Eden of the East (Higashi no Eden) first impressions
There’s always a daunting amount of opinion and chatter revolving around the latest season of new shows but I think Higashi no Eden is one of those rare cases where I feel comfortable in being swept along with the hype. Political thrillers aren’t common in anime after all, nor is the decision to feature characters out of high school; both of which give me just cause to raise my hopes and call it a refreshing change. In short it feels like something I can be forgiven for getting all excited about.
Saki is adorable. Official
I still have a nagging fear in the back of my mind that I’m being over-optimistic in that if it squanders its relatively short episode run I’m going to feel unbelievably cheated. Right now my main worry is that it has a fascinating background but there may not be time to addess it properly: I like the premise, the pacing is so far spot-on and the character dynamics are top-notch so would hate to see it rushed or get bogged down. There’s a feature film in the pipeline though so maybe (hopefully) it’ll provide a sequel, prequel or side-story to what’s going on here if there is indeed too much for the TV episodes to address.
It’s interesting to see an Oasis tune used in the opening theme. I was really into their 90s material during my pre-university days but if Falling Down is anything to go by Noel seems to have had a second wind songwriting-wise; the lyrics have got me thinking about where the story may be going too, which is a nice bonus. The animation sequence is cool in an info-overload way but I love the end sequence as well: it’s wonderfully innovative and the accompanying music is excellent. I only caught onto School Food Punishment in the past few weeks but I hope this contribution gives them the recognition they deserve.
An Oblige that’s anything but Noblesse: I’d call that a Kodak Moment
I even love the pacing of Higashi no Eden. It feels sedate but the interaction between Saki and Akira is so wonderful to watch it doesn’t seem to be stalling for time at all; I felt the process of getting to know each other is handled really well actually. The dialogue feels natural and organic and the little moments of humour and borderline-romance are genuinely sweet – who didn’t want her to jump aboard as the boat departed in the second episode? I was wishing so damned hard for her to take his hand and continue her adventure, without knowing enough about the characters or events to say why. I could sit back and watch the two of them on screen all day and not feel bored, I swear.
I rewatched the opening dialogue from Saki and came to the conclusion that Akira had his memories wiped with his full consent and willingly became ‘Number 9’ in that organisation to fulfil a mission; certainly not just because he wanted to spend other people’s money and get one of those hax phones they’re assigned with. I think there’s a lot of hidden meaning involved in the Noblesse Oblige idea, as suggested by Saki’s mention of his willing sacrifice and of course that huge wad of cash stored on the aforementioned mobile phone.
The composition of this scene was LOL. Let’s hear it for symbolism and innuendo
A lot of the furore surrounding the debut of this show centred around that infamous trailer and sure enough, there’s a lot of comedy in the first episode. Saki’s reaction was understandable (as in, it’s a believable reaction to seeing a member of the opposite gender stark bollock naked in the middle of Washington DC) and absolutely priceless into the bargain; it goes a long way to explaining why I’m so enchanted by her character. Certain elements felt out-of-place of course: throwing coins into the White House garden is pretty dumb and no police officer, American or otherwise, would demand a full-frontal as a form of identification instead of a passport or driving licence. Still, it was a lot of fun, the English dialogue was convincing for a change and I was impatient to find out what happened next.
Things got even better in the second episode in my opinion – it introduced the concept of Careless Monday (the understatedness of this term cracks me up although the implications are I’m sure no laughing matter) and brought the storyline proper into the spotlight after the character introductions. I find Saki’s character to be awesome for reasons I still can’t put my finger on (she’s cute AND in her 20s…maybe that’s it) but Akira is clearly the quick-thinking, amnesiac hero of the day with a hidden backstory who’s going to be outwitting a lot of shady Establishment types. Sound familiar?
“MATT DAMON~!”
Yep, it wasn’t just the op animation’s sense of constant movement that had me thinking “Doesn’t this look an awful lot like the Bourne trilogy?” My respect for the movie adaptations of Robert Ludlum’s series of novels might be skewing my opinion here but I found that to be more than just a nice touch. I suspect that the inclusion of such an overt reference means it won’t be relying on them too heavily for inspiration but I think the parallels are still worthy of note. As is the religious imagery some viewers are picking up on but I’m leaning towards the political aspect in my tentative early interpretation of what’s going on.
In the same way that the creators of the Bourne films managed to make them exciting and intelligent at the same time, I think the staff involved in Higashi no Eden are aiming for a similar formula. Having the director of the Stand Alone Complex for example makes me hopeful because the political aspect (particularly in the Second Gig) was well-written and made the whole experience a balanced and satisfying one. With any luck Kamiyama and his team can work their magic here too.
There’s still a sense of playfulness and adventure on show but also one of realistic grittiness bubbling underneath, which I’m finding to be a perfect combination. The two leads are endearing, the artwork in general is sharp and solid and the plot promises plenty of mature storytelling to get my analytical teeth into. Can it deliver on its promise? I think I’ll stick my neck out this time and say yeah, why the hell not?
Yes. The only thing that would’ve made this show even more interesting would be a “Giant Robot Tuesday” or something.
I would’ve written a post like this one but you wrote the words I wanted to write. Drawing board. Here’s to EotE delivering on its promises.
Yeah, this is definitely something to be happy about for now. I agree that the pacing is excellent, it really does a great job in getting that fun/involving balance down. I hadn’t heard about the film till now, so that’s made me even more cheerful.
Haha, his passport fake name shoulda been Matoko Daimyo.
I can’t really add anything to your comments about this show so far, it’s certainly shaping up to be a winner. To think, I very nearly didn’t pick up this series initially based on the artwork and character design, but the plot won me over and I’m certainly glad it did.
Eden of the East certainly looks like it intends on serving up an eclectic and heady mix – Can a single show really put together romance, intrigue, action and conspiracy into one show without screwing it up? Normally I wouldn’t have said no, but these opening episodes look set to prove me wrong.
There aren’t many series that I’ll sit and watch the OP and ED of every single time either, but I think this show is going to be one of them.
Wonderful review. “Playfulness” is a perfect word. Yes to the pacing. And I think I have a partial explanation for why you find Saki so interesting. For me, it’s partly the way that Hayami Saori is playing the character: her beautiful and precise voice on the one hand, and her ability to convey both vulnerability and a rising eagerness on the other. Hayami-san is only 17, has had roles in Touka Gettan (Momoka), Wagaya no Oinarisama (Kou), and Sekirei (Musubi), and is my avatar here.
I was pretty skeptical at the initial trailer offerings, but yeah, this first episode blew me away. I have to agree with some of the other comments, “playful” is an apt descriptor. I think what keeps the tension off is partly also the Chika Umino character design: they’re capable of very subtle expressions but are still very light-hearted looking.
I’m still having trouble how you could possibly have watched a series titled Eden of the East and watched an opening sequence with the words “Messiah”, “savior”, and “Lord” that is also populated with rather (deliciously) blatant references to Biblical numerology (12 chosen from Japan) and been totally oblivious to any potential religious underpinnings of the plot. That got me far more interested than The Ludlum Reference (surely there’s a Robert Ludlum title generator out there somewhere, it’s not very difficult), mostly because I can’t understand how I made it through all three Bourne books (I can’t even remember what happened in them and forgot I read them) and I hated the first movie.
I’m working on my own crazy Judeochristognostico theories (possibly to be reported when I can actually confirm/deny the theories), but I tend to have a ball with such things because I spent semesters of school mired in the Scriptures in at least one class (canonical and non) so such thought comes easy to me. You mentioned over at ETERNAL’s post that you’re “skeptical” of “religious references” in anime post-Evangelion–is there a particular reason for that? I’ve not seen Eva in years and I need to rewatch it, and I know that the religious symbolism in it is hotly contested (and has been for years), but I’ve never heard anyone give a rational argument for either the “religious symbolism in anime lol” or the “philosophy references in anime lol” arguments.
For scenes like the young couple’s long talk in ep2 I’ll forgive a lot of things, most of them you mentioned. I’d add: WTF was Saki doing throwing ANYTHING at the white house? That suggests naivete on a high level, center of the world (hmm …) though it might be. And why the cops weren’t on her the moment she did it … Well, as I said, I forgive a lot when I get a scene like ep2’s chat. Not only did it feel natural, but it was pretty long, yet relaxed, not dull.
@Ghostlightning: yeah, this needs moar giant robots. You’ve just reminded me I need to check out that new Mazinger Z show…
@coburn: there’s not much info concerning the film, but given the length of the TV show I’m really happy about it too!
@Kabitzin: rewatching is great for little details like that. I think I’ll go back and look into those more closely…they could be important perhaps. *shrugs*
@Hanners: there’s a lot brewing away in this story but I can remember how tightly plotted the GitS SAC was so yeah, my hopes are still high. Coolest op and end sequences I’ve seen in a while, too.
@hashi: the chemistry between the two leads is the biggest draw for me until the backstory becomes clearer. Akira’s entertaining because you never know what he’s going to do next but I still think Saki’s adorable! ^_^
@vendredi: yeah, the character designs are great. A lot of people are likening them to Honey and Clover, but I still haven’t watched much of that yet, to my shame.
@OGT: the problem I found with NGE (this is going back a number of years now) is that the religious symbolism and jargon was intended to look and sound exotic and cool, but it distracted so many Western viewers that many missed the main messages of the show (principally the psychology and character study). There’s plenty familiar-sounding terminology here too, which is why I was reluctant to attach too much meaning to it, in case I got carried away and put two and two together to make five. Of course, the Ludlum references may be just as important or, conversely, a red herring, but I felt more comfortable analysing the political side rather than the religious one. ETERNAL made a wonderful job of the latter anyway, so I don’t feel the need now anyway!
@Peter S: there were a few WTF? moments but I found the humour and dialogue was just enough to carry it into the second episode; the dialogue of which was, as you say, worth the wait.
@Martin: Ah, okay. I know that there’s a lot of people who think that the religious/philosophical themes of Eva and other anime series are complete bunk, but I see where it’s coming from. I myself have that problem with people’s treatment of Eva exclusively from a Christian mythos standpoint (because, as you said, they missed the point of the rest of the series).
I think the inclusion of any kind of religiomythical symbolism in anything is supposed to set a mythical/spiritual mood for the viewer and augment (or provide a structure for) more general themes, if one chooses to read it in that light. It might help to think of such things as intellectual fanservice, which tends to be what it is.
I don’t debunk the political thriller elements (those are just as good), but whoever’s running Selecao clearly has a Messiah complex.
I think we’ve all realized by now that the plot holds a lot of potential, but it’s good that you pointed out the first thing that drew me to the series: the originality. It doesn’t feel like a carbon copy of any other anime, which is quite an accomplishment, and there’s more to the show than its potentially excellent storyline.
After three episodes I have to say this is shaping up to be my favorite series so far this season (although admittedly there isn’t much else I’m watching) and I think a lot of that is due to the fact it seems so different from everything else I’ve seen in recent memory; like it’s on a different wavelength or something. And I realized this before the Opening of Episode 1 was complete.
As an American living a (relative) stone’s throw away from the Capital, it was kinda fun to see the story commence in a familiar setting for once. From tiny details like the Dulles Air & Space Museum ad at the airport to the real American voice actors, I greatly appreciated all the visual intricacy.