Well, that was slightly disappointing. Eden of the East had such a promising start. Its first episode displayed humor, liveliness, quirkiness, and mystery, all of which I thought would last throughout the anime. However, after the first episode the show’s pacing quickly slowed down, especially through the middle episodes where there was much talking and little happening. Even towards the very end the show remained heavy on the dialogue and light on everything else, including the relationship between Akira and Saki, which I thought was underdeveloped. Eden of the East was more of a mystery than an adventure.
The plot is driven by the classic setup of an amnesiac trying to rediscover himself. The initial questions such as “What is the past of the protagonist?”, “What is the purpose of the Selecao game?”, and “How are the bombing and missing NEETs incidents related?” provided much of the intrigue in the show. Most of questions were satisfactorily answered by the end of episode eleven. There are a few issues that remains unaddressed, such as the identities of yet unrevealed Selecaos, and the winner of the game. Perhaps they will be material for future installments of Eden of the East.
Other positives in Eden of the East include the animation; it was fairly consistently sharp and fluid. The SD modes, although rare, really adds to the humor in the series. And of course its fantastic opening sequence, which particularly stands out not only in Eden of the East, but in all of anime kingdom, and is something I will remember Eden of the East by.
Eden of the East is a somewhat accomplished take at an amnesia story with a beginning that is more exciting than it eventually is.
