Eden was one of the most frequently mentioned titles on any comic book list of any kind that should again find its way into the hands of the readers. Originally, the manga was released in eighteen parts between 2002 and 2009 by Egmont, so a lot of water has passed in Sumida since then. The Kotori publishing house is responsible for the return of Eden. The current edition differs from its predecessor in enlarged format and thickness, as it collects two volumes.
Plandemic?
It is possible that there was one more factor Kotori decided to relaunch Eden . In a way, this is a timely manga as it is about a pandemic. Somewhere in the near future, humanity is attacked by a mysterious virus. As a result, the human skin hardens and turns into a crust. Infected individuals slowly lose sensation of their limbs and eventually succumb to complete paralysis and death. However, thanks to the efforts of world governments, the epidemic has been stopped. And although the final number of victims of the disease is estimated at 15% of the world’s population, the geopolitical situation remains unstable, and the Propater organization is gaining more and more influence.
Almost like The Witcher
From the very beginning, Hiroki Endo makes the reader depart from the typical linear narrative. The first chapter is an extensive prologue in which the teenagers Ennoia and Hannah are immune to the virus. Their story is intertwined with flashbacks showing the fate of Ennoi’s father and mother at the start of the pandemic, and in the next chapter, the action jumps twenty years ahead and focuses on Elijah, the couple’s child from the prologue. If that wasn’t enough, almost every side character gets their own flashback to understand their current role and motivations. Fortunately, this is not the level of confusion in the first season of Netflix The Witcher, because the individual timelines are clearly drawn.
Interlacing
Diversity in Eden manifests itself not only in the approach to narrative but also in genre. There are many post-apo themes here, as the views of empty and ruined cities remind us of. Endo also reaches for cyberpunk. You won’t find neon metropolises bathed in rain (well, I wrote that they are in ruins), but you have plenty of cyber implants and body modifications. Above all, however, is the military riot. The vast majority of the first two volumes are the struggles of Elijah and a group of mercenaries with the overwhelming forces of Propater. Endo described and illustrated all the clashes very efficiently, but there were moments when I had a surfeit of action and instead I would prefer a better development of the character or a deeper description of the world after the pandemic.
Bloodbath
Endo uses a classic line that should appeal to fans of other cyberpunk ties, such as Battle Angel Alita or Akira . The precision and detail with which the mangaka is used to create the backgrounds and the dynamics of action scenes, which are often accompanied by hundreds of lines showing movement, are very impressive. The creators of the technology project are a bit worse, because such a Cherubin robot looks quite mediocre.
The cover is marked with “+18” and in this case it is very justified. Endo is not shy in showing violence, and the level of brutality in the conflict here reaches Rambo IV . Not only the Propater, but also the “good” ones have never heard of the Geneva Convention, because they resort to the most horrible kinds of killing the enemy. Hence, the reader is constantly attacked by scenes in which people are gutted, their limbs are torn off, their skulls shattered, etc. On the one hand, I understand that this depiction of violence is supposed to strengthen the anti-war message, although at the same time some scenes seem too strong (such as tearing a girl apart). by an anti-personnel mine). Therefore, I honestly observe what the more sensitive recipients are.
To Heaven, to Hell
It feels strange to read about a fantastic pandemic while we live in a real one ourselves. Nevertheless, the first two volumes of Eden are engaging reading. I recommend it especially to people who like to take the subject seriously, because there is not much humor in Hiroki Endo’s manga.
