Film: Eden Of The East: The King Of Eden
Year of production: 2009
UK Release date: 6th June 2011
Distributor: Manga
Certificate: 15
Running time: 204 mins
Director: Kenji Kamiyama
Genre: Anime
Format: DVD
Country of Production: Japan
Language: Japanese
Review by: Anastasia Catris
Beginning as a background artist on iconic anime films such as Akira and Kiki’s Delivery Service, Kenji Kamiyama has since created a name for himself through his work on Blood: The Last Vampire and his contributions to the Ghost In The Shell film series. After almost six years working in the Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex universe, Kamiyama has since stepped away to direct the fantasy series Moribito: Guardian Of The Spirit and the modern mystery series Eden Of The East.
Eden Of The East: The King Of Eden is the follow-up to the 2009 television series Eden Of The East. The original television series is offered as an extra in uninterrupted film form on the second disc of this collection, Eden Of The East: Air Communication.
The television series follows the events three months after a missile attack on Japan, known as ‘Careless Monday’. However, the missile attack mysteriously claimed no casualties and was disregarded by most people. The series begins with a young Japanese woman, Saki Morimi, who is visiting Washington D.C. on a graduation trip. After getting into a misunderstanding with local police officers, she is rescued by a naked Japanese man carrying nothing but a phone and a gun, who introduces himself as Akira Takizawa.
Akira is suffering from amnesia and uses his phone to attempt to recall his memories. The phone is charged with ¥8.2 billion in digital money and Akira uses some of this to escort Saki back to Japan. Akira soon discovers that his phone is part of a game and he is one of twelve participants called Seleção who have been given ¥10 billion to ‘save Japan’. By using the phone to call a ‘concierge’, known as Juiz, the participants are able to process virtually any request for a price.
As the series progresses, Akira learns that one of the Seleção is the person who launched the missile attack on Japan. This same Seleção decides to launch a second attack of missiles towards Japan but is intercepted by Akira, who orders new missiles to intercept the enemy. Akira decides that the only way he can save Japan is to use his remaining money to become King of Japan and, once again, erase his memory.
The Eden Of The East film, The King of Eden, follows on where the series left off. Saki is searching New York for Akira, who is missing and once again has no memory. As she searches, several of the other Seleção are attempting to assassinate Akira, so that his rise to monarch is not a success. Upon Saki finding Akira and reminding him of his past, he continues his plan to become King of Japan, despite the other agent’s attempts on his life…
A highly political set of films, one may, at first, be put off by the focus on unemployment issues, entrepreneurism and capitalism. Indeed, during the television series, the translated subtitles are oftentimes confusing and unable to explain things clearly. This is surprising considering the great awareness of Western culture that is shown in the series itself. The film, The King Of Eden, however, is far more Western-audience friendly, with the translation evidently having had more care taken over it, and many terms explained clearly.
The film itself is reminiscent of modern espionage, action dramas such as The Bourne Identity; however, it holds a unique innocence and likability. The animation is light and fluid, with a great display of digital animation coupled with a traditional, painterly look. The first episode of the television series, which has now been compiled into one feature-length film, is comedic with a sweet childishness; however, this recurring childishness jars with the rest of the series and consequent film.
The use of modern technology, including the Eden Of The East recognition system and Seleção telephones, is both innovative and believable, grounding advanced technology in reality. The characters are also well rounded and likable, with each of them having a well formed personality and background. Even occasional fantastical elements are loosely explained, such as Number 11’s transformation into an angel, which is explained as a high-tech ‘illusion’.
Each of the Seleção have unique agendas on how they believe they can ‘save’ Japan. The most intriguing and interesting character would have to be Shiratori (Seleção Number 11) who makes for one of the most exciting episodes of the original series. Shiratori juxtaposes against Saki wonderfully with her overt sensuality and control of men, whilst Saki has a childish and innocent view of relationships. Her character is sadly not expanded upon enough in the final film, however, which, after such an impressive entry into the series, is disappointing.
Both films are a mixture of genres and narrative styles from romance to espionage, action to comedy, which creates a dynamic and enjoyable series. However, the fluidity of the series is marred by the fact that this can often come across as a lack of direction. This is only enhanced by the mixtures of anime styles included in the films. Fluctuating between chibi, kawaii, manga and realism, the differing artistic styles meld with the differing genres to create a highly confusing piece of inconsistent cinema.
Consideration should be made of the value of this DVD box set, as you are, in essence, getting a full television series and film. However, the film is not a standalone venture and should not be watched without having first watched the original series as it is a pure sequel. One should question why the film was not released as a second series rather than a film, as it still leaves a lot of questions unanswered and seems rushed in its lack of resolution. Surely the next film will answer many of these questions, but in creating a film rather than a second series, Kamiyama has let interesting characters and plot developments slide, and we are left with a somewhat boring sequel to an innovative series.
Though confusing in its direction, the television series is imaginative and daring in its use of multiple genres and animation styles. The film, however, lets this series down; seeming tame and one dimensional in comparison to its predecessor.
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