The spring 2021 anime season is nearly here, and one of the new titles coming out is none other than EDENS ZERO, a sci-fi/fantasy series created by Hiro Mashima of Fairy Tail fame. It's time to blast off to the stars in search of adventure, fun and especially the power of friendship.
EDENS ZERO is a fairly new franchise. The manga launched in 2018 with 14 volumes released so far and is still ongoing. This is a great time to bring the series to the screen, but before the adventure begins, sci-fi anime fans may want a preview of what they're in for with EDENS ZERO. Take note that the series airs weekly on Japanese television and will stream in the West later.
In this fanciful future setting, humanity has spread across the stars -- but so has a variety of monsters and robots, not all of them friendly. In the quiet Sakura sector, a boy named Shiki Granbell meets a young woman named Rebecca Bluegarden, a B-cuber who is simply looking for fresh material for her video blog. But there's no going back as Rebecca and Shiki quickly become friends and embark on a thrilling but dangerous journey across the universe to find the fabled "Mother" of all creation. There's no telling what they will find or who they will meet along the way.
Advanced technology is common here, with spaceships and robots being a common sight (such as Rebecca's mascot-like robo-cat friend Happy), but also a pseudo magic system known as Ether. Certain individuals, such as Shiki, are equipped with Ether Gear that they can use in combat, just like magic in Fairy Tail. If pressed, an Ether Gear user can even push their powers into overdrive and go beyond their limits for a short time. Fans can expect all kinds of exciting battles and fight scenes centered around Ether Gear, rampaging robots, terrifying space monsters and more. And what exactly is the fabled Mother that Shiki seeks anyway? There's only one way to find out.
Fans have no doubt noticed that many of these new characters in EDENS ZERO resemble major characters from Fairy Tail -- most of all Happy, who is nearly identical to his Fairy Tail namesake. There are also new characters who resemble fan-favorites such as Erza Scarlet and even Makarov Dreyar (there's a demon king robot who resembles him). Lore-wise, however, EDENS ZERO is not tied directly into Fairy Tail. Rather, this series is more of a spiritual successor. No one has to know the Fairy Tail lore to enjoy EDENS ZERO.
Still, this new series embodies some visual styles from Fairy Tail, along with classic themes such as the power of friendship, the optimistic spirit of adventure, courage in the face of overwhelming odds, and exploring a colorful and often dangerous world. In a sense, EDENS ZERO is Fairy Tail's cousin rather than its sequel. The real Fairy Tail sequel is the 100 Years Quest series, which remains ongoing. EDENS ZERO stands alone, and may bring in many new fans to Hiro Mashima's highly acclaimed body of work.
EDENS ZERO will begin streaming on Netflix in June.
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