Eden of the East

Story 9.5/10 - The story was well written. It keeps the viewers intrigued on how the story unfolds as old questions are answered and new questions arise. Feeling like a Bourne movie where the protagonist, Akira, has lost his memory. He has a history

eh!?

that made him widely known as that “special someone”. So the story goes…It’s held in the year 2010, on a day called ‘Careless Monday’. Ten missiles hit the cities of Japan and oddly, there are no casualties and the event quickly fades from public memory. Akiraholds a phone credited with 8 billion electronic yen and a female voice on the other end called Juiz who will fulfill his every wish. Having no recollection of his past and calling himself ‘Akira Takizawa’, the young man accompanies Saki back to Japan in the hopes of discovering who he is. Akira’s enigma quickly proves fascinating and Saki decides to help him rather than reunite with her family; but what neither realizes is that Akira is embroiled in a dark game of life and death linked to the Careless Monday missiles.

Animation 9.5/10 – It was obvious that their was funds available for this series. CGI was common and didn’t look too terrible. The rest was top-notch. Ran smooth and looked good. The landscapes, buildings, cars, and all other things not to be ignored.

Characters 9/10 – I had trouble deciding what score this category deserves. No one really felt “stupid” in the show, which is a problem in most shows these days, so that’s a plus. The Protagonist’s development reveals a fascinating duality in his personality as being very likable, but

hard to know if he should be liked. His whimsical nature belies an underlying quick mind and a surprising level of gravity, the unnerving themes of misfortune he may have put onto others is a definite plus in the show.

Everyone else who gets involved in the show, sort of just shows up with no real character development. The good news is that the supporting cast, being ordinary people with ordinary problems, generally behave within the familiar boundaries of reason. While that sounds like it wouldn’t be a problem, with the events and story that occurs in Eden of the East, it seems out-of-place. It’s like people running around aimlessly, like zombies,

Shoot those missles

headless zombies, with no legs. At some point, I began to get a little annoyed watching Saki mope after Akira, worrying about his terrible secrets without being able to help uncover them. Her behaviour is always understandable, of course, but also off-putting for being redundant.

As far as the antagonists go, I don’t see a real problem, except who the true antagonist is, which is conveyed in the last few episodes of the show. Of course, there is the other people with the phone with 10 billion dollars, can make anything happen, and use that power for “bad” things, and feel as though they are the antagonists. They aren’t. My guess is Mr. Outside, the creator of this ‘game’. It’s hard to explain and don’t want to spoil too much.

Yes, that is indeed a robotic walking bear

Overall 9.25/10 - It was definitely a good show. I had not set my expectations high nor did I have a clue what I was in for, but it turned out for the better. I was undoubtingly interested throughout the whole show, wanted to keep watching more to get the questions answered. The biggest disappointment would be the ending and I would add that onto here, but I can’t because it’s not over yet. Not much later after air release, they made a movie that continues where the last episode left off. I also heard that the ending of the first movie ends more abruptly than the series did. Thank god theirs a second movie coming out to fulfill our disappointment. Then again, following the trend it may not end there and a third movie may be in production. Anyways, highly recommended, especially for those who enjoy the Bourne series.