Of the twelve Selecao chosen to play the mysterious Game,
two are dead, one possibly endangers the life of one of Saki’s friends, three
are plotting a new Careless Monday on a larger, far more devastating scale and
one is still trying to get his memory back.
The mystery turns potentially deadly as Takizawa begins to uncover more
about his shady past. As Saki tries to
stay close and learn more, the other members of Eden find evidence making them
believe Takizawa cannot be trusted.
However with another Careless Monday on the horizon, it’s all hands on
deck to find the solution to stop it.
Who started the Game? Can it be
won? And is Takizawa as dangerous as
everyone but Saki believes him to be?
I find it odd that Eden’s episode set is structured as it
is. It built up some good momentum in
the first part and ran with it quickly in the second half, seriously it’s hard
to believe I went through five episodes so quickly. More clues as to the scale of the game and
Takizawa’s early involvement were dropped and I wanted answers to be worth the
build up. Did we get any…ehhhhhh…yes and
no…BUT man was it a helluva ride going into and throughout the final act.
As mentioned in the synopsis we got to see more of the
Selecao here. Kuroha Shiritori, the
Johnny Hunter, as a fun and seductive character who’s vague reasons for playing
the game were reasons that were oddly ok.
It’s not a huge social change that the Game would have in mind, but
she’s cleaning up the streets Vigilante style which I can kind of get
behind…sans the gross image of a Johnny less man…ew. The huge social game change is the plot of
three collaborating Selecao: Mononobe, a former Bureaucrat; Yuki, a desperate
young man with a score to settle with society; and Tsuji, who doesn’t really
care about the game and just wants it to be over; all of whom it is revealed
had a hand in the creation of the Careless Monday attacks. The scenes where their philosophy to change
the nation is explained to Takizawa and Takizawa’s slight understanding but
rejection of it is very well done. It’s
a battle of wits and minds rather than a gun totting race to the finish when
all is revealed amongst these characters.
The Eden Group gets involved heavily in this second half
as well. We not only see them digging
into the mystery of the mall and the 20,000 missing NEETS that may have been
Takizawa’s doing but they also call in some outside help. This leads to the introduction of Itazu, aka
Panties, and an example of the nice humorous twist this show throws out
unexpectedly. Itazu has been a shut in
for two years because he lost his only pair of pants but feels more connected
to the world than ever because of it.
This kind of humor may come out of left field but at the same time it is
very welcome and there are a couple of other very funny moments towards the
end, one in particular involving Saki and Micchon in a situation no girl should
ever find themselves in.
As I said before, this second half moves at a pretty
brisk pace and they are all very well done episodes. Unfortunately this leads to one of my biggest
headaches about the series…besides Saki looking so sad and lost without
Takizawa (sorry I am not her biggest fan when her team members can keep
positive and help even though they’re not in love with him). The series is 11 episodes long and while the
final episode is grand and amazing, you wonder why they decided to stop it here
and continue the story with two sequel films: The King of Eden (which I’ll
review next) and Paradise Lost. There
are more than enough unanswered questions to keep the show going for a 24-26
episode run. Who is Mr. Outside? Who, if anyone, won the game, if it’s even
over? There are a couple of more but
I’ll keep them quiet so as to avoid some spoilers. Lots of good material, idk I’ll never
understand why they chose this storytelling route.
BUT the important thing is that though Episode 11 ends on
a cliffhanger, the story isn’t over.
We’re halfway through Eden of the East.
Now let’s see if this awesome series can deliver some satisfying answers
to all those pesky questions. See you
next time for Eden of the East: The King of Eden.
The Villains, Panties and the unexpected humor, why is
this show only 11 episodes since there is enough for a full 26 episode series.
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