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snakebrain

  • Joined Jul 29, 2010
  • 34 / M

Eden of the East

Mar 12, 2011

**This review contains some mild spoilers

You're going to wish this series was longer.  There are many reasons for this, not the least of which being that it's only eleven episodes, but that's not the only reason; many anime are that short (or nearly) and don't feel incomplete.  The problem here is that there are many, many different avenues of exploration, and by the end it really doesn't feel like the events of the series have amounted to much.

True, there are two movies, which I haven't seen.  But one has to wonder why they didn't just continue the series.  Or at least make the end of the series seem more ... climactic.  At least, unlike many other anime, the ending wasn't a total let-down, and actually managed to bring together many of the plots from the rest of the series together.  But it's not nearly enough.

The series is essentially about Akira Takizawa and his quest to uncover the secrets of his past (he has amnesia), as well as play a twisted game that he's been made a part of due to Mr. Outside.  Also wrapped up in this is Saki Morimi, a member of a group called "Eden of the East" that has made a complex computer image recognition software.

That's probably all you want to know going in, as the series takes its time to divulge even this basic information.  Not that that's a bad thing -- EotE is actually tremendously well-paced, each episode drawing you in enough that you want to watch the next.  I essentially watched the entire series in two sittings.  It was hard to stop watching , because it's really quite compelling.

The characters are also all very interesting in their own ways.  Akira is a great lead character, and though Saki seems sort of lifeless sometimes, she's compelling in her own way as well.  The others get more face-time as the show goes on, and one of the joys is discovering what other people have been put up to this game that Akira is a part of, but very few characters get more than the most basic of development (the other character who gets featured rather prominently, Osugi, is the exception to this).  Still, they are all interesting, and if they aren't particularly deep, they are certainly entertaining.

The animation is great.  Really gorgeous.  It's what first drew me to the series, and it didn't disappoint.  The character designs are appealing, as is the background art.  One sequence in particular, involving a character sprouting wings, is so gorgeously animated you practically feel like you're there.

Not as great is the music.  It isn't particularly memorable -- I honestly can't recall any individual piece from the show.  The opening and endings songs are likewise so bland that I generally just skipped them.  But the music at least isn't distractingly bad -- rather, it just blends in with the rest of the show, which is what good scores should do.  As for the voice acting, I listened to the English dub, and really liked it.  Everyone does an excellent job, though since I haven't listened to the Japanese dub, I can't say for sure which one of the two I more highly recommend.

Ultimately I think this is a show that I will mostly remember as having a lot of promise, but never quite living up to that promise.  With such appealing characters, such an intriguing plot, and such gorgeous animation, this should have been a slam dunk.  Insteasd, it's a very good series that ultimately could have been much better if it had given itself some room to breathe and expand into something great.

8/10 story
9/10 animation
7/10 sound
8/10 characters
8/10 overall
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