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Edens Zero Chapter 85 Review/Recap

Last week, we saw the absolute lowest in Edens Zero give way to an unexpected hope. As Rebecca despaired over Shiki’s death and the loss of her friends, her Ether Gear suddenly activated! Next thing we know, she’s back on the ship as Shiki’s about to leave for Belial Goer. In my last post, I had hypothesized that Rebecca’s Gear returned her to the past. Now it’s confirmed. The counterattack begins!

Recap

After realizing she’s back on the ship, Rebecca’s beside herself with tears. She thinks the whole thing was a mere nightmare, but then Sister informs her of something. As it did before, Belial Goer appeared, and Shiki’s recklessly charging onto the ship. Terrified, Rebecca tells them to not. Leave. The ship.

In the conference room, Rebecca tells them of the horrific events she went through, and of Shiki’s murder. Hermit theorizes that Cat Leaper has the ability to send Rebecca back in time. She remembers everything, though, allowing them to avoid this outcome. However, Rebecca realizes that Labilia must still be held captive by Joe. The girl may be a jerk to her, but she wants to rescue her.

However, before they can do anything, Joe’s boarding party arrives just as it did before. Now aware of what’s to come, the Edens Zero begins it’s counterattack.

Review

Hiro Mashima, you mad genius. You managed to take a no-win scenario and turned it on it’s head, all while maintaining the emotional rollercoaster we experienced intact. In addition, you revealed the true extent of Rebecca’s power in as mind blowing a way as possible, and even hinted about it earlier. That’s good writing.

That said, I still think that this counterattack is going to be an uphill battle for Edens Zero. They’re outnumbered and have no way of fighting Joe as he is now. Worse, they can’t let him know that Rebecca’s Gear is already awoken, or else it will make things more complicated. In other words, it’s time to fight dirty. They’ll start by exterminating the boarding the ship, then launch a rescue mission. After what we saw the last few weeks, I’m looking forward to seeing this counterattack!

I give “Our Future” A 4.5/5

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Edens Zero Chapter 84 Review/Recap

The deus ex machina, a 17th-century Latin phrase that translates to ”god from a machine.” It’s a storytellers way to get themselves out of a no-win scenario. This can controversial if it’s not properly written. Why am I bringing this up when the last chapter of Edens Zero ended with Weisz losing an arm and Shiki’s apparent death? Because this is the kind of scenario that requires one of two things. Mashima can either come up with some amazing way for Shiki to come back and rally the gang, or he can use the deus ex machina.

Recap

It’s been a week since Shiki’s death, and Rebecca’s almost catatonic from despair. Old Sibir’s dead, the others are either captive or in a scrap heap, and the ship’s under Joe’s control. Rebecca’s despair is so great, she can only feel one thing anymore: fear.

The reason why Joe wants her on his crew is because of Either Gear, Cat Leaper. According to him, it has the power to ”rewrite the laws of the universe.” Thus, he plans to take it for himself when he fully awakens. As Rebecca takes a shower, she cries about wanting to see her friends again, though, Cat Leaper suddenly activates!

The next thing Rebecca knows, she’s falling through a void, with no idea where she’s headed. The next thing she knows, she comes to on Edens Zero. More than a week ago.

Like I said, Deus Ex Machina

Review

I read this chapter earlier this morning, and my mind’s still reeling from what happened. However, I will not let that stop me reviewing what happened. And I have a lot to get through.

Firstly, I’d like to reiterate that Mashima only had two ways out of this scenario: come up with a way for Shiki to come back and risk making a convoluted story, or use a Deus Ex Machina. He chose the latter because, no matter how you slice it, there was little room for Edens Zero to get out of this. The Machines are in scrap heap, Weisz is under guard and armless, and I can only assume Joe put Homura to work as either a belly dancer or prostitute. Ergo, deus ex machina.

Secondly , I think Mashima planned for Rebecca’s Cat Leaper to have this power. Xiao Mei did say her power could eventually save the universe, and others hinted that Rebecca has the potential to be an Ether Master. In fact, we saw it during her fight with that otaku guy in the Sun Jewel Arc! She rewound time! The story’s already been very flexible with time, so there’s no reason why they can’t do this.

Thirdly, despite Rebecca’s ability to leap back in time seemingly making the last 14 chapters pointless, it doesn’t. As traumatic as this was for Rebecca, it taught her what I already knew: that they can’t win against Drakken Joe as they are now. Thus, Rebecca will know to tell Shiki to get back to the ship and retreat. I don’t like it, either, but they’re not strong enough to win. I know it, Rebecca knows it, and you people know it!

The real problem the manga now faces is Cat Leaper’s rewind ability. If he’s smart, he’ll give it a handicap or limitations. Otherwise, the story will become something where the consequences are meaningless. This could make or break the manga going forward, so I hope we don’t see this deus ex machina abused.

I Give ”A World Without Shiki” a 4.5/5. Great follow up and twist.

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