Huh…………….. this might be the LAST “Mass Review” I do for this series. That’s…………………… kinda CRAZY to think about now that we’re actually here. I still recall those early posts I did for the series on Facebook- as far back as the of chapter 4 or so, I think. Just…………….. WOW. I wonder if those posts are even still around. Ah, well- It IS the Internet; I probably could find em if I were to look hard enough. Not GONNA, though. Don’t have the time and patience for that!………….. Maybe one day ANYWAY, for anyone who’s been living under a rock: “Edens Zero” By Hiro Mashima Will be ENDING 5 Chapters From May 18th, 2024, In Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Magazine. I talked a little bit about in the recent Boruto post because the news and the chapter coincided, as well as some signs that My Hero Academia might be on a similar countdown. But now that I’m doing an ACTUAL post on the series, it’s just kind of…………… “Surreal” that- after all these years(series will have ended around it’s 6th Anniversary) we’ll actually be saying Goodbye to Shiki and his friends- it…………….. I don’t think it hurts. More like……….. “It’s So Sudden.”
Like, the morning that I heard about it; I had to go looking for the post that revealed that- I just saw people reacting to the news, and that had me surprised, like “Where are people getting this from?” Then I found it and…………… it just struck me as………… again, “Sudden,” but…………… not “Surprising.” Reading everything that’s been happening in the story with Void and finally getting some mysteries revealed; it really was just a matter of time and what all Mashima had left in store for this particular series. After Void’s defeat, we certainly weren’t “due” another 30-40 chapters; I was expecting us to have this series much longer- I don’t think anyone was. No, no; it just kind of “caught me off guard.” It never really feels “real” when a series you’ve loved and talked about for many years begins to come to a close, and to hear an actual number before you even get to read the very next chapter(this news came out a few days AFTER chapter 287, thus making the Final Chapter of the story chapter 292)- you just don’t see that happening a lot. I don’t expect a “countdown” for My Hero or One Piece or any other, so getting it for “Edens Zero” was something I didn’t see coming.
I don’t know how many Regular Reviews I’ll manage to get off, but I can promise you that the Final Chapter will be getting a post unto itself- Boruto or anything else be d@mned. I don’t even know how many chapters I plan to have in this one; I know at least the last chapter chapters after the last one I reviewed- chapters 287, 288, and upcoming 289 from when I’m writing this(Monday, May 27th, 2024, 4:13 pm)- will be a part of this. The rest we’ll see as we go. Though I’ll try to keep it “light.” I’m trying a “Quality Over Quantity” approach to blogging- trying to make at least 1 post a week regardless of anything else. And this will be that post. The goal is to keep it to those 3……………… even though they don’t have all that much “meat” to them for me to discuss. As per usual with “Battle” chapters. I’ll see what I can do by the time we come to it. Let’s get this started already!!
Chapter 287: “10^72 Joules“
The title had me confused for a minute before I finally found an answer from random twitter users- making it more useful than Google in this situation. We’ll get to that in a minute. When we last left off: Shiki’s battle with the Time Priestess only resulted in the Chronophage multiplying, spawning more Chronophages attack Shiki’s allies. Also Shiki starts getting his @$$ kicked. This chapter begins with the Time Priestess deciding- since she can’t find her “time” in this Universe- she’ll just destroy it altogether, using the Chronophage Spawns to destroy a number of planets and some Interstellar Union Army ships. Shiki isn’t having it, and stands back up despite the pain. He begins to channel his Overdrive, using its innate Gravitational pull to pull back all of the Chronophage spawns, and jumping back into the fight with the Priestess. Until she responds with her own Overdrive and decides- rather than destroying it in pieces with her Monster- to just blow it the F*ck up with a blast STRONGER than the Big Bang that made the Universe. THAT is where the chapter’s title comes in: The Big Bang is estimated Physicist to have been 10^68 Joules of energy. Her blast is at the 72nd Power. That blast will be THE END OF THINGS.
Chapter 288: “If We Could Be Friends“
The Time Priestess is prepared to launch her ultimate attack, ready to destroy the current Universe and create a New Universe. But Shiki tells her that “Destroying Everything-“ won’t bring her the salvation she seeks. She replies that she’s not out to be “saved” by anyone, but Shiki recalls her saying all throughout their battle how much she “wanted her time back.” But she REALIZES that her “time” isn’t coming back. But Shiki points out that- if she has enough power to destroy a Universe– then she can still save Mother and set things right. The Priestess replies that she’s “eaten” the time of the entity known as “Mother” a number of times already– turning her back into a regular planet until she eventually becomes “Mother” again. Shiki yells for her to at least do it one more time, but she replies “Not Interested.”
The light from her finger tip begins to exude from the Chronophage, destroying a nearby planet. Shiki refuses to let this happen, and decides to pull the blast into his hand!! She warns the boy that absorbing that much power will destroy him, but Shiki responds that he doesn’t care– He’ll Protect The Universe His Friends Call “Home” Even If It Kills Him. The Time Priestess tries to fight back, but……………… Shiki’s overflowing with power right now, so fighting him only results in her getting THRASHED. And with that; Shiki takes control of the Chronophage and flies it towards what was left of the fading Mother. Ziggy has himself and Rebecca move out of the way before they’re erased. As they close in on Mother, Shiki comments: “You Know- I Think We Can Be Friends, Too.” She doesn’t respond, and the Earth is restored……………
Chapter 289: “Re-Creation“
The Earth may be restored, but………… Shiki and the Time Priestess are still within the fading Chronophage. Though the Priestess says that “The One She’s Been Looking For” would say something like that. And then they and the Chronophage disappear. At that moment, though; all Shiki’s friends know is that he managed to do just what he said he would– down to the letter. The Baby Chronophages and all of One’s Forces- Gone; the Universe begins to return to normal; Mother has turned back into Earth, and Xiao Mei back into the moon. But it is Rebecca who notices that Shiki has gone missing. Ziggy begins to fear the worst for his Grandson, as we flash forward 20,000 years to the Planet Edens– where Rebecca begins to awaken…………..
REVIEW
This is “Take 2” of the review part. I had to restart because I…………… kind of “lost the plot” of what I was saying. I don’t really have anything to say about these chapters; they don’t have much for me to discuss “in depth” like usual. Which makes sense since these are some of the last chapters of the series– they’re not meant to “set up” anything or “tease” something for the future. Mashima has given any indication that he has more plans for the series, even though he so totally does. But…………… there aren’t many fans “clamoring” for more. The sales for the recent volumes have been extremely low, and fan activity on line isn’t what it used to be. And I only know this because I was THERE at the beginning; maybe not necessarily on twitter, but doing everything I can to find leaks and see fans discussing the series- to know that there were people out there who were willing to give Mashima another chance after Fairy Tail. Which is…………….. a WHOLE discussion unto itself as to how perception differs from reality. And let me tell you: THAT fandom was Lively- vocal on their favorite characters and the themes explored through them; full of speculation of future abilities they’d gain, and where the story would take them; just………………. so different from what it is today.
The fandom of current is smaller than before; less of a “voice” and……………. way more divided and toxic towards the “Fairy Tail” fandom of all things. And it’s like………….. “WHY?” “Why Are You Guys Fighting Each Other?” “What Is There To Be Fought About?” Like……………. “What The H#ll Happened?” I get that Kaede War hurt us, but to say that the series didn’t try to bring us back in would be a lie. Sure, this Final Arc hasn’t been the “Hype” I was expecting to see, and yeah I’m a little upset that we don’t get to learn more about other characters like Feather and Eraser, or even see a rematch between Shiki and Justice, or Sister’s Overdrive or other character’s Overdrive Routes or anything like that- We Didn’t. And it looks as though we never will. But I’m not gonna sit here and tell you that this has been one of the “worst” series I ever read, or that Shiki’s a “Trash” Main Character; I still love this series. I still buy every volume that comes out in English; still look through the series for things I’ve forgotten and things I’ve missed; still talk about this series online; still recommend it to people who want to get into anime. Because this series has this……………….. this “charm” to it that’s kept me coming back.
I was thinking about what to say here the other- what I wanted to say about it leading up to the Retrospective that is to come. And what I thought about most was what drew me in; what was it that made me like it so much and kept me invested. And the more that I thought about it– and about what it is that I look for in any series I go into- the only thing that made sense to me was that it’s so Simple. I know I’m probably the only person who feels this way(at least on the internet), but I have to say it to emphasize the point:
I Am Not A Big Fan of Hunter X Hunter Or The Nen System.
I don’t look for “Chapter 7 Bankruptcy” or anything that “complex-“ I don’t actively seek stories out to “deconstruct” or “go counter” to the genre their in; I’ll watch em if I like em, but I won’t go looking for series like it. Because– I like the “simple stuff.” And series like this and Black Clover and Dragon Ball and Fullmetal Alchemist– all of them have that “simplicity” I look for. Dragon Ball is the Original Battle series- it invented the tropes. Not literally, of course, but you know what I mean. And series like Black Clover– rather than doing something “different” or “counter” to those tropes, like having the main character lose when he abandons the plan, or “Demonizes” the Rage power up idea- it just uses them to their fullest. Magic is all at once about Typing Match Ups, Strength, and how one uses their abilities- making characters use their powers intelligently without taking more than a page to explain everything. And never quite crossing over to Gold Experience Requiem of being………………. just too f*ckin’ much at any given point. “Edens Zero” is cut from that same cloth, being very easy to follow for anyone who wants to get into anime.
It’s going to end at 292 chapters(4 chapters shy of “Rave Master’s” total length), so it’s a very easy read in comparison to something like Naruto or Bleach or any other of that kind. The powers are very simple with ties to the lore, but also have “science” to using them, such as when Shiki used his Gravity powers underwater and couldn’t control where he was going. There’s enough “physics” to say that’s what happens, but not enough for me to say Shiki couldn’t catch the Big Bang. Or that the Time Priestess could generate that much power. More on that in a bit. And THAT’S the other thing: The abilities are just diverse enough to where there’s some strategy involved- mostly when it comes to Rebecca and Weisz– but not to the point where we don’t get those POWERFUL Double page Impacts Mashima so loves to draw. And the story– while intricate and vast- is also very easy to follow; even with everything that goes on in any arc, it never feels like any one thing has more “screentime” than any other events. In fact, if I were to voice one complaint I have about the series: it would be that we don’t get to see enough of the fights- like Shiki vs Drakken. We were looking forward to that battle after everything that happened, and- while the END OF IT delivered like none before or since– I can’t say that I’m as “in love” with the Full Fight as I was back when I read it the first time. Though it shows off the kind of “battle mechanics” I’m talking about; Drakken using his Ether gear in a creative way- while also showing that he was stronger than Shiki. And that ties into something we learn here in the Finale– something in regards to the central power up for the story: Overdrive.
We’ve always been told Overdrive occurs when Ether reaches its “Critical Point” and undergoes a change, causing the particles that make up ones body to reconfigure into a new form- one that can handle that’s suited to both the power being wielded and surviving in most any environment one would find themselves in. But through the Shining Star’s flashback, we learn that 1)Ether has a “self purification” effect that cures impurities in one’s body, such as mysterious tumors and Metastasis(the spread of cancer cells) and 2)That Overdrive can also be described as “a state of Ether Saturation.” If you take all of that together, you get an idea for what Mashima is going for: The state known as “Overdrive” is achieved when the Ether in one’s body is Purified and overflows, rearranging the particles of the body to handle the sheer amount of it flowing out. For that reason, anyone- even those incapable of using Ether Gear- can tap into Overdrive: It’s not something exclusive to those who can rearrange the flow of their Ether– all Ether can “boil over.” This is what I mean about the story being so “simple:” he doesn’t need to put it all together for us, and yet he already did. We can reach these conclusions on our own because he’s given us the information out of order!! And the fact that this story is so easy to follow and link back to makes finding evidence for theories so fre@kin’ easy.
I only bring all of this up because I……………. kind of just wanted to talk about Overdrive. I talked about it once before, but Overdrive has been one of my Favorite power ups of the current era. Though that post came out before Gear 5th, so…………….. Things Have Changed A Bit. But I still really love the power up– the idea of an “incomplete form” and constantly evolving it has been something I’ve really fallen for. It’s actually part of what made me decide to check out Fairy Tail; Overdrive is this story’s equivalent of Dragon Force- a power used by Dragon Slayers in which they begin to become Dragons. Although I still don’t know how exactly it works; I know about Dragon Seeds and the different generations of Dragon Slayers, but I’m not up to the part where the origins of Dragon Slayer magic or anything that deep. I’m still reading, though; I want to catch up so I can read 100 Years Quest. I’m not gonna cover it up here ’cause I’m just not as into as I am this and Dead Rock, but I want to watch the anime and everything. I don’t think I’ll be “replacing” “Edens Zero” with anything for a while. I’ll have to at some point to keep content since we’re so close to the end of Hero Aca and Black Clover, and- while it likely won’t happen for a good long time- we won’t have One Piece forever and ever. Good Lord, I kind of hope not. Much as I love Boruto and want people to give it another chance; I don’t think I can handle that again.
Ah………………. The Time Priestess Is An Alternate Rebecca let’s now kid ourselves. Not my best segue, but we’ll role with it. I only say this because Mashima hasn’t actually revealed that to us just yet. But I get the feeling he’s about to. He did same “Chapter Ending Revealing Character Backstory” bit twice already, and he’s only got about 3 chapters left to wrap this story up in a nice, neat bow. So I think that most of next chapter will be us seeing the origin of this version of Rebecca. And as we see: It’s the Rebecca that was blasted forward 20,00 years with Ziggy. Her Time Ether was extracted to create Etherion for the Edens Zero. The “Time” she was looking for was her Time Ether; that’s why the Chronophage was always going to planet’s Rebecca was using her power- she was trying to take her Time Ether back. And she likely wanted to use it to go to a Universe where “the one she’s been looking for” was still alive- a Universe where she can be happy. Though that Rebecca ceased to age or rot at all vs the Time Priestess who- from her height in comparison to Shiki and the length of her hair– is clearly a Full Grown Version. There’s a joke I can make here, but I’ll let you “compare” the 2 to see what it is. He says realizing this isn’ where the images would go. Just………….. look at them here and here and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
I’m only starting to talk about this because I wanted to talk about Rebecca a little bit. It goes beyond Fan Service; she’s a very beautiful, strongly written character- the best parts of both Elie and Lucy. Although I say that I think Lucy is prettier than her and Elie is The Best Written of the 3. Rebecca’s got the “Best Of Both,” but not on their same levels. Still great though. She’s been through a lot- in all Universes, from the horrible experience she had as Drakken’s captive to the constant bullying she received from Labilia; learning about her powers attracting the Chronophage; learning about her family history; it’s been rough for her, to say the least. But even after all of that– she’s still has friends who pull her out of despair. The Time Priestess- Didn’t. She lost them all. Ziggy’s choice at the end of Universe 2’s storyline ended up getting the crew killed, and she and that version of Shiki sent forward in time- one damaged beyond repair and one…………… in some state of suspended animation. I don’t exactly know how to describe Etherion Rebecca; she had no pulse but was still generating Ether. No consciousness but ceased aging or rotting. Maybe her time ether had the added effect of halting her personal “flow of time-” rather than a full “death,” she was put into a coma. And her Time Ether kept in the state she went to sleep in- unaging and needing nothing to aid in her survival. Which is why another version of Rebecca did age while in a similar state- she had lost her legs, the source of her power. That one needed the care of Noah and Shiki– Etherion Becky didn’t. It might have even been the extraction of her Ether by the Planet Edens that woke her up; she no longer had the Time Ether keeping her in “chrono-stasis,” so she woke up.
From there, something would happen that would give her the power to make a Chronophage– a Time Eating Beast in search of her Time Ether, wanting to reclaim it and return to a time in which Shiki and the crew of Edens were all still alive. To that end, the Chronophages First Victim was The Edens Zero, sending it back in time to Universe 1 and setting the entire series in motion. It All Started With Shiki And Rebecca; the course of events of this story have been perpetually generated by their meeting and their separation. But they always come back together- in 1 way or another. Shiki’s gravity has an “effect” on Rebecca’s time Ether- it pulled her into Universe 2 when she was captured by Drakken; it blasted them forward 20,000 years when Anti Matter bombs were thrown into the mix; Ziggy and The Time Priestess are here in Universe 0- Shiki vanishing with the Time Priestess and Rebecca floating in front of the Earth with Ziggy. But even so- Shiki will always come back to her. Mashima said once in a twitter space that they have some kind of “Tragic Ending,” but…………….. I think he was referring to Ziggy and Etherion Rebecca. THIS Shiki and Rebecca- they’re gonna be alright.
Conclusion
…………………………. Yeah. Yeah. I like that. I know that veered off into some stuff that would probably have better been saved for the imminent Retrospective post we’ll be seeing in a few weeks, but…………………. I felt all of this needed to be said. This series is………………. by NO MEANS a “masterpiece,” but………………. I love it. And I’m gonna miss it. We have “Dead Rock” and “Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest” already, and we just got the reveal for that Farmagia game Mashima did character designs for. Plus his Original Anime and that Original Game he said he would be working on, so we’re…………………… NEVER gonna be lacking in Hiro Mashima content. But this one……………. this series was…………. something else. The subjects of Man and Machine most prominently, but also things such as “Love” and even “Survivor’s Guilt” explored through Rebecca and Sister and Homura– the topic of Grief– how to Move Forward and how the choices we make in our lives determining what we’re to become; a very beautiful, very strong, very “Human” story. It’s not over yet, but I’m eager to see how this story ends. Until then, all.
