RJ Writing Ink

Edens Zero Chapter 291 Review/Recap

It’s over, people. The battle for the fate of the universe is now over, and Shiki has won. I’m sure that if the anime ever gets to this point, it will be a far more emotional moment. For now, I’m just happy to see that the struggles of the Crew of Edens have endured has been worth it. However, the end of this chapter does not bode well for one member: Pino.

Recap

As the others watch, Shiki uses his gravity ether to purge the remnants of the Chronophage from Rebecca’s body. However, her future counterpart will not go quietly and refuses to leave. So, Shiki helps her to remember. To remember who she is, everything they’ve done together, and what they mean to each other.

It works. Finally remembering who she is, the Chronophage allows her Ether to fade away.

Though, Rebecca is left wondering what she’s doing in the middle of space. Or where her clothes went. None of that matters, though. Shiki and Rebecca are together and safe.

Everyone then returns to the Edens Zero. Joyful reunions are had by everyone. But as everyone celebrates, Pino thinks about how happy she is to see everyone else happy before going off to a corner. Thanking everyone for giving her the chance to meet them, Pino says that her role is now finished, and goodbye to Shiki as she slumps against the wall.

Review

There’s not much for me to say about this chapter. How can there be when we are so close to the end of the story? For those who were hoping that this final fight would be more dramatic, I don’t know what to tell you. The fighting already climaxed a few chapters ago when Shiki used it to defeat Chronobecca. What happened here was her last, dying gasp.

I will say this, though: that moment where Shiki and Rebecca are holding hands might have indicated that they have gone from being friends to being romantically involved. Considering how close they’ve become since the day they met, and that Void was/is their possible future son, this feels like the logical conclusion. We’ll have to wait and see with the final two chapters, though.

Why Does Pino Think She No Longer Has a Role?

What I’m more concerned with, though, is the fact that Pino might have just died. The way she went off on her own, slumped against the wall, and mentally said goodbye to Shiki can only be seen as such. My question is why, though? Did something happen in the final battle that made this inevitable? Or was this simply her choice now that she fulfilled her main purpose? Either way, I dont want to say goodbye to Pino yet. Or has she forgotten how she wants to become a real girl? Then again, if she’s anything like her namesake, Pino may end up becoming human through some miracle. Or she might get reincarnated as one. Either way, I don’t want this to be the end to Pino; not when they’ve finally succeeded in their mission!

In any event, it looks like the final two chapters will make up the falling action of the series. Shiki and the others still have to ensure that Earth’s Ether doesn’t run out, or else all of this will have been for nothing. In addition, I can’t help but wonder how the people of Earth will react to what are essentially aliens coming down to visit them. Or how the Shining Stars will react to meeting their human counterparts. And there’s the possibility that Shiki might meet himself as a baby! The bottom line, we may only have two chapters left, but I’m betting that they’re going to be pretty fun. Say what you want, but Mashima has a good track record with how he ends his series!

I Give “My Role” a 4/5

Click here to see more animanga stuff.

Edens Zero Chapter 255 Review/Recap

Space, the final frontier. There’s always been this mysticism about traveling into the depths of outer space, and boldly going where no one has gone before. While the road to this moment has been long and winding, the story of Edens Zero has led up to this. Shiki and the others are ready to seek out Mother in the depths of the Cosmos and save all existence. Everyone that is, except for Pino, who discovers something that leaves her in tears. 

Recap

With Joker Helix having left Miltz, the groups can finally get underway. That doesn’t stop them from speculating that Joker remains active on the Internet, though. Shiki reassures everyone that it’s fine; she won’t harm Rebecca again, or work for Void.

Having done what they came there for, Professor Weisz and Bernie bid goodbye to everyone and decide to hit up Retro Norma. Before they leave, the Professor gives Pino the thing he was talking about earlier: a log containing her missing memories. Moreover, Professor Weisz reveals that Pino herself asked him to remove those memories before going into stasis in the briefcase that wound up on Retro Norma. 

The others decide not to pay it any mind as they load the Mother Ether into their ship’s computer. As they follow the path, though, they find themselves in an uncharted region of space. One without stars, planets, petals, snow, or water. Nonetheless, they’re determined to follow the path to Mother and press on.

However, in the Spa of Edens, Pino watches the record of her old memories. And whatever she learns…leaves her in tears.

Review

Well, it looks like we’re leaving the Yukino Cosmos behind. It feels disappointing to know that we’ve barely seen any of the Yukino Cosmos, as well as a sign that Mashima wants to move things along too fast. However, beggars can’t be choosers, and I can’t lie about wanting to get the quest for Mother started.

There’s not a lot to say about this chapter beyond what’s going on with Pino. In all the chaos involving Joker, I forgot about the conversation the women had regarding Pino and the Four Shining Stars. However, the fact that Pino willingly erased her own memories means that it had to have been something of great importance. However, given Pino’s horrified reaction at the end, it’s likely something about the Shining Stars that’s too painful for her to want to remember.

I have some theories as to what Pino saw, but it’s doubtful that she’ll tell the others right away. Thus, we best get used to speculating about it for the next few chapters. If it’s as bad as Pino makes it out to be, though, I’m hoping for Mashima to pull his “power of friendship” deus ex machina stuff off. As of now, I’m worried for the Shining Stars lives.

On the plus side, they’re going into uncharted space! That’s so cool!

I Give “An Unexplored Cosmos” a 3/5

Click here to see more animanga stuff

Edens Zero Chapter 235 Review/Recap

Well, this whole thing was unexpected. After many twists and turns, the majority of the Crew of Edens has reunited save for a few members. They even managed to get Valkyrie back, reuniting the Four Shining Stars, making them stronger than ever! However, there’s still the threat of the Edens One, the AI trying to destroy Mother and life itself. And as we see at the end of this chapter, it’s no longer a ship. Edens One has gone full-on Ultron!

Recap

With Sun Jewel now safe, Kurenai and her followers stay behind to help with the new government forming. Thanks to that, Homura and Valkyrie return to the Edens Zero to a great reunion with everyone. In the Spa of Edens, all the girls bond while talking about how different Universe Zero is from the previous worlds. Not only is Paul a congressman on Sun Jewel, but Elsie remains a princess! 

Valkyrie then interrupts everything by having her and Homura spar, saying training while naked is the best time to stimulate Ether. This weirds Rebeca out a little, but then Sister decides she wants to train, too.

In the galley, the boys and Pino all go over who they still need to find: Laguna, Labilia, Couchpo, and Connor. Their best bet’s to head to the Aoi Cosmos and find Laguna, though Weisz says Shiki’s idea to befriend Shura’s a dumb one. That’s when Pino tells everyone aboard that she has a message for them. She recovered her memories enough to know her true purpose: she was built to destroy the Edens One. She has the AI’s destruction code embedded in her. Furthermore, she learned something interesting she wants to share.

Meanwhile, aboard the Edens One, Wizard speaks to a mysterious machine, calling it the strongest king of machines in the Universe. It’s name is Over Nu Etherion Void.

Review

Like I said before, the Edens One has gone Ultron! It’s gone from being an AI to a Machine-entity bent on destroying all life in the Universe. It’s even created a body for itself, which is good. Having a being to physically fight makes for a better antagonist than a ship with a runaway AI. 

As far as plot developments go, this chapter didn’t have much to give us. At the very least, Mashima did retroactively explain the reason for so much fanservice. While it explains why Rebecca got her power-ups every time she was bathing, I still think its a cheap excuse for extra fanservice. 

The main thing that I wanted to touch on, though, is that we learn more about characters we’ve met in previous Universes. I wondered where Paul was on Sun Jewel when we went to Sun Jewel, so at least we know what he’s doing now. More importantly, according to Hermit, Lendard never fell apart from civil war. As a result, Elsie never becomes a pirate and can still get her happy ending. While I wouldn’t mind seeing her again, it’s fine if she doesn’t appear anymore. She deserves to be happy.

As far as chapters go, this was middling. It spent a lot of time on exposition and fanservice, but it did set us up to see Edens One in its newest form. Hopefully, the next chapter will be a bit more interesting.

I Give “Over Nu Etherion” a 3/5

Click here to see more animanga stuff

Edens Zero Chapter 223 Review/Recap

They’ve been reunited; they got the ship; they even got Witch back. Now it’s time Shiki, Rebecca, and Happy to reunite the rest of the Crew of Edens and find Mother before its too late. Let the Edens Zero speedrun begin!!!

Recap

Having reunited with Witch, the trio proceeds to tell her the abridged version of events: they’re from three years in the future, and they’re trying to save Mother. That doesn’t matter much to Witch, though, as she still pledges loyalty to Shiki. Shiki, though, makes her promise to not die in this universe. As the ship heads for Norma, Rebecca and Shiki acclimate to their situation. They both discover that they possess their Ether Gear from previous universes, but they lack the level of control they need. This leads to an…embarrassing situation. 

On Norma, they find the planet was still Chronophage’d, meaning that they can still find Weisz and Pino. They simply go to Weisz’s house and there he is with Pino, just like before. Once they cross paths again, their memories come right back. However, there’s a big difference this time. In Universe Zero, Weisz’s mother, who lost her life thanks to Drakken Joe, is still alive, giving Weisz the chance to have a tearful reunion.

Review

This review’s going to be brief, as there’s not a lot for me to say about this chapter. Everything happened pretty much exactly how I thought it would play out. It seems to confirm some fan theories that only those aboard the Edens Zero will remember their past experiences, though. 

I had a feeling that Weisz’s mother would be alive in Universe 0, as it fits with the trend of it giving people the lives they want the most. Happy never became a robot, and Weisz still has his Mom. Seeing him reunite with her was very heartwarming, but if he wants to keep her, then they’re going to have to take her with them when they leave Norma. 

That aside, it’s good to know that Shiki and Rebecca still have access to their advanced Ether Gear. It may take a while for them to reach the level of control they possessed in the previous Universe, but I also expected that.

Now comes the potentially hard part: Guilst. If they play this right, they can get Homura, Sister, Mosco, and even Jinn and Labilia in one fell swoop. Oh, and Couchpo, too. The amount of variables, though, is too much for me to predict what might happen. I just hope that they don’t have to outrun a Chronophage or deal with that perverted frog man again.

Not a lot to say about this chapter besides that.

I Give “Memories and Abilities” a 2.5/5

Click here to see more animanga stuff