Earth was the Future Mother! We Were Right!
Edens Zero Chapter 272 Review/Recap
Since the flashbacks to 20,000 years ago started in the manga, Edens Zero has been teasing fans about something big. Hiro Mashima dropped hint after hint that the world seen in the flashbacks is, in fact, our present-day Earth, putting the entire series into a new perspective. Then, even more surprising, the manga foreshadowed that “Mother” came into being due to the planet achieving Overdrive. This chapter only confirms what we already knew: Mother is the future Earth.
Recap
Mother once again reiterates the choices that Shiki has: he can save Mother and guarantee the cosmos will survive or save all those who died and let her die, leaving their future in doubt. Rebecca, Happy, and Pino are shocked at the idea. Rebecca even urges Shiki to choose to save their friends over Mother, asking the latter what gives her the right to make Shiki choose like that. However, Shiki remains calm, wanting to get all the facts. Understanding, Mother says merely choosing to save her will do just that, while letting her die will lead to humanity’s eventual extinction, as seen in the future.
Mother then decides to show everyone what happened 20,000 years ago. In a vision, she explains that once, she was a planet called Earth. It was a beautiful, tranquil world. But the constant wars and harvesting of resources drained Earth of all its Ether. By 2025, the air was polluted, disease ran rampant, and natural disasters ruined the world. However, some tried to save it: Mio and Yuna, Hermit and Valkyrie when they were human. And they had help from Regret and Ivry, AKA Witch and Sister. Sister was sick with the illness killing people, and her doctor, Cooper (the future Clown), came up with a new treatment called Ether therapy.
That moment would change Mother’s destiny forever.
Review
As previously stated, this chapter confirmed what readers knew or suspected. Mother is, in fact, an embodiment of Mother Earth or Mother Nature, albeit on a cosmic scale. However, at the same time, it also revealed that the story’s been hinting at the truth about Mother for far longer than readers (or at least me) suspected.
This chapter also confirms, or all but confirms, several other things. If Mother is the Overdrive form of Earth, then it’s likely that Xiao Mei is the Overdrive form of the Moon. The Moon’s Latin name is “Luna,” which checks out. If the Earth becomes a cosmic entity via Overdrive, then the same could be said for our Moon.
In addition, this chapter also confirms that all the visions and flashbacks shown since the Lendard Arc were of the Shining and Dark Stars’ human lives. The fact that Pino’s the only one in the group unsurprised but has a sad look on her face drives the point home. While we still don’t know what happened next, it must not have ended well.
This revelation that the series takes place in a possible future 20,000 years from now takes everything into a new perspective and poses even more questions. How can a planet achieve Overdrive, much less become a cosmic entity? What’s the context of the deal Shiki made with Mother? And if Shiki chooses to save Mother and sacrifice everyone who previously died, would that include him and Rebecca? Is that one reason Rebecca asked Shiki not to save Mother despite the risks?
Overall, this is a chapter I’ve waited for for months, and it didn’t disappoint. It’s time to get the whole picture of the story. Learning the truth of the universe, about Mother, Shiki, and everything else should be interesting.
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Mother Gives Shiki a Terrible Choice to Make
Edens Zero Chapter 271 Review/Recap
The Dark Stars and OSG are down, the Edens One isn’t going to crash into the Zero, and Ziggy is keeping Void busy. It looks like nothing is stopping Shiki, Rebecca, Pino, and Happy from making it to Mother. From an in-universe perspective, the good guys are about to win! From a reader’s perspective, though, the story still has some explaining: what are the flashbacks about? And how does Mother know about Shiki, and why does Shiki feel like he’s met Mother before? Readers want to know! However, we were not prepared for what Mother had to say in this chapter.
Recap
The Dark Stars are down, Aconella’s dragons have vanished, and the Edens One is under the Crew of Edens control. All that’s left for them is to reboot the ship and figure out what to do with the One. At Witch’s suggestion, they think it best to destroy the ship. As for Ziggy, he’s keeping Void busy while remarking on how, despite not having an actual body, he was once human. Void, though, says that doesn’t matter; he must destroy Mother.
Meanwhile, Shiki, Rebecca, Happy, and Pino reach the destination that spurred them on this adventure so long ago: they reach Mother. And much to their surprise, Mother has been expecting Shiki. Saying that they agreed 20,000 years ago (what?!?), Mother gives Shiki two choices: to save her or take back the lives he’s lost.
As Mother reveals, they misunderstood the nature of Universe Zero. None of the deaths they’ve witnessed in the previous Universes are set in stone, but they will be if Shiki chooses to save Mother. In exchange, Mother will regain full power and ensure peace from now until the end. If he chooses not to save Mother, everyone will live, but life itself might be at risk.
In other words, if Shiki chooses to save Mother, everyone who came back in Universe Zero will die again.
Review
Okay, Hiro Mashima. You again have my undivided attention, even if this isn’t the first time you’ve done something like this.
Mashima’s previous manga, Rave Master and Fairy Tail, have done apparent no-win scenarios like this. In Rave Master, Haru had to sacrifice himself to stop the end of the world. Natsu had to choose whether or not to become a Demon or a Dragon and risked dying if the book containing his existence was destroyed. Yet both times, the heroes found a workaround: Haru returned, and Lucy managed to rewrite that book to save Natsu. Either way, they eventually took a third option to get out of this, and Shiki could also choose one.
That said, this isn’t the first time in Edens Zero that Mashima fooled readers regarding the outcome of events. So, what if he can’t find a way out of this? On the one hand, and to quote Spock from Star Trek, “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” Save everyone who came back, and life could eventually die out. On the other hand, can Shiki and the others find it in themselves to sacrifice the happiness Universe Zero has given them? I think they could, but it still feels wrong.
The manga needs to start giving us answers because it’s been teasing us about the past and Shiki’s origins for months. If Shiki and Mother are who I think they are, I want some answers soon. Well done, Mashima. You’ve managed to make the story interesting again for the umpteenth time.
I Give “Their Lives or the Future” a 4/5
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Putting the “Pop” in Pop Culture!
