Eden of the East: Definitely original

Written by Little_Wolf-18 on April 24, 2012 at 1:19 PM

Nope, you aren’t going to get any episodes 12-65, since the supposed 51st see 65th episodes belong God knows where but for sure not here. XD

At first glance, the story seemed rather kiddy to me and a bit like a weird take on a fairy tale, but even if you feel the same, don’t let it deceive you; that fades pretty quickly once this anime picks up pace.

Mostly a mystery/suspense with a tiny touch of romance, “Eden of the East” is an unusual take of the classic boy-meets-girl theme with loads of mysteries and conspiracies plotted in the background which are solved bit by bit without spoiling the whole storyline.

Short but mostly unpredictable, this anime has a definitely unique and creative storyline with an unusual perspective. You know that “chosen character” thing? Well, in “Eden of the East” there’s twelve of those, and each one has to try and save Japan with nothing but each 8 billion yen on their cell phones. Besides implying how money can make the world go not only round, but right or wrong, it plays on moral dilemmas, shows how acts of bravery can turn on you, and places the question how far someone will go to do whatever they believe right. The suspense in this will most probably leave you at the edge of your seat. Now that in itself is awesome enough; however, as easy to follow as the story in its moderate pace normally is, some things stay hazy and complicated throughout the anime and might confuse you, and the end doesn’t wrap the anime up at all but takes a circular take back to the beginning, and more than ruins the end. (It’s a narrative trick working all too well in anything textual, but in anime, I find it just annoying… lol sorry.) The movies are supposed to wrap it up though, so they might be worth a try.

The characters are nicely done, with good development and character dynamics for such a short series. Especially the main character is impossible to figure out. Some side characters (the gang of computer geniuses) stays a bit much in the shade though, so sadly, they aren’t all that memorable.

The dialogue isn’t extraordinary, but flows well and you aren't left behind.

Animation’s the very latest quality, with loads of different scenery, and the music overall is good. Odd effect though? Loads of naked guys - but where their ‘things’ would’ve been there’s white spots like someone had wiped those out with an eraser. Funny, though towards the end got a bit unnerving to me. (Imagine a majorly dark picture teeming with lucid white spots. They couldn’t have put the guys in underwear or something…??)

Ah, whatever. Going on with the review; for entertainment, there’s some smart-witted comedy in here; suspense and character development are well done without crazy action or whatever might taste too ‘supernatural’.

“Eden of the East” certainly is a breath of air from the generic stuff, not too predictable but thought-provoking and sometimes amusing. As it is rather complex for an 11-episode anime, I would not recommend this to kids, and probably neither as a start-off into the anime world; but many mystery/suspense lovers, or even just someone wanting a change from generic and not minding a touch of weirdness, might want to check this out.

Download note: Smaller files can be found under the Japanese name "Higashi no Eden", in case anyone else doesn't have all that much space to spare on their hard drive. (link: http://anime-access.com/anime/H/Higashi_no_Eden_%28TV%29)

Thanks for reading.