02.06
Straight from the director and staff behind GITS (as in the show, not the Belgian village, the punk rock band, or the loud-mouthed brats at the subway), Eden of the East is a short, but sweet thriller leaking with cyberpunk and mystery. We start off with a girl named Saki Morimi on the middle of her post-graduation trip. And while at Washington DC, she finds herself face to face with a naked man and his gun. Said naked man, who we shall know as Akira Takizawa, has no memories or idea what’s going on. And after a roundabout chase consisting of discovery, dick-flashing, and lost IDs, the two find themselves together in a quest to crack conspiracy-laden events and find out who’s the puppeteer pulling their strings.
I’ve been hearing all these comparisons to the Bourne Trilogy, which also features an amnesiac agent fighting against his superiors to find out what’s going on. Having not watched any of the Bourne films, I instead see a EotE to be reminiscent of another work. And while I might be making wild guesses at this point, but the set-up and characters feel very much like the first season of Doctor Who. You have this bored girl trying to find more in life, an eccentric and mysterious man who just escaped an immense event where he had to play the bad guy, the unrequited hypotenuse who thinks this man might be a threat to everyone else, as well as a malevolent higher-up who wants to bring about mass destruction in order to create his own paradise. How one of the characters described above, Ohsugi, spent most of his time wearing an outfit similar to the Tenth Doctor doesn’t help things. Now, this isn’t a criticism but more of an overlook at how this series mirrors another. That’s like saying Firefly sucks because it just happens to resemble Cowboy Bebop.
But as for the actual quality, it’s good. Quite good. It has an edge that should be nothing less expected from Production IG. It contains a cerebral feel without being too contemplative, while having enough action without being Bayesque. With only 11 episodes, the show stuffs each one with great amounts of suspense and wonder. Any other show that did this would have godawful pacing or be forced to double the amount of episodes to keep it fluid, but Eden of the East thankfully manages to escape this stigma.
Now for the characters, Akira fulfills the usual traits of an oddball lead: Charm (enough to convince a guy to give him his pants), the occasional film reference, an utter lack of shame, and the drive to do the greater good no matter what people might think of him. Saki carries an everyman vibe to her, with the urge to find purpose in the world but little ability to truly express that feeling. The supporting cast consisting of Saki’s friends, despite not having enough time to truly shine, has a decent dynamic going on between them and the main two. And just as with them, many of the other antagonists and side characters really only have a couple episodes at the most to make their mark. However, they’re quite distinctive. Even the vocal-only support for Akira, Juiz, has somewhat of a personality going for her.
The animation is smooth and vibrant, with much of the scenery, especially the opening scenes featuring DC, being paid great attention to. It’s akin to Ghibli or how Durarara!! accurately portrayed Ikebukuro. And the designs of the characters, while more in line with the usual anime norm in comparison with Kamiyama’s work on Ghost in the Shell and Moribito, definitely have their charm. One thing that interests me about this is that the characters look rather young for their stated ages of 21. There are plenty of shows, such as Yu Yu Hakusho and Bleach, where characters who are 14 or 15 instead look like they’ve long since finished high school (I’m looking at you Kuwabara), so it’s provides a nice contrast to see the opposite occur (and not in the fetishistic “let’s draw an 8-year-old girl and say that she’s 18!” way). It also helps add to how the characters, no matter how many feats they’ve pulled off, are more or less immature and just starting out in the grander schemes of life.
So to wrap this up quick, the show is a roller coaster ride that sadly ends too quickly. But fear not, for there are two sequel movies furthering the adventures of Akira and Saki. I have not seen them yet, but word of mouth suggests that you should expect them to feel more like a second season rather than feature films.
Rating: 8/10
The show’s currently out on DVD and Blu-Ray. But if you’re a cheapass like me, just go on FUNi’s website or YouTube to watch. Movies’ aren’t out yet, but expect reviews once they do.
Originally posted on Tuesday, October 19, 2010.