Who hasn't heard of Hiro Mashima's latest series, Edens Zero. For many, it is just a copy paste of Fairy Tail, a work by the same author. But what is it really?
Edens Zero
Edens Zero is basically a manga by Hiro Mashima with 16 volumes in the process of being published. The work has been adapted into an anime and is available exclusively on Netflix. 12 of the 25 episodes announced are currently online.
"Aboard the ship Edens Zero, a lonely boy who can control gravity sets out on an adventure to meet the famous cosmic goddess called Mother."
A copy paste?
We're not going to lie to you, Hiro Mashima hasn't changed at all for this new series. Although the universe is different, more futuristic with adventurers traveling in the cosmos, the nods to Fairy Tail are still numerous. Indeed, if you have followed the adventures of Natsu and his friends, you must have realized that chara-design is very similar. The main character, Shiki, seems to be a mix of Natsu and Grey, while Rebecca looks suspiciously like Lucy. As for Happy, no surprise since this cute little Exceed is also called Happy in Edens Zero. On the side of the secondary characters, no novelties either since we find Erza Scarlett under the name Erzy Crimson (with some traits of Albator, which is quite nice). Sting also makes an appearance along with other guild members. However, the personalities and stories of the characters in Edens Zero are different from those in Fairy Tail. In addition, our three Fairy Tail heroes, Natsu, Lucy and Happy, were spotted in the background of an episode. Is it a way to pay tribute to his work or a way to show that his characters are different?
An innovative scenario?
However, although the characters are very similar to those of Fairy Tail, they are indeed two separate series. Indeed, Edens Zero takes place in a futuristic universe, where our adventurers move through the cosmos in a spaceship. In addition, time travel, fights against aliens or robots are also part of the game. Hiro Mashima does not revolutionize the genre with this series since he has taken the basics of all shonen. Mysterious main character, a little "idiot" with an unusual past, having an iron will. There are also relatively fast fights, where a few blows are enough to knock out the opponent. And, this is probably the point that will put off many viewers, the power of friendship. Indeed, very present in Fairy Tail, friendship seems to be again at the heart of Edens Zero. Although it does not appear in the fights, our main character has only one desire, to make new friends. In the first episodes, this desire is very demanding since it asks a lot of strangers to become his friend. This repetition is very quickly boring and does not give a very mature image of the series. However, the sequel will prove to be more constructed since once our heroes go on an adventure, a more mature scenario will appear. The notion of friendship is still very important since in general, it is the trigger for actions. However, the latter is approached with fewer frills. Edens Zero is not a very original series, but is still pleasant to discover. If you want to dive into an original and humorous anime, we encourage you to discover The Way of the Apron, a series also available on Netflix.
