Power Levels Mean Nothing to a Shonen ex Machina
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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Lady Freyja is as Dangerous as They Said!
Edens Zero Chapter 281 Review/Recap
Last time on Edens Zero, the Edens Zero came under attack from the last of the Oracion Seis Galactica: Cure and Lady Freyja. The good news is that Jinn managed to defeat Cure with little effort. The bad news is that Homura has to fight Lady Freyja, the greatest swordswoman alive, by herself. She already showed off her power by tearing Homura’s clothes to shreds, giving fans that titular Mashima fanservice. Lady Freyja is as deadly as claimed. However, the silver lining is that we might be in a real fight as we reach the story’s climax.
Recap
With Jinn slaying Cure, the other members of the Crew of Edens are freed from his tentacle restraints. However, the One is still on the Zero’s tail since an AI runs it. Worse, it’s only now that Valkyrie realizes that Homura isn’t there. To her horror, she’s fighting Lady Freyja on her own.
In the Spa, Homura barely manages to hold Freyja off with her swordsmanship, forcing her to enter Overdrive even to have a chance. As the two sword-wielders clash, Freyja monologues about why she’s working for Void: she wants to die. She’s so strong that no one can beat her, and since Void’s from the future, she doesn’t want to fight him. She’d rather die aboard the Zero at the hands of the One. Seeing how good Homura is, Freyja decides to make the girl her final opponent. Until that is, she senses someone stronger than Homura aboard Valkyrie.
Enraged at the idea of Freyja laying a hand on her master, Homura charges right at the android. All that accomplishes, though, is getting her cut down. Then, to rub salt in the wound, Freyja reveals their Ether power levels. Homura is at 620K. Freyja is at 75 million.
Review
I don’t know whether to be worried that Freyja is this strong or excited about how she is.
With Cure and Freyja coming in when they did, it felt like Mashima was trying to add them at the last minute. It is a convenient way to get them out of the way before the story’s climax, especially since one of them is Cure. I didn’t want him back, and it felt pointless with how fast Jinn took him down. However, at least now we know Freyja does live up to the hype. That said, I do have issues with her use of power-level scaling.
I can accept that she is as strong as she claims, but the remark about Valkyrie being stronger than Homura? Valkyrie herself expressed her opinion that Homura had surpassed her. While Homura did deny this notion, the implication remained. Hearing what she said feels like it’s invalidating everything. Or it’s just that Freyja is that strong.
Despite my complaints about this making Homura look bad, I am happy seeing how Freyja does live up to the hype. After Cure showed up and got beat in two chapters, I was worried that she would get the same treatment. Instead, she might be one of the strongest enemies the Crew of Edens will ever face. It will either take Homura and Valkyrie working together to take her down or the entire crew fighting her to take her down. Either way, this fight will take a while. I’m also concerned that this fight might end with Valkyrie dying again.
This was a good chapter despite my issues with using power levels this late in the game. Freyja is as dangerous as Mashima implied. I can’t wait for what happens next.
I Give “Lady Freyja” a 3.5/5
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Putting the “Pop” in Pop Culture!
