Eden: It's an Endless World
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| Eden: It's an Endless World! | |
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| EDEN ～It's an Endless World!～ | |
| Genre | Action, Sci-fi, Seinen |
| Manga | |
| Authored by | Hiroki Endo |
| Publisher |  Kodansha
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| Serialized in | Afternoon |
| Original run | 1998 – Present |
| No. of volumes | 16 (Ongoing) |
Eden: It's an Endless World! is a manga by Hiroki Endo (遠藤浩輝), published monthly in the magazine Afternoon. Eden is set in the near future, following a pandemic which killed 15 percent of the world's population, crippled or disfigured many more, and upset the world's political balance greatly.
Eden is to some extent based on Gnostic mythology, with few characters being named after Gnostic characters, but the range of this influence is difficult to determine.
[edit] Plot
The series begins with Ennoea and Hana living a peaceful life on a remote island called Eden, with researcher Lane Morris, who is their guardian, a victim of the pandemic, and a homosexual. The events that led to this situation are revealed in flashbacks, leading up to the return of Ennoea's father, along with the forces of the Propater.
Later on the series focuses on Ennoea's son, Elijah, and his conflict with the Propater.
[edit] Characters
Elijah Ballard – The main protagonist, Elijah is introduced on the run from the Propater. He encounters some mercenaries also eluding the Propater and is forced to join them. During his flight he is forced to become a hardened killer.
Ennoea Ballard – Elijah's father, raised on Eden. After he and Hana left there, Ennoea became the most powerful drug lord in South America, and a staunch opponent of the Propater
Hana Mayor – Elijah's mother, raised on Eden. She and Elijah's sister were captured by the Propater while trying to leave Ennoea with Elijah. A major focus of the series is Elijah's quest to rescue his family.
Colonel Khan – The Colonel is an old soldier from Azerbaijan, and the leader of the Nomad group (including Kenji and Sophia) fleeing the Propater at the start of the series. Khan became Kenji's mentor after killing his brother.
Sophia – A powerful Greek computer hacker, and full-body cyborg. Sophia has the appearance of a young girl, but is probably around 50 - 60 years old. Sophia is sort of a mother figure to many characters in the series, most notably Kenji, although her relationship with him is a little more complicated. Sophia was very promiscuous in her youth, and had six children. Her first, whom she tried to kill, and who still bears the scars, is a high ranking member of Nomad. Her last was killed in their flight from Propater, and with his corpse was hidden the disc containing Maya. Sophia later helps to activate Maya.
Maya – An almost godlike AI, which seems to roughly correspond to the savior of Gnostic mythology.
Kenji – The brother of a low-level Yakuza boss, Kenji is extremely skilled at hand-to-hand combat. Kenji is even able to go hand-to-hand with the Aeons. While he initially appears to be a sociopath, killing both soldiers and non-combatants without any signs of remorse, flashbacks in the forth volume show him to be a psychologically complex character who is driven by basic human needs such as love and meaning.
Cherubim – A sophisticated robot built to protect the research facility on Eden, who was later used to destroy it. Cherubim later serves as Elijah's protector, and is a powerful combatant in his conflicts with the Propater. However, Cherubim is not always able to distinguish friend from foe, and often causes collateral damage. Cherubim is named after a type of angel.
Aeons – Named after a sort of second-order deity in Gnostic mythology, the Aeons are nearly invincible, virtually immortal super-soldiers, designed by the Propater and used by them fairly frequently. The Aeons have arms which are segmented and extensible, and are armed with sharp claws. They will flail them around like whips, and they can also shoot their claws as projectiles. They can be killed, but will not die naturally. They do not seem to have much intelligence of their own. Some high-level Propater agents are also equipped with similar bodies to those of the Aeons.
The Propater – A supranational organization which grew within NATO and the UN, and eventually took them over. The Propater controls much of the world, including Japan, the USA, much of Europe and South America, and its territory is known as "Gnostia." Territory outside the Propater's control is called "Agnostia," and includes most of the Islamic world, and Peru, among other areas. The name Propater is taken from the Latin name of the God the Father in the Holy Trinity and the symbol of the organization, seen on the armor of its military forces, is a cross with a snake wrapped around it.
NOMAD – An international mercenary organization which apparently has goals of its own, which run counter to the Propater. It includes Kenji, Sophia, Khan, and it aids Elijah on several occasions.
