I forgot she was a F*ckin’ Android. I forgot that she was a F*CKIN’ MACHINE; Ziggy told us that decapitation chapter 164 that beheading not enough to kill a Mechanical Life form WHY DID I FORGET THAT? But heck, it seems like everyone blanked on that topic, huh? I guess we got a little caught up in the Kureani thing that we forgot that Valkyrie could just put her head back on. Dang……. I just feel kinda stupid right now. But that’s the MAIN thing in this chapter; the rest is just set up for next week. ‘Course by then Season 2 of the anime will be out. Geh heh heh heh heh…….. This should be fun. Kind of BIG Arc to start the season. And seeing as next season isn’t gonna be Netflix Exclusive, I get this feeling that the new fans that come in are going to be…….. a wee bit confused. Hopefully this means season 1 will be more accessible to everyone. Maybe even a DVD release? Please? Let’s get to the chapter. Edens Zero Chapter 233: “Sword Flash.”
Overview
Picking up from last time: In an attempt to reawaken Homura’s memories from the previous world, the Crew of Edens make their way to Sun Jewel to find her biological mother- Kureani Kogetsu. But they find that she’s actually a Protector in this world; she leads a group- made up of her prisoners from the former world and the Zaiten 3- that fights against the Stones that come out of the mines. Taking the situation at face value, the crew decides to fight with them, sending Homura, Pino, and Happy to the shelter for safety. As the group fights, the Councilman realizes that Homura is Kureani’s daughter. He reveals to her that Kureani has been protecting this world for all these years- but she never stopped talking about the daughter she left behind on her homeworld.
He tells her that the situation is a little “complicated,” and that she would have to ask Kureani directly why she never came back. This, plus the fact that her friends are fighting for their lives against an army of monsters, is enough to get Homura up and running again- though she still can’t summon her swords. All the while- the fighting force is put on the backfoot; between Shiki getting overwhelmed by the sheer number of bugs and the sheer number of bugs, they, uh……. they aren’t winning. And Kureani is caught by a Stone, about to be eaten. And now, so is Homura. But help arrives in the form of someone she never thought she’d see again: The Sword Of Edens VALKYRIE YUNA!!!
Once again, she comes to her students aid- slaying the Stones crawling towards her. And her memories come flooding back; Homura is back in action, showing her Teacher just how much she grew in the last world by slaying more of the Stones. Kureani realizes that her daughter is here on Sun Jewel, and Homura finally comprehends what Shiki meant about this world being “Kinder.” Edens Zero Chapter 233 END!!! Alright, how is this situation gonna work? Well, “Situation” implies that there’s a Problem. This could be good for them- though it probably won’t happen.
REVIEW
I’m Just Gonna Ask It Now: Will Valkyrie Join The Quest For Mother? I had to stop this paragraph in the middle and think for a minute, ultimately realizing……….. there’s nothing to gain or lose in the equation here. It’s like…….. she’s strong, and they’re gonna need all the help that they can get going into this Finale against the Edens One. But I fully believe that all the friends that they’ve made- or at least the important names like now Drakken, Nero, potentially Shura in the future, and more important characters like that– are going to come to their aid when it comes time for the FINAL Final battle. She could come back right along with them, bringing with her characters like Kureani and the Zaiten 3. But if she joins here……… what would be gained from it? They’re plenty strong as is, and they’ve been through enough fights together to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses- how each other move during fights, what they can bring to the table and all of that “Teamwork” stuff. Valkyrie could throw that off a little bit.
It might also have the effect of undermining Homura’s growth. I fully believe that she’s surpassed Valkyrie by now; between achieving Overdrive and the growth they underwent in the 3 year time skip, she’s probably stronger than Valkyrie. If they can all learn what Shiki did against Nero and alter their Overdrives to compensate for their strength(why was that so hard to say last time?), then she can use her fully power properly. Maybe they’ll have a sparring match and Valkyrie will give her the same advice. That’s another way this could go; Valkyrie respecting that Homura has taken her role on the ship, and wanting Homura to keep that position. So she challenges her to a sparring match in which so she can prove that she’s “worthy” of it. And she tells Homura the same thing Nero told Shiki, getting her to the “Next Level.” Homura proves she’s a worthy of the position as “Sword Of Edens,” and Valkyrie will stay behind to protect the people of Sun Jewel. That or they fully quelch the Stone Attacks and she goes off to do XYZ that’ll tie into the overarching story. Either way, really.
Though……. the Edens One is doing things somewhere. Be it the one from the previous world that came over to Universe 0, or the one that’s already here having the intellect to understand what’s going on and realize what happened in the last world, choosing to do something other than possess Ziggy. Though considering how far it got with that one- being the most dangerous Android in the Universe; an unspoken Galatica that rampaged for 3 years before anyone figured out what was going on- that wasn’t such a bad idea. It could hack and possess really any machine it wants to; Pino, the Shining Stars, Crow, or a bunch of other potential machines out there. Valkyrie is clearly the strongest on Sun Jewel, and there’s no way they can hack back at One. New body incoming? Without Hermit there to attempt to keep it out………. Just sayin’.
And then you have Kureani. Last week, I talked about how Homura would get the chance to talk to Kureani, and us learning about why she left. And Homura- still not having her memories- still wouldn’t forgive her, knowing the whole story. She’s got her memories back now, though; she remembers what her mother was like from the previous worlds, so she’s probably just happy that she’s not torturing others. But the teaser indicates to us that we’re gonna be learning something more about Kureani’s story. It’s something tragic that- according to the Councilman- didn’t allow her to go get Homura; it’s not that she didn’t go back to Oedo. Okay, okay, I’m curious to hear what that’s about.
So…….. What’s Mashima’s Grand Plan? ‘Cause for everyone’s backstories to to end up Not So Tragic(except for Homura who actually came out worse off) and for all the enemies we’ve had ’til now becoming good guys(or “Not So Bad” in the case of Drakken, and seemingly worse in the case of Shura); he has to be building up to something, right? It can’t just be to make it easier to make these guys allies, right? THERE’S A PLAN HERE– some narrative importance that we’re not aware of. Like I said: He’s probably going to have Drakken, Shura, Kureani, and their armies get involved in the Final Battle against One, but……… that singular pay off doesn’t feel like it warrants THIS MANY changes to……… 2 S Tier Villains and an Arc Villain. Drakken and Shura were great, but I wasn’t clamoring for more Kureani. But seriously; what could be the more Immediate reason for them to be getting redemption.
I feel like the narrative importance is to show how much Shiki has grown; befriending people who put his friends through the wringer like they did vs the Shiki who was still upset with Noah for putting Rebecca through Belial Goer. If he can forgive them, then he can forgive anyone- timing may vary. It also serves the age old purpose of showing how someone striving for something good ends up sending them down a Dark path, with the difference being that they’re still holding on to that “good path” as much as possible, and Shiki coming in to keep them on that path this time. Something to that effect. But as for the context of the story, I can’t tell you where we’ll be seeing Drakken again. Shura, however, would provide some more development for Shiki, as well as probably being just the distraction that One needs to come in and take the All Link System for itself.
For Shura; I think we’re all expecting a recreation of that scene from chapter 143 when Shiki slapped Shura’s hand away. That’s a certainty. Especially since Shura also uses Gravity; he definitely has the potential to make Shiki’s memories “fall” into him, seeing what happened in their last encounter. Especially with him being the Emperor; he’s likely stronger in this Universe compared to previously. But in seeing that, he’ll likely use that during his fight with Shiki- that same “Mind Gaming” he did the last time they fought. Talking about it here, I’m starting to think that he’ll act as someone Shiki can’t befriend- at least not the way that things are. He may well help them when the time comes, but I think the rejection of that hand might sting a little bit. Maybe the story is that Shiki and Shura can’t be friends until they both learn……… something. “Forgiveness?” “Compromise?” Something along those lines.
But that conflict will certainly put them on the Empire’s sh!t list. That plus Laguna and Oasis might just come to an Epic Battle, which would be just Large Enough for One to come in and take the All Link out from under them. What it would do with the All Link is where things start to get interesting. I bring it up all the time how One needs a “Walking Around” Humanoid body to act as a proper villain for Shiki to fight. And it will certainly build a few- one and a few spares. But it also needs an army to keep everyone else busy. Remember Ultron’s gimmick in “Age of Ultron?” It might not just be one body to link its consciousness into; it might link up all its bodies- the main one, the spare, the ship, and the army. One Giant Network: The Edens One. That’s what I’m thinking it wanted All Link for!! That and it might need the Mobius machine Acnoella used to make its army. Huh. Maybe Mobius will serve a greater purpose after all.
One of the things I didn’t like about the Kaede War arc was the introduction of Acnoella and the Mobius; the Mobius just felt like it came out of left field, and Acnoella……. was a reference for the sake of a reference- not that interesting looking back at her. But that Mobius of hers could be put to use. And since One’s main body is a ship, it has Ample storage space- a moving fortress that creates multiple powerful bodies. I’m so excited to see what Edens One will be like as a Villain. Though after Kaede War and this “Universe 0 Bingo Card” arc we’ve gotten- perhaps I need to lower my expectations………..
Conclusion
Okay, this one took a little bit longer to make than the others; I actually had to pick up the day after I started writing. And it actually came out a little worse than the rest. It’s not like I meant for it to go this long; it started as me speculating what the immediate purpose for redeeming these characters was, and then I started thinking about One again. Then I realized All link and Mobius were still around in this Universe, and…….. well, you saw. But in all, I think I actually did pretty good! Mashima can make Edens One one of his Best Villains To Date- so long as it gets as much care as he gave Drakken, Shura, Lucia, and Zeref. Not as well versed in the Antagonists of “Fairy Tail,” and it’s been a while since I’ve checked out “Rave Master.” But I know those are some of his Best Antagonists. Hopefully One can join their ranks……….
That’s all from me for today, boys and girls. Til next time, all. Laters!!
