Review of Eden of the East

R

Reevothemusefan

Vampire Ninja
<img src="http://www.animeuknews.net/img/uploaded/2010-12-1815784502m.jpg">

<b>Review of Eden of the East by Reevothemusefan</b>

It can be a daunting task to produce a fictional series that depicts various worldwide conspiracies and terrorist attacks. However "Eden of the East" proves that, with the right studio and director, just such an excellent concept can work, especially when it keeps the viewer guessing until the very end.<br>
The series was produced by Production I.G and directed by Kenji Kamiyama (both created the highly acclaimed &ldquo;Ghost In The Shell&rdquo;) so a lot of experience went into&nbsp;devising a world full of technology set against an everyday context. I would also like to credit the mangaka Umino Chika who worked on the characters and their clothing designs; some of you might remember her from the manga &ldquo;Honey and Clover&rdquo;(another series I urge you to check out.)<br>
Coming back from a college graduation trip touring America, Saki Morimi finds the time to visit Washington D.C. There she encounters Akira Takizawa. He has just woken up naked, with no memory as to how he got there - and in possession of a phone and a gun. As Akira discovers more about these items, he starts to suspect that he may be a terrorist. He believes that only he can trust himself to find out his true identity and how he came to lose his memory.<br>
From this description, it might sound as if Akira has one bad-ass personality but it's quite the opposite; he has a carefree attitude that is very likeable. When his life unravels, you really start to care for him.<br>
It's also interesting to hear Akira's worldwide movie knowledge (the only thing that wasn't removed from his memory) which allows him to reference everything from the Bourne Identity movies/novels to the British movie &ldquo;Quadrophenia&rdquo; (which put a smile on my face.)&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>
The presentation is excellent throughout; the backgrounds are colourful and full of life (for example the bustling streets of Washington make you feel you're in America) and Kenji Kawai's score is varied, with a mixture of light electronic material and haunting orchestral themes that really set the mood.<br>
Some viewers might find the plot revelations complex, so it's an anime that repays multiple viewings. The opening is very stylish and fast-paced and the song (by British band Oasis) &ldquo;Falling down&rdquo; is well implemented. However for licensing issues after the first episode, it's then replaced with &ldquo;Michael and Belial&rdquo; performed by Saori Hayami; this makes a good replacement but proves a bit underwhelming. To make up for this, though, the stop-motion paper animation of the closing theme performed by School Food Punishment gives me goosebumps every time I watch it.<br>
Extras include a TV spot and promotional video for the series and some great interviews with Kenji and Umino on the directorial side and the Japanese voice actors for Akira (Ryohei Kimura) and Saki (Saori Hayami) are worth the 22 minutes of your time.<br>
In Summary<br>
Excellent plot progression in this thrilling 11 episode series which ends with a fascinating conclusion which will leave you begging for more; it's a definite buy for any anime fan out there.<br>
<b>Final score: 9 out of 10</b>

<b>Additional screencaps</b>

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10/10 for me. I've read so many positive things about this one and after just watching the first volume I found it was even better than that. I had to chortle at what looked like last minute editing of Akira's dangly bits in the scenes at the White House, as if it was done on film, and by some prude at the BBFC. If my finger was that powerful I'd be the most wanted man for mass murder in the world and bankers would be too afraid to collect their sooo undeserving bonuses. :twisted:
 
I watched this a couple of weeks back, after having got it in my big bundle of Xmas anime.

While I'd hesitate to heap the sort of lofty praise on it I've seen elsewhere, I think it's definitely worth seeing. Considering how everything I've seen over the last year seems to have been pretty 'safe', coming from the 'giant robots with everything' or 'post apocalyptic scenario' sector of anime, this was a refreshing change in terms of content and pace.

I couldn't help the niggling feeling that this was a show that didn't make the fullest use of the great ideas in it, but it was never less than watchable, and certainly something I could stand to see more of. It's certainly become my number one show to sling at people who tell me 'oh, anime's that rubbish from Japan where there's never a story and it's all weird and stuff.'

It's definitely a show to watch subtitled, I'd say. Lots of important stuff gets missed if you watch it without the text messages and computer screens translated.
 
HdE said:
While I'd hesitate to heap the sort of lofty praise on it I've seen elsewhere, I think it's definitely worth seeing. Considering how everything I've seen over the last year seems to have been pretty 'safe', coming from the 'giant robots with everything' or 'post apocalyptic scenario' sector of anime, this was a refreshing change in terms of content and pace.
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Yeah, I hold a similar view on the series. A few of the episodes around the midway point let down the strong start and there were one too many loose ends for my liking (though I'm guessing the films will address those). All the same like you say it makes for refreshing viewing in an endless swamp of moebait and shounen. It never became boring or predictable while the animation and art was of the usual high standard I expect from I.G. Worth watching indeed.
 
EXACTLY!

I think the show deserves to do well if only for the fact that it's genuinely unpredictable and DOESN'T tread the same ground as a billion other shows. So much if what I've seen lately has been much of a muchness - so the change of pace this provided was appreciated.
 
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