Higashi no Eden

On November 22, 2010, Japan was hit by missile strikes, a terrorist act that fortunately did not harm anyone, becoming known as "Careless Monday." Quickly forgotten, society goes on about their lives as normal.

During her graduation trip to America three months later, friendly college student Saki Morimi's life is forever changed when she finds herself saved from unexpected trouble by Akira Takizawa. Takizawa is cheerful, but odd in many ways—he is stark naked and suffers from amnesia, believing himself to be a terrorist. In addition, he possesses a strange cell phone loaded with 8.2 billion yen in digital cash.

Despite Takizawa's suspicious traits, Saki quickly befriends the enigmatic young man. However, unbeknownst to her, this is the beginning of a thrilling death game involving money, cell phones, and the salvation of the world. Higashi no Eden chronicles Saki's struggle to unravel the mysteries behind her savior, while Takizawa himself battles other individuals armed with similar cell phones and returning memories which reveal his possible connection to the event from months ago.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Takizawa, Akira Main

Kimura, Ryouhei Japanese

Morimi, Saki Main

Hayami, Saori Japanese

Shiratori, Kuroha Supporting

Igarashi, Rei Japanese

Mameshiba Supporting

Katsuhara, Mikuru Supporting

Saitou, Ayaka Japanese

Juiz Supporting

Tamagawa, Sakiko Japanese

Itazu, Yutaka Supporting

Hiyama, Nobuyuki Japanese

Kondou, Yuusei Supporting

Shirokuma, Hiroshi Japanese

Hirasawa, Kazuomi Supporting

Kawahara, Motoyuki Japanese

Ohsugi, Satoshi Supporting

Eguchi, Takuya Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Yamamoto, Kouji Producer

Nishimura, Satoshi Producer

Ishii, Tomohiko Producer

Reviews

Nov 27, 2025

Joe_Devaney

Recommended

Note: This will be a review of both the anime and the two movies.

Overview:
Just like there have been many examples of Western media influenced by anime and Japanese culture (the "Avatar" franchise, "Miraculous Ladybug", "The Matrix" etc.), so too have there been anime influenced by Western culture. Perhaps one of the most blatant examples of this is "Eden of the East", an anime explicitly and heavily inspired by American spy movies, most notably the "Bourne" series. Unfortunately, while it does provide an interesting and entertaining series to sit through, in the end "Eden of the East" never even comes close to matching the quality of ... the movies it so shamelessly borrows ideas from.

Story (6.5/10):
"Eden of the East" begins with one of the most unique, not to mention bizarre openings to an anime I've ever seen- a mysterious, cheerful and very odd man appears in front of the White House, completely naked and with no memory of how he got there or even who he is. There he meets Saki Morimi, a young Japanese woman the same age as him who helps him out by giving him something to wear. Soon after, the man learns that his name is Akira Takizawa, and he quickly ends up running into Saki again, with them returning to Japan together soon after. It is then that Takizawa learns that the phone he has is no ordinary phone- rather, it signifies that he is a Selacao, one of twelve individuals who are given 10 billion yen and are expected to use the money to save Japan in some way. Using their special phones, these individuals are able to have any wish granted simply by paying an appropriate sum, made possible by an AI known as Juiz. Of course, there is a catch; if the money is used in a way that is deemed irresponsible, the Selecao will be have their lives taken from them swiftly and unexpectedly. Even without his memories, Akira is disturbed by all of this, and makes it his personal mission to uncover the truth behind the twisted game and punch the man responsible for its creation- a mysterious man known only as "Mr. Outside".

Does this sound a lot like "Jason Bourne" to you? Well, I can assure that was very much intentional, as Takizawa outright compares himself to Bourne in the very first episode, and the influences the films have on this anime are very clear, from the mysterious man who no memory of his past, to the sinister organization he's allegedly a part of, to the young woman who ends up being drawn to him for one reason or another. Overtime, however, it becomes apparent that being derivative is the least of the story's problems. For starters, there's the pacing. It isn't until the end of the fifth episode that Takizawa begins to take an active role in uncovering the truth behind who he is and the point behind the Selecao game. That means that, if one includes the movies, it isn't until about a third of the way through the series that it feels like we're finally getting somewhere. That's not to say nothing happens in the first five episodes, but most of the things that do happen don't really amount to much in the long run, with the series introducing several potentially interesting plot points and characters only to abandon them just as quickly. For example, Saki states at the end of the first episode that she's been looking for a "prince" or something and that Takizawa could very well be who she's looking for, but exactly what she means by this is never revealed (or at least, I don't remember it ever being revealed).

Putting aside the pacing, some parts of the story are quite interesting, like the Selecaos and the various ways each of them use the money they've been given. Even so, a lot of these are things that are done better by other anime I've seen, most notably "Mirai Nikki", which had a very similar storyline about 12 people with superpowered phones. What's more is that there are some other parts of the story that are just downright ridiculous and impossible to take seriously, one particular example being one involving 20'000 NEETs that were caught up in a mysterious incident that occurred before the story, though I can't really say anything beyond that or why it made me roll my eyes. What's more is that, even towards the end of the second movie, it doesn't feel like anything has been adequately resolved, with just about every surviving character being right back where they started. Overall, the story is one that has good bits, bad bits and just too many bits in general, and never really feels like it all comes together even in the end.

Art & Animation (8/10):
"Eden of the East" is a reasonably good-looking series; while the character designs are kind of odd-looking, they are nevertheless fairly well-drawn and detailed, and the environments look really good as well, complete with pretty serviceable animations. Even so, considering the show was animated by Production I.G. (the same people behind "Psycho Pass", "Ghost in the Shell" and "Guilty Crown" among others), I couldn't help but feel that the series could have looked a hell of a lot better, and overall nothing truly managed to catch my eye in terms of visuals.

Sound & Dialogue (8.5/10):
The sound design is definitely the best thing about "Eden of the East"; while there aren't many especially memorable tunes in the soundtrack, they nevertheless fit the tones of the scenes they play in quite well. One especially memorable song, however, is the opening theme "Falling Down", which just so happens to be one of the last songs sung by the English rock band Oasis before their official break up in 2009, the year the anime first aired. The voice acting is very solid, with Jason Liebrecht absolutely stealing the show as Takizawa, though Leah Clark's Saki, Michael Sinterniklaas's Osugi and Newton Pittman's Panties are notable performances as well. Beyond that, the cast also contains names like Stephanie Sheh (in one of her rare Texas-based roles), J. Michael Tatum, Lydia Mackay, Stephanie Young and even Todd Haberkorn. While I have heard better, I have definitely heard worse as well, and overall the sound design is more than a few steps above average.

Characters (7/10):
Even without any memory of who he is, Akira Takizawa proves himself to be quite a kind and friendly person, albeit more than a little odd as well; for an example as to how, the very first episode has him getting out of questioning by showing a police officer his... well, he calls it his 'Johnny', with the craziest thing being that it WORKS. While his eccentric nature initially seems to be because he doesn't have any memories, overtime it becomes apparent that he was like that even BEFORE he lost them. Even so, he's definitely not stupid, being able to come up with some surprisingly effective strategies in order to get out of the many crazy situations he finds himself in. However, his actual character arc over the course of the story leaves a fair bit to be desired, as I felt that he would occasionally take a few steps forward in growth only to take just as many steps back soon after. The result is that there are multiple aspects of his character that never end up being properly explored, which is certainly not helped by the anime's fairly open ending. Overall, while he may claim to be anime's equivalent of Jason Bourne, he falls a pretty long way short of matching the brilliance of that character, though he still stood out as my favourite in the series, with a likeable and often hilarious personality.

The other half of the main duo is Saki Morimi, who is actually quite similar to Takizawa, albeit a lot more down-to-earth. Like Takizawa, Saki is generally a very kind person, enough so that she willingly hands over some of her clothes to help a strange, naked man she's never met before, and is content with doing so even after he warns her she may never see him again, and therefore not get her things back. She also dislikes being a burden to other people, desiring to get a job so as to not rely on her older sister's family, who raised her ever since the death of her parents when she was very young. Unfortunately, while not a burden per se, she doesn't really do all that much for the first half or so of the series, mainly just following Takizawa around while he searches for answers. She's more helpful than Lisa Mishima from "Terror in Resonance" at least, but that is a ridiculously low bar to clear, and it ultimately take quite a while before she contributes anything meaningful to the story. Even so, while she's not an especially useful character, she's certainly not annoying, and her relationship with Takizawa is one of the things that makes the show worth watching.

Besides the main duo, the cast of characters is quite large, though the series' relatively brief runtime means that not many of them are especially well-developed. For starters, Saki has a group of friends from university, and of all of them, Satoshi Osugi is the only one with a genuine character arc, which is very much needed in his case given how he starts off deeply resenting Takizawa due to his close relationship with Saki. Put simply, he starts off rather obnoxious, then gets worse before finally getting better, being the butt of a fair number of jokes along the way. As for the rest of the group, Hirasawa is the straight man, Micchon is the snarky girl who looks a lot younger than she is, Sis is (you guessed it) the big sister of the group and Kasuga... well, I'm not really what Kasuga's role is. In fact, it's saying something that probably the show's fourth most developed character is Yutaka "Panties" Itazu, despite his rather late introduction compared to everybody else. As for the Selecaos, many of them are given solid goals as to how they intend to change the country, even if many of them fall way into the "extreme" side of things and makes it hard to see them as being in the right, though that was definitely the point. Even so, there are a few Selecaos that don't seem to have any interest in changing Japan, making it hard to understand why they were even chosen in the first place (or don't get disposed of given that one of the rules is that they can't use their fortunes for personal gain), and three of them (as in, a quarter of all of them) only show up either very briefly or not at all.

Enjoyment (7.5/10):
While the series may have a lot of issues, "Eden of the East" nevertheless manages to stay fun and entertaining throughout, with some fairly creative set-pieces and more than a few laugh-out-loud moments, with nearly all of the most hilarious moments of the series being provided by Takizawa himself. Sure, the series can get a bit boring at times, but it was never to the point where I nearly fell asleep, and overall the series just about lives up to its status as a thriller.

Overall:
"Eden of the East" is yet another unfortunate example of an anime that's interesting in practice, but rather poor in its execution. While it has good visuals (character designs notwithstanding), some awesome music and great voice acting, the uneven pacing of its story, multiple dangling plot threads and numerous underdeveloped characters hold it back from the greatness the creators were clearly aiming for. Still, if you're someone who loves thrillers, it’s certainly worth checking out. Just don't expect it to rival the masterpieces it was so blatantly inspired by.

Score:
6.5+8+8.5+7+7.5=37.5/50=7.5/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jan 15, 2026

Sony-Sama

Mixed Feelings

EoE starts as a battle ship, sails like a fishing boat, and then sinks like a stone.

Story: 5/10
A fever dream.
The start is extremely interesting. However, from there things kept happening with no direction or explanations that could get us anywhere. Things kept getting hectic, yeah it served the comedy but that's it.

Characters: 7/10
There isn't much told about the characters background. Howwwever, the characters are fun to watch and keep you engaged. ML, FL and most of her gang members, Pants, and even some of the villain which are barely relevant, had good designs and loveable atmosphere.

Art 8/10
...
Sound 9/10

Enjoyment 8/10:
Honestly, the premise is great, the fun, mystery, and elements of adventure are there. The anime flops with the undeveloped plot, missing info, and wth ending. These 3 negatives, ruin the fun of it all which is why my rating dropped to 7 and if it wasn't for my enjoyment I would have even rated it 6.

Overall 7/10:
I sure did enjoy it, but at the same time I don't think I'm that eager to watch the movies even if they say it explains alot. I don't recommend watching it over other classics but maybe over newer shows.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jun 21, 2020

aoikimahri

Not Recommended

One of the worst, most nonsensical and contrived anime around. It's your typical mystery/political thriller setup with an annoying amnesiac Gary Stu caught in a political conspiracy. The conspiracy involves a game where 12 players are selected to "save Japan" using aproximately $100 million USD, which can be used to purchase intel, hire hitmen, or even fire state owned missiles, by calling a concierge on a magic phone and issuing orders. It's supposed to be somewhat grounded in reality, but the logistics and efficiency of fulfilling each order might as well be "magic", and the system untraceable and invulnerable to scrutiny or conflict. A 50-story ... hotel building deep in Tokyo for only $15 million? A barrage of tomahawk warheads for only $10 million? I bet they still think penny candy is a thing. If this was the extent of it's shoddy premise, I could at least have shrugged it off as the whims of supernatural anime forces and just enjoyed an honest to goodness battle royale of scheming and subterfuge between players. But the anime subverts expectation and disappoints, aggravates, and bores no matter what sympathetic light you try to shine on it.

Instead of tense battles between contenders using their newfound powers, we have instead, slow, plodding, agonizing backtracking and exploration of the MC's past and affiliation with the game and it's system. The clues lead to an absurdly stupid mystery and the finale just cements the stupidity. The writers are obsessed with labeling all youths in Japan as NEETs and making the anime into a lousy social commentary on overthrowing the old establishment and empowering change so that the disenfranchised NEETs can save this corrupt country of Japan. And how does it support the claim that the country is corrupted to the core? By showing the female protagonist, who doesn't even fit the description of a NEET, having her skirt drenched in beef noodle soup by an unruly employer. The world is surely rotten to the bone! Meat bone! They also label everyone in her group of friends, who are part of a promising startup company and seem like perfectly functional human beings, as NEETs. They've built together a Google Lens style app that's crowd-sourced from a social network, an amazing feat of engineering, named the eponymous Eden of the East, and it is absolutely inconsequential to the larger story and only used to manufacture two-bit drama between the characters. Hey look this generic looking black haired Japanese guy looks like a LOT of other people in Japan, according to the app! He must be some shady con-man with multiple aliases!

On top of NEETing everyone under the age of 30 and gathering an army of NEETs to masquerade as public servants to evacuate large disaster areas or having 20,000 NEETs chase you around in the nude by pretending to be a villain for the lulz, you can also use NEETs to aim at and destroy incoming ballistic missiles with the flick of the wrist through the immense power known as bullshit. And some bright individual in the writing room, having unearthed the discovery of a century, that "johnny" exists, one of hundreds of slang words no one ever uses for that wiggly thing between a man's legs, proceeds to shower the script with johnnys. Here's a johnny. There's a johnny. Let me see your johnny. (That's exactly how an American would say it!) All the NEETs are named johnny. Johnny has officially overtaken half the word count, with NEET a close second.

And what about all those promised battles and devious villains? They don't exist. You meet only a handful of the other players, they basically don't do anything, and their motivations are as threadbare as their screen time. The MC barely has a relationship with the rest of the cast other than showing his typical Gary Stu charm and the female protagonist might as well be a cardboard prop he drags around to pose with. Speaking of props, the anime mixes the blandness of Studio Ghibli faces, complete with no nose, with the deadness of bad CG animation, creating it's own unique horror show of talking doll heads. The music, what little that appears, is lazily sampled from Seirei no Moribito's soundtrack, from the same composer, and is too dramatic for the zero real action shown on screen.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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