Eden Of The East Movie 1: The King Of Eden

Label:

Manga Entertainment.

Certificate:

15

Format:

DVD/Blu-Ray

Discs:

1 (Blu-Ray version)

Discs:

2 (DVD version)

Running time:

204 mins approx

Subtitles:

English

Video:

16:9 anamorphic

Sound:

English 5.1, Japanese 5.1

 

Release date:

6th June 2011

RRP Blu-Ray:

£29.99 - Amazon - Play

RRP DVD:

£19.99 - Amazon - Play

Brief synopsis:

Six months have passed since Akira Takizawa famously defended Tokyo from a potentially devastating missile attack. But rather than take credit for his actions, he’s disappeared into obscurity, leaving Saki Morimi his Selecao phone and a message to meet him where their original journey began. Much has changed in the last six months - Eden of the East has become a successful business recognised around the world; Takizawa’s image has gone global, emblazoning countless items of merchandise proclaiming him to be the “Air King”; but of the man himself there is no sign. But during this time Saki has never given up searching for her mysterious friend and finally tracks him down, surprisingly not far from where they first met. Unfortunately though, Takizawa has once again wiped his own memory of everything prior to the last six months and now it’s up to Saki to bring Takizawa back into the game before the rest of the remaining Selecao track him down and take him out of play…permanently.

Comments:

OK, so as this movie is the follow up to the rather excellent Eden of the East TV series, if you haven’t yet read our review of said series – as found here - then it’s probably best if you do so before going an further. Don’t worry, I’ll still be here when you get back. There’s also a trailer can be found here at Manga UK’s official website. See you in a minute.
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*whistles*
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Oooh, biscuits. Lovely.
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*nom nom nom*... oh, you’re back, great stuff, on we go then.Ok, so the good stuff first. This first Eden of the East movie is still brilliantly scripted, exquisitely animated and just bursting with pop culture references and homage upon homage to well known movies, TV shows and the like. And again, you really need to be keeping your eyes open and your ears sharp if you’re going to keep up with what’s going on half the time. Plus the music’s great and the dub is still fantastic. Basically it’s everything the TV show was, just made for the big screen. But then seeing as this is essentially a big budget continuation of the TV show – which looked pretty damn good already – it’s be a crime if it DIDN’T look and sound the part.

But why then do I feel so… “meh”?

It took a little while to figure that one out but then it came to me. For all the excellent work put in - and there was a lot of work put in and this effort really shines through – I can’t help but get the feeling that this whole movie is essentially just to bridge the gap between the TV show and the second movie, which is allegedly where it all kicks off. There’s nothing wrong with this film - on the contrary it’s a good solid well written and crafted film - but it does feel somewhat like it’s just treading water whilst all the main characters are being moved into position ready for the next act.

That said, it's not going to stop me recommending it (and ignore the RRP shown above, the discounts available when shopping around for this title are astounding) and I for one am eagerly awaiting the second movie which should hopefully be hitting our shores in the near future.

Extras:

Well this bit is impressive. Apart from a couple of basics like a TV spots and trailer, this release has to have the best extra ever, in fact the DVD version needs a second disc just to hold it. Nestled away nicely in the extras section is the entire Air Communication movie. For those that don’t know this is basically the entire 11 episodes of the TV series compressed down into a single two hour movie with some extra dialogue to make it a tad easier to follow, great for anyone who’s are new to the series and .doesn’t have time to watch all 11 episodes, and just as good for those who have seen the series already and could do with a quick refresher.

Eden Of The East Movie 1: The King Of Eden is available from most high streets and online retailers from today.