Anime Review: Eden of the East







Back with another anime review, this one on a favourite of mine; Eden of the East. This review will be spoiler free.

On Monday, November 22, 2010, ten missiles strike Japan, but there where no casualties and no one accepted responsibility. When the after effects of it died down and nothing else really happened, everyone just moved on and the event was labelled "Careless Monday". Three months later Saki Morimi, a university senior, visits Washington DC during her trip to America but shortly gets in trouble with the local police. She is saved however when a mysterious Japanese young man appears before her completely nude and holding a pistol and a cell phone. This young man has no memory of his past but takes the name Akira Takizawa and soon discovers that his phone carries ¥8.2 billion in digital money and can use that money for absolutely anything. We join Saki and Akira has they try to find out about his erased past, why his phone can do the things it can do and about a group called Seleção.


I knew I was going to like this anime before I even watched it because it is written and directed by the genius who brought us the Ghost in the Shell anime series; Kenji Kamiyama. He knows how to write a gripping story and Eden of the East had me hooked after only the first five minutes. As you can guessed from the plot description above this is mainly a Mystery anime which focuses on following the clues to uncover Akira's mysterious past and you will be eager for the answers just as much as Saki is too. Every episode gives you a little more insight in to Akira's past; we are given just enough each episode but leaves enough out that I eagerly watched the next one straight away.
However probably one of the biggest highlight of this show is the seemingly magic phone that can grant any request to Akira as long as he has enough digital money. It is also his main weapon to use against the many foes he encounters as the series progresses so it is interesting to see what kind of requests he asks for each time.

Despite the unlimited things that the phone can do, Akira trying to recover his memory and sometimes paranormal, crazy and just plan weird events that happen in the series it is still has a very grounded feel to it. It just feels very realistic maybe this is because it focuses a lot on todays technology or it because a big plot point is on NEETs, the state the government and jobs in Japan or Akira's constant movie references, but this is just one of the elements that really pull you in because you can still relate to the characters and events in the series. Overall it is kind of like Jason Bourne (and may have been inspired by it) but it is more light hearted and (in my opinion) has a lot more depth in its overarching story.







We also have a great cast of characters like Akira who, despite losing his memory, is a really positive guy from the get go. He doesn't go in to depression or sulks, he simply goes with the flow of things and takes each new discovery of his past with a lot of enthusiasm. This makes Akira a really likeable main protagonist because as I mentioned above he likes to stay positive so the show doesn't become a downer. We then have the main female protagonist, Saki and while the story begins with her she is not the main focus of the anime but is no less important. She supports Akira throughout the series and has a great side story where she encounters the difficulties of finding a job in today's society and we can all relate there.
There is also a lot of interesting side characters such (and not spoiling anything because you will notice in the first five minutes of the first episode) as the others who have phones just like Akira. It is really interesting seeing characters from all walks of life possess the phone and their own reasons and ideologies for using the money. There is also Saki's friends from university who run the Eden of the East website and, while they do provide comic relief, are great supporting characters.

As for the animation it really is quite unique from what I have seen before. There are a lot of bright colours involved, especially with the characters, but it is the backgrounds that really stand out. They are really beautifully done, everything from the streets of Washington and Japan look really realistic. As for the voice acting there are lot of my favourites in the cast who I have no complaints with and music that they used for the first opening was great, shame they had to change it though. The soundtrack throughout the series really sets the mood well either it during an investigation scene or something light hearted.

Overall Eden of the East is a anime I highly recommend, perhaps the most highly recommended anime I have reviews so far. There is something in this anime for everyone and will keep you interested throughout its eleven episodes and its two movies as well.

SCORE: 10/10