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.
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.
Rating:
8/10
