The world of shonen manga has explored quite a few unique concepts over the years. There have been martial artists, detectives, and even inline skating, but one aspect that has remained largely unexplored is space. Battle shonen hadn’t quite embraced space opera until the creation of Hiro Mashima’s Eden Zero.
The follow-up to the creator’s manga Fairy Tail, Eden’s Zero was introduced in 2018. While it isn’t quite a sequel to the popular anime/manga series, it’s a story worth following on its own, particularly as it approaches its one-hundredth chapter. What made this series similar to Fairy Tail, and what is it about?
Updated on October 6th, 2021 by Claris Lam: While it's hard to ignore the similarities it has with its predecessors, Eden's Zero has a more serious tone to it and tackles more adult subject matter than Rave Master or Fairy Tail ever did. With the anime reaching its third month of airing, it's worth diving into the manga to see what's in store for anime viewers.
15 Hiro Mashima Of Fairy Tail Fame Is The Creator Of The Manga
Eden’s Zero is created by Hiro Mashima, who is one of the most well-known manga creators in the industry. He has multiple popular series under his belt, beginning with Rave Master that ran about 35 volumes, a spin-off of Monster Hunter called Monster Hunter Orage, and most famously, Fairy Tail.
Eden’s Zero is the latest in Mashima's several long-running manga series. However, this particular series experimented with a different genre by going to space rather than staying in the realm of fantasy.
14 It's The First Manga To Be Published & Translated At The Same Time As Its Japanese Release
Given that Mashima made the shift from analog drawing to digital, it's the first manga to get released in Japan and America on the same day. This was considered fairly impressive since manga, in general, is notorious for being delayed in its translations. This delay usually led many to seek it out illegally through fan translations and elsewhere rather than waiting for the official English release. The quick turnaround helped curb that problem and showed that Mashima is a trailblazer.
13 There Is A Darker Tone To The Manga Compared To Mashima's Prior Work
The tone of a series was always been something that Hiro Mashima struggled with at times, especially during Fairy Tail. For instance, there were moments where he set up a truly emotional moment and wiped it away not a few chapters later by having the character come back to life.
While Eden's Zero still has the power of friendship that he liked putting into his works, this theme was portrayed in a more adult way than his past works. The series also touched on some dark topics such as prejudice and human cruelty.
12 There Are Lots Of Nods To Mashima's Past Work
It's not uncommon for authors to put nods toward their past work into their newer series, and Mashima seemed to do it at least once an arc. Some of these instances were rather blatant, such as reusing the Oracion Seis name again.
One of their names even ends up being the same as a character from Rave Master. Other times he's more subtle, like making Elsie Crimson's pirate flag Fairy Tail's guild symbol turned 90 degrees.
11 The Manga Is About Shiki & Rebecca Exploring The Galaxy In Search Of The Galaxy's Creator
Set in the far future, humanity has conquered the stars. Civilizations are strung across multiple planets and survive using special technology that relies on Ether energy. One such planet is Granbell, a planet where only one human resides, and that's a young boy named Shiki.
When a young girl named Rebecca arrives on the planet, he gains the opportunity to explore the cosmos. The two of them set out looking for Mother, the creator of the universe.
10 The Manga Utilizes A Narrator In The Story
Eden’s Zero features an omniscient narrator known as Xiaomei. She pops up very early in the story, vaguely explaining events that might occur in the future. This feels like a massive change from Fairy Tail, which doesn’t have a narrator at all, and instead tells its story more traditionally.
Xiaomei is also occasionally included in the actual story's narrative, though she tries not to reveal too much to the protagonists. The way Mashima incorporates Xiaomei is interesting, giving them an existence beyond regurgitating exposition. It's somewhat similar to Okami & The Seven Companions.
9 Rebecca's B-Cuber Status Is Reminiscent Of YouTube & Twitch
For whatever reason, Eden’s Zero contained many YouTube and digital celebrity references. These references somewhat fit the series, considering that the setting took place in space and people can create as much content as they wanted. One of the main protagonists is Rebecca Bluegarden, who works as a B-Cuber, a streamer aiming to become famous.
Though Rebecca is largely unpopular, there are multiple other B-Cubers in the series of varying types and levels. It's something that rarely ever makes its way into manga and opens up some interesting avenues of storytelling.
8 The Characters Strikingly Resemble Characters From Fairy Tail
Readers completely new to Eden’s Zero might misunderstand this as a sequel to Fairy Tail. It features characters who look exactly like many of Fairy Tail’s most popular members.
Rebecca Bluegarden is just Lucy if she decided to take up being a vlogger. Shiki is just Natsu with Gray’s hair and gravity powers. There’s a well-known space pirate known as Elsie Crimson, and she looked exactly like Erza Scarlet. With the transition of Rave Master to Fairy Tail, this seems like a case of Mashima reusing character models.
7 AI Plays A Large Role Over Several Arcs
Several arcs in this series discuss the nature of robots. Are they alive, and how close to humans should they be considered? Several of Shiki’s companions throughout the series are robots. Some are powerful androids with complete sentience that either find themselves being used by humans or find a way to gain their freedom.
In either case, we also get the return of Happy, who in this universe is a robotic cat that can transform into a pair of pistols for Rebecca to use in combat.
6 The Central Focus Of The Series Is On The Divide Between Robots & Humanity
Not only does AI play a large role in the series, but the conflict between robots and humanity is also one of the main driving forces. Shiki and his crew are some of the few that believe robots are living beings, no different from humans.
The rest of the galaxy views them as tools to be used. It's a constant struggle between the two sides that reach a small climax during the Foresta arc, where both sides receive casualties thanks to a virus, straining any trust present between the two.
5 Chronophage Is A Time-Devouring Dragon Who Plays A Similar Role As Marvel's Galactus
Perhaps the coolest thing about Eden’s Zero is the “countdown clock” in the cosmos. There’s a powerful, unstoppable dragon running across the galaxy that goes around “eating” planets.
It’s called a Chronophage, and it eats time on a planet, completely erasing decades of a planet’s existence, effectively creating massive paradoxes. No one knows what to do about it save leaving before someone can have their time consumed. In many ways, he's like Galactus from Marvel Comics.
4 Time Travel Becomes Part Of The Series Thanks To Rebecca's Abilities
Time is worked into the story several times, first with Chronophage eating away the time of planets and then with Rebecca's Cat Leaper ability that allows her to travel back in time. This isn't done physically, but rather mentally.
Rebecca's consciousness would shift back to inhabiting the body she had in the past while retaining the memories she had of the future. Her first major use of this ability was saving Shiki from death at the hands of Drakken Joe.
3 It's A Mainstay In The Weekly Shonen Magazine
Eden’s Zero is published in Weekly Shonen Magazine. This magazine was also once known for publishing Air Gear, Overdrive, Baby Steps, and dozens of other series.
Currently, it’s known for publishing several series including Ace of Diamond, Fire Force, Smile Down the Runway, Tokyo Revengers, and Orient, which is the series Shinobu Ohtaka worked on after finishing up the manga Magi. While its popularity hasn't hit the levels of its predecessor, it still has a good following.
2 There's A Huge Crossover Between Rave Master & Fairy Tail
Eden’s Zero has a very obvious crossover with Fairy Tail. Mashima decided he would create a mash-up manga featuring all of his most popular creations: Rave Master, Fairy Tail, and Eden’s Zero.
This series ran as a mini-series during 2019 and saw all three main characters run into each other on a single island. Natsu and Shiki are in search of a particular fruit, while Haru is present to find and destroy “Oasis." The only downside is that it was difficult to tell who anyone is, thanks to how similar so many of the characters looked.
1 The Bad Guys Aren't Sympathetic In The Least & Are Meant To Be Rooted Against
Perhaps one of the more interesting facts about Eden’s Zero is Mashima’s attempt to correct some of the problems he sees in his work. In the afterword for Volume Five of Eden’s Zero, he speaks about how people often see the villains in his work as sympathetic, making them want to root for the bad guys.
Supposedly, Mashima has gone out of his way in Eden’s Zero to try and make the villains a lot less likable, wanting people to root for the heroes instead.