Edens Zero Chapter 288 Review/Recap
I don’t know the deal with Chronobecca or her backstory, but I’m not sure I care now. Shiki is so close to saving all of reality, and he won’t let some person upset at losing their time wipe all of it out. Edens Zero is nearing its endgame, and Shiki is not allowing the future his friends have fought so hard for to be in vain.
Recap
Chronobecca continues to charge up an unfathomable amount of energy, on par with the universe’s birth. Disregarding their earlier statement of wanting their time back and Shiki’s pleas, Chronobecca says they’re not interested in being saved. They have devoured Mother numerous times and returned her to being Earth, only for Earth to become Mother once more. They no longer care; they simply want to end everything and start anew.
Shiki’s response? Screw that. This is the universe that has all his friends in it.
Shiki pushes his Gravity Ether even further, further than he’s ever pushed himself before. Even the energy of a big bang begins to fall into him, threatening to rip his body apart in the process! Shiki, however, doesn’t care if he dies. All that matters is saving the universe that has all his friends.
Chronobecca tries to tear Shiki to pieces, but his gravity is too powerful now, even for them. As a result, Shiki sends them, and the Chronophage, hurtling through the cosmos towards Mother. As Rebecca, Pino, Happy, and Ziggy get out of the way, Shiki tells Chronobecca that he could be friends even with them.
At last, the Chronophage returns Mother to her original form as that of Earth.
Review
…holy cow, the power of friendship is not one to be underestimated. Made fun of and milked for all its worth, at times, but never underestimated.
Now, I know that not everyone is going to read this chapter, and I like how Shiki managed to pull this kind of moment out of nowhere. However, I would also like to remind people that Edens Zero is a shonen manga. Many shonen manga rely on the power of friendship and the heart to get the heroes out of impossible situations such as this. Some manga are just better at demonstrating it than others. In addition, Edens Zero is made by Hiro Mashima. The man doesn’t go out of his way to re-invent the wheel regarding tropes in the shonen series.
That being said, I think this is a moment where the power of friendship makes for a pretty good spectacle. Shiki just sucked in enough energy to create an entire universe so that he could make Chronobecca do what he wanted. While it may have placed his life in danger, it’s worth it. Thanks to him, his insane plan to save Mother and the universe is working. Mother has returned to being Earth, and now the Edens Zero can ensure it doesn’t run out of Ether again. That will give the Shining Stars and Dark Stars human counterparts the chance to be happy truly. Here’s hoping that Mashima can wrap things up in less than five chapters.
Yes, you read that right. Recent posts on Twitter have confirmed that Edens Zero will end in five chapters. It’s a bittersweet feeling, especially since I’ve spent the last few years covering it on a near-weekly basis. However, I still need to see Edens Zero through to the end! I hope that Mashima can answer the questions that readers still have. What made Void go nuts, and where did Chronobecca come from? And most importantly, all the ships!
