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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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Edens Zero Chapter 234 Review/Recap

Everyone at home, I give up. I have tried fighting it so far, but I can’t do that anymore. It pains me to say this, but the Kurenai of Universe Zero isn’t the same as the sociopath we first met and got killed. As far as I’m concerned, this Kurenai did nothing wrong.

Recap

Having driven off the remaining stone bugs, Homura gets the reunion with her teacher she was once denied, while Valkyrie is finally able to meet the Crew of Edens. However, Homura’s still confused about how her master’s still alive since she saw her beheaded. As it turns out, Machines like her can survive decapitation. Creed took her somewhere safe to repair herself for a few weeks. By that point, though, Universe Zero Homura left to find her mother. Valkyrie went to Xiaomei like last time, and she’s been there ever since.

As for what happened to Kurenai in Universe Zero, Valkyrie explains that she came to Sun Jewel as a worker hoping to earn money to support herself and Homura. However, the planet’s ruler decided she was his woman, and when she kept rejecting him, he sent his army to destroy her hometown. After that, he blackmailed her into marrying him using the threat of the Sattelite Blaze to destroy Oedo. Thus, she stayed, formed the Protectors, and worked to be a mother Homura could be proud of.

Shiki and the Edens Zero take care of both problems in two seconds. Thus, Homura gets another moment that the past Universes denied her: a reunion with the mother she never had.

Well, two Moms if you consider Valkyrie.

Review

Well, that was unexpected, but it also makes sense. I should’ve realized that Valkyrie wouldn’t be dead from decapitation. Since she’s a Machine, she would survive so long as her CPU remained intact. What surprised me was how Universe Zero Homura could make such a dumb decision. Well, at least the two are finally reunited after two world’s of being kept apart. 

Now, onto the elephant in the room: Kurenai. If you guys remember from the original Sun Jewel Arc, I hated Kurenai’s guts and thought she got what she deserved in the end. However, given how the story of Edens Zero involves the Multiverse, and how there are likely to be both good and evil versions of everyone in at least one universe, I’m willing to give this a slide. As far as I concerned, this Kurenai and the monster we first met are two different people. What’s more, since everything happening in Universe Zero overrides the rest of the Multiverse, that means the Kurenai we knew is now retconned out of existence. In other words, she still got her karma!

The best part to all of this is the fact that now Homura not only has her Mom and mother figure back in her life, but the Shining Stars are truly reunited. The Edens Zero will be stronger than ever now! Hence why the title for the next chapter is called “Etherion.” That’s a recurring term in Mashima’s mangas, so you know that it’s important. Now all they need to do is get everyone else left, and the Crew of Edens will be back to full strength!

As a side note, it turns out Kurenai never owed anything to Drakken Joe.

I Give “Kurenai’s Tears” a 3/5

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Edens Zero Chapter 233 Review/Recap

I’m not going to bother with the introduction this time. I just want to get right into the fact that HOMURA IS BACK! FINALLY!!!! 

Recap

Still in shock over the fact that Kurenai’s a good person in Universe Zero, the Crew of Edens watches as she and her followers proceed to fight the approaching horde of stone monsters. Despite another civilian urging them to evacuate, Shiki, Rebecca, and Weisz insist on helping Kurenai fight the incoming hordes of stone monsters. However, Homura, Pino, and Happy must head to the shelter.

While in the shelter, Homura learns how her mother was forced to leave her years ago, but always wanted to return to her, even while fighting for the people of Sun Jewel this whole time. Hearing this, and remembering her master, Homura opts to return to the battlefield to help the others, only to find them.on the nerve of being overrun. Just as all hope seems lost, an unexpected face appears to save everyone: a very much alive Valkyrie. And this finally makes Homura remember everything from her alternate timelines. With the new Sword of Edens returned, Homura helps lay waste to the monsters.

Finally!

Review 

It’s about time we got Homura back to her old self. This memory loss thing wasn’t very enjoyable to watch! But at least now she’s back and ready for battle alongside her teacher.

As far as how Valkyrie is still alive, I think I have an idea. My guess is that Creed somehow saved her from execution but forced her to leave the planet to spare her life. As for Kurenai…I have no clue why the Universe Zero version of her is a good person. Maybe it’s because Homura wished for her mother to actually be a good person and this is the result? 

Regardless of the circumstances, I’m just glad we got Homura back. Now all that is left is to find Laguna, Couchpo, and Labilia. After that, the entire Crew will be reunited and ready to stop the Edens One. The reunion arc might be drawing to a close soon, and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next. Way to salvage this mess, Mashima. 

You still have some work to do, though. 

Also, I doubt I’m going to watch season two of the anime. I can’t handle seeing Shiki die a second time.

I Give “Sword Flash” a 3/5

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Edens Zero Chapter 231 Review/Recap

All right, Mashima, you’re losing us again. I hoped that this grand reunion arc of Edens Zero would give the series back that spark it’s been missing for a while now. However, now it’s losing it again. Instead of the epic re-rematch between Shiki and his first great enemy, we see him use…the talk no jutsu. I get that this whole thing’s supposed to be an abridged version of the past, but the talk no jutsu? Really, Mashima?

Recap

Having encountered Drakken Joe once more, Shiki’s first step is to explain everything that happened between them in the previous Universe’s. All this does is anger Joe, though…until Shiki mentions he knows about why Joe started stealing people’s life force: to live longer and make more friends. However, Joe reveals that in this Universe, he only sucked the life out of animals. Moreover, he sees himself as a necessary evil to stop worse evils from hurting others. Fed up with everything, Joe decides to just bail and let Shiki do whatever he wants.

Pino does tell everyone present, though, that the Chronophage’s still coming for Guilst in about three days time. Shiki offers Joe some parting advice about being a good person while he still has time. After that, they both head their separate ways.

Back aboard the Edens Zero, the whole crew’s excited to have Sister, Mosco, Jinn and Kleene back, and they’re happy to see Witch again. However, there’s still one problem: Homura. She still can’t remember anything despite meeting everyone. As a result, the crew’s stumped…until they realize that in Universe 0, Valkyrie might still be alive. They get the idea of trying to find the Sword of Edens to help Homura, but Homura shocks everyone by telling them the truth: Valkyrie still died five years ago…

Review

Mashima, I’m shaking my head in disappointment at you. After all this build-up, the best way you can deal with Drakken Joe is the talk no jutsu? Really? That’s what Naruto does, and at least there, it makes sense. And the way you have Joe acting here is such a far-cry from the menace he was during the initial saga of Edens Zero. Now he’s acting as goofy as everyone else is! What a disappointment. I can’t believe I was worried about Shiki fighting Joe again!

Regardless, this does save some time by getting four of the Crew of Edens back in one fell swoop. However, there’s still the matter of getting Homura to remember everything. It would seem the warnings of Rebecca’s mother about Universe 0 are proving true. Whatever happened to Valkyrie in Universe 0 traumatized Homura to the point where it will be incredibly hard to jog her memories. Still, maybe going to Sun Jewel and finding out what happened to Valkyrie in this timeline might help her remember.

Overall, this chapter felt like a massive letdown. What was the point of bringing Joe back if Shiki doesn’t even fight him again? Get better, Mashima. You’re losing my interest.

I Give “Requirements of a Hero” a 1/5.

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Edens Zero Chapter 225 Review/Recap

So, to recap what we learned last week. Not only is sister not being held prisoner by the fake Witch, but she’s the leader of Rogue Out. In addition, Homura’s currently forced to work for Drakken Joe to pay off her deadbeat mother’s debts. So, things have already started to go off the rails in regards to the story that we knew from the first time around. Then again, some changes might end up being a good thing, because now Shiki might have an army to stick it to Drakken Joe: an army of Moscoy.

Recap

Picking up where we last saw her, Homura’s meekly forced to do whatever Drakken Joe says because her mom welched on her debt to him. As a result, she’s got to pay it back, and according to Joe, the best way to do that is by working for…Illega. 

*Skin Crawling*

In Rogue Out’s base, Sister can’t seem to remember Shiki and the others, and refuses to believe they don’t work for Joe. So she has her security come to eject them from the premises, in the form of an army of Moscoy machines. Except for Rebecca, who she immediately tries to “play” with. Thankfully, Shiki uses his Gravity Ether to blow back all the Moscoy’s, which triggers Sister’s memories.

Now that that matter’s been settled, Sister explains what happened differently here. Fake Sister never existed/showed up, so she never got captured. As a result, when she started doing medical work on Guilst, she wound becoming the leader of Rogue Out. They’re a resistance group dedicated to fighting Drakken Joe. Sister thinks it will be easy to take him out again, but Shiki’s skeptical. The conversation gets put on hold, though, when the real Moscoy calls Sister. Disguised as a woman, Moscoy’s infiltrated Illega’s tower…alongside Homura.

Review

*takes a deep breath*

They need to save Homura from Illega and Drakken Joe, and they need to do it right now. I can’t stand to see Homura looking so timid and afraid! And the idea that we’ll likely see that creep, Illega, again makes my skin crawl. I was very uncomfortable with his role in the Guilst Arc the first time around, and I hoped that we never saw him again! 

At least fate has seen to it that Moscoy will be in a position to rescue Homura and the other girls if the situation calls for it. 

In any case, Shiki’s right to be worried about Drakken Joe. The only reason they beat him in the previous Universe is that Rebecca warned them about everything beforehand. They’ll need to play this carefully if they want to win. However, I think the army of mass-produced Moscoy machines could be a good trump card. As for Jinn, Kleene, and Laguna, I’m hoping that they’ll defect once Shiki meets them.

This chapter also lends further credence to my theory that Shiki’s the key to getting people to remember. Whenever he uses his Gravity Ether, that triggers their memories. I also found it hilarious that the first thing Sister remembers is how much she liked bullying Rebecca. Never change, Sister. 

Since the next chapter’s titled “Sea God,” I’m assuming it has something to do with Laguna. His appearance could help them beat Joe and fix this madness. 

I Give “Moscoy Heaven” a 3/5

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