For fans of Neon Genesis Evangeloion, Ghost In Shell, or The Matrix, Eden is a gem created for you! Eden appeared more than 20 years ago. Yet his story is strangely topical. Written by Hiroki Endo, Eden takes you to an apocalyptic world that will mesmerize you. From its full name, Eden It's an Endless World!, is a manga anchored in our reality. It takes us deep into an Earth devastated by a virus. Eden leads you to reflect on our world, but especially on Man's ability to self-destruct, and to adapt to survive. We follow Enoa and Hannah in an Earth devastated by an incurable virus that has decimated almost the entire planet. After the death of their protector, the two teenagers must flee their island, an Eden apart. They will soon realize that they are not the only survivors on planet Earth. And even after having come close to extinction, Man has not lost his faults: selfishness, avarice, individualism…
Hiroki Endo, the heir of Akira and Evangelion
In 1997, Hiroki Endo published in the magazine Afternoon of Kodansha, the first issue of his work, Eden. This is his first long-term work, but also his greatest success. Hiroki Endo draws heavily on science fiction manga of the 1980s and 1990s. His main sources of inspiration are Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo, or Neon Genesis Evangelion by Hideaki Anno. During an interview, Endo confessed that Anno's work was a shock, and that he didn't think he had anything left to say about the world of science fiction. However, with Eden, the mangaka delights us! And he devoted himself for 11 years to this work.
A little-known work
Despite its high potential, Eden is a work little known to the general public. Hiroki Endo has created his own universe. He was able to quickly detach himself from his inspirations. His work is not a mixture of his spiritual masters, but a singular creation, apart in this specific register. The world in which Eden plunges us is different and totally innovative. We are immersed in a suspenseful narrative, filled with action scenes that immerse us in a striking story. Moreover, Eden is a mixture of violent and raw scenes, but the work also offers us melancholic passages, touching even less sensitive readers. Thanks to these scenes of great violence, the mangaka does not spare us a world made of violence, like ours. This mix of genres is the strength of Eden. The manga evokes stories of war, terrorism, pandemic (doesn't it remind you strangely of the period we are currently living?). But in reality, history was written more than 20 years ago!
Eden: a mixture of science and religion
Hiroki Endo's work rubs shoulders with religion as well as science. However, the mangaka does not give a positive vision of proselytism. On the contrary, this rapprochement between the two allows him to address and point the finger at the excesses of humanity, and especially their consequences. The author condemns all forms of fanaticism, and we can also understand that Eden eis a committed work. Man is at the heart of the story, he is the fruit of all the issues of manga. He uses God to compensate for his weaknesses, but also to be forgiven. The Man in Eden cannot resign himself to reason. Despite the virus, he persists in the self-destruction and annihilation of his planet. Doesn't that remind you of something? The drawing of the work is extremely well mastered. A fine line, but detailed, which makes it possible to highlight the action. However, the work has moments bordering on philosophy and poetry, all thanks to controlled dialogues. You can now find the first two volumes of Eden at Panini in deluxe edition. The little extras? Pages in color, a revised translation, a bookmark offered to each volume and an original reading direction. To discover or rediscover Eden, the reissue at Panini Manga is for you! Dive into what may be, perhaps, our future.