Stop Using Death to Toy With us, Mashima!

Edens Zero Chapter 213 Review/Recap

So, there’s this trend that can be found in Hiro Mashima’s manga regarding character death, and it’s not one I’d praise him for following. His previous work, Fairy Tail, was known for putting supporting characters into positions where the only outcome seemed to be death. Rather than following through on that, and thus carrying the emotional impact going forward, he often chose to have them be fake-outs. He was especially guilty of this in the final arc of Fairy Tail, with several characters seemingly meeting their ends, only for Mashima to turn around and say, “just kidding!” Sadly, that trend has somewhat continued in Edens Zero, with the result being that it’s hard to take an actual death seriously at first. 

Why am I bringing all of this up now? Because either Mashima faked us out with another supposed death, or it’s for real. Either way, I’m not happy.

Recap

So, after re-enacting Trunks’ slaying of Frieza in Dragon Ball, Elsie takes full control over the Mobius system, to Justice’s horror. However, instead of using it for evil like he think she will, Elsie does the right thing: she orders the Mobius to shut down all of Aconella’s dragons. She’s pretty much done with fighting all the time, and doesn’t want to do it anymore. 

Meanwhile, Hermit’s still following up on her suspicions about who the ‘true enemy’ might be. Beyond looking at a recording of Ziggy telling Elsie to give the Edens Zero to Shiki when he’s old enough, there’s not much to go on.

As for Shiki, he’s standing before Ziggy in shock, not wanting to end the life of his grandpa/himself. He thinks that they can still save him, even though Ziggy says that’s no longer possible. Shiki’s indecisiveness seemingly leads to Ziggy’s evil half regaining control of their body and reaching a new form. As a result, Ziggy then traps Pino inside a gravity bubble and seemingly destroys her, leaving Shiki devastated. So devastated that he enters into a blind rage before entering a new form of Overdrive as he proceeds to tear into Ziggy.

Review

Ladies, gentlemen, and those of unspecified gender, it actually happened. Justice may have finally seen the light about Elsie, and that she’s not as bad as he thought she was. It’s about time that numbskull realized it, too.

To recap: Justice blames Elsie for the destruction of both of their kingdoms and everyone they knew at the hands of the rest of the Kaede Cosmos. However, the reason she did that was due to her parents planning to start an even bigger war that would’ve destroyed the entire cosmos. She still feels guilty about it, but has tried to accept that she had no other choice. Regardless, it’s still led to her losing even more loved ones. I don’t blame her for wanting to lay down her sword and stop fighting.

I’m Not Convinced Pino’s Dead

As for Ziggy, I know I should be devastated about Pino’s death, but I can’t be. Mashima’s faked us out so many times when it comes to death that when it actually happens, it’s hard to accept. It’s what made losing Witch so heart-wrenching. However, I have good reason to believe that Ziggy’s faking being evil right now. 

The answer’s simple: he has Nero’s Ether Gear now, meaning he can teleport things. He could’ve used that to fake Pino’s death to trick Shiki into killing him. It’s a lesson for him: he can’t be indecisive like this, or he’ll risk losing more friends. Also, Pino’s one of the series’ mascots. Would Mashima really kill her off.

That said, I will be sad if it turns out Pino’s gone for good. I loved that adorable little android. As for who the real enemy is, I have a few ideas, but I’m really, really hoping they’re not right. 

Click here to see more animanga stuff