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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 230 Review/Recap

Remember how I said how this Edens Zero reunion arc would be like a speedrun? I wasn’t wrong. Not only is the story progressing faster, but now Shiki’s getting a new kind of Overdrive. I kind of miss the old one, though. 

Recap

As Sister stands exhausted from her fight with Jinn and Kleene, she berates them for not being able to remember her. However, they both reveal that their memory came back mid-fight. She was just too engrossed in beating them up, she didn’t even notice! Regardless, the three are happy to be reunited once more. At the same time, Sister gets a call from Mosco, who’s memories have also returned. For some reason, though, Homura’s have not.

Meanwhile, Nero realizes that Shiki is Ziggy’s grandson, having recognized his Ether Gear to be that of Ziggy’s. Rolling his Empire Dice, Nero decides to give him some advice as they continue battling: he wants him to enter Overdrive. Shiki insists that he still can’t do that, but Nero says that he can. Going into Overdrive changes his body to allow him to do so, and there’s more than one form of it. As a result, Shiki taps into his Ether, and gains an Overdrive that matches who he is now. It’s Overdrive Route: Ziggy! 

With Nero defeated, he explains why he helped Shiki: he wants him to stop his son, Shura. However, at that moment, Drakken Joe enters the scene, deciding that he has to take care of business himself. Remember what happened with Joe and Shura in the previous Universes, Shiki tells Pino he knows what he has to do: he’ll make them both his friends.

…What?

Review

Okay, first of all, RIP Shiki is Key Theory! That has now left the building, and I feel stupid! Second of all, I think it’s both funny and sad that the wind siblings got their memories back as they were getting beat up. Funny because this is classic Sister…and sad because it feels disrespectful to them from Mashima. 

Thirdly, I think we should be worried about Homura now. If she doesn’t get her memories back now, then either something’s wrong, or she needs stronger stimuli. I suspect Mosco got his back by seeing Homura’s Ether Gear, but that’s all I got. Perhaps meeting Shiki again will jog her memory. If not her, then is it possible Valkyrie’s still alive in this Universe? That could be the key.

As for Shiki, I wasn’t expecting him to get his Overdrive back so soon, but it makes sense. He was only able to beat Drakken Joe once he unlocked Overdrive. Now he has to beat him again and get him to listen to him. While it does seem a little forced to make Shiki try to befriend the man who killed him in an alternate Universe, this might be the best way to ensure everyone can live a better life. Fingers crossed!

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Edens Zero Chapter 163 Review/Recap

You know how they say that you should respect your elders? There’s a lot of truth to that saying. You should never underestimate the elderly, especially when they’re superpowered and capable of destroying entire planets! In this case, Shura learns a hard lesson: if he’s gonna do one over on his old man, make sure you’ve covered all your bases! This week, Shura’s master plan falls apart in front of him. As for Nero, he learns a lesson: don’t underestimate plot armor!

Recap

Having entered his own Overdrive, Shura turns the tables back on Shiki. Caught off-guard, Shiki’s overpowered long enough for him to get to his true target: the All-Link System. Rebecca, Happy, and Pino managed to make it there on their own. However, Shura uses his Ether Gear to subdue them, and brutally kill the guards for the heck of it. Thus, the heroes are powerless to stop as he prepares to activate the All-Link!

That’s when he gets a call from the Temple, courtesy of his Father, who holds the head of a defeated Ziggy in his hands.

Nero reveals his own Ether Gear, Wormhole, which lets him teleport anything he wants. In this case, he teleported all the weapons to Nero Planet 66. If the All-Link goes off, he’ll die. Before Shura can do anything, though, Shiki storms in for the next round. Nero’s so surprised by this that he doesn’t even notice that Ziggy’s still alive, and ready for more.

Review

When I saw the spoilers for this chapter, and how it looked like Ziggy was dead, I knew that there was no way that would be true. Ziggy’s the main villain; there’s no way he’d go down so easily! I don’t know how he’s alive despite his head being severed, but I’m betting it’s due to the fact that he’s a machine. Or perhaps his AI doesn’t need a host body to function at this point. Either way, it looks like Nero’s gambit may have been for naught.

As for Nero, I didn’t expect him to have portal generation for his Ether Gear. On the surface, that may not seem very powerful. However, when used by a suitably creative mind, those portals can be one of the deadliest powers you can fight in a work of fiction. After all, thanks to them, Shura’s plans for conquest are now dashed.

Even if the heroes destroy the All-Link System, though, if Ziggy wins, he’ll seize control of the Aoi Cosmos. Thus, even if the heroes win the battle, they could lose the war. Having not expected this turn of events, though, I can’t wait to see what comes next. This should be fun.

I Give “Wormhole” a 4/5

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