Eden of the East Anime

I have recently watched an anime called Eden of the East (or Higashi no Eden in Japanese) and decided to write a quick review since I enjoyed it so much. Eden of the East might not be an absolutely amazing anime, but it's definitely very entertaining and was, without a doubt, one of the best shows this season. You will find my review below as well as various information such as studio and the director, as well as the trailer. Noblesse oblige!

Studio: Production I.G.

Year: 2009

Genres: Sci-fi, Action, Romance, Psychological

Episode count: 11

Director: Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell)

Character design: Chika Umino (Honey & Clover)

Opening: "Falling Down" by Oasis

Ending: "Futuristic Imagination" by School Food Punishment

The first thing that should be noted about Eden of the East anime is its high production value. Most of Production I.G. animes are well made, and EotE is no exception. Everything from animation to voice acting is top notch.

The character designs are charming and unique, thanks to the talent of Chika Umino (anyone who has seen Honey & Clover will recognize her style immediately). The voice actors are superb, and what's surprising is that they actually hired people who could properly speak English to voice the American characters in the first episode rather than going with the usual "Engrish" spoken by Japanese actors. What's more, the OP (opening theme) is the song "Falling Down" by Oasis. Anime watchers will know that it's quite rare for an anime to have an English song as the opening. This might indicate that Eden of the East was made with overseas watchers in mind as well.

This anime series sucked me in from the first episode. Eden of the East has an intricate plot, likable characters and a lot of references to various movies and the real world. It jumps right into an action scene from the very beginning and just explains things slowly along the way, so you won't be bored at any point of the show. The director of the Eden of the East is apparently a big fan of movies and he wanted this anime to feel like one to a watcher - and I'd say he succeeded with that.

I give Eden of the East a solid 8/10 and recommend this anime to any watcher who wants to see a good show. Eden of the East is not without flaws (I felt the ending was a bit anticlimactic; then again, there will be two movies), but it definitely beats anything else this season.

Plot Summary

Saki Morimi is a young woman who is visiting US on her college graduation trip. She decides to see the White House and make a wish by throwing a coin into the fountain behind the fence. Naturally, the sight of someone throwing weird metallic objects at the White House alerts the security - but then Saki is saved from the guards by a weird Japanese guy who appears before them stark naked and carrying nothing but a cellphone and a gun. He claims he remembers nothing about his past, but it turns out that his phone is charged with 8,2 billion yen in digital cash. The two make a run for it to escape the police attention and end up traveling back to Japan together. However they are met by terrible news at the airport - apparently an untracked missile attack has destroyed a part of Tokyo...

• Awesome plot: a man who lost all his memory but has a phone charged with a ridiculously large sum of money. A mysterious missile attack on Tokyo which levels entire block but somehow does not kill a single person. A group of NEETs who created an ingenious image recognition software. What the hell is going on here?
• Great animation: fluid action scenes, gorgeous background and cute character styles. Visually stunning 3D effects are integrated perfectly with the traditional 2D animation.
• Sweet romance: for all you fluff lovers, Eden of the East has some really cute scenes and interactions between the two lead characters.
• Humor: there's not that much of it, but it's really funny, tasteful and not overdone like it often is with other animes.
• Akira's Johnny: you will understand it when you see it ;)

There also are two movies which continue the story after the end of the anime. I haven't watched them yet, but you can get a glimpse at the first one, King of Eden, in the trailer below.