Customer Reviews

Eden of the East: The Complete Series

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Takizawa Akira, early 20s, stands in front of the White House, gun in hand, stark naked and a mysterious phone with the word Selecao imprinted on it. Memory gone, Akira regains his consciousness after, seemingly, erasing his own memories just a few seconds back. Why is he there? What reason would he have to brandish a gun in front of such a place? Why's his memory gone?

What's happening?

With all these important questions that should take precedent over anything else, his strange predicament takes a bow so that he can rescue a girl in front of him with a predicament of her own. That girl, Saki Morimi, for entirely different reasons, stands in front of the White House and creates a situation, drawing the attention of the police.

And with a simple step forward Akira goes to aid Saki, and a special relationship develops that gives meaning to this whole series. This bond between them is what drives us, the viewer, to keep watching amidst all the mystery that revolves Akira's past, and his connection to the Selecao, the "selector."

But, what's happening?

As it turns out, Akira has been chosen as part of a group of people selected to "save" the country of Japan. What he needs to save them from is not clear, but at his disposal is a mysterious phone and a bank account worth 10 billion Yen. He can do anything necessary by calling Juiz, the operator, who can accomplish any request he desires. And by anything, they mean anything. Want to clear a path through traffic? Done. Want to have the Prime Minister of Japan say "uncle" on national TV? Done. Want to murder someone?...yes, even that. No problem. But, there's a catch. Each request is a transaction that dwindles the 10 billion yen down to zero. Once that zero is reached a special Selecao, the Supporter, comes knocking at your door to snuff you out. And it's game over, lights out--adios.

You lose.

The grand picture is revealed little by little, and in the end, it's a good story to follow. I won't divulge more of my opinion on the ending, but just know it's worth it. What really keeps you there is how the relationship between Akira and Saki develops. Akira has a charm, an easy spirit that isn't suited for the task given to him by the Selecao. Yet, in the state that he's in, he charges forward, uncovering the threads tangled within his past. Saki, also is in a tiffy of her own as she feels lost in the world, trying to find a place where she can start her life. With Akira beside her, and his problems, she becomes a sort of caretaker to him, something that she feels good about and finds meaning in. Slowly but surely, both become each other's confidant, in a situation where things aren't clear and danger lurks in every corner, they can only trust themselves.

Intriguing stuff, eh?

Away from the story, everything else is good. The show is a thing of beauty. The art style is top notch, with clean lines, bright colors and fluid animation. The soundtrack stands out and really fits the mood of the show, and the voice acting is great (I saw this with the Japanese voice track, so I can't comment on the quality of the English track). And with a serious undertone as this, the show does deliver moments of levity and comic relief which never feel out of place. It's a good mix of drama and comedy, which if it didn't exist, the show would be too overbearing--kudos to the writers for that blend.

So is this a show for you? I think everyone has a space for this type of anime, and truth be told, we need this kind of anime to do well. Shows like Monster, Moribito, Fighting Spirit, Rainbow and Eden of the East are rare gems that you need to uncover amongst all the teen angst that populate most of anime shelves these days. Anyone with a nose for mystery and suspense would do themselves a favor by picking this one up.

Must buy.

Just as an update, there are three other works out there past this DVD release. One is a movie that compiles the series into a two hour film, compressing what occurs during the series. The other two are feature length films that continue where the series left off.

In April 2009, a few of Japan's popular talents in the anime and manga industry teamed up on a project known as "Higashi no Eden" (Eden of the East).

Featuring anime production from Production I.G., "Eden of the East" would feature the work of series creator Kenji Kamiyama (creator of "Blood: The Last Vampire" and worked on "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex", "Hakkenden" and "Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade"), manga artist/writer Chica Umino ("Honey and Clover"), art director Yusuke Takeda ("Mobile Suit Gundam Wing", "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex", "Neon Genesis Evangelion") and legendary anime musician Kenji Kawai ("Ghost in the Shell", "Maison Ikkoku", "Patlabor", "Ranma 1/2', "Vampire Princess Miyu").

The anime series debuted on Fuji TV in April 2009 and was followed by three films and now the complete series has been released on Blu-ray (and three films will follow) courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment.

VIDEO :

"Eden of the East" is just fantastic to look at. Presented in 1080p, the artistic backgrounds are magnificent. I don't think there was one re-used (aside from Takizawa's home) but there was always a new painted scene whenever a character was shown. If there is one thing that I've noticed with recent Production I.G. anime TV series, despite it being a TV series, they still go out of there way to make the series look phenomenal. Each painted scene looks fantastic, the character designs by Chica Umino come alive!

The animation and overall colors are vibrant, blacks are nice and deep and I saw no excessive haloing, edge enhancements and saw no artifacting. This is one beautiful anime series and definitely one of the best, if not the best, looking anime series on Blu-ray thus far.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"Eden of the East - The Complete Series" is presented in English and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 5.1. The audio for this series is fantastic. From the crowd ambience and just the sounds of leaves, police sirens, blasts, airplanes, computer keyboard clicking, you name it, the audio was well utilized through the surround channels.

Dialogue and Kenji Kawai's impressive musical score is crisp and clear through the front and center channels. Both Japanese and English vocal tracks were well-done! Although not an all-out action-driven anime series, there is quite a bit of action throughout the eleven episodes and the lossless audio was very good!

I have to admit that I was surprised to hear Oasis' "Falling Down" theme but I've noticed that the theme is only present in the first episode and fans have told me that it ran throughout the whole series. I'm guessing the rights to license the song for Blu-ray and DVD release was expensive. But at least the song is presented in the first episode.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Eden of the East - The Complete Series" comes with the following special features:

* Director Kamiyama & Original Character Designer Chica Umino Interview - (21:49) A wonderful interview on how the collaboration between Kenji Kamiyama (series creator/director) and "Honey and Clover" mangaka Chica Umino came about. A very cool interview but as always, Umino-san continues to be a mystery as she uses her trademark bear (featured in her HandC manga to cover her face).
* Kimura (Takizawa) and Hayami (Saki) Interview - (18:32) Interviews with voice actor Ryohei Kimura (voice of Takizawa) and Saori Hayami (voice of Saki). The two talk about not knowing what kind of series they were doing a voices for but while recording, being impressed with what they saw and being happy to be part of the series.
* Directors Kamiyama & Oshii Interview - (27:17) Director Kenji Kamiyama and Mamoru Oshii sit down to discuss the production of "Eden of the East".
* Art Director Takeda Interview - (15:36) Art director Yusuke Takeda talks about working with Umino's characters and the things he discussed with director Kamiyama before taking on the series. Also, showcasing the Bamboo studio as they worked on the backgrounds and Yusuke explains several scenes and what challenges he had and what he wanted to achieve.
* Composer Kawai Interview - (10:41) Interview with Kenji Kawai who talks about the music of the series and what he has planned. Also, showing us a few of the tracks he created at the studio.
* TV Spot - (:32) The commercial for the Japanese Blu-ray and DVD release.
* Promotion Video - (1:51) The Japanese promotional video for "Eden of the East".
* Textless Closing Song -
* Trailers - FUNimation Entertainment trailers

JUDGMENT CALL:

Production I.G. has delivered one of the finest anime television anime series to be released on Blu-ray in America. With the release of "Ghost Hound" from Sentai Filmworks last month which I gave a highly favorable review for it, I thought the Production I.G. series was just phenomenal. But here they are once again with another series and not only does it come with wonderful animation and many brilliantly painted backgrounds (which is rare to see on a anime TV series), the series creator manages to wrap the main storyline in 11 episodes.

Most anime TV series tend to run 22-26 episodes and yet, Kenji Kamiyama and Production I.G. manage to do it with 11 episodes and what a wonderful series "Eden of the East" has turned out to be!

The series has turn out to be one surprise after the other. From hearing the Oasis theme song, to seeing a well-crafted anime series from director/writer/creator Kenji Kamiyama, seeing the character designs from Chika Umino (which I'm a big fan of the "Honey and Clover" manga series), hearing the awesome jazzy music from Kenji Kawai, to see the talented BAMBOO team behind the painted backgrounds of this series....everything about this series is magnificent. Animation, background design, storyline, music...

And then not only do you have a series which looks awesome on Blu-ray, the lossless audio is great and you get a good number of lengthy special features. This has got to be my favorite anime series on Blu-ray for 2010, hands down!

I can go on and on about why I love this series but I will just say that when it comes to anime TV series on Blu-ray, I don't expect much because these anime studios are handling other series at the same time and frankly, many are completed within hours of airing on Japanese television. Anime TV series are usually not detailed like a film or OVA but somehow in 2010, Production I.G. have two anime series on Blu-ray in the U.S. that just breaks traditional convention of anime TV series and how they can look and literally raises the bar of animation and artistic backgrounds. "Ghost Hound" was incredible and the Blu-ray for the series was awesome... but FUNimation Entertainment has done well by releasing this Blu-ray, to include several lengthy special features (and not just the standard opening and ending themes) and is now planning to release the three "Eden of the East" films on Blu-ray as well.

And as far as raising the bar for how anime TV series should look, the fact that they got Chica Umino and Ryohei Kimura involved was awesome but just looking at the anime series, rarely do you see the backgrounds being used more than once. It's like every scene features new animation and background art and there was special emphasis on lighting and once again, this is not the kind of detail you usually see in a anime TV series. But Production I.G. must have high standards because so far, I've been impressed with their work and it just gets better and better.

It may be a little early since the year is not over but in terms of anime releases on Blu-ray in America, "Eden of the East - The Complete Series" may be my pick for "Anime Series on Blu-ray of the Year (2010)".

Highly recommended!

Set in a near future, a decade at most, this series stays fairly grounded to reality and the possibility of technology currently under development. Heavy political intrigue and a nagging, who am I?, question makes this a very well written and portrayed drama that was an instant favorite to me. Quality packaging, and fantastic blu-ray edition.

It takes a while, but when you get beneath the surface of what appears to be a typical anime/manga approaching-the-apocalypse situation, there are some interesting and more modern themes tackled in Eden of the East that have a rather more urgent contemporary feel than the usual preoccupation with post-war trauma and questions of national identity.

What appears initially to be a post-apocalyptic event - the series set soon after Careless Monday, when an unexplained missile strike took out large sections of downtown Tokyo and targeted five other major cities - soon turns out to be only the tip of the iceberg. Finding himself naked in Washington DC, with his memory wiped, Akira Takizawa gradually discovers that he is part of some elaborate and dangerous game, one of twelve ordinary Japanese citizens selected by a mysterious organisation to be a Seleção, armed with a special phone and access to ten billion yen, charged with coming up with a solution to the crisis facing Japan, and given free-rein to interpret this aim and spend the money in whatever way they see fit.

The subject of a selected group of powerful individuals who have the power to either save the world from a looming apocalypse or themselves bring it about is a fairly common anime subject, but Eden of the East is paced rather differently from such series and appears to have other aims than just the usual build-up to an epic grand-scale destruction of the planet. At the heart of the story is the fate of young disenfranchised Japanese people and their struggle against the conservative and traditional ruling establishment that hold them back from realising their true potential in a modern globalised world, represented here not only by Saki and her friends who are developing a revolutionary computer programme, but by the existence and the role of NEETs or Shut-ins, young men who have dropped out of conventional society in favour of a locked-room, computer-oriented existence.

It's a little unsettling and confusing that Eden of the East doesn't follow the usual anime template however, and it isn't until quite late in the series that its purpose becomes clear. Each episode doesn't exactly leave you eager for what happens next and the tone is difficult to judge, with several bizarre episodes being based around a castrating 'johnny-hunter' set to an incongruous soundtrack of poppy Japanese music. It definitely gains momentum however, and it's a series that works best when considered as a whole rather than on individual episodes. Having said that, while technically the whole 11-part series is included here, the resolution is left to be completed by a couple of feature-length episodes. One hopes they will follow soon.

First of all, the animation in this show is top-notch, I enjoyed it as much as other animes such as Summer Wars and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Really beautiful imagery of recognizable locations in and around Tokyo.

The main character is a guy who finds himself naked with a gun in front of the White House. He meets the girl, and discovers who he is and what his mission is. The plot deals broadly with the socio-economic problems in Japan. If that interests you in the slightest I recommend this anime.

The plot and characters dealt with some interesting ideas, executed well at times. But it just didn't live up to the potential it had to deal with serious themes (such as in Ghost in the Shell). It didn't capitalize on ideas that could have been used to could appeal to more than just established anime fans.

The character learns who he is through 'deus ex machina', with the plot being explained from a new character's speech instead of more organic or subtle development (such as when the girl goes on an interview). Several of his actions are never explained, maybe they are cleared up in later movies. There's little character development, yes it is tough to do in 11 episodes, but the motivation behind many of the characters' actions are never really developed. They are 2D, they do things consistent with their personality but I would have liked to have seen why they acted the way they did. The 'bad guy' especially has motivations never really explained. There is a story-arc or two, almost like filler episodes, before the ending is swiftly dealt with in a couple episodes.

I guess it seems picky to expect more from a 11-episode anime but with such serious interesting subject matter, I wish that more care were given to the characters rather than just the exciting situations they found themselves in. With all that said, each episode was just very enjoyable. I enjoyed this series and look forward to watching the 2 movies, but have just lowered my expectations for them. Recommended.

This is a great new anime series. Is up there with the best. Has a great story that leaves you hanging for more.

This is the closest thing to perfection that you could get to in an anime that isn't action oriented. From the start I was hooked I watched it all over a week, but if I didn't have a life I would have watched it all within a day. The reason I say almost perfect is I think they could have taken a few more episodes to flush out some story plot points. Some charecters seem to be thrown in and not explained at all. And the way they just threw in the Eden Of The East computer system was a bit strange. But all in all if you get it going in thinking this isn't an action show you will love it. But if you go in thinking this is the next Dragonball or Naruto you will be left wanting more. Hang your action at the door and allow mystery to take you over you will be pleased.

This series was phenomenal...I was worried about how the series could be so complex and only be 11 episodes long but they pulled it off amazingly! I highly recommend this series i know $36 is pretty expensive but it has replay value for sure...I cant wait till all three movies are rereleased on blu-ray as well i know the first movie is to be released april 2011....I hope the others follow quickly....This series surpassed my expectations with its quality it's definitely worth checking out...

It's been a while since I watched this whole thing, but I did really enjoy it. The quality of the animation is really good (not just because it is blu-ray) and I always appreciate stuff like that. I gave it 4 stars because I wish it had a little more too it and didn't end with such a cliffhanger... interesting anime, check it out.

Eden of the East is one of the better anime I've seen in a while. Well thought out with a great plot and lovable characters it is a must have for any collection. This blu-ray edition just makes it look that much better. It's a great price also!