Higashi no Eden (2009)

Type: Psychological, Romance, Mystery
Year: 2009
Studio: I.G Production
Overall Rating: 4.3
Reccomendation: Must Watch
Episode Recap: First Impressions

“I’m a Conspiracy Nerd” - Itazu (Panties)/ NEET/ Computer Genuis/ Hacker

Perhaps crime series like Mouryou no Hako were a little too dark afterall, compared to Higashi no Eden, which balances light with dark perfectly. Higashi no Eden is one of those series which has a little bit of everything – plot and character development, romance and comedy, conspiracy and intrigue, sci-fi and detective, socio-politico commentary. Just as I was about to gripe about fluff overload, the scene cuts to a number of anti-social Selacaos going on their rampage to “save Japan”. By trying to hit all the right notes, HnE loses some of its distinctiveness as a series. It become impossible to classify HnE as either shoujo romance or mystery and conspiracy, because its both and neither, and somewhere in between at the same time. Be warned: excessive Johnny-exposure.

Ratings Breakdown:
Visuals: 5.0
Music: 4.0
Coming fresh from the production studio of xxxHolic, we get wonderful visuals with good music. The production values for this series is sky-high, but one weakness is its lack of a compelling soundtrack, which plays an important role in building up the right atmosphere. The opening song Falling by Oasis is especially attention-catching, but might be just another sign of westernophile (like Morimi’s graduation trip) – which had barely anything to do with the main plot.

Setting: 3.5
Hmm, the setting is neither as complicated as imagined nor as ordinary as it might have been. The story takes place in modern Japan, teetering on the verge of social unrest beneath the calm, further complicated by the appearence of Mr. Outside, who makes it his business to uncover the social problems and brings them to the surface. HnE is aimed at addressing social problems which Japan can’t seem to find an answer to.

Plot: 4.5
Like all anime series, the first season never really answers all of our questions, but it does give us a satisfying conclusion to Akira’s backstory. 11 episodes is really short and although the first 2 episodes were rather slow, things sped up after the 4th episode. In fact, I found myself holding my breath in the final 2 episodes, considering which, the pace must’ve been done right. I disliked the anti-climatic “its-all-a-mistake” formulaic conclusion to the rescue of Ohsugi-kun from the Johnny-clipper” AND the excessive amount of indecent exposure. What’s up with all the flashing?! Is it slated to be in vogue by 2010?!

Characters: 4.5
By the end of the series, I’m begining to think that they made a mistake collaborating with Umino Chika for character designs, because I can find 80% of the characters in Hachikuro: Akira in Morita, Morimi Saki in Hagu, Hirasawa in Mayama, Ohsugi in Takemoto. Umino-sensei should have shown some creativity, for a completely different storyline. Trying to separate them from Hachikuro characters becomes a real chore. Character development is still a little limited, but the characters are really quite distinctive. They are also strongly associated with the NEET culture in Japan, which makes for some interesting social commentary.