Review of Higashi no Eden (Eden of the East) Ep 1

Higashi no Eden aka Eden of the East is attracting lots of attention for various reasons. This is the first original anime featured in the Noitamina slot. Even before the anime begins its run, the producers have already announced the intention to make a movie version to be screened in winter this year. Umino Chika, the author of "Hachimitsu to Clover" is the original designer for the characters. This is the first time an Oasis song is used as the theme for an anime. And the ratings for the first episode is third-highest in Noitamina's history. Plus, viewers in Japan can take part in the mobile phone game to win 100,000 yen each. The list could just go on and on. That is why many people are wondering how this would turn out.

Frankly speaking, I am not very keen on SF-stuff. Nonetheless, there is a suspense element in this anime which I hope would not disappoint me at the end. Sometimes, suspense stories get too caught up in trying to confuse viewers that they end up getting nowhere. What caught my eye at first was Umino Chika. Although she has a new project Sangatsu no Lion going on, it is still early to say if and when this will be made into an anime. As such, I'm very interested to see what she can do for this anime. Maybe it's because of the fact that I'm still in post-Hachikuro withdrawal mode. The moment I set my eyes on the first pictures of this anime, I was dumbstruck. How come the leading guy, Takizawa Akira looks so much like Morita Shinobu in Hachikuro?! Just look at the picture on the right and you will see what I mean. I really thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Subsequently, I turned my attention to the female lead Morimi Saki and I thought Hagu was staring right at me. Oh well, the resemblance may not be as striking as in Morita's case but the appearance does feel a lot like Hagu. After watching the first episode, the impression I have of Morimi is more of a combination between Hagu and Ayu i.e. Hagu's babyface but Ayu's vivacious character.

Let me go into a summary of the storyline for the first episode:

In 2010, there have been 10 missile attacks at various spots in Japan but the astonishing thing is that nobody was killed. 3 months later in Washington D.C., Morimi Saki who is on a graduation trip with her friends, wanders off to the White House to do something alone. Just as she is throwing coins into the White House's fountain to make a wish, she is questioned by the police about her reasons for doing so. In the nick of time, a naked Japanese guy who has lost his memory and is in possession of a gun and a mobile phone only, diverts the police's attention and manages to escape with Morimi. Out of kindness, Morimi gives her muffler and coat to him but later realizes that she has left her passport and wallet inside the coat's pocket. Meanwhile, the guy receives instructions from a woman named Juiz through his mobile phone and makes his way to a motel room which is said to be his home. He discovers in shock that his room is filled with guns, maps, a couple of Japanese passports as well as some weird photos which show him displaying behaviour like a terrorist. Just then, Morimi follows him back to the room and asks for her wallet and passport back. After looking through the passports, the guy chooses the passport with the name Takizawa Akira who is shown to be one day younger than Morimi who was born on 6 Jan 1989 and leads her away after starting a fire in the room to destroy all traces of him. Akira who is penniless, goes to the police and embassy to file a report claiming that his belongings were stolen and manages to get a free air ticket to go back to Japan with Morimi. Just when they are going to board the plane, they see from the news that an 11th missile has just hit Tokyo...

The first episode is more of an introduction to how Morimi and Akira met and the weird circumstances surrounding Akira. It remains to be seen if the two of them will develop into a couple after all. I'm very curious to see who Akira is and why he was said to be 9th chosen one by Juiz. And who is Juiz? It seems like Juiz is more like an agent doing the work but she has someone up there who holds the reins.

The graphics so far are quite good and I like the pacing of the story. I'm not too familiar with the seiyuu lineup since I don't remember hearing any of their names or voices in other animes. Based on first impressions, I like the voice of Kimura Ryouhei who plays Akira. It reminds me so much of Morita or rather Ueda Yuji...

Another sign that this anime involves Umino Chika or rather is close to Hachikuro, would be the ending sequence. The producers use paper cutting art to form several objects and in the end creates the title logo of the series. This is quite similar to what happened in Hachikuro's opening sequences where the real food items are animated.

As for the OP and ED, I think Oasis's song is fine but I need some time to see if it grows on me. The ED doesn't offer much surprises though, at least for the first time.

I'm glad to see an original anime especially for a suspense story. This is because I will not have any expectations for the anime to follow the original and I won't know the developments beforehand. Hopefully, this will not disappoint me by the time I get to the end of the season.