The first two volumes of Eden were quite an interesting introduction to short-range fantasy with a world that combines elements of the post-apocalypse (resulting from the aforementioned disease) and cyberpunk (with the ubiquitous combat robots and other implants). However, both of these elements were quickly covered by military riots. Hiroki Endo does not dance in… certoli. Nor is it in showing violence. The level of brutality and beating in Eden was so great that it could easily overshadow the finals of several other stories put together. With such enormous momentum at the beginning of the story, I wondered how the mangaka would be able to escalate events.
South America Gangs
Unfortunately, Roy Burgundy would be disappointed (as I am) because Edenit definitely tones down each of the above elements and enters the territory of … sensationalist. For reasons I don’t understand, Endo focuses on the conflict between South American gangsters. And it is neither particularly interesting nor innovative, because its design resembles dozens of other stories of this type that fly on Polsat in the evenings. The only comforting thing is that the mangaka still sticks to a gloomy tone and confronts the heroes with heavy moral decisions. At the same time, almost no one mentions the virus anymore, and cyberpunk interjections are introduced almost exclusively to make the action scenes more flashy and brutal. Fantastic plots are so redundant that it would only take a few minor modifications to make this story take place in the real world.
What
Earlier Endo had shown that his world presented is a lousy place, where even the weakest have no mercy. But in volumes 3 and 4, the violent relationship between the mafiosi and the drug addict-prostitute becomes the main theme for some reasons. And I have the impression that Endo romanticizes this pathological relationship, which I had a hard time reading.
However, what made me completely baffled is the introduction of a romance between the main character, Ennoia, and Helena, a prostitute I met earlier. The problem is that the protagonist is fifteen years old here, and his partner is ten years older. And it is she who initiates the rapprochement, takes advantage of the boy’s naivety and humiliates him many times (there is, among others, an extremely tasty scene in which Ennoia is hit in the face with Helena’s panties with the sperm of one of her clients). For a fairly tight one, it’s textbook grooming . Sensitive to this type of motives, I would like to warn you. Especially that Endo is not shy about drawing sexual intercourse between lovers, although these are comical, because the genitals are overexposed – they look as if someone has erased some fragments of the frames.
Heheszki
At the same time, the mangaka intertwines this theme with another element that was not present in the first two volumes – humor. And it is of such dubious quality. It manifests itself mainly through the complaints of Ennoi, who tries to compete for Helen’s favor with her mature clients. It bites mercilessly, because earlier the protagonist followed a dark path, where he transformed from a naive boy into a merciless murderer.
Endo
Just as the first two volumes aroused my interest in this title, the following two left me with ambivalent feelings. There is still great potential in this world, so I hope that Endo will introduce more interesting threads than gangster romances in the next installments.
