Eve no Jikan is about a futuristic world in which androids are commonplace and assist humans with tasks ranging from cooking to driving. Do these androids have feelings? Can there be "love" between a human and android? One might want to categorize this with shows such as To Heart ~ Memories and Chobits, but believe me, this story is unique and, amazingly, a step above the aforementioned series.
The movie combines all six previous web episodes (with better quality) and introduces additional material to supplement the story, to great success in my opinion.
This movie is for slightly more mature audiences not because of ecchi or violence, but because of the subtleties in the themes being introduced. Despite a presentation length of less than two hours, this is not a series for those with ADHD. The story is paced fairly slowly, and watching it late at night will be sleep inducing. However, those who pay close attention will be generously rewarded.
Animation:
The animation quality in the movie is superb. The drawing is crisp and colors augment the mood of the presentation. The atmosphere is intended to be metallic and cold (potentially giving the impression that machines are likewise cold?). The series also makes occasional use of first-person view, quickly panning the camera to mimic the sometimes chaotic conversations. The use of 3D backgrounds is occasionally noticeable (such as when doors close), but is surprisingly well integrated with the character drawings. Character drawings are nicely done with a good level of detail. However, the scenery is what really stands out here. There is a lot of detail in this futuristic world, including scrolling newspaper ink and holographics everywhere, a nice touch.
There is no fan service/ecchi or blood/gore in this series. If these are a must for you, look elsewhere or deal with it.
Sound:
There is no OP to this movie but there is a wonderful ED by Kalafina that more than makes up for it. The ED is very heartwarming and goes surprisingly well with the end-credit animation/mini-story. The overall BGM consists of xylophones and other instruments to give the series a very "clinical" feel. Then there is the theme for the cafe, which is quite catchy after a while. The overall use of BGM is quite minimal, perhaps to compliment the metallic atmosphere in this futuristic setting. This can make it somewhat boring at times (odd silence), but in its stead you will find a wide variety of high-grade sound effects and realistic echo that varies with the location. This still leaves the VAs with quite a bit of work to do, and boy do they deliver.
There are quite a few notable VAs in this show that do a great job giving personalities to the characters. Special props to Rie Tanaka and the effects team for giving the androids realistic "speaker" voices. One thing to note is how Sammy's voice becomes progressively less monotone and more "human" as the movie progresses (wink wink). This movie is also distinctive for overlapping character lines, making it again more believable as normal conversations doesn't always occur sequentially (though probably quite a challenge for the subbers).
Story:
In the futuristic world described above, we find Rikuo, an ordinary teen, checking on his household android's (Sammy's) movement log. He discovers that she (yes, I am treating these androids as personas) had been visiting a strange location, which he discovers to be a cafe in which discrimination between androids and humans is not allowed (and thus the usual holographic halos above androids are hidden).
In this cafe, it is virtually impossible to tell who is a human and who is an android. Everyone has a personality, desires, and opinions. What will Rikuo find as he explores this cafe?
Despite being a movie, this show successfully tells an intricate tale of self-discovery and acceptance without overwhelming the viewer (there are a lot of "guidance" scenes to help acquaint the viewer with background context), and without leaving open a bunch of painful plot holes. The movie is told in arcs where the background of different supporting characters in and out of the cafe are explored, while furthering the main development of Rikuo and Sammy.
As mentioned before, there is a lot of subtlety that may require a second watch to pick up on. The Ethics Committee's background ad (showing how a robot-harvested tomato is "bad") is repeatedly played in the background, we repeatedly see androids being abused (treated poorly), etc. Don't write off any minor-seeming side characters, every character is utilized in the story for a purpose.
What is amazing is how beneath the cold, metallic aura of the setting, the movie comes across as a heartwarming watch, showing the "warmth" of the androids beneath their cold exterior; this definitely becomes more apparent on the second watch. It's truly an absolutely great story.
Character:
Rikuo, like pretty much most other humans, treat androids like tools. They assist in daily life and just happen to be able to comprehend just as well as humans. This attitude is reinforced due to a childhood experience that will be explained in the movie. However, as he visits the cafe, this viewpoint begins to be questioned. What really is so different about androids? Rikuo wrestles with these philosophical questions as he learns about the other local visitors to the Time of Eve cafe; some turn out to be humans, others not. He is truly a dynamic character, and his progression is aided by very occasional flashbacks to keep the viewer in sync with what Rikuo is thinking.
Sammy is the household android who isn't terribly present, as she doesn't feel comfortable having Rikuo seeing her in the cafe, but likewise warms up to her "master" as the movie progresses.
Value:
This was an outstanding watch, especially considering the content quality to length ratio. Some parts are a bit slow but the overall progression is great and the characters/setting incredibly believable. There is occasional humor (sometimes a bit dry) to break up the serious mood but the overall themes and questions that the series poses are very real. As the ending is fairly open, there is definitely room for an expansion to this wonderful movie/story. Still reading? Go watch this and enjoy the time of eve!
