Eden of the East the Movie I: The King of Eden (anime movie), via Netflix

Eden of the East the Movie I: The King of Eden is a mystery/thriller set in an alternate history in which Japan was hit by several missiles in the recent past. The anime TV series, Eden of the East, set up the story, and this movie continues it.

Synopsis:

This movie takes place 6 months after the events of the Eden of the East TV series. Saki has spent the whole time searching for Takizawa, who disappeared shortly after saving Japan. She only has a few clues to go by: Takizawa's phone and a message from him saying that he'll meet her at their special place. Saki is convinced that their "special place" is in Washington, D.C., but new developments indicate she is probably wrong, and so she heads to New York instead.

Before disappearing, Takizawa ordered Juiz to turn him into a king. Then he had his own memory wiped. Juiz's method for fulfilling Takizawa's request to become king finally starts to become clear: she is slowly erasing Akira Takizawa's identity and replacing it with that of a new Akira, one who is supposedly the illegitimate son of the prime minister of Japan. Juiz seems to be aiming at having Akira become the prime minister's successor after he steps down.

Unfortunately, several other Selecao are still in play, and not all of them wish Takizawa well. One Selecao leaks information that links Takizawa's new identity as the prime minister's illegitimate son with his past actions dealing with the missiles that struck Japan, making the amnesiac Takizawa a very sought-after young man. Not even the help of Number 11 and Saki's friends at the now-successful Eden of the East project may be enough to save Takizawa and Saki and get them safely back to Japan.

Review:

I realize that there are a lot of people out there who are absolutely wild about this series, and I can see why. For once, we have a (nearly) contemporary-set anime starring young adults who are still trying to find their place in the world. No high school students who suddenly discover they have super powers. No fan-service moments every 5 minutes. Very little in the way of the usual anime cliches. The original TV series sets up a fairly solid mystery/thriller...which just happens to end before everything has been wrapped up. For those who were frustrated by that, watching the movies is the next natural step.

Eden of the East (anime TV series), via Hulu

I tried to keep from spoiling anything, but the structure of this show makes that hard. However, you can actually find out more than what I reveal in this post just by reading the Wikipedia article on the series, so I don't think I did too badly.

Synopsis:

A guy who decides to call himself Akira Takizawa (Takizawa Akira) turns up in Washington, D.C., right near the White House. He's completely naked, holding a gun and a cell phone, and he has no memory of who he is. The first person he meets is Saki, a young Japanese woman on a graduation trip who he saves just as she was about to get in trouble with the police. Saki lends him her coat so that he won't attract as much attention, only to realize after he's gone that her passport was in her coat pocket. Takizawa sees things that make him wonder if he might have been a terrorist before he lost his memory, but he doesn't tell Saki about any of that when she manages to catch up with him. All he tells her is that he's lost his memory.

After they both get back to Japan, Saki tells Takizawa a little of what has happened recently. On a date now known as "Careless Monday," ten missiles struck Japan. Amazingly, not one person was hurt. In the process of investigating his past, Takizawa begins to suspect that he was responsible for "Careless Monday." He also believes that he was responsible for the disappearance of 20,000 NEETs ("Not in Education, Employment, or Training" - these people are, I believe, considered to be both a big societal problem in Japan and also a sign of other problems). All Takizawa really knows is that he has a cell phone that is his direct connection to a mysterious concierge named Juiz, who can give him absolutely anything he asks for, and his cell phone is charged with 8,200,000,000 yen (approximately 101.5 million dollars right now).

Juiz won't tell Takizawa anything about himself, but Takizawa does learn that there are 11 others like himself, each with cell phones that have access to a huge amount of money. If Takizawa can find those other people, he might be able to figure out more about himself and what he has done. He gradually learns that he and the others have been given the task of somehow saving Japan. Only one person can win the game, and everyone who fails or is judged to be misusing their power and money will be killed.

Commentary:

On the one hand, this show was amazing - twisty, complicated, and mysterious, with a really likable main character. On the other hand, it was missing whatever element was necessary to grab my attention and not let go - had this show gotten yanked off of Hulu before I could finish it, I can't say that I would have felt compelled to buy it just to find out how things were going to end.