#saki morimi

[uwudonoodle]

Shout out to Eden of the East for being my introduction into anime.

[und-ea-d]

[pinkcapricorngirl]

࣪𓂅: Saki Morimi ꒰ Higashi no Eden ꒱ ࣪𓂅: Birthday: January 6

[therosecrest]

[fictional-birthdays]

Happy (late) Birthday! (January 6th)

Carmen (Animal Crossing)

Anthony Rester (Death Note)

Felyne (Animal Crossing)

Eclat (Pop’n Music)

Liz (Nanatsu no Taizai)

Darui (Naruto)

Ebizou (Naruto)

Danzou Shimura (Naruto)

Phoebe Theodorakis (Muv-Luv)

Nao (DRAMAtical Murder)

Nutcracker (Tokyo Ghoul:re)

Oimo (One Piece)

Tilestone (One Piece)

Saki Morimi (Eden of the East)

[beefmastersblog]

Eden of the East (Episodes 1-5)

Eden of the East started off as what I thought would be a silly, slightly romantic show. It began with a young woman, Saki Morimi, visiting Washington D.C. for her graduation trip and encountering a man, Akira Takizawa, completely naked with only a gun and a cellphone, and no memories of his past.

But as the episodes went on, I became more intrigued by Takizawa's past. And as he redicscovers things about himself, we get to be clued in on exactly what happened in his past. We learn that he is part of a mysterious game where he recieves a cellphone with 10 billion yen on it, which he is supposed to use to save Japan. We also learn that besides thee Selacoa's, there is a Support, which kills you if you run out of money or don't follow the rules of the game.

I think a major theme so far could be trying to escape from your past. Takizawa did this by erasing his memory, and Saki is trying to run away from the capitalist expectations society has for her. We learn that Takizawa is somehow related to a group of 20,000 NEETs that went missing, and he is scared that he might have been responsible for killing him. But at the same time, he can't remember anything, so he doesn't know.

One thing that also really stood out to me was the way that one of the other Selaco created a hospital to give elderly people a safe place to work and live. This made me think a lot about the current condition of the world, and reflect on ways in which the elderly do get treated. I do agree with him in the sense that the elderly often get left behind; in society, people forget about them, and don't have the same respect for them as they do for younger generations. Healthcare is also a current big issue, so the fact that he made that his mission was really powerful and really resonated with me. I think this anime is also a commentary about major issues in our society and the fact that we often ignore them rather than trying to fix them. I think making it so that the Seleco have to complete their mission, or they get killed might be a bit extreme method of trying to enact change, but I do think that it could be reflective of the creator's opinion that change is necessary and a pressing matter.

So far, I have enjoyed this anime. I'm excited to continue watching the later episodes. Another thing I really like about it is that Takizawa's past gets revealed to him as it gets revealed to us. I really enjoy that level of suspense and I feel like I don't get to see that a lot in modern media.

[leiogerio]

Welp, the plot kinda sucked. I think the show had really good ideas, but it was much too constrained by its 11-episode runtime. If Eden of the East had more leeway to develop all of the contestants as actual characters and make Saki more impactful to the show, it could have been great, but what I watched was quite lackluster. Way too many plot threads in the ending are just unresolved. In fact, it doesn’t feel like the anime even ended, which is so unfortunate because I truly enjoyed the beginning.

Anyway, on to the analysis:

In Eden of the East, work culture is typified by the traditional "salaryman" mentality, where employees are expected to work long hours, put the company's interests ahead of their own, and be entirely dedicated to their job. This is exemplified by characters like Saki Morimi, who is trying to find a job to become a good capitalist producer, and Juiz, a virtual assistant who is always on call and available to help the players in the game. These characters are representative of the intense pressure that workers in Japan face, where success is equated with hard work and sacrifice, and failure is not an option.

However, the series also offers a different perspective on work culture, one that emphasizes the importance of individuality and creativity. Characters like Akira and Micchon reject the notion that success can only be achieved through conformity and sacrifice and instead employ innovative and individualistic strategies to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. For example, Akira's use of social media and his ability to think outside the box is crucial to his success in the game, and it serves as a counterpoint to the traditional "salaryman" mentality.

The themes explored in "Eden of the East" are not limited to Japan, and are relevant to work culture all over the world. The pressure to conform and succeed in the workplace is a universal experience, and the series offers a thought-provoking examination of how this pressure can both inspire and suffocate creativity and individuality. The importance of finding a balance between hard work and personal fulfillment is highlighted, and viewers are encouraged to reflect on their own work culture and strive for a more humanistic and fulfilling approach to work.

Amazing start, but feels unfinished

4/10 sadge

[christinaklassen]

4/12 Blog

For class today we watched episodes 1,3,4, and 5 of the anime series “East of Eden” by Kenji Kamiyama. “East of Eden” is set in a near-future Japan, rocked by the bizarre "Careless Monday" incident, and delves into an exploration of identity, morality, and the far-reaching consequences of power. In the pilot episode, we are introduced to Saki Morimi, a recent college graduate whose chance encounter with a mysterious naked young man in Washington D.C. sets the stage for an interesting story. This enigmatic figure, later revealed to be Akira Takizawa, possesses no memory of his past, armed only with a gun and a cell phone. As Akira delves deeper into his identity crisis, he discovers a stash of weapons and forged documents in his apartment, reminiscent of a scene from the classic film "Taxi Driver." The plot thickens as Akira and Saki, drawn together by circumstance, embark on a journey to unravel the mysteries surrounding his identity. Along the way, they encounter other individuals known as Seleçãos, each entrusted with vast sums of money and a mission to save Japan. However, as they soon realize, this task comes with deadly consequences, with the looming threat of elimination if they fail to comply with the rules set forth by the elusive Mr. Outside. As the series progresses, Akira's quest for self-discovery intertwines with larger themes of power, responsibility, and the consequences of one's actions. The concept of power and its inherent responsibilities is a central theme of the series. Through the Seleçãos, individuals entrusted with vast sums of money and the mission to save Japan, "East of Eden" explores the complex interplay between power, privilege, and accountability. As the Seleçãos navigate their roles in society, they are forced to confront the moral implications of their actions and the consequences of wielding unchecked power. Another prominent theme in the series is about identity and self-discovery. Protagonist Akira Takizawa's journey to uncover the truth about his past mirrors the broader quest for self-awareness experienced by many of the characters. As Akira grapples with memory loss and the enigmatic circumstances of his existence, viewers are invited to ponder questions of identity, agency, and the nature of the self.

[flambocartoons]

Queen shit

[pinotarocosplay]

2018.02.24

model/かや、ぴの太郎

[kanralovesu]

Eden of the East is such a Refreshing Anime

The last time I watched Eden of the East I was in high school, just barely breaking into the anime fandom. Back then not only did I not understand the Japanese culture aspects of the show but I also didn’t appreciate how different it was from other anime. Now about 6 years later after I’ve lived deep in the anime fandom for so long I understand just how truly refreshing this show is. 

My rewatch began when I heard my favorite show of the new season, Millionaire Detective, was being delayed. I remembered this gem from my past that possessed a similar mechanic to Daisuke Kanbe’s personal computer assistant that could purchase anything for him at a whim, except this time it was coupled with a death game. I think this premise is what sticks out to a lot of people when they first hear about Eden of the East, but the part I think is the coolest is how the death game doesn’t involve directly trying to kill each other. Instead one person “wins” and everyone else is eliminated. This creates different dynamics to typical death game shows while still keeping true to some of the genre’s origins: forming alliances, hunting each other down, etc. The way the anime plays with the idea of the virtual assistant and the leader of the game Mr. Outside is truly inspired by the end! 

I think the second thing you’ll noticed upon watching this show that’s very refreshing is its radical ideas of political activism. I had been thinking recently about how many anime had been presenting different idealistic versions of capitalism, mainly Ascendance of a Bookworm with its “those who don’t work don’t eat” mentality, and Smile Down the Runway which I wrote a bit on a few months ago. As expected of a show whose death game revolves around finding Japan’s “savior”, political revolution is at the heart of the character’s actions, but even then the anime doesn’t take a safe approach. Multiple times they straight up say that young people should refuse to participate in a system designed by the older, out of touch generation to abuse them. While #9′s motto of “people should learn to love making money instead of spending it” isn’t totally anti-capitalist, by the end of the 2nd movie the NEETs who had been seeking political revolution formed a commune in the mall and basically split themselves from the capitalist establishment. Our main characters join them and the place is deemed as a “paradise” indicating this is definitely the kind of activism the show is actively supporting. I think the premise of subverting the power of the old generation is something that rings very relevant today, but even if you don’t 100% believe its ideologies its really refreshing how much they decided to stick their necks out here.

Finally I wanted to talk about a more unconventional thing about the anime I found refreshing: the love story. First off it doesn’t involve high schoolers, but it also doesn’t involve fully fledged adults either. Saki is an adult in name only who just graduated college and needs to find work but is having trouble fitting into the corporate world and finding a job. This setup perfectly straddles the line of the anime’s political activism and its love story as it gives Saki a reason to want to be swept off her feet and rebel with a boy. #9 is clearly manipulative at some points when he has a goal in mind like returning to Japan in episode 1, but overall Saki is the actual driving force of the relationship. Now, the women driving the relationship is not totally foreign to the harem genre but I think we can all agree the nature of the harem genre is wish fulfillment for the man and thus not very feminist. This relationship almost feels more like wish fulfillment for the women despite the show's death game elements being more typical of a audience of men which is really cool to see. I think the part I want to note most here is that Saki very much wants to be swept off her feet and she actively pursues this at every turn. Even though she describes #9 as a prince she clearly has agency when she puts herself in the more submissive role. On top of that, the writers doesn’t shy away from the standard wish fulfillment aspects of suddenly finding yourself in a man’s lavish apartment (a whole movie theater to yourself for crying out loud), but at the same time they acknowledge this with the movie director character who appears in the first movie and who constantly points out the tropes he wishes to inject into their scene. He even tries to get them into the shower together using his Juis, but at this point the show rejects his request and firmly states that while it does pander slightly to wish fulfillment it still wants to keep things safe and vanilla between our leads. So yeah I think this relationship is refreshing because it straddles this line of wish fulfillment and realism perfectly: giving Saki the more submissive role of getting swept off her feet (wish fulfillment) but only because she wants it this way (realism). As you may be able to tell from the relative paragraph lengths, stanning Saki and #9 was one of my favorite things about the show! 

So in the end is Eden of the East a perfect anime? No of course not! However, I think we can ignore many of its flaws purely for the fact that its so unique in an anime landscape plagued by repetition.

[asterrification]

Higashi no Eden

[guiltfreeicons]

134 Saki Morimi Icons from Eden of the East EP003.

free to use or edit credit is appreciated but not required provided and edited by pebbles mod. screencaps made by: pebbles mod.

google drive links: { bordered • plain }

[therosecrest]

[twindoodleart]

Got really nostalgic for Eden of the East after watching a few amvs, and well, I just really need to rewatch it soon. 

[colormetris]