RJ Writing Ink

Edens Zero Chapter 227 Review/Recap

Nerfing, or getting nerfed, is when something’s made weaker or worse than before. It’s a common term in video games used to describe a character or item that developers weakened because it broke the game. However, I feel it can apply to characters and things outside of video games with the proper context. My worst fears are confirmed in this case: the Crew of Edens got nerfed!

Recap

Shiki and Pino are surprised that Nero, not Laguna, is the water member of Joe’s Element 4. Despite this, Shiki refuses to back down against Nero. As the two begin to clash, Pino notes that Nero and Shiki are close to evenly matched. However, she realizes that, while he still has all his power from before coming to Universe 0, Shiki’s body can’t catch up, resulting in a severe imbalance. In other words, Shiki got nerfed!

Meanwhile, outside of Belial Gore, Pino’s fears about the others are coming true. Rebecca and Weisz have also gotten nerfed. Weisz can’t use his Arsenal suit to his full potential without Hermit, so Witch has to go and retrieve her from Digitalis. In addition, while Rebecca does have access to her Ether Gear (minus the time powers), her body can’t use it to its fullest extent. As a result, both of them are left on the ropes against Daichi and Fie. 

As for Shiki, he learns just how much has changed in Universe 0. Not only did Nero retire and pass on his title as Emperor to Shura, but in this Universe, Laguna’s the leader of Oasis!

Review

I knew that this was going to end up happening! When I saw Shiki accidentally warp into the bathhouse, I had a feeling that his powers got nerfed in some way. I was right: since their bodies have yet to adjust to the power they had post-time skip, the Crew of Edens is weaker than before. Now they have to fight the Element 4 under-leveled. Unless they do something soon, this could be a repeat of…the first time.

As far as the revelation about Laguna in Universe 0, I’m not surprised. Being the leader of Oasis likely means that many of his comrades are alive and well, which is what he wanted the most. However, the trade-off is that now Shura’s in charge of the Aoi Empire, and this means that the heroes will have to go to the Aoi Cosmos and deal with Shura all over again to get Laguna back. The silver lining is that we might be seeing Hermit sooner than we thought.

At this point, it’s safe to say that Edens Zero is in uncharted territory. Expect things to appear drastically different from the story we knew, making this less surprising. Hopefully, Sister can convince Jinn and Kleene to defect again, making things easier for the heroes. That, and they can get themselves un-nerfed!

I Give “Power and Body” a 3/5

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Edens Zero Chapter 226 Review/Recap

Remember last week and how I said that the title referred to Laguna? Well, I was wrong, and I’m big enough to admit that. As it turns out, we may have to wait a while to see Laguna again. In his place on the Element 4, we have someone else we know.

It still doesn’t matter, though. The Crew of Edens has to put Drakken Joe in his place. Again!

Recap

After hearing that Homura’s at Illega’s tower, Rebecca’s horrified since she remembers what that monster does to girls. Sister had planned on taking him down and cutting off one of Joe’s biggest backers in the process, but now…she tells Moscoy to go nuts. The Sumo Android happily obliges and leads Homura and the other girls on a prison break. 

Meanwhile, the Crew of Edens arrives at Belial Gore and gets ready to charge straight through the front door. They don’t have much of a choice, since Sister trolled them by calling ahead of time. Regardless, though, they each have a score to settle with one of the Element 4, so Rebecca, Happy, and Weisz break off to fight Fie and Daichi.

The others head inside, where they encounter Jinn and Kleene. This time, Sister decides to fight them until they remember except…Kleene still has all her emotions.

As for Shiki and Pino, they head deeper into Joe’s HQ, only to be met by the final member of the Element 4…EMPEROR NERO!?!?!

Well, I didn’t expect that to happen!

Review

Guys, I was a fool, and I overlooked a few key factors going into this. Remember how Rachel said that Universe 0 could give them the life they wanted most? Happy never became a cyborg; Weisz’s mom is alive; the robots of Granbell Park have enough power to last centuries. I forgot about how it would affect the Wind Siblings and Laguna.

Firstly, we have Jinn and Kleene. Given how Kleene already has all her emotions, I’m going to assume that in Universe 0, their parents never died and they were never tortured at the hands of the Muller (I still refuse to refer to that thing as a person.) That’s good for them, but it could complicate things. The big concern, though, is the fact that Laguna may not even be on Guilst. For all we know, he could be living in peace in the Aoi Cosmos with the members of the Resistance. Or worse, Shura could be in charge of the Empire!

With Shiki having to fight Emperor Nero, this could go one of two ways. If Nero and Ziggy were still good friends in Universe 0, he might switch sides and help Shiki. Otherwise, Shiki’s got a fight on his hands. Either way, this is going to be harder than we thought.

I just want to see the Crew of Edens reunited!

I Give “Sea God” a 3.5/5

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Edens Zero Chapter 91 Review/Recap

Ever since we learned about Rebecca’s Cat Leaper, I’ve been wondering why Drakken Joe wants it. At first, I thought it was for obvious reasons. Having a power that acts as a reset button would make him unstoppable. However, the reasons may be more, desperate, as it were. At least, that’s what we learn in this new chapter of the manga as Homura faces down Sylph.

Recap

After meeting with the group, Old Sibir takes everyone to a storage room where they can hide. After learning that Weisz is from an alternate timeline, Sibir explains how the two originally fell out. In the original timeline, Weisz wound up stealing money from his gang that belonged to a loan shark called DJ Zombie. DJ punished Weisz by taking his arm. As a result, Weisz cleaned up his act, went back to school, and became a Professor. As for Zombie, he became even more powerful on Guilst and turned it into a cesspool. Who is DJ Zombie? None other than Drakken Joe himself.

Drakken Joe got his nickname because he didn’t seem to age. In fact, there are rumors he’s over two hundred years old! Rebecca then comes up with an idea about why he wants her power. What if whatever’s keeping him alive will soon fail him?

Meanwhile, Homura and Sylph continue their fight. Unlike last time, though, the two are more evenly matched. As their battle takes them to the same dancer hall, Sylph tries to increase her wind power. Only to be shocked when Homura shuts it down with her own wind power.

Review

Even though the title of the chapter is “Homura vs Sylph“, that fight felt more like a side note. Which is a shame, considering how hard Homura initially had it against Sylph. While it felt great to see Homura wipe the floor with the wind girl, I didn’t feel satisfied because of how easy it was.

Keep in mind, we returned to the past right as the others were getting ready to board Belial Goer. Which means that Homura would have no time to get stronger, which would be necessary to beat Sylph. Yet here she shuts her down altogether. It doesn’t make sense, even with prior knowledge!

Complaints aside, this chapter gave us a big hint about Drakken Joe. If he really is undead like people claim, then that would explain the rumors that he’s two hundred years old. In addition, it also explains why he’d want Cat Leaper: to go back in time and become young again. All the more reason why the heroes need to stop him now.

So, on one hand, I liked the exposition and learning how Weisz went from delinquent to respected professor. On the other, the fight was too one-sided. I hope the next chapter will do better, though.

I Give “Homura vs Sylph” a 2.5/5

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Edens Zero Chapter 89 Review/Recap

In case it wasn’t clear in the last few chapters, the second attempt of Edens Zero to take down Drakken Joe is going to be the one that succeeds. How do I know? Because I’ve seen and read Mashima’s work long enough to recognize patterns in his stories. At this point, we’re now entering the point where the supporting heroes clear out the cannon fodder like badasses. Case in point, little Hermit wrecks Fiery Fie.

Recap

Picking up where the last chapter left off, Noah explains to Rebecca and Shiki’s group why Joe’s so scary. He goes by two nicknames, the first being the Dark Alchemist. However, it’s the second that’s more unsettling: Undead Joe. Before he can finish explaining, the transmission’s cut off. The last thing the group hears is something about Joe’s weakness, though they have no clue what it is.

Down on the ground, Hermit continues her battle against Fie, who begins to get the upper hand with his fire Ether Gear, Flame Ammo. Using his flames as a cover, the crafty sniper slips away to his secret stash of weapons. Using his sniper rifle, he tries to take Hermit out like he did with Weisz in the first time around.

However, Hermit manages to dodge his bullets with little effort. She used her thermal sensors to track him the whole time. After that, she hacked into all of his weapons and proceeds to waste him. Since she’s not a monster, though, she coated all the bullets with Ether so he’ll live. With that, one of the Element 4 is down.

Review

If this whole thing were a video game, then I think that what happened to Fie qualifies as getting pwned. I knew going in that Hermit was going to win this fight, but to be honest, I thought it would last a little longer. If they ever make an anime out of this, I guess they can just add some extra scenes for time’s sake.

That said, seeing Hermit put Fie in his place while mocking his abilities to be a sniper is cathartic. This was the guy that shot Weisz before Rebecca reset everything. That’s when things went downhill for the heroes. It also reinforces why the heroes lost the first time: they went in blind and with no plan.

On a bigger scale, I’m intrigued by what it was that Noah was trying to say in the end. What is Drakken Joe’s weakness? Was it something we learned about already? I can only speculate for now, though. It seems we’ll have to wait to find out. The next few chapters will probably be the Shining Stars beating the Element 4 into the ground while Shiki’s team makes their way to Labilia. In other words, sit tight; we’ve got a ways to go before the big fight.

I Give “Hermit vs. Fie” a 3/5. Not the best fight, but Seeing Fie get wrecked was hilarious.

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Edens Zero Chapter 74 Review/Recap

So in the last chapter, we saw Laguna of the Element 4 use his power, Tears Lover, to capture most of Shiki’s group. However, Weisz was able to outsmart the man and avoid. Having seen all of his moves, Weisz transforms into Arsenal and prepares to do battle with the villain. He takes being a superhero very seriously.

Recap

Laguna quickly gets over his shock at the fact that Weisz managed to outwit him and goes on the defensive. Even with the power of the Arsenal suit, Weisz finds each of his attacks countered by Laguna’s water. As a result of the furious melee, Arsenal’s ether supply begins to rapidly deplete.

Forced into a corner, Weisz reroutes power to the cooling system, which freezes the water solid. This gives him enough time to deliver a knockout blow, returning his friends to normal. However, before any of them can catch their breath, Weisz gets hit by a sniper round and collapses. The culprit is the second of the Element 4, Fie the flame sniper, and he has Shiki squarely in his sights.

Review

In keeping with what I said in my last post, the JoJo is strong with this chapter. In other words, instead of the normal shonen formula, it felt more like a technical battle. Considering how Weisz isn’t as strong as Shiki, I think that’s for the best. Weisz uses his brains to win his fights, and that’s how he beat Laguna.

That said, I wasn’t expecting the next Element 4 member to be a sniper, let alone someone able to shoot from that distance. If there was ever a time for Rebecca and Happy to shine, then I think it’s going to be in the next few chapters. They’re marksman, so it makes sense to pit them against this Fie.

Regarding the fight itself, I think this is an example of something that would work better in anime format. The manga feels constricting for a fight between an Iron Man/Power Ranger mashup and an elemental. It was a good fight, but not as cool as I’d hope.

I Give “Weisz vs. Laguna” 3/5

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