The Completion Of Overdrive!- Or At Least A Route Towards It. Edens Zero Chapter 230 BREAKDOWN

Hey, everyone. It’s been a minute, huh? Last week wasn’t a good week for me; my schedule got completely overhauled at work, and I almost ended up closing with the WORST person Possible(The Exact Person I Told My manager I HATED working with- IF YOU COULD CALL IT “WORK”). Fortunately for me, they were flakey as usual, so it was just a regular closing shift. Which is still awful. And I had Adult stuff that had to get postponed- stuff that I actually gave 2 sh!ts about. So I was left feeling really dejected from doing posts for the last little bit. That, and the 2 Jump chapters weren’t “Amazing” like that. 

Cut to now, and I’m still struggling to come up with a good title for this post. Considering when the leaks came out, you’d think that I’d have had a title ready to go for this review. But I don’t. I don’t even know if the title I have up there now will be the Final title you’ll see! For reference, the title at the time of me writing this(Wednesday, March 8th, 2023, 4:49 pm) is “The Completion Of Overdrive!- Or At Least A Route Towards It.” Meh; it’s a C list title- and a low one at that. I’m gettin’ back into the swing of things; this might feel weird since I really haven’t been working on ANY posts. 

All that said; I do have some ideas of what I’m gonna say this time. Let’s see if I can remember to get it all. Edens Zero Chapter 230: “Form Of Ether.” Let’s begin…….

REVIEW

We begin the chapter by seeing the Aftermath of Sister’s fight against the Rutherfords(ow, that got offscreened?). They got their memories back through the course of the fight, and they tried to tell Sister that, bu~t…….. she just kept going. She blames them for not remembering, but she didn’t listen. And she can heal them, anyway. Jinn is still super upset, but Kleene is just hapy to see Sister again. And what’s more; Mosco calls in to say that he now has his memories back- and has Homura with him at the moment!! But she still lacks her memories, and doesn’t get what’s going on………

Over with Shiki and Nero; the former Emperor of Aoi realizes where Shiki got his Ether Gear: His old friend, Ziggy. He speculates that Ziggy somehow made “Wormhole” “Fall Into Him” when he visited the Temple, and has now passed that power on to Shiki. Making him realize that he’s the “Orphaned Boy” Ziggy found. He rolls the Empire Dice, and realizes what he must do. He gets serious, taking off his jacket and starts to fight Shiki with everything he’s got. But he also decides to give Shiki a “Hint;” he tells him that his current power is “beyond his control,” and that his only hope right now it to Overdrive. 

Shiki says that his body can’t take the power he’s amassed in 3 years; it’s not something that his Overdrive can make up for. Nero says that he “lacks an understanding of Ether.” He explains to the boy that Overdrive is Ether’s “Critical Point,” where it rearranges and “optimizes” even the molecules in one’s body- signified by the physical alternations to the body. As such: There’s More Than 1 Form of Overdrive. He attacks Shiki with more water, trying to force him to transform. Shiki breaks out of the wave with Gravity, and starts to think about what “form” he’ll take- one that’ll be able to handle the power he got in 3 years. End Result: Overdrive Route- ZIGGY!! 

And then he whoops Nero in just one attack. He describes it as “He And Ziggy Becoming One” and optimizing his body’s ether, allowing him to take a form that looks a lot like Ziggy. But something nags at him: Nero went and gave him advice that helped him win the battle, and he asks why. Nero responds he feels that Shiki may be able to stop the Tyrannical Emperor Shura. 

Drakken arrives, promising to take out anyone who stands against him for the sake of his reputation. Then Shiki starts to remember his interactions with Drakken and Shura– when he told Drakken that they would be friends one day, and when Shura extended his own hand in friendship. And it hits him: He Can Befriend Drakken And Shura in This World! Everyone- both in series and OUT- is left Dumfounded. Everyone But Nero. Edens Zero Chapter 230 END!! You know what? OKAY!! 

Analysis 

……………. I had a lot of things that I wanted to talk about; things like Shiki’s development, how Overdrive might work, and how it may just be the key to saving Mother, based on what Nero said in this chapter- which would itself tie back to the role that Friendship plays in this series. But I’m not nearly as “eloquent” as I wish I was, so I’ll put it all in the based way that I can. But to tackle all of these points, I’ll need some room to work. And I don’t want this post to take forever and a half. So I think I’ll try this like I did the most recent Boruto post: In Segments. I hope I don’t f*ck this up…………

1. The Key To Saving Humanity…….. Or Delaying The Inevitable 

Let’s try getting the “Plot Relevant” point out of the way first. We know that Mother is dying, and that 20,000 years in the future- She’s gone, and the Human race is completely extinct. There’s not even really enough Ether for the machines of the future to last that much longer. They’re probably using the Ether Recycling Unit that Ziggy used in Universe 0 to preserve Granbell(on a much larger scale, obviously). That won’t last forever, though. Thus sending Ziggy back in time on the Edens Zero. The problem is that he doesn’t Fully know what to do to save Mother. Which is why Shiki exists- he will either be the one to save Mother and bring the Universe together in Harmony, or Tear It All The F*ck Apart. 

I’ve always been under the impression that knowing his origin would influence Shiki’s choice in the matter; it’s why Ziggy couldn’t tell him where he comes from in chapter 210– Shiki isn’t at the right level of “maturity” to know that yet. And the decision that he will make in the moment- the moment that will determine the future of the Universe- depends on how he grows up. That we’ll save for later. For now; I’m focusing on what the solution he could potential reach is going to be. And I believe now that it has everything to do with the information we’ve been getting about Overdrive. 

Human Killer tells us in chapter 194 that everything that possesses Ether- whether it uses Ether Gear or not- has the potential to Overdrive. And we learn in this chapter that Overdrive- as Nero puts it- “rearranges and optimizes even the molecules in your body.” Optimization. Perhaps the answer is getting Mother to Overdrive, optimizing her Ether and allowing the Universe to flourish…….. for a little while longer. I think “optimizing Ether” is utilizing even the smallest amount to its fullest potential- making it last even a little longer. That extends the lifespan of the Universe. From there, I’m not sure what else could be done to prevent the End of the Universe. Maybe the Shining Star’s OWN Ether Optimizer + Ziggy’s Ether Recycler combined with Mother’s Overdrive will make the Universe go on for a Good Long While. 

2. Power Progression 

I love Overdrive as a concept; I’ve made that clear. It’s not limited to one sect of people, and it provides for some cool Visuals. But something that stuck out to me since chapter 81 when Drakken explained it to us, and chapter 95 when he showed what he could really do. Something that nagged at me when I thought about it. The form that Drakken showed Shiki in chapter 81 was NOT his Full Power, while the form he showed off in 95 was his max. Which implied to me that Shiki and the others- based on the black markings present in their Overdrive forms- that they still had another level to go; one where they’re “engulfed” in that same pattern, just as Drakken was(though obviously a little different). 

Chapters 213 and 214 came around, debuting a new transformation for Shiki again. Low and Behold: The markings were creeping up his arms and legs. Come to the present; those patterns are there, but they lead into the main body- a body with a similar build to Ziggy. 1)That makes me think that the end goal for his Full Overdrive- the thing that these patterns and the way he looks are building up to- WAS Ziggy! Even looking at his first Overdrive from the cover of Volume 12 to the cover of Volume 22 during the Post Time Skip to even Volume 25 most recently- it was all building to him becoming a Demon King. But 2) Nero says that this is only 1 route for Shiki to take- that there are multiple Overdrive forms that improve your body to handle your own power. Shiki couldn’t take his own power- both the power he accumulated 3 years in the future, or the power Ziggy gave him in “Wormhole.” 

This is the route that he chose in this moment; a form that reflects what he learned from Ziggy both back when he was learning Ether gear and what he learned on Lendard. A form that can take his own Gravity. One that reflects that path that he’s choosing to follow towards Mother- the route that the Edens Zero will take to Save Mother and Change the Universe. But he’ll more than likely break away from that path. In fact, with chapter 165– he effectively HAS. I think we’ll see this form a few more times going forward, but probably not as often as you think…….

3. Shiki’s Growth And The Point Of Friendship

…………… I had a really “Poetic” way to open this part, but it didn’t come out quite right. So I’ll simply put in way that I can express: I like how this series treats Shiki’s development. This fate of everyone in the Universe depends on the choices he makes, so Mashima has the responsibility to make sure that Shiki’s growth is conveyed properly; he has to make sure that Shiki becomes the man that he is meant to be when it comes time for the climax of the story. And his friends play a large role in that, as any family unit would in anyone’s story. They keep him grounded; remind him what’s important; make sure he doesn’t do things that he’ll regret- They’re the reason that he will decide whatever he decides in the moment. So he has to make sure that he’s not surrounded with people who will do wrong by him. Thus his first interaction with Shura. 

I bring this up because of his goal in this chapter: To befriend Drakken and Shura. Shiki……….. is different than when he was when the series started. Had this been the Shiki at the beginning of the story would probably have taken Shura’s hand- and bad things would have happened. This Shiki- haven gone through all of the development that he has- did not. But now that he’s in Universe 0, where anything seems possible; he’s thinking that he might be able to do it- even after all of the things that Drakken and Shura have put him and his friends through, paying off what he told Weisz in chapter 99: “It Might Take Time, but if Someone Reaches Out- I think it’s possible to be friends with Anybody.” Now he’s going to reach out. 

……………. This is starting to feel like that “Super Saiyan Curse” Theory video with me not telling you what I’m saying. I’m trying to say that Shiki becoming friends with his enemies will help him to reach whatever point he needs to reach to make that choice. I’ve always said that this series treats “Friendship” as if the whole group needs to work together for Shiki to win; he would not have gotten to where he is without their help. I think befriending these guys is going to be key in helping him to reach Mother. Maybe not them full on joining the Edens Zero(or maybe they will), but……… perhaps giving them aid at some point later on in the story. I don’t know; this one kind of got away from me. 

Conclusion

On that note, I think that I’m done. Not what I had intended, but at this point I’ve lost a lot of what I was gonna say, so…….. I’ll quit while I’m ahead. Ah, well; at least the first 2 came out right! Let me know what you guys think in the comments. Until the next post, everyone; catch ya later! Man, what a quick conclusion.