Eden of the East: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]

Eden of the East: The Complete Series [Blu-ray] Review

In April 2009, a few of Japan's popular talents in the anime and manga industry teamed up on a project known as "Higashi no Eden" (Eden of the East).

Featuring anime production from Production I.G., "Eden of the East" would feature the work of series creator Kenji Kamiyama (creator of "Blood: The Last Vampire" and worked on "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex", "Hakkenden" and "Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade"), manga artist/writer Chica Umino ("Honey and Clover"), art director Yusuke Takeda ("Mobile Suit Gundam Wing", "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex", "Neon Genesis Evangelion") and legendary anime musician Kenji Kawai ("Ghost in the Shell", "Maison Ikkoku", "Patlabor", "Ranma 1/2, "Vampire Princess Miyu").

The anime series debuted on Fuji TV in April 2009 and was followed by three films and now the complete series has been released on Blu-ray (and three films will follow) courtesy of FUNimation Entertainment.

VIDEO :

"Eden of the East" is just fantastic to look at. Presented in 1080p, the artistic backgrounds are magnificent. I don't think there was one re-used (aside from Takizawa's home) but there was always a new painted scene whenever a character was shown. If there is one thing that I've noticed with recent Production I.G. anime TV series, despite it being a TV series, they still go out of there way to make the series look phenomenal. Each painted scene looks fantastic, the character designs by Chica Umino come alive!

The animation and overall colors are vibrant, blacks are nice and deep and I saw no excessive haloing, edge enhancements and saw no artifacting. This is one beautiful anime series and definitely one of the best, if not the best, looking anime series on Blu-ray thus far.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"Eden of the East - The Complete Series" is presented in English and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 5.1. The audio for this series is fantastic. From the crowd ambience and just the sounds of leaves, police sirens, blasts, airplanes, computer keyboard clicking, you name it, the audio was well utilized through the surround channels.

Dialogue and Kenji Kawai's impressive musical score is crisp and clear through the front and center channels. Both Japanese and English vocal tracks were well-done! Although not an all-out action-driven anime series, there is quite a bit of action throughout the eleven episodes and the lossless audio was very good!

I have to admit that I was surprised to hear Oasis' "Falling Down" theme but I've noticed that the theme is only present in the first episode and fans have told me that it ran throughout the whole series. I'm guessing the rights to license the song for Blu-ray and DVD release was expensive. But at least the song is presented in the first episode.

Subtitles are in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Eden of the East - The Complete Series" comes with the following special features:

* Director Kamiyama & Original Character Designer Chica Umino Interview - (21:49) A wonderful interview on how the collaboration between Kenji Kamiyama (series creator/director) and "Honey and Clover" mangaka Chica Umino came about. A very cool interview but as always, Umino-san continues to be a mystery as she uses her trademark bear (featured in her HandC manga to cover her face).
* Kimura (Takizawa) and Hayami (Saki) Interview - (18:32) Interviews with voice actor Ryohei Kimura (voice of Takizawa) and Saori Hayami (voice of Saki). The two talk about not knowing what kind of series they were doing a voices for but while recording, being impressed with what they saw and being happy to be part of the series.
* Directors Kamiyama & Oshii Interview - (27:17) Director Kenji Kamiyama and Mamoru Oshii sit down to discuss the production of "Eden of the East".
* Art Director Takeda Interview - (15:36) Art director Yusuke Takeda talks about working with Umino's characters and the things he discussed with director Kamiyama before taking on the series. Also, showcasing the Bamboo studio as they worked on the backgrounds and Yusuke explains several scenes and what challenges he had and what he wanted to achieve.
* Composer Kawai Interview - (10:41) Interview with Kenji Kawai who talks about the music of the series and what he has planned. Also, showing us a few of the tracks he created at the studio.
* TV Spot - (:32) The commercial for the Japanese Blu-ray and DVD release.
* Promotion Video - (1:51) The Japanese promotional video for "Eden of the East".
* Textless Closing Song -
* Trailers - FUNimation Entertainment trailers

JUDGMENT CALL:

Production I.G. has delivered one of the finest anime television anime series to be released on Blu-ray in America. With the release of "Ghost Hound" from Sentai Filmworks last month which I gave a highly favorable review for it, I thought the Production I.G. series was just phenomenal. But here they are once again with another series and not only does it come with wonderful animation and many brilliantly painted backgrounds (which is rare to see on a anime TV series), the series creator manages to wrap the main storyline in 11 episodes.

Most anime TV series tend to run 22-26 episodes and yet, Kenji Kamiyama and Production I.G. manage to do it with 11 episodes and what a wonderful series "Eden of the East" has turned out to be!

The series has turn out to be one surprise after the other. From hearing the Oasis theme song, to seeing a well-crafted anime series from director/writer/creator Kenji Kamiyama, seeing the character designs from Chika Umino (which I'm a big fan of the "Honey and Clover" manga series), hearing the awesome jazzy music from Kenji Kawai, to see the talented BAMBOO team behind the painted backgrounds of this series....everything about this series is magnificent. Animation, background design, storyline, music...

And then not only do you have a series which looks awesome on Blu-ray, the lossless audio is great and you get a good number of lengthy special features. This has got to be my favorite anime series on Blu-ray for 2010, hands down!

I can go on and on about why I love this series but I will just say that when it comes to anime TV series on Blu-ray, I don't expect much because these anime studios are handling other series at the same time and frankly, many are completed within hours of airing on Japanese television. Anime TV series are usually not detailed like a film or OVA but somehow in 2010, Production I.G. have two anime series on Blu-ray in the U.S. that just breaks traditional convention of anime TV series and how they can look and literally raises the bar of animation and artistic backgrounds. "Ghost Hound" was incredible and the Blu-ray for the series was awesome... but FUNimation Entertainment has done well by releasing this Blu-ray, to include several lengthy special features (and not just the standard opening and ending themes) and is now planning to release the three "Eden of the East" films on Blu-ray as well.

And as far as raising the bar for how anime TV series should look, the fact that they got Chica Umino and Ryohei Kimura involved was awesome but just looking at the anime series, rarely do you see the backgrounds being used more than once. It's like every scene features new animation and background art and there was special emphasis on lighting and once again, this is not the kind of detail you usually see in a anime TV series. But Production I.G. must have high standards because so far, I've been impressed with their work and it just gets better and better.

It may be a little early since the year is not over but in terms of anime releases on Blu-ray in America, "Eden of the East - The Complete Series" may be my pick for "Anime Series on Blu-ray of the Year (2010)".

Highly recommended!

Eden of the East: The Complete Series [Blu-ray] Overview

Akira Takizawa wakes up naked outside the White House with no memories. He’s got a gun in one hand, a cell phone in the other, and doesn’t know if he’s a good guy or one of the worst. He doesn’t remember the phone gives him instant access to ten billion yen and a woman who can make his most outlandish requests a reality. He doesn’t recall his connection to the ongoing missile attacks terrorizing the Japanese people. Or the part he played in the sudden disappearance of 20,000 shut-ins. He doesn’t even remember he’s supposed to save Japan and will be murdered if he fails. Whatever it is he’s tangled up in, Takizawa’s definitely in deep – and that’s not even scratching the surface.

Eden of the East: The Complete Series [Blu-ray] Specifications

Eden of the East scored a big hit in Japan when the series aired in spring 2009: in less than a year, two follow-up features continued the story, The King of Eden and Paradise Lost. Twentysomething Akira Takizawa wakes up in Washington, DC, buck naked and stripped of his memories: all he has is a gun and a super-sophisticated mobile phone that delivers anything he requests. He meets Saki Morimi, a college senior on her graduation trip to America, and returns with her to Japan. Takizawa tries to recover his memories, which may be linked to a pair of missile attacks on Japan and the disappearance of 20,000 NEETS (young men with No Employment, Education or Training). From his phone--which provides the equivalent of more than ¥8 million (about 0,000,000), Takizawa learns that he is a seleçao, one of 12 agents charged by the mysterious Mr. Outside with saving a faltering, apathetic Japan. As he resolves the mystery of his identity, Takizawa gets help from Saki, her friends, and a hikikomori superhacker. Eden of the East was written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama, writer-director of the popular Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Kamiyama once again demonstrates his exceptional skill at building suspense and weaving an exciting fantasy. The cyber-terrorism elements of Eden recall the "Laughing Man" mystery in Stand Alone Complex, but this time Kamiyama is working with his own characters and world, and the results are more intriguing. The taut scripts and a winning performance by voice actor Jason Liebrecht make Takizawa an appealing hero, even in the most improbable circumstances. Eden of the East ranks among the very best anime of 2010. (Rated TV MA: violence, nudity, risqué humor, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

(1. I Picked Up a Prince, 2. Melancholy Monday, 3. On the Night of the Late Show, 4. Real Reality, Fabricated Reality, 5. This Is No Time to Be Thinking About That… 6. Eden of the East, 7. Flight of the Black Swan, 8. Searching for the Path Already Lost, 9. A Man Too Ephemeral, 10. Who Killed Akira Takizawa? 11. The East That Continues On)

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