Eden of the East - Reviews

Eden of the east is a enjoyable anime with a artstyle that sets it apart from most other productions and has a enjoyable story that never really falls apart even while silier events take place,

While it was good in many ways it wasn't quite as fulfilling as one would like for a stand alone anime, mostly because it really demands that you watch it's sequels. The characterization was nicely done, it took some episodes but never forced it much other than for some of the secondary cast where we were blatantly told what the personality of their character was like. 

The plot starts off quite uneven and doesn't have much to grasp the attention of the viewer like one would expect from most episodes. Comedy isn't this anime's strong point. However going along with episode two and you start feeling somewhat for the characters despite their clumsy introduction. The male lead is a rather generic good guy type but without making him to dumb to live. The female lead doesn't contribute quite as much to the anime but never really feels too forced and does actually contribute somewhat to the human point of view. 

The story itself is quite interesting once it grabs your attention and you can see what inspired some new popular anime and what didn't. The plot movement is quite natural and doesn't feel forced but at the same time it does feel quite slow despite this being a rather short show. The movement of the plot from a character standpoint however is quite alright and once it get's going it never really get's dull. It doesn't get the time to be dull to begin with. The morality of the story is questionable in places and the characters motivations are rather shaky outside our male protagonist but some of them have enough to hold on to to make them seem human, but flawed and quite selfish at times. 

The series animation is fluid and while CGI is used at times, especially for cars it isn't too glaring that outside the first few episodes. The artstyle is different from most anime and might be inspired by ghibli somewhat, but isn't too distracting to distract from the plot at any point beyond the first two or so episodes. 

Spoilers (Duh)

Historia

Un pedo con unos misiles y unos NEETs y millones de yenes en un celular. La historia empezó muy bien en los primeros capítulos, la atmosfera incluso detectivesca que tiene al principio te atrapa y te van soltando todo poco a poco, además de que los temas de la crisis en Japón y los NEETs tienen buenas bases. ¿Cuál fue el error entonces? Que en la recta final de la serie, las cosas comienzan a desviarse hacia los postes de los protagonistas y su amor barato, dejando de lado todo el thriller económico/social que refleja una situación real tanto en Japón como del mundo así como el juego de los elegidos (o como se llamen). Las películas eran la oportunidad de arreglarlo, lamentablemente LES VALIO MADRE Y NO LO HICIERON, como pasa en muchas ocasiones.

Personajes

No recuerdo ningún nombre y casi no recuerdo a ninguno a parte un perro y los protas, y una morra en un cuarto de hotel. Hizo falta mas interacción entre los elegidos, y darles más personalidad, un error que por ejemplo, Mirai Nikki, hizo totalmente al revés, con personajes cliché y unidimensionales que los hacía predecibles y aburridos. La relación de los protas, igual que en muchas ocasiones, quiere acaparar el show con “profundidad” y “romance” cuando solo desperdicio lo bueno que tenia la serie.

Final

(Suspiro de decepción)… Finales reboot básicamente, tanto de la serie como de las películas, dejándote con ganas de mas trama, tanto de la historia como de los postes personajes.

Producción

• Animación: Nada que mencionar.
• OST: Nada que mencionar.
• Openings y endings: Muy disfrutable el opening, hay algo que no me convence para bajarlo pero si es una buena rola.

Veredicto

Obtiene 3.5 por los conceptos medianamente bien utilizados pero hizo falta mucho, tenía el potencial para ser una muy buena crítica economica/social, tanto Japonesa como de otros países pero les gano lo comercial y lo volvieron comedia romántica. Debo admitir que me dejo una duda inquietante: ¿Qué haría si despierto y veo que tengo 8 millones de yenes en mi cuenta?

SPOILERS ENSUE

This was Definitely thrilling! It's 11 episodes long and a super fast watch. I loved the mystery behind Takizawa and the political power play cat and mouse. The scenery and music were gorgeous. The idea behind Eden of the East as a website was, and is, a bit scary...knowing everything about everyone...creepy, and also very real and probably something coming our way soon. There was definitely a lot to love here, though exciting as it was, it did have its faults. The first being the fact that not everything was explained. The movies may add to this, but as of now, I feel disappointed a bit. I feel it lost its way from what the original and brilliant idea was...having all that money and a phone that acts as a Genie in the voice of Juiz, used to change the world. It was there, this plot, it just got lost along the way. The idea of the Selecao was super interesting, though there were a few plot holes and by the end, I was left feeling a bit unsatisfied with the cliffhanger ending. Who is Mr. Outside? Someone we know? What was the point of missle attacks all throughout Japan? Why did Takizawa have to be the "bad guy" in front of the NEETS? Also the character development wasn't as good as I would have liked. Some were amazing, but others needed a little bit more backstory. I found myself feeling more emotion in the few scenes with the Johnny Hunter than most with Saki. However, I lovedddd Takizawa. He was a splendid character. 

Overall, most of the way through, I was extremely intrigued and excited, but towards the end, it didn't go as far as I had wanted it to...the climax was pretty predictable and I think I just wanted more after all the revelations of the other characters and Takizawa's revelations etc...the idea was there, it just didn't pan out as well as i wanted...we'll see how the movies fair.

6.5/10 worth a watch, though not perfect.

Watched - dubbed

Story: I had little idea about the this series was about before I started so I was basically like a blank state. Immediately from episode 1, I was hooked. The concept was intriguing and exciting. It leaves you guessing and does eventually explain things to you but gives you hints to figure it for yourself. The pacing was steady without being too fast or slow. If you like something that makes you think and has some action, I would definitely recommend this. I loved the political and social aspects. That wasn't something I was expecting and it was done incredibly well. Another thing was the comedy. It starts off being hilarious and it doesn't stop. At first glance, I didn't expect much humour out of this series. I definitely didn't expect me to laugh as hard as I did. However, I didn't like the way the series ended. I liked the resolution to the conflict but you end up with a large amount of questions unanswered. You have to do a lot of guesswork with little to go and that was disappointing. The series ended with me think: "What?! That's it!". I know that there are movies out and I hope that they fill in the blanks.

Animation: I love Chicka Umino so you can already tell that I loved the character designs. All in the all, the animation was stellar. There's great attention to detail and great range of expressions for the characters. Also, the animation adds greatly to the humour for the series. The opening was a little lackluster but the ending made up for it. I don't have any complaints.

Sound: I don't know what version I was watching but the opening wasn't by Oasis which is strange. However, the ending song was nice and I really liked it. The soundtrack was a whole was very fitting and I did notice it. However, I don't really remember it after watching so it really doesn't stick with you. I did like the use of the English songs though. One thing that does stick with is the English voices for the Americans. It isn't Engrish with was refreshing. The rest of the seiyuus did a good job as well.

Characters: It's a really fun and amusing cast. However, Akira is definitely the one that sticks out the most. You see a great deal of change and development in him and he is incredibly likable. The girl is alright but more forgettable along with a good number of the cast. The best part of the series comes more from the plot and how the characters deal with the game as opposed to the characters themselves and their relationships.

Overall: Great concept, humour, pacing and high quality animation that has style and intelligence. However, unconclusive ending although I would still recommend this to most people I know.

The STORY of Eden of the East wasn't a bad one, however this anime had been so hyped up for me that I was expecting more.  The idea of a game having to do with people's lives and connecting it to what had happened three months prior in that incident called "Careless Monday" was very interesting for me and I was easily drawn into this anime.  However, I felt something was missing - I think that with a plot like this, I expected something more action-packed, or perhaps something darker.

The ANIMATION was nice, although it was a little cartoon-y for my tastes.  Generally, I like it when anime's look just a tad bit more realistic and Eden of the East had that block-y look to it that I don't favor as well; however, it was still well done and the CG effects were quite good.

I saw Eden of the East dubbed, but it was another example of one of those rare instances when I really liked the English voice acting, so the SOUND for me was great!  I also remember really loving the OP, although I can't remember the ending much.

I really loved the CHARACTERS - especially Akira.  I very rarely love the main character, and while I didn't particularly care for Saki, I was very happy with Akira.  However, I don't believe this is an anime that has to rely on characters.  This is very much a plot-centered anime, so the characters could have been much weaker and it still would have been successful.  I did like Akira's development, but I felt a bit like it was cheating because he had amnesia - of course there's going to be great character development with a character that doesn't have any memories.

My PERSONAL ENJOYMENT for this series was more of a 7.  I did get a bit bored during the series and, as I said, I felt like it was lacking something.  I can't quite put my finger on what but I came away feeling empty.

OVERALL, I would recommend this anime.  In fact, it was recommended to me very highly, which might be why I didn't feel satisfied with it.  So, I recommend it to everyone, but go in with an open mind and don't think about whether it is going to be great or terrible, just take it as it is.