Edens Zero Chapter 285 Review/Recap
There are a lot of tropes that I love to see in fiction, and one of the biggest is the arrival of the Cavalry. Right when the good guys are on the verge of losing, when all hope seems lost, who shows up? The cavalry, consisting of their friends and allies. The Ride of the Rohirrim in Lord of the Rings, the portal scene in Avengers: Endgame, the Knights of the Vale at the Battle of the Bastards in Game of Thrones. It’s so awe-inspiring to see, showing how much the protagonists mean to the people. And this chapter sees the Crew of Edens get their own cavalry moment that could save everyone.
Recap
Void is on the verge of defeat at the hands of Ziggy, but the young android refuses to back down. Mirroring this, the Edens One prepares to fire its strongest blast yet, forcing the Zero’s hand. Their ultimate attack is still only at 90%, though, and to make matters worse, a massive fleet of AI-controlled ships appears. The One has been building a fleet of ships to help Void wipe out humankind! Just when all hope seems lost, though, the cavalry comes in.
Thanks to the B-Cubers spreading word about Mother across the universe, almost everyone that Shiki has met comes to the rescue. Oracion Seis Interstelar, the Interstelar Union Army, Kurenai, Drakken Joe and Belial Gore, Shura and the Aoi people, Oasis, and more. They all show up in a big cavalry charge to destroy the One’s fleet! With the way now open and Void distracted, the Zero and Ziggy unleash their final attacks, obliterating the One, and likely Void.
Review
Like I said, I love the cavalry trope in action.
Don’t ask me why, but I love seeing this big moments when all the friends and allies to the hero come charging in to help them. It’s inspiring to see just how many people have had their lives affected by the main characters. Even more so here since the majority of these people were Shiki’s enemies in previous timelines. And given how failing to stop Void will mean the end to all life, they all have a good reason to get involve. Ziggy may say that it’s because they were drawn in by Shiki’s gravity, but I have a simpler explanation: Shiki got that rizz!
Whether this is the end of the One and Void, though, is another matter. It would be disappointing to not learn what made Void the way he is or why he decided to wipe out all humans. If this really his end, though, then it would only be for this version. Void could end up being born in the future, and this time, he won’t be a jerk.
Great chapter, Mashima. Nothing but praise. I just love those dang cavalry charges!
Uh……….. Remember back to, like- chapter 237- when Valkyrie speculated that Void’s body had a template it was based off of? Mashima never went anywhere with that. Or maybe…………. he has another plan for it? I’m not sure how long Mashima is going to keep going with this story, but I’ve always thought he’d go a back to “Rave Master” a little and make One and Shiki physically similar, like Haru and Lucia. An Android body based on Shiki. We got SOMETHING like that with Void, but what if Copy of Shiki’s body was the “template” Valkyrie spoke of?
If One is “Consciousness,” then it’s unlikely he’ll just “be destroyed” along with the Edens One and Void. He might have a “spare” somewhere- a “back up” in case something like this happened.
I mostly say this because I want to see Shiki get a chance to fight with One again- and win. It feels like there’s no point in doing that at this point, but it’s a Shonen- and one that feels like…………… Well; “My Hero” in that it’s “dragging its feet” with this finale. Mashima’s not constantly “changing his mind” on topics like Horikoshi seems to be, Rather, I think he has a plan here and there that he didn’t entirely think through. Which…………. is problematic, knowing him. But leaving things as they are doesn’t seem like a good idea.
Ziggy said that They BOTH need to “disappear” from this time. But Ziggy won and survived. I mean, there’s that hole Void punched through his chest, but……… IS THAT ENOUGH TO KILL HIM? If the story WANTS it to be, then yeah, but the way Ziggy’s written- it feels like that’s totally fixable right now.
I’m sure next chapter is just gonna detail Shiki vs The Time Priestess, but I don’t think it’ll be that long a fight. All of next chapter, ending on the “Money Shot” when her mask comes off. Whether we’ll see her face or not, though, is up in the air.