I’ll admit: there will always be genres that I like more than others, regardless of objective quality. If it isn’t already obvious, I’m the kind of person that likes to dissolve into 13 episodes of rabu-rabu or moe-moe, and if not, I can only hope that the show will be funny enough to entertain me.
But of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and I think Eden of the East fits that bill for this season. Even aside from the unique premise and above average portrayal of America in terms of realism, it didn’t take long at all for the show to captivate me. It should come as no surprise, seeing as it’s an original story from the director of the Ghost in the Shell TV series, but the first two episodes really have exceeded my expectations.
However, the fact remains that there is precious little to say after only a few weeks, so I decided to try something familiar: taking a closer look at the opening and ending sequences and seeing what little treasures I could find.
And believe me, there’s much more than meets the eye.
The OP is by far the more interesting of the two videos, so I’ll start with a picture dump.
The first bit of text in the video, aside from the name of the show that flashes by for an instant, references the apparently essential event that occurred in the story. There’s no use in taking random guesses, which is what I would be doing if I were to speculate on the role of Careless Monday in the story, but it’s obviously a central aspect.
A couple religious allusions, which make up the majority of the song.
A quick reference to Akira’s organization’s name, which incidentally translates to The Selection.
The text on the pillars is minuscule, but if you look closely, it reads something like this:
The King has come! Let me walk with…Since we believe you…awaken my soul…O Lord, O Lord!
All of the sentences are cut off due to the awkward positioning, but looks like it continues on like a full-length prayer.
Interesting to see mention of a “demon,” which could be symbolic for oh-so-many things.
The small text reads:
With awe, down on my knees again
I’ve got to know you’re the one,
The only one reveals the world
Interestingly enough, the text in the background puts together the phrases scattered throughout the opening sequence.
The abuse of greatness is when it disjoints remorse from power.
Nobility obligates. The obligation of the rich to help the poor.
…And the tremendous power that the absurdly rich hold.
A repetition of the “king” lines, except this time with Akira in the forefront – literally.
The same quote from before about the abuse of power, except this time with Juiz’s name in prominent font. Juiz, the voice with the power to kill at a moment’s notice…and also the Portuguese word for judge. (Courtesy of Wikipedia, technically).
Mr. Outside? It’s anyone’s guess, I suppose, but that hand looks like it might be reaching for the memories that it lost…
Let me walk with you when I’m lost in the wild
I know you always lead me to another Eden
Let me bless your name, O Lord, O Lord!
Your words will never fade away
Since we believe you’re the light on earth
Reveals the world
And now, before the momentum is lost, a quick look at the images from the ED:
Pretty self explanatory: Saki is travelling, missiles attack, Akira emerges from his almighty cell phone, he starts running too, and they eventually escape the chaos together. Not so much foreshadowing as much as it is…well, common sense. Except…
I might be crazy, but Eden, damn it, Eden! Yes, yes, abstract art and figs and what have you…but wasn’t this the only coloured image in the video?
—
Now, for the piecing together. So far, I’ve caught three different themes or concepts hinted at in the videos: a modern day savior to rescue society from its failings, a philosophical question about politics that asks whether the current government is doing the right thing, and finally, allusions to paradise as portrayed in the bible.
What does this mean? Let’s see…
Let’s say that Japan is messed up. I’m not sure why – it just is. That means someone has to fix it, right? And radical organizations are everywhere in anime – in fact, Ghost in the Shell involved a villain or two that committed crimes for the sake of changing something about society. In this case, the “villains” have all the money in the world, so perhaps it really is the obligation of the noble to help the poor. Noble or otherwise, though, it isn’t uncommon for a group of extremists, especially in anime, to resort to violence to change the world.
So, how can one go about changing the world? I’m not quite sure. But those missiles are pretty interesting: acts of terrorism that didn’t harm a soul. And it looks as though we have an interesting group of twelve – twelve, I say! – people wandering around Japan, talking to cell phones with a voice called Judge that has the power to kill at a whim. It seems to me like someone up above wants their modern day messiahs – or perhaps a single modern day messiah – to save Japan and liberate it from the trappings of…well, whatever was hurting it to begin with. Politics will be more remorseful, I suppose; and Eden will be created.
Suffice to say, this Eden will be located conveniently in the Land of the Rising Sun, making it a belonging of the East.
Having said that, I feel obligated to move back a few steps – throwing out a slew of disorganized (and possibly wholly incorrect) thoughts isn’t usually my thing, but sometimes it’s necessary, so I won’t hold back. I still find it interesting that the ending video began with the apple – with sin – portrayed on a perfectly blank sheet of paper, before disappearing into the chaos and introducing the present day. Eden did exist, after all; and it’s up to a select group of people to recreate it.
And while we’re at it, the song (transcribed here) might be foreshadowing the key to the entire story, particularly in the first paragraph/stanza.
I saw you in Heaven
and heard of your glory
You saved our world from the fallen angels
I saw Messiah standing,
Standing before me with no words
Nothing but “Hope”.
When we lost dread, a Demon was laughing
But now you are showing us wonder
Giving your love
With awe, down on my knees again
I’ve got to know you’re the one,
The only one reveals the world
Religion as a metaphor: it’s a classic because it works. My knowledge of theology is limited more or less to Wikipedia, but mankind essentially fell from Heaven after the incident with the Forbidden Fruit, correct? And, logically speaking, something or someone must have saved the human race from that fall. However, as society advanced, we lost our need to fear for our lives – in many places of the world, food and water are like air. We live lives of comparative luxury, losing sight of our primal instincts to survive – and the Devil Demon was laughing as the rich destroyed the poor.
But now, the Messiah has returned. A single group of revolutionaries has chosen – selected, if you will – twelve sons of Jacob apostles judges to fulfill the duty of the noble in aiding the weak, thus changing the world. Or, if you will, revealing the truth.
But I digress. What we do know for certain is that this story involves politics and crime – most likely terrorism. I think it’s safe to say that someone is trying to change something, but after that, we enter the realm of speculation. You’ve already seen my thoughts – aided by a post from The Null Set and some guy from deviantART that I found after taking those screencaps – but I get the feeling that the speculation will continue for much longer.
And that’s the way I like it. I usually try to understand the overall meaning of a story rather than the intricate (and often irrelevant) details, but when a show presents such a refreshing premise and mixes it with an astonishingly telling OP with a plot that’s just begging to be deconstructed, the details are everything. Whether I was right or wrong, I’ll be enjoying this one – and I’d very much like to see how this Battle for Eden works out from an ideological standpoint as well as a purely cerebral one.
~ ETERNAL
つづく
Politics, Religion, and Paradise – Speculations on Eden of the East
I’ll admit: there will always be genres that I like more than others, regardless of objective quality. If it isn’t already obvious, I’m the kind of person that likes to dissolve into 13 episodes of rabu-rabu or moe-moe, and if not, I can only hope that the show will be funny enough to entertain me.
But of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and I think Eden of the East fits that bill for this season. Even aside from the unique premise and above average portrayal of America in terms of realism, it didn’t take long at all for the show to captivate me. It should come as no surprise, seeing as it’s an original story from the director of the Ghost in the Shell TV series, but the first two episodes really have exceeded my expectations.
However, the fact remains that there is precious little to say after only a few weeks, so I decided to try something familiar: taking a closer look at the opening and ending sequences and seeing what little treasures I could find.
And believe me, there’s much more than meets the eye.
The OP is by far the more interesting of the two videos, so I’ll start with a picture dump.
The first bit of text in the video, aside from the name of the show that flashes by for an instant, references the apparently essential event that occurred in the story. There’s no use in taking random guesses, which is what I would be doing if I were to speculate on the role of Careless Monday in the story, but it’s obviously a central aspect.
A couple religious allusions, which make up the majority of the song.
A quick reference to Akira’s organization’s name, which incidentally translates to The Selection.
The text on the pillars is minuscule, but if you look closely, it reads something like this:
The King has come! Let me walk with…Since we believe you…awaken my soul…O Lord, O Lord!
All of the sentences are cut off due to the awkward positioning, but looks like it continues on like a full-length prayer.
Interesting to see mention of a “demon,” which could be symbolic for oh-so-many things.
The small text reads:
With awe, down on my knees again
I’ve got to know you’re the one,
The only one reveals the world
Interestingly enough, the text in the background puts together the phrases scattered throughout the opening sequence.
The abuse of greatness is when it disjoints remorse from power.
Nobility obligates. The obligation of the rich to help the poor.
…And the tremendous power that the absurdly rich hold.
A repetition of the “king” lines, except this time with Akira in the forefront – literally.
The same quote from before about the abuse of power, except this time with Juiz’s name in prominent font. Juiz, the voice with the power to kill at a moment’s notice…and also the Portuguese word for judge. (Courtesy of Wikipedia, technically).
Mr. Outside? It’s anyone’s guess, I suppose, but that hand looks like it might be reaching for the memories that it lost…
Let me walk with you when I’m lost in the wild
I know you always lead me to another Eden
Let me bless your name, O Lord, O Lord!
Your words will never fade away
Since we believe you’re the light on earth
Reveals the world
And now, before the momentum is lost, a quick look at the images from the ED:
Pretty self explanatory: Saki is travelling, missiles attack, Akira emerges from his almighty cell phone, he starts running too, and they eventually escape the chaos together. Not so much foreshadowing as much as it is…well, common sense. Except…
I might be crazy, but Eden, damn it, Eden! Yes, yes, abstract art and figs and what have you…but wasn’t this the only coloured image in the video?
—
Now, for the piecing together. So far, I’ve caught three different themes or concepts hinted at in the videos: a modern day savior to rescue society from its failings, a philosophical question about politics that asks whether the current government is doing the right thing, and finally, allusions to paradise as portrayed in the bible.
What does this mean? Let’s see…
Let’s say that Japan is messed up. I’m not sure why – it just is. That means someone has to fix it, right? And radical organizations are everywhere in anime – in fact, Ghost in the Shell involved a villain or two that committed crimes for the sake of changing something about society. In this case, the “villains” have all the money in the world, so perhaps it really is the obligation of the noble to help the poor. Noble or otherwise, though, it isn’t uncommon for a group of extremists, especially in anime, to resort to violence to change the world.
So, how can one go about changing the world? I’m not quite sure. But those missiles are pretty interesting: acts of terrorism that didn’t harm a soul. And it looks as though we have an interesting group of twelve – twelve, I say! – people wandering around Japan, talking to cell phones with a voice called Judge that has the power to kill at a whim. It seems to me like someone up above wants their modern day messiahs – or perhaps a single modern day messiah – to save Japan and liberate it from the trappings of…well, whatever was hurting it to begin with. Politics will be more remorseful, I suppose; and Eden will be created.
Suffice to say, this Eden will be located conveniently in the Land of the Rising Sun, making it a belonging of the East.
Having said that, I feel obligated to move back a few steps – throwing out a slew of disorganized (and possibly wholly incorrect) thoughts isn’t usually my thing, but sometimes it’s necessary, so I won’t hold back. I still find it interesting that the ending video began with the apple – with sin – portrayed on a perfectly blank sheet of paper, before disappearing into the chaos and introducing the present day. Eden did exist, after all; and it’s up to a select group of people to recreate it.
And while we’re at it, the song (transcribed here) might be foreshadowing the key to the entire story, particularly in the first paragraph/stanza.
I saw you in Heaven
and heard of your glory
You saved our world from the fallen angels
I saw Messiah standing,
Standing before me with no words
Nothing but “Hope”.
When we lost dread, a Demon was laughing
But now you are showing us wonder
Giving your love
With awe, down on my knees again
I’ve got to know you’re the one,
The only one reveals the world
Religion as a metaphor: it’s a classic because it works. My knowledge of theology is limited more or less to Wikipedia, but mankind essentially fell from Heaven after the incident with the Forbidden Fruit, correct? And, logically speaking, something or someone must have saved the human race from that fall. However, as society advanced, we lost our need to fear for our lives – in many places of the world, food and water are like air. We live lives of comparative luxury, losing sight of our primal instincts to survive – and the Devil Demon was laughing as the rich destroyed the poor.
But now, the Messiah has returned. A single group of revolutionaries has chosen – selected, if you will – twelve sons of Jacob apostles judges to fulfill the duty of the noble in aiding the weak, thus changing the world. Or, if you will, revealing the truth.
But I digress. What we do know for certain is that this story involves politics and crime – most likely terrorism. I think it’s safe to say that someone is trying to change something, but after that, we enter the realm of speculation. You’ve already seen my thoughts – aided by a post from The Null Set and some guy from deviantART that I found after taking those screencaps – but I get the feeling that the speculation will continue for much longer.
And that’s the way I like it. I usually try to understand the overall meaning of a story rather than the intricate (and often irrelevant) details, but when a show presents such a refreshing premise and mixes it with an astonishingly telling OP with a plot that’s just begging to be deconstructed, the details are everything. Whether I was right or wrong, I’ll be enjoying this one – and I’d very much like to see how this Battle for Eden works out from an ideological standpoint as well as a purely cerebral one.
~ ETERNAL
つづく