Eden of the East

Eden of the East is an original 11 episode sci-fi thriller that aired on TV in Japan in 2009.  It was created and directed by Kenji Kamiyama (Blood, Ghost in the Shell TV) and produced by Production I.G.

    College student Saki Morimi visits the Washington D. C. on the last day of her trip to America celebrating her life as a college student coming to a close.  She gains unwanted attention by police after attempting to toss a coin into the fountain on the lawn of the White House.  Just as they are about to begin questioning her, a young Japanese guy shows up, completely naked holding a revolver and a cell phone.  The cops chase after when it appears he hopes onto the back of a passing truck.  With the coast clear he comes out and tells Saki that throwing things at the White House can get you in trouble.  Saki gives the young man her coat and hat to help him be less naked.  After he takes off does she realize her passport and ticket were in the coat and chases after him.  The man on the other hand has no idea who he is, what he is doing or anything leading to his current situation.  He quickly finds using the phone in his hand that he erased his memory.  He left himself a note to go to an apartment in D. C. and when he gets there he discovers a cache of weapons and multiple passports.  He selects one passport, Akira Tokizawa, and destroys the rest in order to buy him some time as the authorities close in.  Leaving the apartment he runs into Saki and uses her as part of his cover and they both escape the police, flying back to Tokyo.   Taki confides to Saki that he is suffering from amnesia and is surprised to learn that Japan has recently been involved in an apparent terrorist missile strikes.  He now has to figure out who he really is, if he has anything to do with the missile strikes and the secrets behind the unique phone he has in his possession.

    This series surprised me; it ended up being engrossing and somewhat original, and it came as a complete shock.  It came out when I was still going full steam ahead with this blog and I never picked up on it.  The story deals with some important topics in Japans current state, the nations youth feeling that their future success is being restricted by the older people running the country and the stagnation of the economy after decades of post World War 2 progress.  Its also a bit of a Bourne Identity style thriller, keeping you wondering what was going to happen with each step as the characters play a dangerous game of cat and mouse.  The biggest issue is that the story actually doesn’t end when the series does…they conclude it in two theatrical movies.  For that alone I’m really glad I didn’t start watching the series when it was broadcasting in Japan…I would have been pretty pissed off.  My only real complaint with the series, which is based to an extent in reality, are the character designs.  They seemed out of place.  The character designs for the women are pretty stereotypical anime; unnatural hair colors, large eyes, etc, classic anime designs.  They were done by Chika Umino, who was the creator of Honey & Clover, which explains a lot.  Character design aside, the series is very well done, mature and deals with some interesting problems facing Japan and its future.  This was a nice breath of fresh air among all the fan-service titles.

    The series and movies were licensed by FUNimation in North America and are all available on DVD/Blu-Ray and streaming.