The Multiverse Takes Center Stage in Edens Zero

Edens Zero Chapter 172 Review/Recap

Sorry that this took so long to get up, but it was the Holidays, and I wanted to enjoy them. Now, if you recall, we were introduced to a Captain Connor back in chapter 49 of the manga, only for him to disappear when Rebecca used Cat Leaper. Then he turns up working for Ziggy. Now, he’s turned up again…except he’s not working for Ziggy this time, and is just someone who escaped from working for him. People are understandably confused about this, but the answer might surprise you: multiverse theory. One of fiction’s greatest tools, the multiverse lets a writer get away with a lot.

Recap

After rescuing Captain Connor from space, the man explains to the Edens Zero crew how he escaped from Ziggy’s factory. Except it’s not just any factory. According to Connor, it’s a living factory: the perpetual motion machine planet Lendnard. It constantly churns out new machines for Ziggy’s army, making it a death trap. Nonetheless, Shiki and the others insist on heading there to stop Ziggy for good.

Meanwhile, Rebecca and Happy call Noah and ask for an explanation about Connor and what happened. Noah then explains some more info about Rebecca’s powers and the multiverse. Save for when she used Cat Leaper to escape Drakken Joe, every time she uses Reverse, she remains in the same universe. However, the one time she didn’t, she didn’t just turn back time. She jumped into the past of an alternate universe. As of three years ago, they’ve been in Universe 3. It happened when Xiao Mei interfered with Shiki’s choice at Nero 66. Had she not, they would have all died. Connor is the only one who’s role gets changed because of the multiverse, though.

On Lendard itself, Ziggy and his four Dark Stars watch as their army grows with each passing moment. An army powerful enough to conquer the universe. Yet Ziggy intends to stay and wait for his grandson, ready to settle things once and for all.

Review

So, what some fans suspected has been confirmed. Edens Zero isn’t just messing with time; it’s messing with the concept of the multiverse itself. This would explain why Ziggy said that they had now entered World No. 31 three years ago. It would seem that they only change universes when someone meddles with the timeline on a major scale; i.e., preventing Shiki’s death.

As cool as this concept is, it also has some very dark implications. There’s still a universe out there where everything went horribly wrong: Shiki’s dead, the androids are likely dead, Weisz lost an arm, and Homura probably got sold into the sex trafficking ring. That’s messed up!!!

There’s also the implication that many of the relationships between characters might have changed in between universes; heck, their pasts could have changed. The fact that Connor’s the only one whose role has changed is also curious. Definitley something that needs to be explained down the line.

This was another one of those exposition chapters, but for an exposition chapter, it did a good job of keeping things interesting. I liked it, as it explained more about how the world of the story works. In addition, it also put to rest any notion that Witch could’ve been saved. Either she sacrificed herself, or everyone would die. Good way to silence people on that, Mashima.

I Give “Universe 3” a 3/5

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