Art-
The art felt, like most of the show, above average to me. It wasn't ever ugly but it wasn't ever gorgeous either. The animation was smooth and never choppy and I have neither huge qualms nor huge praise for the visual elements of the show.
Sound-
The voice acting was good- better than above average but worse than very good- and the music really didn't stand out to me at all. Nothing made my ears bleed, but no individual song on the soundtrack felt especially great or memorable for me and there's nothing I want to add to my playlist after the fact. The intro and outro songs felt very average and cookie cutter.
Characters/Story-
The base premise is fairly unique and intriguing and I was interested in it from the early going and it kept my interest throughout its short ride. However, this anime is by no means free of plot holes, conveniences or outright unexplained story elements.
A common problem I've cited numerous times in other reviews with 12 ish episode anime (in this case 11) is a lack of proper character development and/or a lack of answers to critical plot elements simply due to lack of time and this anime is yet another victim of this epidemic. I'd argue that only the lead character approaches being properly developed (and doesn't even make it the full way there) and everyone else, including the female lead, have a long way to go. 11 episodes is simply not enough time to properly develop a medium sized cast of characters within the spectrum of relevance.
This anime also leaves a lot of important questions unanswered, has a rushed and super convenient ending and overall lacks of sense of resolution to many parts of the plot. Without doing further research outside of the anime itself viewers will never know whether Mr Outside is alive or dead, who The Supporter is (if there is one at all), who the other never shown Selecao are, what the fate of Selecao number 1 is, how Juiz is able to fulfill some of the seemingly impossible requests it's able to fulfill, etc. For me this simply wasn't satisfactory. I'm not a manga reader and don't want to have to look things up in order to find answers- the anime should provide them for me.
Enjoyment-
Watching Eden of the East I was never bored or feeling like I was going to fall asleep but I was never on the edge of my seat dying to know what was going to happen next either. Other than being a tad rushed as a whole, as the show is only 11 episodes, this anime is generally free of pacing issues and there aren't any blatantly slow and boring stretches. For the most part I enjoyed what I watched, but only at the "Hey this is pretty decent" level as opposed to "Wow this is amazing!". It's a show I'm glad I watched once but would have very little interest in watching again.
Overall-
Above average- no more and no less- in almost every category, Eden of the East is a decent show worth taking a peek at when you've got a night in with no plans, but temper your expectations. Glad I watched but wouldn't want to watch again.
+Interesting base premise
+Average or above average in all categories- doesn't blatantly fail at anything
+Reasonably paced/engaging
-Many unanswered plot points/lack of resolution
-Average or above average in all categories- doesn't particularly excel at anything
-Lack of character development
-Forgettable and generic soundtrack
OBJECTIVE RATING- 6.5
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT RATING- 6
