RJ Writing Ink

Edens Zero Chapter 176

Remember Labilia, that super-popular B-Cuber that liked to bully Rebecca and publicly humiliated her on Sun Jewel? Well, now that Rebecca’s become a big-shot B-Cuber, I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to Labilia? Did the two girls reconcile and Labilia learn to stop being a haughty jerk? As it turns out, their fortunes have completely reversed. In the new chapter for Edens Zero, Mashima shows how far Labilia’s fallen, and that karma can be a bitch.

Also, this is a water park chapter, so that’s awesome.

Recap

Xiaomei returns (in a swimsuit) to give us a quick recap of the events that went down in Blue Garden. Following their escape, the Crew of Edens stops at the planet Dahlia to make repairs…and enjoy the popular water park, Ryuzetsu Land. The crew proceeds to get up to their usual shenanigans. Hermit and Sister both find their own enjoyment; Laguna and Weisz mess with the pool features (with Homura losing her swimsuit in the process), and Shiki and Rebecca share a moment that will make shippers squeal with joy.

Sadly, the fun gets interuppted when Rebecca and Shiki notice a crowd gathering nearby. It turns out, Labilia’s at the park on vacation, where a bunch of sleazy guys proceed to mock her for her career having gone down the toilet. When their bullying turns to straight up sexual harassment, though, Shiki intervenes and saves Labilia.

The perverts then see Rebecca’s present, and decide to try and have “fun” with her. Before Shiki can put them in their place, though, they’re sent packing by the arrival of Holy of the Oracion Seis Interstelar. However, Holy’s not there to fight them; she wants to join forces with them. Or, as she puts it, “be friends.”

Review

Firstly, I would like to say that I am surprised at how Mashima decided to deal with Labilia, though it also makes sense. Labilia openly displayed how mean she was when she cruelly pranked Rebecca on Sun Jewel. That cost her her monetization rights for the time, but it looks like it may have hurt her even more in the long-term. As Rebecca got more popular, it’s likely Labilia lost a lot of clout due to her past actions. In other words, this is karma at work.

That said, she does not deserve to be harassed by those perverts. They were threatening to strip her on camera for their own enjoyment; that’s sexual harassment! Mean or not, Rebecca and Shiki weren’t going to let that happen to her. That said, I’ve always held out hope that Labilia could turn over a new leaf. Maybe now that she’s been taken down several pegs, she and Rebecca can make up.

As for Holy, I don’t trust her. She may genuinely want to team up with Shiki to take down Ziggy, but that’s her just being pragmatic. As soon as Ziggy goes, she’ll go after Shiki like she’s supposed to be doing. In other words, her offer of “friendship” is likely not genuine, and Shiki shouldn’t fall for it.

This was a fun little chapter that helps to bridge things between Blue Garden and the assault on Ziggy’s base. Mashima always shines when it comes to the fun little moments in his stories, and this was no exception.

I Give “The Planet Dahlia” a 4/5

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Edens Zero Chapter 175 Review/Recap

Ever since we got introduced to the original version of Captain Connor back in the Sun Jewel Arc, there’s been a lot of mystery surrounding him. To be more precise, there’s a lot of mystery surrounding his piloting skills. He was able to get the Edens Zero to Sun Jewel in less than a day when it should’ve taken three, so we know he’s a very good pilot. However, due to the reset, we never got to see his piloting skills in action for the good guys, until now. With the IUA blockading Blue Garden to capture Shiki, Connor shows just how great a captain he is. He is at Anakin Skywalker levels of good!!

Recap

With their ship surrounded and seemingly no way out, everyone proceeds to grill Connor for putting them in this mess, only to backtrack and return. Needless to say, they are not keen on letting him pilot the Edens Zero. However, remembering his skills, Rebecca vouches for them, and the others let him drive the ship.

What follows is a display of piloting that takes everyone aback. Captain Connor pushes the ship beyond what it should be capable of. It proceeds to soar past the blockade, flying through a debris field in ways that shouldn’t be possible for a ship of that size. The enemy fleet can’t hope to follow, and despite Feather’s best efforts, even she is forced to give up the hunt. The Fast Travel system recharges in time, and the Edens Zero heads for the Kaede Cosmos. Frustrated, Feather gets a call from her colleague, Holy, who declares that she will take up the hunt for Shiki at Lendard.

Review

Okay, I knew that Captain Connor had to be one of the best pilots in Edens Zero, but this? This is downright ridiculous in how good he is. Being able to fly a ship of that size through an asteroid field and not get a scratch on it? I don’t even know of any fiction pilots who could pull that off at the speed they were going, which does detract from the sheer awesomeness of it. The only other people I know who could come close to that are Anakin Skywalker and Han Solo, and even they might find it a challenge.

That said, this is a Shonen manga, and Shonen Manga tend to run on the “Rule of Cool” in situations like this. Therefore, why should I question something like this after having seen all the other insane stuff Mashima has done.

This was a pretty good chapter, though. We finally got to see what Captain Connor’s fully capable of, and it was worth the years of waiting. As for Holy, I’m not really concerned about her. Ziggy might deal with her, or Shiki will end up convincing her to help him take down his grandpa.

I Give “The Man, The Captain” a 3.5/5

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