Edens Zero

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A lot of people are saying that this is just rip-off of Fairy Tail.. but wait, is it really true? Nope.

STORY 8/10

This Manga have uniqe story, with totaly different setting.
I wont spoil you because it will just make your experience with this manga worse but for comparison - while Fairy Tail was fantasy/adventure styled, this is more sci-fi/mystery/adventure styled..this manga will make you ask questions, think about depth and enjoy fights from the very first chapter.
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ART 9/10

Art is really great, you can instantly see whats going on even in panels that have many things drawn in, facial expressions are one of the best I ... ever seen and pages are greatly detailed.
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CHARACTERS 7.7/10

Characters are great, each one is really interesting and both main characters somehow destroys stereotypical Female/Male duo that is in the 90% of shounen manga.
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[Next information might contain mini spoilers but will not or only slightly effect your enjoyment of manga]

Main male character is totaly innocent while main female character is badass on the inside and have some really uniqe traits that female characters have really rarely + some of them are that unique that I never seen them before . Both characters are strong in fighting and have good chemistry between them.
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ENJOYMENT(?) 9/10

[In short] - Chemistry between characters, great comedy and nicely incorporated fanservice with nice story depth and mystery from the very first chapter. - This things makes Edens Zero very enjoyable series in which I couldnt find one forced or rushed scene.

[Comparison, you can skip this part if you havent read Fairy Tail]
- Now to the point about Mashimas old manga - FT... this is total opposit of what Fairy Tail was. You dont need to read more then 1 chapter to get this.
And similarities? Oh yea, character designs are really similar and for the first sight they look really similar, some almost same as fairytail characters..
But is this really a reason to hate or somehow lower rating of this manga? No, its not.
Why? Because even if you got totaly same character designs its still a different story with different personalities and different setting. This manga is actually more interesting even in its first 2 chapters then Fairy Tail was most of the time. (atleast for me)

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OVERALL 8/10

There isnt much to rate from 130 pages but I can sense big quality and potential in this. That is what makes Edens Zero worth 8 points of 10... in future I might give it even 10 or if potential is wasted only 6 or 5. But Iam writing about quality that Edens Zero have currently and thats what is most important.

/Sorry for grammatical mistakes/

Edit: After chapter 6, manga is even better, Iam progressively questioning more questions and it becomes more interesting by every chapter. I might rise the score of story or even overall if this goes on.

Edens Zero just ended, so I thought it'd be good to have a review that covers the entire series, rather than a preliminary one.

If you want the quick and simple review, I'll put it this way: Edens Zero is a decent series, but its flaws are significant and it's far from an amazing series; I can only really call it a worthwhile read if you're a fan of Hiro Mashima's other works or if you just want a long-running shounen to read without caring too much about how great it is.

Strengths:
- The worldbuilding is creative and intriguing. Lots of really cool planets are explored, ... the powers have lots of variety, and it feels exciting to see Edens Zero's world.
- The art, while not generally the most standout, is consistently solid, and if you're like me and tend to have difficulty following action scenes in manga, this series shouldn't be much of a problem for you.

Mixed:
- Fights can be very clever and exciting at times. Drakken Joe is probably the highlight in that regard. However, there are also plenty of fights that don't really leave much impression, as well as a few that are just... bad.
- The storytelling is certainly a mixed bag. On the one hand, the series does a fantastic job of foreshadowing major events. There are also some really interesting ways Mashima uses to bring the story across at times, Xiao Mei being the biggest example. However, the story sometimes gets very convoluted and tries to take on too much, and the pacing gets awkward at some parts of the story. There are also a few specific plot decisions that just don't sit right with me (and many other readers), so the story is full of ups and downs.

Weaknesses:
- The characters can at times be pretty compelling, but for the most part I would say the cast falls a bit flat. That's a big blow for an adventure story about a spaceship crew exploring the universe. That isn't to say that they are actively BAD, but for most characters I just didn't really care much about them.
- This series is really bad with fanservice, and not just in how often it happens. Even for those who don't mind it, you might still find yourself frustrated, as Mashima seems to want it placed in the worst possible scenes. Luckily it does become more reasonable for some of the more serious arcs, but it still comes off as being way overboard.
- The ending and final arc as a whole were not the strongest. It isn't the worst final arc I've ever seen, but calling that arc good would be a serious stretch.

So as a whole, Edens Zero still strays onto the side of being a good series, but is it good enough to warrant reading 33 volumes? For most people, I would say probably not. I don't regret reading it, and I had a lot of fun with it, but if you do jump into the series, don't go in expecting a masterpiece, because it just isn't that.

Not Good.

Hiro Mashima, known for his previous works such as Rave Master and Fairy Tail, returns for his third soon-to-be long running manga series, Edens Zero. In this story, Mashima decided to stray away from his all too familiar fantasy setting in favor of a space adventure. Yet,this change in setting, with a whole new cast of characters, has yet to show that Mashima has improved in his writing at all. In fact, Mashima already begins to fall into the same writing mistakes that were all too common in Fairy Tail and Rave Master. Unspecific power scaling,surface-level characters, and abysmal pacing are issues ... that are present chapter fucking one, and only continues to further sink this series into mediocrity with each passing chapter.
The story is not much to ride home about either, and comes off as another generic space adventure that doesn't provide anything interesting,such as non traditional character motivations or an ever looming conflict, that would make it stand out among the rest.

On another note, the amount of recycled material taken from it's predecessor is unacceptable. Whole character designs, such as Erza Scarlet (now known as Elcy Crimson), Lucy Heartfilia (Rebecca), Wendy Marvell (Lavilla Christi), and Happy (No change), are shamelessly reused not only in order to appeal to Fairy Tail's lingering fanbase, but for Mashima to either have an excuse to bring back characters he can't let go of, or to not be bothered to make actual new character designs. But the similarities don't stop there. The theme of friendship is also ever present, and will surely play a large role in its central narrative, much like Fairy Tail. And though the manga's in-universe source of power has been changed to "Ether", by Chapter 4 it's blatantly called magic when Shiki states, "In unscientific terms, one could call it magic. MAGIC.."

The only thing that you could really complement this manga for would be its art, which admittedly has its own certain charm. However, compared to its current contemporaries in the shonen genre (One Piece, My Hero Academia, The Promised Neverland), Edens Zero falls short due to its lack luster and bland paneling, and lack of significant stylization that would set it apart from Fairy Tail.

The fact of the matter is that Edens Zero is lazy. Some people try defending the fact that the reused character designs are not a problem, without realizing the lack of creativity this manga, as well as Mashima, displays as a result of these designs. Its biggest flaw as a series is its failure to set itself apart from Fairy Tail by falling into the same narrative mistakes and not learning from them. Evidently,Hiro Mashima does not really give a shit about making a good manga at this point. He knows fans of his previous work will support him, and by sticking to the same formula that Fairy Tail had will lead to eventual success. This mentality of his, as shown through his work, will never allow him to improve, and as a result he will never make a series worth significant merit.

However, despite my grievances, I will continue to read Edens Zero. Not because I genuinely enjoy reading it, but to masochistically (and sadistically) watch Mashima commit the same errors all over again.

(An up-to-date follow up to this review is pending......eventually.--)