Eden of the East movie is a shojo spectacular

04.12.2009 by Patrick W. Galbraith

If there is one thing shojo (for-girls) properties are really good at, it’s devising cute heroines and depicting their romances. The lead males are often less compelling, and the stories equivalent to Harlequin novels. Such is not the case with “Eden of the East,” one of the most exciting shojo series to come out of Japan in a long time. Despite the ultra-cute, almost childlike female character designs by Umino Chika (of “Honey and Clover” fame), this is Kamiyama Kenji’s show. Kamiyama, the director of “Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.” He wrote the script and directed the series, which deals with anomie among Japanese youth. In the near-future setting, there is a lot of techno wizardry and political intrigue going on, but nothing unbelievable. Except that 12 people have cell phones that connect them to a system capable of executing almost any order. These 12 have been chosen to use the phone, and 10 billion yen, to save Japan from apathy and decay. One of them, the main male character Takizawa Akira, wanted to create a paradise for NEETs (people Not in Employment, Education or Training). He collects 20,000 of them, then packs them into storage containers and sends them abroad and erases his memory. There will be no spoilers here, but suffice it to say its fun to try to figure out what these 12 people are doing, and why, and how they are playing against one another. The TV series basically dealt with Takizawa learning who he is, a female university student, Morimi Saki, falling for him and a lot of people trying to kill him.

The first movie, “Eden of the East the Movie I: The King of Eden,” picks up where the series left off: Takizawa has claimed responsibility for kidnapping the NEET and launching a missile at Japan. He has gone to the United States and once again erased his memory. Six months after Takizawa disappears, Japan seems to be in a lot better off, united by the experience of the terrorist attack. Takizawa’s image is appearing everywhere as part of a counter-culture brand called “Air King.” Saki is desperately searching for the man himself, and her techie friends have started a company to aid her in the quest. The story is awesome and keeps up the pace of the original TV anime. A lot of it takes place in the United States, specifically Washington, D.C. and New York, during the search for Takizawa. Pleasant surprise: the voice actors speaking English actually seem to be English speakers and dialogue is natural. A standout scene is when Saki arrives in New York, unable to speak English, and accidently signals her cab driver to drop her off; he drops her bag, which busts open to reveal an arsenal of weapons placed there by another cell phone user hoping to use Saki as bait to draw out Takizawa (who at this point actually has no memories of who she is, and doesn’t show up). She picks up one of the guns, freaks out and gets labeled a terrorist. The overreaction and super emotionalism of shojo (and especially Umino’s characters) works beautifully here. On the other hand, WTF moment: the CG animation is actually pretty bad, despite being done by Production I.G. Cars and buildings look blocky and flat, especially in the US cityscapes (the scenes of the waterfront in Sakuragicho, Japan, are awesome). Also, the theme song has been changed from Oasis to some pretty weak filler. With crappy CG and this noise, the intro feels like a bad James Bond movie.

“Eden of the East” has action, yes, but this first movie is more geared towards developing the romance between Takizawa and Saki. Fans can rejoice, as Takizawa is cooler and Saki is cuter than ever. After they finally reunite, there are plenty of moe-licious moments. In one, Saki is running around New York trying to get rid of the gun planted on her, and finds herself in front of Ground Zero. Takizawa, as causal as ever, appears to her (in a suit, ladies). He believes instantly that he is the person she claims him to be because, despite having his memories erased, he has an image in his mind of a girl standing in front of Ground Zero. He has been coming to the spot regularly trying to remember what movie he saw it in, but realizes that it was in fact a picture he took with Saki in front of “Ground Zero” in Tokyo (the site where a missile hit). Romantic stuff. Or, how about when they follow the “golden ring” to a carousel (a J.D. Salinger reference, to be expected of Kamiyama), where Takizawa and Saki ride the same horse. Takizawa dismounts, goes over to a bench and watches Saki, as the rain pours down on him. Moe kyun, straight to the heart. Takizawa isn’t getting naked this time, and he isn’t as comical as before, but he is a smooth, likeable protagonist.












I admit my bias as an “Eden of the East” fan. I like Hiyama Nobuyuki, the voice actor for “Pants,” a prodigy hacker in the show, and Tamagawa Sakiko, who voices the cell phone system called Juiz (and also the Tachikomas). This was confounded by the fact that I watched the film at United Cinemas in Toyosu, which was a setting in the anime, with some fangirl friends hot for Takizawa “oji” (their “prince”). This was a surreal experience that surely skews my judgment. However, in all honesty, this is a series that I think more people should see. It has romance and action, and overcomes the shojo-shonen barrier with mature themes and storytelling style. Further, otaku and people who don’t like anime can get something out of this. It has a creativity, accessibility and substance that some other works these days lack. Watch the TV series on YouTube (it’s just 11 episodes) and then check this movie out. The final chapter, “Eden of the East the Movie II: Paradise Lost,” will be out in March 2010 (more rushed CG, but I will overlook that). With the back story and romance set up, it’s time for the action to begin. The first movie ends with Takizawa is on his way back to Japan with Saki and all the other cell phone users moving against him. Can’t wait to see how it ends.