Eden of the East~a compliation of heartwarming and funny

7/14/10

Ok, here's the brush up. The plot is quite simple,

"On November 22, 2010, ten missiles strike against uninhabited areas of Japan, claiming no victims. This apparent terrorist act is referred to as "Careless Monday" and disregarded by most people. 

The series begins three months later, with a young Japanese woman named Saki Morimi visiting Washington D.C. as part of her graduation trip. When she gets into trouble, a mysterious Japanese man, who introduces himself as Akira Takizawa, helps her through it. The man appears to have no memory and is completely naked, carrying only a gun and a cell phone charged with 8.2 billion yen in digital money. While they are coming back to Japan, they learn that a new missile has hit their country.

Akira discovers that his phone is part of a game and that he himself is one of the participants. The game consists of twelve individuals, dubbed Seleção, who are given 10 billion yen to save Japan. The Seleção are able to use the phone operator, Juiz, to fulfill any kind of order for a price. However if the money is used up completely or for selfish purposes, the individual will be eliminated by the Supporter. 

As the series progresses, Akira discovers that one of the Seleção was the one who ordered missiles to be fired in Japan and the reason he erased his own memories was linked to Careless Monday. The same Seleção member decides to launch missiles towards Japan again, this time 60 missiles, but is intercepted by Akira who orders missiles to intercept the incoming missiles. Akira decides that the only way to save Japan is to lead it and uses his money to crown himself as the King of Japan and erase his own memory."

Well, that's the plot of the whole 11 episodes. I wished it wasn't so short, I mean, ELEVEN EPISODES, its barely qualified to be called a series but it was awesome. There is currently 2 movies, Eden of the East: the Movie I: The King of Eden and Eden of the East: the Movie II: Paradise Lost!

Pros: You don't see many political animes these days that have genuine humor put into it. That's probably why this one was really enjoyable. And Saki was one of those heroines I kinda like, she isn't tsundere, that's for sure. I really think she and Akira match together well. The tech part in this was really cool, especially when you have magical cell phones that would do anything for you and image recognition programs, it adds that small tinge of sci-fi that makes this modern age adore it. The cast of characters is cute too. Supporting cast is even funnier, well, someone's bound to give them some recognition right?

Cons: I'm not from Japan and I don't watch much movies so when they talk about laws and random sporting of movie info, count me out. And, yet again, why the hell is it 11 episodes long and how come Akira just has to go missing in the end!?!? There's also, a bit too much nudity. I mean, I don't mind like one of two scenes, like in first episode, Akira just shows up naked out of nowhere, they whited out his "Johnny" or the nickname they name to a male 'part' but when you get scenes with a bout 200,000 people naked and a "Johnny Hunter", it can get creepy.

Characters:

Morimi Saki

Saki is in her last year in university. She is 21 years old, born on January 6, 1989. After her parents died she lived with her married elder sister and her baby. She visited New York City as part of her graduation trip with her friends and after visiting Washington D.C. alone, she meets Akira Takizawa who helped her out when she threw a coin in the grounds of the White House and is questioned by the police. After noticing that she left her passport in the coat she gave to Akira, she follows him and then decides to go back with him to Tokyo, Japan. She plans to work in the company that her brother-in-law used to work for, because she is ashamed of living off their money. She could only go to college with the aid of her sister and her brother-in-law. Her ability to enhance the value of junk items have been one of the main reasons Eden's success.

Takizawa Akira

He lost his memory during a brain washing program. He meets Saki Morimi in Washington D.C., appearing naked and only carrying a gun and a cellphone. When he helps her out because she threw a coin in the grounds of the White House and is questioned by the police, she gives him her coat, scarf and hat. He has a very modern cell phone with the phrase "noblesse oblige" printed on it and 8.2 billion yen in digital money credit. When he makes his first call, a female voice claiming to be Juiz answers. She sends him a map that marks an apartment building where he is apparently staying. In his apartment, he finds guns and many different passports which seem to all belong to him. Saki returns after realizing she left her passport in the coat she gave him and the two decide to return to Japan together. According to his passport, he lives in Japan, in Toyosu, his name is Akira Takizawa and he was born on January 7, 1989 and is therefore 21 years old making him one day younger than Saki Morimi.

                   

(From left to right:) Hirasawa Kazuomi(glasses), Micchon(little girl), Osugi Satoshi(yellow jacket)

                  

Eden of the East

 

Eden of the East started out as a small recycling group, but has quickly turned into a springboard for a successful commercial website, thanks to Micchon's revolutionary image recognition engine that resides in Eden website and Saki's ability to improve the value of any item, including junk. Soon, the site's ability to work on phones attracted many people as members, inclusive of students. It has also grown into a popular matchmaking site. The notable members of the Eden of the East project are:

• Ōsugi Satoshi, a friend of Saki who holds unrequited love for Saki. 
• Hirasawa Kazuomi, the de facto leader of Eden of the East. His ultimate goal is to create a paradise for NEETs, being a NEET himself. 
• Micchon, a shy and frank girl who is a very talented programmer and is the one who programmed the Eden of the East's image recognition system.
• Itazu Yutaka, a prodigious yet reclusive hacker that the Eden club nicknamed "Pants" based on an alternate reading of the Kanji in his name.

For the heck of it, here's some screen shots from the anime and the first movie. Movie 2 currently being subbed so even I haven't watched it yet.

You know when its a good anime when the first episode shows the main character naked with a hand gun. LOL

Do not be fooled, getting out of a ticket does not included taking off your pants.

Why the hell would some random guy give up his pants to a stranger?

I get this feeling that Akira would make a great girl if we cross-dressed him.

Makes me wonder what Akira did now.

Doggie+Cosply Wings=CUTE!!

AkiraxSaki 4eva!

From the Movie I

From the Movie I

From the Movie 1

If I were Saki, I would have grabbed him before he even held his hand out.

The phone each Seleção received to contact Juiz.

Guess how big of a fangirl scream I made here?

 You can download and watch the first movie here( BTW it's a torrent): Download King of Eden (torrent)  

Anime Trailer (Subbed in English for your convenience):  

Aoi ^o^