Mashima, We Need to Talk About Pacing

Edens Zero Chapter 212 Review/Recap

Mashima, we need to talk about your pacing problem. And I do say that it’s a problem. You keep introducing these villains, only to have them offed like they’re nothing. It’s not good writing, Mashima!

Recap

As Justice and Homura face down Aconella, she proceeds to sic her “children” on the two of them. At once, the pair are swarmed by an army of the beasts. Not even Homura in her mecha can handle all of them at once.

Aconella, meanwhile, proves to be just as formidable as her dragons, easily able to keep Justice at bay. While doing so, she boasts that she created most of these dragons with an invention she developed on Lendard itself: the perpetual mecha-soldier birthing machine. AKA, the Mobius, a device that was secretly completed by the Lendaridan royal family. With it, Aconella, or rather, Queen Shaya Le Lendard, plans to conquer everything in her name.

As Justice and Homura remain helpless, though, Elsie steps in and cuts her psychotic mother in two. After that, Elsie obliterates her mother without batting so much as an eye, much to Justice’s horror.

Review

Okay, I need to say something. Firstly, I’m starting to see why Elsie rebelled against her parents. They planned on conquering everything in existence and killing countless people. She didn’t have much choice besides leaking their plans to the wider Kaede Cosmos.

That’s about the only good thing I can say about this chapter, though, because I got several issues. Firstly, the Mobius machine. That’s hacked, even by Shonen standards. And given how that factors in people who become gods, can stop time, and create an army of clones of themselves, that’s saying something!

Secondly, Mashima, you have a pacing problem right now, man. This is the second time in this arc alone that you’ve built up a villain, only to kill them off very quickly. That’s not good for the pacing. It makes you look like you’re rushing things. That’s not a good way to keep readers interested.

Maybe Mashima’s starting to lose his edge, but I’m losing interest in his story. At this rate, I’m worried I might drop Edens Zero altogether. That, and you still haven’t cleared up whether or not Elsie is the true enemy that Ziggy warned us about. Get on that already, Mashima!

I Give “Mobius” a 2.5/5

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