Lendard is Gone! And So are Elsie and Justice!
Edens Zero Chapter 216 Review/Recap
You may remember how I dubbed the relationship between Justice and Elsie the one ship I refuse to board. Considering how dangerously narrow-minded Justice’s worldview is, that seemed like a good decision. But then it looked like Justice was finally going to grow past this when he realized that Elsie’s not evil. Then, Mashima decided to write the two off, along with Lendard, altogether. More victims to the Chronophage.
Recap
Having learned that the Edens One is a psychotic AI bent on genocide, Shiki and the Edens Zero crew has but one option: run. They need to get out of there; their ship can’t hope to fight the Edens One in its state. Reluctantly, they flee beyond the confines of Lendard.
However, Elsie and Justice remain on Lendard, at the very same fountain where Elsie teased him so long ago. There, Elsie reveals the whole story: her parents were war-mongers seeking to conquer the Kaede Cosmos. They even arranged their marriage to gain supply routes. Thus, Elsie leaked the truth, resulting in Lendard’s destruction.
Justice can’t believe that he’d been so blind to the truth all this time. While he can’t condemn Elsie for her decision, he chooses not to hold it against her anymore, either. He forgives her. With the Chronophage approaching, both decide to go down with Lendard. As the Edens Zero watches, the Chronophage devours centuries of time from Lendard, with Xiaomei noting that in that time, there was a small love story between a boy and a girl.
Review
Okay, what the heck, Mashima? You give us expy’s of Erza and Jellal in your new story, and twist their relationship to the point it becomes toxic, and then pull this? It almost feels like you wanted to include them in but then didn’t know what to do with them, or how to make them relevant to the final battle.
That’s not good writing, Mashima. And it’s been a problem you’ve been having with Edens Zero for a while now. Worse, you write them off just as Justice finally stops being a Knight Templar. He never even learned that Jesse killed Creed (not that it matters, since he’s dead.) This whole thing stinks of lazy writing.
Well, at least those two are at peace now. However, it looks like we’re heading into the real final battle of the series. Shiki has to stop the Edens One from reaching Mother, or all life in the multiverse will be at risk. In addition, I’m looking forward to seeing Rebecca reuniting with her parents and learning why she got separated from them in the first place. At least we have that to look forward to.
I Give “Within the Fading Years” a 3/5
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YES!! I don’t think he knew what to do with their storyline, either. It felt like a plot point he introduced, forgot about for a minute, realized he’s entering the Final Phase of his story, and needed to wrap it up because there wasn’t enough “room” in the next part.
I’m starting to feel the same way about Galactica and Interstelar; I don’t see a point in those factions anymore. Galactica is functionally disbanded- 4 of them are now dead, and Nox and Shiki have basically had their names cleared. “Oracion Seis Galactica” is DEAD. Meaning there might not be a point in Interstelar if they were created specifically to counter Galactica. And heck; what are they’re roles even gonna be in the finale? WHY would they be there, I feel I should ask?
But…….. I suppose I’m shouldn’t be too upset. We could still be getting a year or 2 worth of story; just because we’re moving towards the “Final Battle” doesn’t mean Mashima’s gonna start “sprinting,” right?