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Edens Zero Chapter 68 Review/Recap

The battle for Sun Jewel’s over, and the Scarlet Women’s been sent to a fate worse than death. Even though Sun Jewel’s free, victory’s soured by the knowledge of Valkyrie’s death. Now Shiki must break the news of Valkyrie’s death. If anyone still doubts it now, I think this chapter proves for good that machines have hearts.

Recap

As Xiao Mei explains, with the fall of Kurenai, Sun Jewel will prosper by exporting its valuable ore. Combined with being a popular destination for treasure hunters, and the planet’s future remains bright. However, in the immediate time, Shiki and the others return to Edens Zero and inform the the machines of Valkyrie’s death.

Sister’s furious that Homura chose to leave Valkyrie’s body on Sun Jewel. With her powers, combined with the backup data of the Shining Stars, could restore her to life. Witch argues that this wouldn’t restore the feelings she felt for Homura, but Sister doesn’t budge. Ultimately, Shiki tells her of something Ziggy said once: that machines grow old and die like other beings. Therefore, machines have hearts. In other words, they have to accept Valkyrie’s passing, with Homura vowing to become the new Valkyrie.

Sister ends up storming off on her own to cope with her friend’s death. Witch meets up with her on the ship’s observation deck, and the two of them tearfully break down over the loss of their friend, comforting each other.

Review

I might be reading a little too deeply into it, but I think I understand the main theme of Edens Zero. At least, I think I understand what Mashima’s trying to say. In a world that’s rapidly developing advanced robots and AI, there are going to be questions of morality and rights. Can an AI learn to care about people and feel emotions? In other words, can machines have hearts? I think that Mashima’s answer is yes. It may seem silly to some, but if we develop super-advanced robots one day, they can learn how to have feelings. It’s either that or let them be run on cold-logic, and that can lead to Skynet or HAL.

Philosophy aside, I thought that this was a touching chapter. As I predicted, Homura has stepped up to become the new Valkyrie for Edens Zero. It’s not a moment too soon, either. Witch and the others were able to fool him using a holographic decoy, but Drakken Joe’s on the hunt for the ship. The confrontation between the Demon King Shiki and Drakken Joe is inevitable. I’m looking forward to how it turns out in the end, as this will likely be the crew’s biggest test yet. With Shiki and the Four Shining Stars in the fight, though, I don’t think Edens Zero has anything to worry about.

I Give “Valkyrie” a 4.5/5. Slow but emotional chapter

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Edens Zero Chapter 66 Review/Recap

When I heard what the planet Sun Jewel was like, I knew Edens Zero was in for a fight. In the end, I was right: Shiki went to war with Lady Kurenai for abandoning Homura and killing Valkyrie. As a result, the Scarlet Woman’s reign’s about to end, crushed by the gravity of Shiki’s fist!

Recap

The fight with the Kurenai Dragoon starts wearing on Shiki, but the young demon king continues to dodge every attack. Frustrated, Kurenai resorts to her mech’s missile barrage. Shiki then lands on top of the mech and converts the missile’s energy into gravity. He then proceeds to crush the dragoon with his Gravity Impact. Thus, Kurenai becomes so terrified that she wonders if Shiki’s even human.

With Kurenai thus defeated, Nino shuts down all of her forces, leaving the rebels victorious. As the rebels and crew celebrate their victory, Shiki shows up with Kurenai, captured and at his mercy. He said he’d bring Kurenai to Homura, but how will she react to seeing her mother again?

Review

When Shiki said he was going to crush Kurenai with his gravity, I knew it was as good as done. However, I didn’t expect the fight to be over so fast. Based on how much trouble Shiki had, though, I think the fights are starting to be a challenge for him. At the least, I think he’s going to have to get stronger to fight Drakken Joe.

As for Kurenai, her reign over Sun Jewel’s effectively over, and for one reason alone: she made Shiki mad. As we’ve seen, Shiki embraces the title of Demon King when he gets mad. The look he gives Kurenai’s enough to melt solid steel!

I enjoyed this chapter because it shows off how cunning Shiki is and how much he’s mastered his Gravity Ether Gear. All that’s left is for Homura to settle her mother issues, then they need to go after Drakken Joe. He’s still after Edens Zero, and its almost defenseless with most of the crew on Sun Jewel!

I Give “Gravity’s Gonna Crush You” a 4/5

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Edens Zero Chapter 57 Review/Recap

Every now and then, something will happen in a story that leaves me genuinely surprised. Mashima’s done a few things that could be called a big reveal in the past, but I pick up on his hints a lot, so it ruins the surprise. The chapter of Edens Zero that came out this week, though, felt like a genuine bombshell.

Recap

As stated before, that cube had a message from Valkyrie telling Homura why she left her and can’t come back. We don’t see it, but we learn through flashbacks what happened.

After Valkyrie took Homura in as her student, she did everything she could to take care of her. Despite her efforts, she and the young Homura faced prejudice from the town they lived in because Valkyrie’s a machine. It didn’t help that Homura said she was waiting on her mother, who left before the village was destroyed to earn money.

Despite trying her best, Valkyrie became convinced that she could never raise Homura like a real mom, so she leaves her behind to find the girl’s birth mother. After seeking out Xiao Mei, she learns that the note she left for Homura got stolen by a cat. Even so, she’s determined to find Homura’s mother. Xiao Mei then reveals she’ll find Homura’s mom on Sun Jewel, and that her name is…Kurenai Kotetsu

Review

Dang, folks. I’m almost at a loss for words; I wasn’t expecting this. So Homura’s mother is the sadistic despot that rules Sun Jewel, and Valkyrie’s leading a rebellion against her. What a bombshell.

My mind’s been racing with ideas about Kurenai, but so far I’ve come up with two theories about why she left Homura. The first is that she did intend to come back, but once she got wealthy enough, she got drunk on it and turned into the monster we see today. The second, and more likely, is that she ditched Homura like a deadbeat mom. Either way, this is not the kind of person Homura should associate with.

After getting over the bombshell that Homura is the daughter of the Scarlet Woman, though, my mind came to one conclusion. They may not be related by blood, but Valkyrie raised Homura, protected her, and taught her everything she knows. That sounds like a mom to me.

It doesn’t matter to me if Kurenai’s is Homura’s mom: she’s still a sadistic monster that’s about kill hundreds of people. She needs to be stopped, and now she’s on the Edens Zero’s radar.

I liked this chapter as a whole, as it gives us an unexpected connection to the villain of this arc. That personal connection between Homura, her mother, and her mentor are going to make for some emotional scenes. I think the Sun Jewel Arc’s going to get really crazy from here on out, and I can’t wait.

I Give “My Mother’s A Machine” a 4/5

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