RJ Writing Ink

Edens Zero Chapter 282 Review/Recap

It seems I overestimated how dangerous Lady Freyja is. After the last chapter, I thought she might be one of the toughest opponents that the Crew of Edens would ever face. While that part remained true, I forgot about one key thing. This is a Shonen manga, and there are a number of big tropes that the Shonen genre follows. One of the biggest is that “heart is an awesome power.” In layman’s terms, it means a protagonist can use sheer resolve to pull off wins that should be impossible. And Mashima likeds pulling off this kind of Shonen ex Machina many times. That, and what happens next, reminds us that concepts like power levels are a waste of time. 

Recap

As Homura lies wounded on the floor of the Spa of Edens, the thought that she might be dying begins to cross her mind. Knowing that Freyja will go after her teacher and the rest of the crew, though, Homura fights through the pain to get back on her feet. While Freyja did plan to spare Homura, the Android now decides to use her 100 Arms, AKA all the weapons she’s mastered. Yet Homura doesn’t back down, and even manages to crack Freyja’s armor.

Freyja’s shocked that someone with weaker Ether could damage her. However, Homura states there’s more to it than Ether. She has the training, the physical strength, and most importantly, the will to live. Motivated to win no matter what, Homura remembers the ultimate technique Valkyrie taught her, a flame she would keep within her for years at the cost of being weak against heat. Knowing its time to use it, Homura unleashes her ultimate attack, Flame Extolling Blade! Unable to handle the sheer heat, Homura manages to obliterate Lady Freyja! 

Afterwards, though, she mentions how cold it is. 

Review

Well, I wasn’t expecting any of that to happen. I thought that Homura and Vaklyrie were going to have to team up to beat Lady Freyja. As it turns out, though, I spoke too soon. At this point, Homura has all but surpassed her beloved mentor. And all it took was a Shonen ex Machina. 

Admittedly, I do think that the reason why Homura has such a low tolerance for heat was due to her carrying that trump card in her a nice twist. It was one of those quirks of Homura that I had forgotten about at this point, only to turn out like this. Way to bring that back to the forefront, Mashima.

While it does seem disappointing to see Freyja go down so fast, keep in mind that that’s how the Shonen genre works. While raw power can play a role in who wins a fight, an even bigger factor is that of willpower and resolve. As someone who sought to die, Freyja had little to no resolve left in her. In contrast, Homura’s love for her adoptive family enabled to keep fighting and make up for the gap in power. That, and the concept of power levels are often shown to be pointless in Shonen series. 

Regardless of how this fight ended, though, what matters is that it’s over. Now there’s almost nothing left to distract us from the final battle. The Edens Zero needs to get rid of the One and summon a Chronophage before Void figures out what’s going on. If they do that, they can save Mother and the universe in one, fell swoop. Thus, getting the rest of the supporting villains out of the way needed to be done quickly. All I want to see now is if Shiki will have to fight his alternate, future son. And if we’ll ever learn why Void is so determined to destroy everything. 

Rest up, Homura. You’ve earned this victory.

I Give “The Flames of Homura” a 3/5

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