Pull it Together, Mashima. You’re Losing it!
Edens Zero Chapter 231 Review/Recap
All right, Mashima, you’re losing us again. I hoped that this grand reunion arc of Edens Zero would give the series back that spark it’s been missing for a while now. However, now it’s losing it again. Instead of the epic re-rematch between Shiki and his first great enemy, we see him use…the talk no jutsu. I get that this whole thing’s supposed to be an abridged version of the past, but the talk no jutsu? Really, Mashima?
Recap
Having encountered Drakken Joe once more, Shiki’s first step is to explain everything that happened between them in the previous Universe’s. All this does is anger Joe, though…until Shiki mentions he knows about why Joe started stealing people’s life force: to live longer and make more friends. However, Joe reveals that in this Universe, he only sucked the life out of animals. Moreover, he sees himself as a necessary evil to stop worse evils from hurting others. Fed up with everything, Joe decides to just bail and let Shiki do whatever he wants.
Pino does tell everyone present, though, that the Chronophage’s still coming for Guilst in about three days time. Shiki offers Joe some parting advice about being a good person while he still has time. After that, they both head their separate ways.
Back aboard the Edens Zero, the whole crew’s excited to have Sister, Mosco, Jinn and Kleene back, and they’re happy to see Witch again. However, there’s still one problem: Homura. She still can’t remember anything despite meeting everyone. As a result, the crew’s stumped…until they realize that in Universe 0, Valkyrie might still be alive. They get the idea of trying to find the Sword of Edens to help Homura, but Homura shocks everyone by telling them the truth: Valkyrie still died five years ago…
Review
Mashima, I’m shaking my head in disappointment at you. After all this build-up, the best way you can deal with Drakken Joe is the talk no jutsu? Really? That’s what Naruto does, and at least there, it makes sense. And the way you have Joe acting here is such a far-cry from the menace he was during the initial saga of Edens Zero. Now he’s acting as goofy as everyone else is! What a disappointment. I can’t believe I was worried about Shiki fighting Joe again!
Regardless, this does save some time by getting four of the Crew of Edens back in one fell swoop. However, there’s still the matter of getting Homura to remember everything. It would seem the warnings of Rebecca’s mother about Universe 0 are proving true. Whatever happened to Valkyrie in Universe 0 traumatized Homura to the point where it will be incredibly hard to jog her memories. Still, maybe going to Sun Jewel and finding out what happened to Valkyrie in this timeline might help her remember.
Overall, this chapter felt like a massive letdown. What was the point of bringing Joe back if Shiki doesn’t even fight him again? Get better, Mashima. You’re losing my interest.
I Give “Requirements of a Hero” a 1/5.
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It’s always interesting to see what other people make of the same product. You didn’t seem to like the chapter, while I was more or less indifferent. I saw this as part of the “Possibilities” that Universe 0 represents.
There’s good and bad possibilities for everything, and I guess in this Universe Drakken ended up being less of a bad guy than he was in the other Universes. Based on what Nero’s saying, though, there’s the “Possibility” that he’s actually WORSE than before.
I hope the series gets better for you. The series has been kind of “rough” ever since the Time Skip; I’ve made it no secret that I’m not the biggest fan of Kaede war. And thus far, Universe 0 has felt more like a “Rush Job” than an Abridgement. Honestly, I’m still curious if we’re ever gonna get an Oedo arc. If it doesn’t happen while they’re still in the Sakura Cosmos, then……. we’re probably not getting an Oedo story arc. Not that it’s absolutely necessary.