The Strange Thief of the Slums

Edens Zero Chapter 54 Review/Recap

In the last chapter of Edens Zero, Rebecca was subjected to a humiliating prank by Labilia with the false promise of getting her to the slums to save Shiki and Homura. In the end, they did get the help of fellow B-Cuber, Nino. Meanwhile, Shiki fires the opening shots on a war against the Scarlet Woman’s rule when he defies her enforcer Garret to rescue Homura.

Recap

The fight between Garret and Shiki ends up being as one-sided as usual: Shiki wastes Garret and rescues Homura. Despite everything, the woman insists on staying in the slums to find Valkyrie. Garret then shocks them both by revealing that he knows Valkyrie.

Meanwhile, Nino leads Rebecca’s group to the entrance of the slums, telling them that he works for the Scarlet Woman. He had orders to bring in anyone who mentioned “Edens Zero,” but he can’t bring himself to do it after seeing Rebecca’s cosplay. So, he’s going to say he never found them.

Once in the slums, the trio encounters an extraordinary man in possession of an Ether Gear. His gear lets him move things a few inches, or teleport to his hands, which is why its called “Steal Hand.” The man’s name is Paul, and he’s Valkyrie’s student in the slums, and he knows about them and why they’re looking for Valkyrie. He has a message for Homura that explains why Valkyrie left her behind, and why she can’t come back.

Review

Two things happened in this chapter. First, we met another character who I have a feeling could become a potential member of the Edens Zero, and then we saw Mashima display his trademark love of fanservice. I get wanting to tease the audience, Mashima, but Paul stealing Rebecca’s panties seems too ecchi for a shonen manga. Have some standards.

Fanservice aside, I think that this chapter serves as an excellent way to set up a potentially big reveal about Valkyrie in the coming chapters. Whether it will deliver on that promise, though, is another thing entirely. I think Edens Zero should be doing more to make it stand out as its manga and not just a sci-fi version of Fairy Tail. Speaking of which, that girl that Nino mentioned was Angel from Fairy Tail.

The stage is set for a conflict between the Scarlet Woman and Edens Zero, and I only hope that we finally get to see Shiki sweat a little. In my opinion, most of his fights have been a little too easy to be entertaining.

I give “The Truth Is In the Cube” A 3.5/5

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