all this is the real life problem of today's youth, symbolized by the female lead and the collection of young adults who eventually join the party. Despite her college education and best efforts, she's having a hard time fitting into the "adult world" of employment. In fact the whole backdrop is a realistic one representing decline, youth unemployment, NEETs, loss of faith in existing governments, as well as "Careless Monday", a cruise missile attack launched on Japan that was never properly explained to the public, who eventually went along with such poor explanations because for some reason no one was killed in the attacks. The story even evokes the 9/11 attacks in the comparison. Indeed, desperate measures could easily be described as the on going theme in this anime. Toss in some romantic tension between the leads with the conspiracy they must struggle to uncover and you have the basic outline.
In terms of characters, really its the female lead who carries the story. She best symbolizes the human element in the story, as she struggles to come to terms with the world and attempt to understand what exactly she has encountered in the male lead. It's her realness, complete with a cuteness that is almost average and problems that are entirely ordinary that drew me in, leaving the male lead to be the X factor and deal with the more fanciful aspects of the story. All in all, its a very refreshing combination.
Art (7)
The style of art is minimalist while still being easily identifiable as using modern production values. The background settings are perhaps the most impressive, with things like skyscrapers, shopping malls, and other modern scenery being honestly reproduced with good detail. The characters seem to be designed to fit in better into this backdrop, instead of taking all the attention for themselves with over the top character designs.
The animation quality is up to par, with no obvious defects. Where CGI is deployed it blends into the scenery well enough not to stand out like a sore thumb.
Sound (7)
The opening theme, in conjunction with the edgy graphics and quotes is something that grew on me over time as I learned more of the story and did a very good job of setting the mood. The ending theme was more forgettable, as was most of the background music, but it did nothing to get in the way of the story and assisted with the construction of the mysterious and somewhat gloomy world.
Value (9)
I rate Eden of the East fairly high here because it has the guts to set itself in the real world. While the best works of far fetched fiction can take us places far away to escape, ultimately it's stories that aren't afraid to attempt to really connect with viewers as real people in real ways that have the highest potential to move us. Like an Olympic dive of a higher difficulty, if you pull it off you can score more points, and even if you don't make it at 100% it still might be better than an easy dive done at perfection.
Eden doesn't always follow through all the way with its brave attempt to be relevant to those of us that live in the real world, but at least it gives it a shot, which is more than most anime can claim. Honestly, if there are people around a hundred or a thousand years from now, they could look back at this to get an idea of what was bubbling just below the surface in the minds of this era's youth.
Enjoyment (8)
Eden is a fun ride that I marathoned in two sessions. Once hooked in I became attached to the main characters and wanted to know what their fates would ultimately be, and how the story would unfold. Eden probably isn't a show you can easily watch a second time quickly after viewing, too much of the story is built upon the questions that are answered, but I can see it easily being fun to watch again with a friend. Be prepared to obtain the two additional movies that extend the story after the series is over, too much is left unanswered otherwise.
In the end Eden of the East isn't just entertaining, its relevant. It isn't perfect, but its trying hard to be something more than other shows, and that in it's self is something noteworthy.
Story (9)
I really don't want to give too much away, because half the fun of Eden of the East is the process of discovery the characters go through. The male lead makes his appearance in front of the white house, naked and wielding a mock pistol, with no memories of his past. He bumps into the female lead, a girl from Japan who just graduated from college and taking her graduation trip. Against the odds, its the hero who ends up bailing out the heroine as she is confronted by a pair of police officers who find her activities in front of the White House suspicious. The two form an unlikely bond and travel back to Japan with more questions than answers.
The male lead possesses among other interesting items like multiple passports and firearms, a smart phone which is loaded with the equivalent of a hundred million dollars. Make a request to the operator, even an outlandish one, and it will be done and the cost of the action will be deducted from the balance. Quickly it is learned that there are others who possess phones with the same capabilities, and the hunt to answer the questions behind the phone is on.
Behind all this is the real life problem of today's youth, symbolized by the female lead and the collection of young adults who eventually join the party. Despite her college education and best efforts, she's having a hard time fitting into the "adult world" of employment. In fact the whole backdrop is a realistic one representing decline, youth unemployment, NEETs, loss of faith in existing governments, as well as "Careless Monday", a cruise missile attack launched on Japan that was never properly explained to the public, who eventually went along with such poor explanations because for some reason no one was killed in the attacks. The story even evokes the 9/11 attacks in the comparison. Indeed, desperate measures could easily be described as the on going theme in this anime. Toss in some romantic tension between the leads with the conspiracy they must struggle to uncover and you have the basic outline.
In terms of characters, really its the female lead who carries the story. She best symbolizes the human element in the story, as she struggles to come to terms with the world and attempt to understand what exactly she has encountered in the male lead. It's her realness, complete with a cuteness that is almost average and problems that are entirely ordinary that drew me in, leaving the male lead to be the X factor and deal with the more fanciful aspects of the story. All in all, its a very refreshing combination.
Art (7)
The style of art is minimalist while still being easily identifiable as using modern production values. The background settings are perhaps the most impressive, with things like skyscrapers, shopping malls, and other modern scenery being honestly reproduced with good detail. The characters seem to be designed to fit in better into this backdrop, instead of taking all the attention for themselves with over the top character designs.
The animation quality is up to par, with no obvious defects. Where CGI is deployed it blends into the scenery well enough not to stand out like a sore thumb.
Sound (7)
The opening theme, in conjunction with the edgy graphics and quotes is something that grew on me over time as I learned more of the story and did a very good job of setting the mood. The ending theme was more forgettable, as was most of the background music, but it did nothing to get in the way of the story and assisted with the construction of the mysterious and somewhat gloomy world.
Value (9)
I rate Eden of the East fairly high here because it has the guts to set itself in the real world. While the best works of far fetched fiction can take us places far away to escape, ultimately it's stories that aren't afraid to attempt to really connect with viewers as real people in real ways that have the highest potential to move us. Like an Olympic dive of a higher difficulty, if you pull it off you can score more points, and even if you don't make it at 100% it still might be better than an easy dive done at perfection.
Eden doesn't always follow through all the way with its brave attempt to be relevant to those of us that live in the real world, but at least it gives it a shot, which is more than most anime can claim. Honestly, if there are people around a hundred or a thousand years from now, they could look back at this to get an idea of what was bubbling just below the surface in the minds of this era's youth.
Enjoyment (8)
Eden is a fun ride that I marathoned in two sessions. Once hooked in I became attached to the main characters and wanted to know what their fates would ultimately be, and how the story would unfold. Eden probably isn't a show you can easily watch a second time quickly after viewing, too much of the story is built upon the questions that are answered, but I can see it easily being fun to watch again with a friend. Be prepared to obtain the two additional movies that extend the story after the series is over, too much is left unanswered otherwise.
In the end Eden of the East isn't just entertaining, its relevant. It isn't perfect, but its trying hard to be something more than other shows, and that in it's self is something noteworthy.
