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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Buy | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 9 |
 Dreamer
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[series:2037#2279] |
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I've been waiting for this one to come out after reading the reviews and seeing few pics of the series. I was not left dissappointed! Art, Animation & Character Designs Artwork and animation was just excellent! Rich in both details and color. The characters reminded me of "Honey and Clover"... mainly Takizawa. (Morita in H & C). Character designs were great. I love the style... which again, reminds me of H & C since it had similar artwork... which I loved. Some of the better parts of the character designs were the facial expressions. Very realistic... in terms of animation that is. Music The OP wasn't too bad. Not my taste but still acceptable. The music overall were pieces that worked well into the series and heightened the dramatic moments of various scenes. Series and Episode Story The plot here is one of the better plots to date. It's both refreshing and borderline genious. (Maybe I'm stretching it too much). But really, I loved the plot and how the episodes unfold. In terms of character development, it was lacking slightly there but I don't think it effected the series as a whole and surely didn't keep you from understanding what was going on and the end result. And speaking of the characters, some of them were excellent.... like the kawaii Saki. Loved her character. Our two main characters (Saki and Takizawa), were a perfect pair with excellent chemistry. Worked really well throughout the whole series. My only real gripe is the lack of info and development of our other "Selecaos". I was curious about all 12, their backgrounds and what each was doing to "save" their country. Unfortunately, we didn't get enough in that department. There were other unanswered questions but I don't really feel it was important to the whole of the series. Overall, great buy here. The artwork is excellent, animation is smooth, character designs were enjoyable and unique and story was top-notch. Last updated Sunday, March 21 2010. Created Sunday, March 21 2010. | ||||||||
| Buy | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:2037#1552] |
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(Buy-/ Rent+) Eden of the East was the title I greatly anticipated for the Spring 2009 anime season and while not perfect, the show was fun enough to earn my first Buy rating for 2009 anime titles. The premise for this series is a fun one mixing the story of uncovering Takizawa's identity and the mysterious Selecao game that he is connected with. Various hints are dropped throughout the series exploring both of these elements as Takizawa explores his lost memories making him wonder whether or not he did some questionable acts related to a terrorist attack called Careless Monday. His character was fun with some of his antics reminding me enough of Shinobu Morita from Honey and Clover. Beyond that, we do get a good sense of the personalities of many of the characters that Takizawa interacts with, including Saki and the members of Eden. Even some of the Selecao members seen in the series get at least enough depth so we understand their motivations for being involved with the game. Now for my major issues with the series. While we get a good sense of character personalities, many of these same characters like a couple Selecao members and the Eden members lack a decent amount of background depth meaning we don't get a good sense of who they are beyond their personalities. In addition, the series was intentionally left open-ended with some unresolved plot elements which won't be addressed until the release of the upcoming Eden of the East movies that will be released in theaters later this year and the next. In terms of visuals, Eden had slick-looking building and landscape details designed well via CG artwork and animation shown off impressively during the explanation of Careless Monday and with later events in the series. Character designs were okay, though weren't as impressive as the scenery and animation. Overall, Eden of the East made for an intriguing title despite the flaws in its character depth and plot exploration. Still, this will just make me more anxious to check out the animated films when they eventually get released on video and can get fansubbed. Last updated Saturday, June 20 2009. Created Friday, June 19 2009. | ||||||||
| Watch | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
 Violet D
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[series:2037#1393] |
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I just started watching this one a couple days ago. But the episodes I have seen. I just loved them and want to watch more. An enjoyable and fun one to watch so far.
Last updated Monday, June 08 2009. Created Monday, June 08 2009. | ||||||||
| Buy | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 |
 Silence
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[series:2037#2939] |
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All episodes watched Eden of the East got me really worked up and anxious for each and every up-coming episode for two reasons: the great chemistry that was generated between the main characters; the plot is very interesting and original (the Messiah, Juiz, and the phone), not to mention cool (moments like "Bang", optical illusions, etc). However, 11 episodes are definitely not enough to tell the whole package promised to us, and indeed, the full delivery is not made. Now we have to wait for the movies. Alright, episode story is definitely 10. Very good story telling, using the mysteries of Takizawa to get me hooked from episode 1 to 11, and making me frustrated when the one week wait for the next episode is not over. Series story would have been a 10 if they told the whole story and kept up with the quality. But for a part of the whole tale, it is presented decently, but I cannot help but to notice the weird ideas of how they are supposed to save Japan. imo Japan's main problem now is poor economic growth and unemployment, the latter of which is very explicitly shown with the 20000 neets. Other social problems mainly stem from this main fault. To tackle the immense economic problem with a mere 100 million is not enough if you only consider the money. But this money can be spent in so many illicit ways to obtain the desired economic effects. But from what this series shows, none of the Selecaos (a term I suspect to mean Selected) are doing anything close. One guy shoots missles, another saves the country from the missles, a third builds a good healthcare system in a certain prefecture only, and the woman just murders rapists. =( The characters are very colorful and interesting, and we get a good look into the main characters. But a few side characters are obviously underdeveloped (think the last 3 selecaos to appear). I liked the chemistry between Takizawa and Saki a lot. I especially liked the wittiness of Juiz (Even if you abuse state power, may you continue to become an honest messiah). Music is good, i really liked the ending theme. Doesn't get a 10 cos i did not especially notice the bgm. Animation is very good, with no glitches or the sort. Art is very nice too. So, who is the supporter, where is Mr Outside, and who are the last 5 selecaos? I'm afraid there are going to be no answers until the movies are released. Until then, we have to satisfied with this unsatisfying non-ending. Last updated Thursday, November 19 2009. Created Sunday, April 19 2009. | ||||||||
| Rent |
 Stretch
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[series:2037#628] | ||||||
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(All episodes watched): This looks like fun! That was the impression which I got from episode one of Eden of the East. Right from the start, things which were both bizarre and amusing began to happen. Akira's carefree attitude was infectious and along with the shy and modest Saki I took an immediate liking to the two principal characters. So many shows can't for the life of them deliver even one character with an interesting and original personality, yet here it seemed to happen automatically. The makers had clearly done their homework regarding Washington DC tourist attractions. What's strange is that considering how much I enjoyed it, I still had little idea of just what was going on at the end of the episode. How serious will this get? What part will comedy play? Will there be action and violence? Where did the missile which struck Tokyo come from? Whatever the case might be, I was left looking forward to more of Higashi no Eden. This looked like the sort of show which might just hold my attention so firmly that I'd actually be willing to invest the brainpower needed to closely follow the plot--which is almost unheard of. Episode two was kind of confusing. In Japan, a shady character is keeping an eye on Akira; he could easily kill him if he wanted to, but must be under orders not to do so. Is he an ally? he seems contemptuous of Akira. I was startled when this man killed several people (including an innocent bystander); the silly tone of episode one won't last long with acts of murder going on. Meanwhile, about all Akira has learned is that his home was obliterated by one of the missile strikes--and that he likes Saki. Episode four explains a lot of what's going on with this Selecao organization; a dozen persons have been roped into a sort of competition to become the "savior" of Japan. What exactly that means is open to interpretation, but each person has been given a hefty sum of money to work with in order to attain their goals. All would be fine and dandy, except that only the winner will be allowed to live. Sounds like fun. I still have no idea what the missile attack had to do with this; was it somebody's idea that the only way to "save" the country was by destroying it? One minor problem is that Akira's carefree attitude seems a little out of place after he learns that he may be responsible for the deaths of 20,000 people. Episode seven: WTF?! The Japan Savior competition was strange enough, but now we learn that there's a supernatural element to the story as well? I don't know if I like this. I was thinking that when Akira asked Juiz to interfere with the actions of another Selecao member, he'd be told that that wasn't allowed; but on the contrary, both members were allowed to do as they pleased. So there are no rules against screwing with the plans of another contestant--however, the receipts for whatever purchases you make will be made available to all of the others. When a certain eccentric character manages to hack his way into the Selecao computer system and discover a shocking secret, an alarm went off in my head and I thought to myself, 'this guy is dead for sure'. And so it was, which was disappointing since he was an amusing character and the same thing has happened so many times in other series and movies. The predictability of his murder robbed it of most of the poignancy which it might have had. I had expected more from Eden. Still, while the series has lost a little of the originality which it began with, it remains interesting and entertaining. I was surprised to learn that Eden would consist of only 11 episodes, in part because up until episode ten I wasn't getting much of a feeling that a climax was anywhere near. I had thought that this would probably be a two season series, but now the signs are that the mystery will be resolved hastily, and as a result I am disappointed. Hopefully the final episode will prove my fears to be groundless. No such luck. The final episode leaves me sort of understanding what has happened, but confused and frustrated nevertheless. So Taki couldn't stand being hated by the people he had saved? But why the hell was everybody naked? What role did the NEETs with cellphones play in defeating the second missile attack? Putting so many 'hey, there's gonna be another missile attack' messages on the internet that they were sure to be noticed and taken seriously? What was the deal with Taki becoming a 'Prince'--some sort of metaphor? Who was the Outsider--did I miss the revelation somewhere? Did Taki win the Selecao competition? At several points I was left wondering whether comedy or drama had priority here. In the end it looked like Eden of the East as a whole was some sort of extended commercial for OVAs or a movie to come. It was a fun show, but that's a rather sloppy way to tie things up. My feeling is that somebody couldn't resist the temptation to race ahead with an anime based on a manga which was still far from finished. My favorite line: "It's a good thing it was cold out there earlier" Last updated Thursday, July 09 2009. Created Sunday, April 12 2009. | ||||||||
Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Japanese Series Web Site | http://www.juiz.jp/ |
| Wikipedia Entry for this series | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eden_of_the_East |
