Higashi no Eden Movie I: The King of Eden

I know I gave the movie low mark, but please read the review instead of immediately voting down with fanboy rage. I am writing the review for people who haven't seen the King of Eden yet, but who've watched Eden of the East/

I begin by stating I loved the original Eden of the East. The story was fresh and the main characters were loveable. The art style was modern and realistic and the show didn't take itself too seriously, even with a political plot.

This isn't always the case with the movie.

---Story--- score: 5
As always with a movie, time is a limit, a story ... can't always be carved out with the depth afforded by a season. The King of Eden is a direct continuation of the original Eden of the East. That means it doesn't try to stand alone as a movie. It requires a lot of prior knowledge - if you haven't watched Eden of the East, stop reading now!

This need for prior knowledge is the first problem: with such a diverse cast from the first season, the movie tries to give everyone some screen time for the sake of it. Characters flit in and out for no apparent reason, all the time detracting from the dynamic between the central couple. In this respect there is very little development, if fact, I would argue that the entire movie is a zero sum game, as Takizawa has lost his memory and most rebuild a relationship again - in preparation for the movie's sequel.

The second problem is that the story feels stretched. The plot, the bits which have any meaning to the story, is quite simple, and it feels like it was one episode fleshed out in order to make money as a feature film. The movie has moments of long stills and pauses after speech. Long monologues are what's to be expected here. Don't make excuses for the movie as other reviewers did by saying things like "it's not afraid to be slow in order to develop the characters". It is clearly being slow for the sake of stretching this meandering conclusion over 3 hours.

The characters are forced to give long monologues as exposition to the plot. One particular discussion of the inheritance tax system really destroys any pacing or credibility that the film has as a non-money grabbing venture.

The third problem is partly covered above. There are unnecessary plot points popping up for no reason, much of which goes unresolved, such as a random object wielded at a playground. In addition, the story introduce another Seleção that apparently provides comic relief, but fails. The person also doesn't add any value to the plot. After watching the movie I feel empty inside as nothing of importance actually happens.

--Art-- score: 8
Not much to mention here. It is still the high standard set by the television show, with the addition of more obvious cgi that looks out of place. You can decide for yourself whether it's a sticking point that it hasn't changed from the TV series, but this is a movie base on a TV show, I liked it then and I like it now.

--Sound-- score: 5
The movie has an OP just like a regular episode, but the new opening lacks the same impact and catchiness as Oasis' Falling Down.
ED was standard.

I really enjoyed some of the background music, but why a 5? Well, the sound is great, when it's there. The music was totally and notably absent for much of the first hour of the running time. No music that would make those long awkward pauses, unnecessary cutscenes and wrist-slittingly long monologues more bearable. When it is there, for the climax, the suspenseful music is so dominating it was like watching Wagner. Bombastic music coupled with the poor dialogue about nothing in particular made certain scenes more unintentionally hilarious than gripping.

--Character-- score: 7
The cast is the same as the one we all got to know and apprecaite in the prequel. However, while it takes on the guise of an extended episode, The King of Eden is still a movie. A movie that falls into the classic trap, where other characters are paper cutouts apart from the leads. Having scenes of other characters "interacting" by talking at each other or repeating behaviour traits from the first season in a vain bid at humour does not constitute character development. What makes up for are the main characters, while there is also very little development, Takazawa and Saki are both loveable and believable, and their (re-)budding relationship is the only redeeming feature of the movie. However, their screen time is encroached on by pointless dialogue from other characters. If you were to watch this for the characters you will not be disappointed by inconsistency but rather the shallowness.

-- Enjoyment -- score:5

I've watched this twice, once by myself and again with my friends. I can tell you my friends laughed 3 times in this film. The biggest laugh came from the unintentional Engrish. It's not a bad film, it's just that after you finished you wished that you had spent your time better.

--Conclusion--

As a fan of Eden of the East, the King of Eden is a requirement for concluding the story, however, it's not necessarily enjoyable. Nonetheless, just because the movie isn't great, you should not treat watching it as a chore. The artwork is intricate and incredibly realised, and some backgrounds are worth seeing. Unfortunately, the other parts are very bad and really bring down what could have been a shorter, tighter and more focussed sequel.



I'm just starting to write reviews so any feedback would be kindly appreciated! =D, agree of disagree, just write me a comment and I'll be happy to discuss it (or any series I watched) with you.

Unique and likable characters, a plot that utilizes its relative sluggishness well, suspense, and excellent animation made Eden of the East a very enjoyable series, but unfortunately was let down by the fact that it only had 11 episodes, which combined with a slow plot meant that the ending was incomplete. However, the slow plot didn’t feel pondering nor did it incite in me a desire to have it move faster, since the advancement of the story and development of the plot and characters was utilized to the fullest extent. Things were revealed slowly but the story kept moving forward- not a moment ... was wasted, making it disappointing that more episodes weren’t earmarked.

Now, the logical thing to do for the movies in this case would be to pick up where the series left off and then continue on from there, since with only 82 minutes to utilize, time is of the essence. Sadly, however, the producers decide to stall the plot’s movement with a seemingly unnecessary use of amnesia and a splitting of the main characters. There is also a time skip used in this case, which while short, is more than enough to waste valuable time in explaining what occurred in the few months between the series and the movie and also to get the main characters back together again. The intertwining of plotlines of several minor characters plus two main plotlines in separate locations was successfully utilized in the series, and is utilized well here as well. However, getting the 2 main plotlines to converge in the series and then splitting it again before the movie is extremely unnecessary since it hinders progress of the story. As a result, by the end of the movie, the two separate plotlines are still in the process of reconverging.

The characters’ personalities and chemistry was a high point in the series, but unfortunately was tapered and diluted here due to the split plotlines, amnesia, and time skip. That’s not to say they’re terrible, but the quality and impact that they had in the series is much less noticeable here in the movie. This is not as bad for the secondary characters, however, since they maintain more of their distinctiveness and helps soften the disappointment. The lack of time also doesn’t do much to introduce new characters, and as a result, there are several Selecao whose identities are still unknown and others who have died with only a hint of an explanation.

As a result, despite containing art that’s as good as the series, the first Eden of the East movie as a whole falls short of my expectations. The high standards of character chemistry and suspense that were set in the series weren’t met in the movie, and the utilization of time in combination with the slow plot led to constant longings for the story to progress faster and either build up to a climax, expand on its depth, or start on its conclusion. It does move forward and doesn’t come across as horrid, but there was so much more that could have been done in those 82 minutes, the equivalent of nearly 4 episodes of a series. The movie, at most, accomplished the plot development of at most 2 episodes. Here’s hoping that the second movie will be able to bring the series to a close.

After hearing mixed reviews I wasn't sure what to expect from The King of Eden. I'm a huge fan of the first season and was really eager to see the continuation of the storyline.

Story
The story essentially picks up from where the first season left off. Takizawa has gone missing and the Eden members are trying to locate him.

There are a few storylines intertwined as well as new Selecao revealed and old favourites returning. I found it was steadily paced, developing the characters further and setting up what I would expect to be an action packed finale.

One of the ... storylines involving a new selecao felt a little out of place, offering comic relief at times when the movie had been trying to build suspense and intrigue.

Other people have criticised the lack of action in the King of Eden. I don't really have any problems with it though. The first season had action packed episodes as well as slower plot building episodes. The movie is perhaps more of the latter, however I'm eagerly looking forward to Paradise Lost!

Art
The art is great. It's crisp, vibrant and very detailed. Exactly what you'd expect from Production IG. Theres alot of cool details and found myself pausing from time to time to read the selecao cell phone logs and take in a lot of the subtle details (cult movie posters etc).

Sound
Once again the sound it great, the voice work is top notch and the soundtrack complements the story without being too overpowering. I still find it amusing when an American character speaks English and Japanese character responds in Japanese, yet the seem to understand each other perfectly.

As far as the opening and ending goes, the new LEAH opening is enjoyable enough but didnt have the same kind of resonance that Falling Down had. I was glad to see School Food Punishment performing the ending theme once again though.

Overall
An enjoyable expansion to the Eden of the East universe. It feels as though the movie is more of a setup for the third movie, lacking a little in action but a must watch for Eden of the East fans.

8/10

Please watch Higashi no Eden (Eden of the East) before watching this movie.

I loved Higashi no Eden, but everything went downhill from there. King of Eden is such a disappointment. Since the prequel ended with a big cliffhanger, I felt the need to watch this movie.

“What’s going on?” That question popped up periodically throughout the entire movie. There is no logical explanation for the prequel’s ending or the new plot. Before the majority of the questions are analyzed, there are even more questions thrown out near the end of this movie. Since there is only one more movie left for the series, it’s impossible not ... to think how everything will be interpreted in less than 1.5 hours.

Apparently, Takizawa now holds the role of the successor to the King of Japan, and everyone knows about his right to the throne but him. The entire story about Takizawa’s life as a Seleção has to be repeated, since he erased his memory and created a new alias again for some unknown reason. It is bad enough that no one can easily predict the reasons behind Takizawa’s actions, but it’s even worse when he can’t even answer for himself.

The primary objective of the series is misled. The whole game with the Seleção is ruined, and it gave me no hope for a good ending. The game has rules that brings excitement to the entire series, and it makes you anxious to discover how a winner will be determined. There is no thrill to the game anymore, since some of the rules are disregarded. It literally takes the fun out of the whole anime.

There are signs of love and compassion like in the prequel, but there is not a passionate love story that most people would expect. Nothing sucks more than when the person you love doesn’t remember who you are. Poor Saki. However, Takizawa does consider her feelings prior to erasing his memory by leaving her a message that only they can understand. Saki goes against all odds to find Takizawa and help him regain his memory once again. Despite the fact that Takizawa has no memory of her, he shows her compassion. However, it is the same kind of compassion that you would show any kind or beautiful stranger. Based upon Takizawa’s considerate personality, Saki is not a special case. He’d do the same for any girl.

There are the same naïve portions of the story. As in the Higashi no Eden series, the setting takes place post-9/11 and guns are brought into the U.S. as if people just magically go past airport security. There is no law enforcement present, and the American characters didn’t show enough fear or concern at the sight of the firearms.

Thanks to Eden of the East’s miraculous technology, some things were clarified about the status of Seleção and the game in general. By receiving updates from the Seleçãos’ activity logs, they were able to predict their next moves and the level of danger from their intentions. The Eden team, especially Panties, made this anime a little easier. Admittedly, they didn’t understand much about the logic behind Takizawa’s present position either.

Overall, I was highly disappointed and really confused. There was little to no romance. Stories were repeated for the sake of a character. The objective of the anime is ruined because of misled rules of the game. Basically, I see no hope in a cool ending.

Higashi no Eden, the series, was original, fun, and even interesting. The series really started to gain momentum as time passed on, and by the end I was very interested in what would happen next. Sadly, this movie was a let down.

The original series definitely had some issues -- poorly done CGI effects, awful English (and I'm not even talking about the dub), and strange art decisions (Saki's eyes, for instance). All those things remain, but now they have taken away what made the original good. Higashi no Eden redeemed itself in it's interesting characterization and a plot that was pretty captivating, when it was ... comprehensible.

The movie drops all of that. Instead it focuses on the Eden of the East employees watching Saki run around trying to deal with memory-erased Takizawa all over again. As if we didn't have enough of that. Most of Takizawa's charm is lost when he loses his memory and he just doesn't act quite the same anymore. Plus, the nagging fact that he doesn't even remember anything that went on during the series (from the selecao plot to Saki to, well, anything) makes the whole thing feel like you're playing catch up. And that leads to the next point.

The plot. It's quite bad. Which is impressive because it's almost nonexistent. For some reason the writers thought it would be a good idea to introduce a time skip since the series ended, but then go ahead and do flashbacks/summary of what went on in those 6 months. So... what was the point of doing a time skip at all? Finally, once you get past all the re-cap stuff, the plot basically amounts to Takizawa remembering a little bit of his life, going on a wild goose chase, and then realizing the dire situation they are in. Then the movie ends. Yep, they finally set up the plot to move forward and then the movie ends. Oh dear, oh wow. I have to click the little rating buttons above to score "plot", and the score of "2" is "dreadful." I'd have to say that's pretty accurate.

Overall, this movie was not enjoyable. The series definitely had some interesting aspects, but the movie did not capture any of them. Standing alone it may be the most pointless thing in the Higashi no Eden universe that ever happened. 90% of it could have not been shown, and we wouldn't have missed much. The other 10% was just setup for the next movie which is pretty ridiculous.

I can only hope the next movie is better.

Of course this goes with out saying . . . but I'll say it anyways . . . if you haven't seen the series don't watch the movie. That being noted onto the review.

This movie lives up to the trilogy cliche . . . FILLER. A Trilogy generally follows this pattern:
1st~ Incredible, unique plot that blows you away. EPIC
2nd~ Doesn't live up to the first, sometimes you wish it never had happened.
3rd~ Reminds you of the feelings you had for the first. Brings back the EPIC with a stunning and phenomenal finally

Well, I wouldn't say this second movie is ... something I wish had never happened, but it didn't live up to the first series. Basically it's a bridge that you have to cross to get to the other side. Filler is generally a necessary evil. It's there to help the plot go where the writer wants.

The story does keep true to the character's personalities. In every situation, they respond like you would expect from the series. Don't go into this with high expectations. Expect a story that explains where the series left off and where the third movie will end up. If you weren't a fan of the series don't bother with the movie. If you are a fan of the series, you should watch the second movie to see the progression of story.

In my opinion, instead of being a movie, it really should have been three or four OVAs. It is enjoyable to watch for light comedy and fillers to the plot that will help piece the end together.

King of Eden is difficult to rate - compared to most movies/OVAs it's very good but compared to the Eden of the East TV series it's very lacking. It's the same style and everything, just a bit more polished in the animation. The characters are more or less still the same lovable, quirky people.

The plot of the movie was the letdown for me. It felt as though there were ~3 story arcs going on at once - the main Selecao one, the King one, and the director one. The director one is predominantly a plain, average anime plot, but it felt ... like that story got the most screentime by far. The King one didn't feel like it advanced much at all over the course of the movie. The Selecao one was the interesting one, but just didn't have as much meat as I'd have liked.

Eden of the East : The King of Eden

JAP title : Higashi no Eden : Gekijouban I The King of Eden

“The game just got more interesting…”

[ 3 MINUTE REVIEW ]
The first movie of the Eden of the East franchise came out to mixed reactions. Although there were a lot of praises being thrown around, there was quite an outrage from many, including hardcore Eden fans. And I can’t take any one side here, as I agree with both of them. While this movie does make some striking mistakes, it also has a lot going for it.

The story picks up six months after Akira stopped the ... missile bombing. He becomes an idol, after the NEETs posted the photos of his heroics online. And while Japan is in turmoil thanks to the bizarre missile strikes, Akira manages to vanish into thin air, leaving his Selecao mobile with Saki. And so, Saki begins to search for him. Meanwhile, the other Selecaos finally seem to be taking the game seriously.

The first half of the movie is all about how Saki searches for Akira and tries to reunite with him using the Selecao phone as the only clue. *cough ~ Serendipity ~ cough*. For the first 45 minutes or so, the film lazes around with this premise and you see some sort of Slice of Life elements surrounding the anime. Here again, the series makes the same mistakes that it made with the first season – trying to be more than it can be by struggling to squeeze other genres in. After an extraordinarily slow paced first half, you finally get to see some good stuff as the other players of the game get to work. As things slowly speed up, it slows down again rather abruptly. Once again, irregular pacing plays spoilsport.

The artwork is as sharp as ever and the usage of CGI appealed to me. Looks like Saki has dropped a few pounds and lost most of her chubbiness. However, she still wears the same my-puppy-died expression throughout the movie, regardless of the situation.

The soundtrack is just right, but I do miss the Oasis OP, Falling. The background score fits the bill.

Characters are same as ever. The one person, who has (surprisingly) developed the most is … Juiz ! Yes, the “woman” now shows emotions and speaks out her mind. There is one new character, who fails to make an impact. All the other characters are pretty much the same as ever and the side characters continue to be as uninteresting as ever.

You finally get to see the other Selecaos taking the game a bit more seriously and realizing the magnitude of their situation. And just when things get interesting, the movie ends. When the credits rolled, I was like “Uhh…why are the credits rolling? Shouldn’t there be an ‘INTERMISSION’ sign on the board?”

Now, coming to the actual plot, well, the entire movie feels like the first half of a big film. It’s just a bloated up build up to the second movie. It has a cliffhanger ending and this movie fails to answer any question that the series left unanswered. Typical setup for the sequel. But, when it’s all said and done, I did find this movie entertaining. It goes without saying that this is a must for fans of the original series.

The Bottom-line:
Eden of the East : The King of Eden is just a huge build up to the second movie that raises, but doesn’t answer, a lot of questions. Don’t go in with expectations of watching a movie, because you will be disappointed. Just imagine the movie as the next few episodes of the first season and you might just enjoy it a bit more.

Masterpiece? Hell, no! A good movie? Maybe. Entertaining? Definitely.

This is the first movie that follows the 11 episode series. This is a sequel that runs about the length of 3 episodes. Being a continuation of an already amazing story it is easy to see why fans underrate it. I say underrate because it doesn't hold the same overall caliber that the 11 episode series did. For that reason fans tend to give it an extremely low score. This wasn't bad unless you compare it to the first part of the story. That being said, it is still good, and it is still worth watching.

The story shifts gears for this movie. The series focused ... on the mystery of the game the main character was caught in. It was clever and very well told. It had plenty of twists and great character development. In this part of the story they have delivered it much more straight forward. It focuses a little more on the main character himself, and it pushes the game into the background. It doesn't have the same charm that the series did, and the characters are not developed any further. It ends with a cliffhanger in preparation for the second movie that is supposed to wrap everything up. Essentially it is lacking and incomplete.

Even though it fell short, I like to think of it as a long episode instead of a movie. If you think of this as another episode it simply becomes a least favorite. It had it's high points, and it raised a few questions. Those questions should be answered in the next movie, but at this point it's simply a "good" movie. It deserves a 7 overall, and it's still worth watching if you've already put in the time to see the series.

Check this out, but do expect a degradation in story quality.

Akira, Saki and Higashi no Eden creators (not to mention SELACAO) are back in the bussiness again! This time they attacked bigger, silver screens and... it looks, sounds and feels much better than TV series! What Takizawa is up to in USA again? Who is others SELECAO? Where and who is Juize? You want to find out? Then prepare for the awesome art in the best American-japaneses way ;)

=Story=

The Higashi no Eden removal from TV episodes to two movies is like a hittong the bulls eye. The lazy spreading action in 11 almost 25 min length episodes was just a level lower than the word ... “boring” :) Now… when the creators have only standard 120 min to solve the storyline equals quicker action. But even so… the authors didn’t made it and must’ve make another, second movie to finally end the struggling story of Akira Takizawa adventures as SELECAO and the little sub-story of Saki… But about this we will talk later, after reviewing Paradise Lost ;)
So, most of he action is taking place in the USA (and I love it this way :D). But hmmm… isn’t it a reheating pork to start the story line in almost same place and almost same way? Well, almost makes a difference, ‘cause Saki isn’t parading all naked XD, but… other things are similar to the original… :)
The similarity also refers to the pace of the story. So after dynamic start we have stagnation and then- dynamic end with many, many questions… Too many questions and I’m thanking to God that I could watch one movie after another to feed my curiosity ;)
What I want to mention it that the love substory even if it seems to have an important place at the beginning, it is putted into back row again! Poor Saki…
Other subploys that I wished to be fully resolved also gone to rest. Like our beloved “Interest Hunter” or the missile guy.
Instead of this we have a new players in Nobless Oblige game and they are not SELECAO… They are a little mundane than them, but they have very huge influence on the country’s cases too! And in the middle of all of that we have Higashi no Eden (now the proper organization!) itself… So two powerful forces against a good peoples will… Who will win? If you want to find out, watch the movie then! ^^ Well… Generally… watch both of them :D

Score: 8 (Very Good)

=Art=

Just like in the TV series the art of draw and shown world is just awesome! We can feel the real perspective, the crowd, the city… everything that we need to feed our eyes! Also the bigger screen equals better resolution and frame rate and believe me- it works!
The only think I can complain about is that “American scenes” lost their climate a little… But it just must look like that if the story is moving like a ping pong ball from the one far west and another far east country :)

Score: 10 (Outstanding)

=Sound=

Of course like I mentioned above the ‘movie format’ allows us to use more tasty effects that are not generally used in TV series. So… the 3D sounds are passing exams! The background sounds are very realistic and voices, especially those from US (am I a psycho? XD) are quite climatic and perfectly introducing us into the world, our world shown in this anime.
Hmmm If it comes to the music… I have mixed emotions. From one hand we have an average opening + ending but from another… those good music motives that we can remember from TV series.
But the problem is that, the TV series was to sort to recognize and like this music… that’s why I’ve focused on then now, wjile watching the movie. Yeah it is climatic (the theme when “Interest Hunter” arrives :D) but… good. Just good. No fireworks here!

Score: 7 (Good)

=Character=

And now a couple of words about my fav side of every anime- the characters!
I’m glad that some of those that I mentioned in Highashi no Eden review things were improved but… generally we have stagnations here too :/
So… there are some SELECAO characters that are shown again (missiles-guy Yuuki, strange guy in hat Tsuji) but… no fireworks here again! Even is they are the members of the game… they are not shown at the screen very often. Too bad. Such a potential…
But from the other hand… we have the SELECAO no. 1 back to game (in great style!) and one of my most liked characters Itzu, who was ‘drawn’ again! What I have in mind when talking about ‘panties-man’? Of course his accent, his self-confidance and specific sense of humor!
What’s with others? Nothing special again… Akira stays outgoing, charming guy, Saki- innocent pure girl and Micchon (‘I’m not Micchon -_-‘’) plus other Highashi no Eden crew- they just… theirselves. Grey and second plan characters without the greater influence on the storyline…

Score: 7 (Good)

=Enjoyment=

And again I have a mixed feelings about it… From one hand Kings of Eden is a feast for the eye and (in some cases) for the ears, but if it comes to out minds… There are some problems... But it is not like that, that this movie is a failure! It is very hard to move from TV series to movie to finish the storyline there! So for me- the enjoyment is the still the same as during the TV series… and just like the TV sereies the hunger rise in the last couple of minutes of anime :)

Score: 7 (Good)

=Overall=

So time for summary! King of Eden is a great job, especially when we will think about the technical aspects of this anime. We have everything that we had in TV series, more sound and video effects and a little spreaded characters. The plot is still like a snail, but if we will be patient, we will see the final :)
Treat this movie as a prologue to the next one… generally those two should be one movie :D That would be save me so much bitter words in this review…

Noblesse Oblige! Keep reviewing and I hope the Higashi no Eden fans won’t kill you soon our saviour!

Score: 8 (Very Good)


Sorry for any mistakes ;)
Special thanks for my anim guru, Z-girl >^_^

As good as the first one, more plot ... and I am only through Disc 1. Can't wait for #2!

At first as lost in the beginning as the first. Which I loved. Has similar elements to the first series, but clearly different and faster now some characters are established. But its the 'greater' crowd out there that is beginning to enter the story.

I do not want to give away anything. But you realize it resumes a bit of time after the first series, but you are not cheated as that gets revealed in its own time what happened and why... ... part of the fun.

Eden of the East was one of the better anime programs in recent years and it is probably reasonable enough to argue that the amount of good quality animes have decreased consistently since the mid-naughties. The King of Eden does suggest that the audience should have prior knowledge of the show either as a display of the writer and director's confidence or as a suggestion of its popularity in Japan.

It is difficult to grasp that the film begins six months after the show's climax in the program as the characters hardly discuss the events that have passed. The fantastic character of Takisawa appears fairly late ... in the film which wasn't hoped for as the other lead character, Saki Maromi, is a dull and one-dimensional character who is far to obedient towards Takisawa's erratic requests; Even the film poster displayed on the left-hand side looks as though Moromi is just being dragged around Times Square against her free will.

All of the other recurring minor characters were lumped together in one room and the scenes that contained them were particularly dull and the problem they suffer at the end of the film was too laid out as the solution to the problem was referenced earlier in the film (regarding the phone). The new characters that were introduced did not seem to have much personality and it added to the sense that little time or effort had gone into the script-writing. The character named Number Eleven, for example, refers to herself as being a guardian angel - therefore the way her scarf blew in two directions (to metaphor angel wings) seemed slightly obvious and incomprehensible if stood near a plane engine.

The story itself was never particularly engaging, at least not to the levels of its previous program and very few locations seem to be explored, despite the backdrop of New York City. The animation was beautiful and the music was also gratifying, though the theme-song was again, a step down from the program.

Overall, it is a disappointment that does little to add to the franchise that lacks the pace and mystery of its ancestor. It is a perfectly acceptable watch in which the sheer beauty of its animation alone could be worth watching - but it seemed fairly unnecessary and lacking in conviction.

As I stated in my Eden of the East review, I enjoyed the premise, but didn’t really enjoy the plot progression. While a lot of the series went nowhere and seemed to stand in one spot with nothing happening, The King of Eden takes that formula and ramps it up two-fold.

The series ended with a bang and then cut off. So, I figured the film would pick up where the series left off, but instead it picks up six months later and introduces an idea totally new to the series, Takizawa is an amnesiac. Wow, so because the series kind of wrapped up with Takizawa ... learning everything about his past, I guess we need to start fresh again? And it’s just as compelling as it sounds. The movie follows Saki as she tries to find Taki, and Taki doesn’t know Saki, and they run away from police, and there’s some missiles…And that’s it. In eighty minutes, exactly jack-shit happens. We’re introduced to one new character, a villain who is not a villain, more like a stalker with villainous intent. He’s taken down so easily it almost feels like a joke.

And that’s about all I can say about the film since there is nothing to it. It bridges the gap between the series and the second movie but doesn’t come into a life of its own. It doesn’t even seem to need to be existing. There’s so much that could happen that doesn’t. The first hour and eight minutes or so are just pointless and seem to be bringing the series back to the beginning rather than moving it forward. The last few minutes are good, but then, as with the series, the movie cuts off and that’s that. After absolutely nothing has happened, the movie ends when things start to happen. It’s kind of annoying. And the problem is that the things that are happening don’t really make much sense. Why is everyone transporting missiles with their number atop it? What are these character’s intentions and what are their plans going to actually accomplish? Because the series never gets in the heads of the bad guys and tells us in-depth what their plans are, we are just made to assume that they are doing something bad. There are a few explanations, but nothing is really, really fleshed out. While everyone was sitting around doing nothing, maybe the bad guys could have been focused on.

And that’s the problem with the series as a whole. A cool premise that is rotted by the terrible pacing and terrible focus on things that don’t really matter all that much. It’s kind of boring really. The characters of the series aren’t all that exciting, so you don’t stick around for them. The plot is plain boring, but maybe you stick around in the vague hope something will happen? Sure the animation is good and the sound is good, but that doesn’t keep you watching.

King of Eden is nothing. It’s just there. There’s no real reason it exists but to cash in on the Eden of the East franchise. It progresses the plot a tiny bit, but otherwise remains stagnant and the few new things and new developments feel trite.

I can only hope that Paradise Lost will be a good ending to the series and make up for this failure of a movie.

This will be a review for both Higashi no Eden I and II since the narrative runs consecutively between both. Some spoilers from the previous episodes but none for the films.

The initial 11 episodes of Higashi no Eden were quickly in the higher ranks of the my beloved anime list, simultaneously feeding my need for absurd science fiction survival and a goofy, sentimental romance. The artwork is gorgeous and endearing while still allowing for a sense of urgency and disarray. The narrative presents a very ethically blurry set of decisions for the protagonists that don't rely on excessive violence or needless character ... death to underline this. All the characters feel very precious.

This continued right into the movies, which takes place 6 months after the last episode, and - despite what I am about to say - are worth watching if for nothing else than that.
That said, the movies ultimately felt like stretched episodes in their pacing. I was expecting the narrative to go off the rails (in a good way) considering the series started off with a naked protagonist waving a gun in front of the White House and the sheer grandiose and conflicting machinations of several of the Selecoa. Characters like Shiratori, who made an elaborate display of busting out of a hotel window on exaggerated black wings in an ambiguously symbolic gesture, or Yuuki, whose multiple missile attacks were thwarted by Takizawa, make lackluster appearances considering the aptitude for violence and destruction they both previously demonstrated. Much of the edge and mystique of the other Selecoa is muted. Though the "gang" of East of Eden all are developed nicely, each having a moment to evolve and grow by making hard and/or brave decisions.
The plot ends up getting snagged on small details that end of getting dragged out and don't result in anything fruitful. One snag in particular focuses on one detail of Takizawa's past - revealed by Juiz while attempting to make him "king"- that ends of up being inconsequential to both the mystery behind the Selecoa, his confrontation with Mononobe, and romance with Morimi all of which ends in a rather abrupt and unsatisfying way. There did not feel like there was any consequence for a supposedly high stakes game which really dulled on an otherwise amazing series.

Amnesia.

The same feeling the protagonist has at the beginning of this movie, and the same feeling I got while watching it. The beginning made me feel a bit lost as to what happened in between Higashi no Eden and the King of Eden - which was supposed to happen. But this lack of cohesiveness disappointed me in the form that it couldn't "build" up as much as it "should".

Overall, I enjoyed the rebuilding from "ground zero" and the quick pick up of pace that is selecao game. This middle piece lives little room for disappointment.

Okay, why did this get a movie? I mean, I know the T.V. series ended badly and I probably wouldn't mind a little bit more or even a better ending to get a better conclusion, but was this really necessary? I don't think a way to conclude a series is by making a movie out of it when movies require conflict and this is exactly what this movie had. It was a sucky way to conclude a good-but-not-great series.

So, the movie starts off with Saki, in a taxi in New York. But that dang rude Taxi man goes off on her for some reason, drops ... her off somewhere suddenly, and leaves her there, leaving her phone and passport in the car. Then, everyone starts staring at her and humiliates her. When she finds her family and friends, she starts hugging one of them and crying. Wow that took a little bit of time to get to a conflict of this movie already, huh?! 😲

Here are my problems with this movie, the characters. This movie focuses more on Saki when I thought the main protagonist of the series was Akira. I know Saki was one of the protagonists, but she wasn't quote as much in the series as Akira was unquote. But I don't like how this movie focused on Saki more when Saki isn't even that great of a character in the first place.

Of all the characters they had to choose, they chose Saki. First of all, she likes to whine and mope about things; second of all, she can get a bit mean on occasion. I didn't think making her the main protagonist would be a good idea. I liked her better as being just a love interest for Akira. Akira used to have a story just for him in the series, but now he's become Saki's sidekick, which makes Saki the second main protagonist.

As for Akira... why did he erase his memories? Why did Juiz change his name to linuma? why and how did he disappear? Is it just because he went off to New York on purpose? Did this movie answer all these questions?

The characters are inconsistent to the ones in the series in terms of what role they play and their personalities and are now shadows of their former selves. I noticed that the few producers who did the T.V. series have not done this movie, and it probably would've been better if they came back to do this film. Even the voice actors sounded like they were struggling to make their voices fit their now inconsistent characters.

Next is the story, the movie does not have much of a plot; the only plot it has is Saki trying to find Akira, which lasts all of like 20 minutes. The dialogue is clichéd and there's no point to this movie other than it's about Saki trying to find Akira and get her passport and phone back. The movie starts putting me to sleep with its uninteresting story and focusing on the painfully annoying Saki instead of Akira, who was supposed to be the main protagonist in the first place, and since he disappeared, the movie had to ignore him for a long while.

It was a struggle to watch this dull film. It was too slow, the pacing was kind of all over the place, and there is not enough action in it and what I mean by that is that the way the movie is that the structure in this movie is missing some of the important ingredients every movie/TV show needs just to be some kind of silly slice-of-life drama and it would've been better off as a manga, as long as it doesn't mess up on the things this movie has messed up on. I also hate slice-of- life because most of them don't structure the ingredients every movie/TV show needs. They can be slow and just would rather focus on the drama and the characters and not bothering to put any important elements in them.

And no, don't give me that excuse of "It's a slice-of-life, you're not supposed to worry about plot, and it's supposed to be relaxing, happy and carefree." No. You can make a good slice-of-life while making it flow well.

So, let's get to the good points to this movie. There are several funny scenes in it, I liked the merry-go-round part and music, it was nice to see Akira and Saki happy and calm and talking about catching a gold ring on a merry-go-round, I empathized with them there. But that's about it. The characters' personalities as a whole were not funny and neither was the conflict in this movie or whatever things they probably played for comedy.

This is the kind of film that is forgettable and I would probably pretend it's never happened. Though, I would like to try and grab a gold ring while on a merry-go-round.

This review will be a summation of the anime series and the two sequel movies.
(~21 Episodes in length)
[General]
The anime sets this series up promising... with a very interesting concept to go about the plot along with likeable characters. However, the series quickly falls off and by the end of the second movie, leaves it's watchers with an unsatisfactory ending.

[Nitpicks]
I feel the response to a threat in Japan is very unrealistic and takes away from the immersion this series tries to envelope it's audience in a game of thought. Additionally, many side characters and characters of interest felt lackluster, and ... there never really is a good villain or rivalry in the path of our character. Entirety of the anime plot can somewhat be summed up in one phrase. "Ok boomer." Still leaves it's audience unfulfilled.

[Overall]
There is still some good to be had in watching this series in it's entirety, but I can't help but feel there was so much potential here that was clearly wasted and a lot of plot decisions here that did not follow through completely and are merely just forgotten about.

Honestly, if I wasn't being super technical about how the story was presented, I probably would've given this a higher ranking because it really is interesting to watch.

So, the story is starting to become clearer now that I've watched this movie, but I still feel like there are things I don't understand because they weren't properly explained in the first place. I'm getting the idea of it now that I've made it to the movie, but overall, I wish there'd been more backstory presented for the Saviors as an organization because it feels like something's missing. You have this load of tension between the ... Saviors because of what they've been tasked to do, but you don't really feel like it's all that intense because you have no context for it. I don't know if that makes sense, but it does kind of suck that the story isn't all that fleshed out.

Again, the characters aren't all that fleshed out either. However, I will say that I don't think this story necessarily needs characters with rich backstories. My main issue with the characters-- namely, the main character-- is that I can't really tell where their motivations lie. Especially given the state that the main character was in at the end of the anime, it didn't really make much sense for him to be the exact same in this movie as he was at the beginning of the anime. Consistency-- or maybe it's better to say "realism"-- wasn't very present, which was rather annoying.

It's still a very interesting anime to watch, though. It reminds me a lot of Psycho-Pass, which was my favorite anime for quite a long time. If you're getting picky about it, then yes, the world needs to be expanded on more. If you don't really focus on that, though, I still think the story will pull you in. It may leave you with some questions that maybe won't get answered, but nonetheless, it's a very good premise. It didn't feel like a lot happened in this movie, but I'm still interested to see where the story goes next.

The story was just more boring than the series. The series has mystery surrounding how everything works and the discovering the system and secrets of the Selecao operation was pretty interesting. The movie has no such interest factor. Yes, Takizawa loses his memory again, but I feel like I'm rewatching the first part of the series again seeing him puzzled and Saki slowly helping him remember who he is. Basically, the movie just has a lot less going on.

The worst part of the movie is the collection of characters. The Eden of the East crew feel like they are just there. They're at the head ... of the company but they don't do anything. And how did they get so many workers in the first place and work the operation smoothly when most of them have the social IQ of a neet, which is what they were. It's just grating how a crew that contains an absolutely useless Oosugi is perfectly leading a company. Like how did they get there?

The guy with glasses and black hair has too short a temper. Saki just listens to the black haired glasses guy scream at him over the phone ordering what to do. Like wtf basic respect with your friends you're not even capable of that? Pants guy just came along the group and acted like the token fat smart guy of the group that tries to act cool but fails. (Steins Gate?) I guess the worst part about the characters is that they were just there, and not doing anything. Saki didn't mature at all. In the series it felt like she was trying to become a little more independent. In the movie that progress is stunted: he completely relies on Takizawa. She also does the emotional character speech that's completely illogical but I'll do something because my feelings are too strong. (this happens when she tells black haired glasses guy he would save Takizawa by acting rashly because she feels bad for him, which only endangers her and thus the whole ass operation of saving Takizawa in the first place) Finally, seeing Takizawa having amnesia again gave be déjà vu boredom.

Basically my gripe with the movie is that nothing happened and that the characters were uninspiring.


Tl;dr Worst than the series in every aspect except visually

Spoiler-free (nothing outside of the MAL synopsis) should-you-watch review:

If you're watching this before seeing the series, stop and watch that first. However: the series doesn't stand alone, the movies are clearly filling in for the second arc, and you should treat them as the remainder of the same season. To see my notes on Eden of the East as a whole, check my review of the series.

That said, this movie chose a weird chunk of the plot to cover, and you're better off forgetting that it's a movie and just watching the series and both movies in one run as 20 or so episodes. On ... its own, this part of the plot is fine but kinda lame to choose for a movie. They do this weird thing at the beginning that I can only guess was 1) meant to punctuate it from the series, and 2) meant to re-create some of the success of the series: the movie starts in a different place, and Takizawa has lost his memories again. It clearly isn't supposed to make sense, as the "why" is pretty plainly ignored throughout the film. It really just invites a lot of questions and weakens the original ideas.

Watch it if you liked the series, then watch the second movie, which doesn't have the same problems.