Eve no Jikan – 02: Nagi, Robot or Human?

blissmo — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:09:42 +0000

A fruit will always stay a fruit.

Do you remember the last time you had a dish that was so good you could barely describe the taste? Well, Eve no Jikan is just that: indescribable. I think I might just begin with how brilliantly woven the second episode is when it comes to letting the audience feel. And it’s not just any feeling, like infatuation or self-pity, but it’s almost as if this entire series plans on taking us to a whole new level of emotion. Unlike your average sci-fic anime where robots are defined as either good or bad, Eve no Jikan shares a story of artificial life trying to be—well—human.

Although some may argue that the quick camera movements were displeasing, I thoroughly enjoyed the episode as a whole, especially since we delved into another and much deeper side to Sammy. In response to Martin’s question of whether or not Nagi is human given her motherly role in the film, I get the impression she’s a robot. For me, this series radiates a sweet yet melancholy vibe; after all, can man-made creations really be perceived as life? This is the question Eve no Jikan continuously poses (or so far in the two episodes we’ve seen), therefore it will only be more “befitting” if Nagi was an android all along. Martin wouldn’t be the only one to shed a tear if that was the case.

Furthermore, I really enjoyed the light humour towards the middle with Chie pretending to be a cat and then stealing Rikuo’s glasses, and Sammy’s smile at the end of the episode when Rikuo compliment her coffee. If androids are slowly becoming more and more human, the plot will probably involve robots being opposed of by a secret organisation, or androids being accepted in society as humans. Right now, there’s no definitive answer of where this series is headed, but I’m still loving it nevertheless and cannot wait for the next episode!

Eve no Jikan – 01: Androids Have Feelings Too!

blissmo — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:53:26 +0000

Just … epic …

I noticed a lot of recent posts in the aniblogosphere about a show entitled Eve no Jikan, but dismissed the idea of watching it since I had initially assumed it was a movie, but after discovering it was an ONA that runs for only fifteen minutes, I just had to join in the fun. Plot-wise, it’s a rather common sci-fic tale of androids mingling with humans. Although this basic summary already seems to make the entire series a potential failure, the beautiful artwork and peculiar background music are immensely intriguing. In addition, the characters all quite fascinating and are more or so ideally realistic. This episode was truly captivating; it was so simple, yet deep, meaningful and expressive.

When I realized that Rikuo had an android maid living with him and his family, along with the given impression that he could become a dori-kei anytime soon, I was suddenly reminded of a series called Absolute Boyfriend. Where AB is about a girl falling in love with a male robot, I have a hunch that Eve no Jikan will take an entirely different route — perhaps, in this world, the existence of androids will come to an end after a compelling (hopefully, compelling) political war, or these robots will learn to live and think like humans do and eventually turn against their own creators, hence the result of a waging war between two kinds of humans: the breathing and non-breathing.

Despite those awful cliché suggestions I mentioned, I can’t imagine any bloodshed in this series, but nevertheless, I feel that it will be an extremely profound series. Although Akiko and Rikuo’s android are robots with “no feelings,” I can’t help but pity the poor machines. The way the owners treat their robots perked my interest as well, since each individual treated their android differently, be it carelessly or sympathetically, like our good man Rikuo. In this era, humans are so advanced in technology that they created these robots to look exactly like people, and in order to differ the two “species,” androids are ordered to have rings floating above their heads. I’m curious as to why humans went so far as to create “another of their kind,” and hopefully, this question will be answered later on in the series.

In any case, I’ll definitely be following this series and blogging it whenever I get the chance.

Yukan Blog! » Eve no Jikan

Eve no Jikan – 02: Nagi, Robot or Human?

Eve no Jikan – 01: Androids Have Feelings Too!