I RE~ALLY wanted to avoid one of those “1001 Ways To Say” titles today. But there were TOO MANY Good one’s- like “Back To The Pilot-” a Family Guy reference; “Back To The Drawing Board;” “The Reunion Of Time and Gravity;” “Fated Attraction;” and oh so very many more. BUT I JUST COULDN’T F*CKING PICK!!! I didn’t feel like any title could capture this chapter perfectly. So I just said “F*ck It” and left it untitled the same way I did for the shocking 82nd chapter of the story. Which just got me thinking about the potential of Universe 0- a Universe where “Anything Is Possible.” I wonder what Mashima will be showing us going forward……..
Oh, did I mention? My copy of “Edens Zero” Volume 20 arrived in the mail today! I have all 20 volumes released in English, guys. This is kind of the only series I’m collecting as it comes out(this and technically “Chainsaw Man-” even though I got the last 3 I needed all at once). It covers everything from the Phenomenal chapter 168 to chapter 176. But I still need to beat down the stack of books I CURRENTLY have- including Volume 19 of the series- to get to it. Gonna take a minute. Oh well; that’s part of the fun! Let’s get into the chapter! Edens Zero Chapter 221: “Back In The Sky Where Cherry Blossoms Dance.” Oh, but HE can come up with f*ckin’ chapter titles!!!
REVIEW
Universe 0, Sakura Cosmos: Rebecca and Happy are back on the Aqua Wing, on their way to another planet to film a video. They pass by the nearby star of Granbell, which housed an old theme park. Happy wants to go, but Rebecca isn’t all that interested. But it doesn’t feel like the Aqua Wing will give her a choice- it’s like the ship if being drawn to the planet. On Said Planet: Shiki is “repairing” Michael. Once he finishes that, he’s off to repair the Giant Cat in the forest.
He arrives, and gets on its head to reach the Maintenance Panel. But when he lands; his Gravity starts to go haywire- he starts to feel himself being drawn towards something…….. down on the ground where Rebecca and Happy are. Just as it happened all the way in chapter 1; the Cat crashes to the ground, and Shiki glares at Rebecca. Get’s in her personal space; feels her up some; looks at her panties- the works. And when he finally realizes that she’s a human; he asks to be her Friend.
And THAT, my dear readers, is where it All Starts Coming Back To Them. What happened the day they met; the adventures on Norma and Guilst and Digitalis- Sun Jewel. the return to Granbell, Red Cave and more- Everything up to the jump to Universe 0. It all comes flooding back in. And when they’re all caught up; they embrace. But since they’ve never met in this world, Shiki must ask again: “Will you be my friend?” Rebecca accepts without hesitation. Edens Zero Chapter 221 END!! Not much, but perfect all the same. Also The Final Arc Was Announced A Few Days Ago.
Analysis
…………………….. I’m not sure what to say right now. I know that this chapter’s given us something to talk about- that being the topic of Shiki and Rebecca’s powers- but……… I don’t know how to put it. It’s like; we’ve always KNOWN that Shiki and Rebecca’s powers are tied together- Mashima’s made that no secret- but he always portrayed it as if Shiki was the one pulling Rebecca around; that he was the “Anchor” for “Cat Leaper” to link to to sail through the Multiverse. THAT’S the Analogy I was looking for!! My Very first attempt at this part called Rebecca the “Ship,” and Shiki- with the information we now have- would be more like the “Captain,” steering Rebecca through the Multiverse rather than being the one keeping her in place. And I felt that a little disrespectful to Becky, for reasons that I’m sure are kind of obvious. I didn’t want to say that, but it looks like there’s another way to put this.
REBECCA is the “Captain,” and “Cat Leaper” is her “Ship.” She’s always used it to sail through the Multiverse, and Shiki is seemingly the destination- something that the “Ship” is drawn to. But this information now gives us a different picture. It’s like…….. now we know that Shiki can be drawn to Rebecca. But whereas Rebecca’s connection to Shiki is more on the “Temporal” end- moving from Timeline to Timeline rather than ending up right where Shiki is; Shiki is being brought to her across…….. “Distance.” They weren’t very far from each other, and Shiki’s gravity seemed to be pulling the Aqua Wing towards Granbell, but this is a very LITERAL case of Shiki being “drawn” to Becky. Hm……….. This is more than likely what happened the first time, but I can’t say what’s happen with their powers right now.
…………. Maybe it has to do with what Xenolith told Shiki back in chapter 133? “Gravity Is The ‘Weight Of Your Heart.'” His “heart” was pulling the Aqua Wing towards Granbell- and Shiki himself to Rebecca. Because “Those Memories Are Engraved In Their Hearts.” Something very “Mashime-Esque” like that.
Something else that I thought of in the last chapter– something that I unfortunately didn’t bring up: The Series Has Been “Reset.” SHIKI has been Reset. That transformation he got only 8 chapters prior, and his new “Wormhole” ability- heck, even Overdrive itself- He no longer has access to. he may be able to “Remember” how to do them, but…….. that just seems kind of cheap. I’m not saying that Shiki needs to go through the WHOLE D@MN STORY ALL OVER AGAIN- it took us 221 chapters to get here as it stands- but I don’t want him to just “remember how to transform,” you know? It would be the equivalent of the “Tingly Back” sh!t they introduced in Dragon Ball Super; he didn’t earn this power- it was just “given” to him so he can stand toe-to-toe with whatever enemy he’s up against. That kind of writing is beneath Mashima………… “Fairy Tail” aside.
But if he doesn’t just “get” these powers back, then how is he supposed to regain them. Heck, who’s to say his younger body can even take that new transformation the way he is. He had 3 years of training- fighting against Ziggy’s Skeleton Army- and had to be put under the emotional stress of seeing one his friends Die right in front of him because of his hesitation. Can a 15 year old Shiki really TAKE that in comparison to the 18 year old variant? Not so sure about that one. Plus, it makes that form feel…….. “Special.” Like it’s a power that he can only use when sh!t hits the fan. Or just give him a “Learning Curb” going into the Final Arc of the story. Did I not talk about that part enough?
Yeah, Weekly Shonen Magazine that publishes the series- and all other Mashima manga projects- announced on their Twitter that the Final Arc of the story has begun with this chapter. We kind of saw that coming; if not THIS “Universe 0” business, then certainly the arc to follow- maybe actually fighting against the Edens One. I’m SO Hyped for that villain; please O Lord let it be one of Mashima’s Better Antagonists. In my mind; the Universe 0 arc would be a general “feel” for this Final Universe- getting the crew back together and all of that business; then the next arc would see them looking for Rachel- battling the Saint Fire church and likely the Edens One; and then perhaps a race for Mother. From there would be the Final Confronation. That’s what I saw happening. And that may well still happen; perhaps the tweet meant more “Final Saga” rather than story arc.
You know that whole debate about “Saga” and “Arc.” In MY head: A “Saga” is a collection of arcs building up on a singular narrative. Take for example the “Baroque Works” saga of One Piece- comprising the Reverse Mountain Arc, Misty peak Arc, Little Garden arc, Drum Kingdom Arc, and culminating in Alabasta. That would be a “Saga.” Foresta was and arc; The Aoi War was the arc that was built up through out Red Cave, Foresta, and Sandra. Short Saga– Aoi was a Long Arc. For the sake of it; let’s go with the “Universe 0 Saga.” Ya still wit me?
Now that that is ALL out of the way: How is this going to go? I…….. PRAY that he doesn’t skip over the “Reunion” stuff with the crew- I want to see how everything goes as they try to “rig the game” with their memories. They now know what’s going to happen before it happens. Going to get Weisz and Pino should be no problem; Homura came in on her own volition ANYWAY; Kris and Kleene will now join sooner; they can get this done QUICK. But I want to SEE all of that content, ya know? I don’t want some 3 page montage or something; I want to see how events will change now that they know what’s going to happen next. Though……… whose to say……. that events will play out undeterred by a certain Fish Shaped AI? That’s right, dudes and dudettes- I think the Edens One is going to influence the narrative. It’s smart enough to know how to move pieces on a chest board; it can travel through space unaided; it can pull and Ultron and have MULTIPLE bodies about doing whatever it can to push old Antagonists to victory. It can rig RIGHT THE F*CK BACK!!!!
But that brings up ANOTHER topic of conversation. New Universe- Old Problems. The Big Bad’s of Days Long Past Are Back- Drakken, Nero, Shura, the Fake Sister and more I’m probably forgetting. And when the Edens One reveals to them their fate- ESPECIALLY where Shiki is concerned- it’s on. We might actually get a Proper Oracion Seis out of this series yet!! It even gives Mashima a chance to fix some storylines. Come on, now; Shura’s ending with Ijuna wasn’t the best– at least, not the most……… “Tasteful” of endings. Drakken’s fate was left in the air; we just kind of assume he’s dead, based on the state he was left in at the end of the Belial Goer arc. Nero got b!tch made and we don’t even know how. Crow. Acnoella. He just wrote in a way to fix this sh!t. Though……… also a chance for Shiki to do the Right Thing.
Between Drakken and Shura; we have 2 antagonists that really told us a lot about Shiki’s character. Even face-to-face with the guy who cut off his friends arm, threw 2 more of them in the TRASH, and a bunch of sh!t to the others I didn’t mention outright- He still vowed to be that man’s Friend when no one else did. Shura was SET UP to be His Antagonist- the one that makes him question his whole character and what he believed in. And I can promise you that a look in his memories- utilizing “Cat Leaper’s” properties the same way he did in chapter 98– will allow him to see Shura differently than he did the day of the war. He may be able to show Shura some semblance of “love” in a similar way to Ijuna(though obviously not in the “Romantic”sense)- WITHOUT him having to die on an Exploding Planet.
This is Shiki’s chance to Redeem and Befriend his enemies. To reach out to them with the mindset of an 18 year that’s been through some sh!t as opposed to the 15 year old who was just starting out on his adventure. And on the other end; Crow and Acnoella could join One as machines fighting to destroy humanity- at least Acnoella, if that kind of thing isn’t up Cure’s ally. He SEEMS to be an Organic; I doubt even a Zealot for “Balance” like him would be able to go along with a plan like that. Perhaps it’ll give “Crow” a chance to be his own character- simple as he is. This is the “Universe of Possibilities.” These things may happen…….
Conclusion
WHEW!!! Didn’t think I was gonna be able to finish this one the way it was looking. But I stopped- played some Pokemon Scarlet- ate dinner- and came back refreshed and with a new mindset. As a result; I’d say this was a pretty good review to close out “Edens Zero” for the year. Final Chapter Of The year, folks. But I’ve got ONE more series to talk about. After that…….. we’ll just see what the Jump chapters are like. Let me know your own thoughts in the comments, people. And until the next post- Have A Magically Wonderful Day. By~~~e!!!!!!
