This series is mainly aimed at sharing great shows that I've seen that are considered to be "hidden gems," meaning that these great shows don't get nearly as much praise as they should.
Yesterday I watched the movie version of Eve no Jikan (was told to watch that over the original since it explains more). The English title for the movie is “Time of Eve.” The movie is basically about what constitutes a human being. It was released on March 6, 2010 in movie theaters across Japan, as is based on a series of six seventeen minute episodes originally streamed on the internet. Both the ONA (original net animation) and movie are made by Studio Rikka.
In future Japan (the movie itself only says “probably Japan”) the norm is to have a housekeeping android called a “houseroid.” At first glance, the androids look like completely normal people. They have human flesh, hair, normal clothing, etc.. But upon further inspection, one can see a halo above their heads. I’m guessing that this is not only to distinguish humans from androids, but to also give the android’s status at a glance. The androids are shown to refer to their owners as “Master.” They don’t speak like computers, and instead talk like any normal person would. It seems that they also take verbal commands.
Rikuo and Sammy, showing the halo thing above her head.
The movie picks up with the central theme rather quickly, as the second scene shows a TV commercial in the main character’s house with a robotic hand picking up a tomato and crushing it, causing a bunch of gears and screws to come out. There is then a text that says, “Would you eat a tomato created by machines?” It then shows a human placing a tomato on the ground with the caption, “In such an age, treasure warmth.” It then shows the logo of an organization called the “Ethics Committee.”
4320i? Holy shit.
See? With the Ethics Committee, everything is happy.
I will be honest: my first thought when I saw this ad was that the Ethics Committee was full of the kind of people who watch Fox News (sorry if you are the kind of person who watches Fox News). I thought that this commercial did a great job at creating the setting for the movie. In a future where household robots are expected, there will surely be dissenters who believe that robots could never replace an actual human being. These people even have their own insult. A common slang term for an android lover or sympathizer is the phrase “dori-kei.” It seems that there is much peer pressure regarding being a “dori-kei.” At one point in the movie, a girl thanks her android. Her friend asks her “What, are you turning into a dori-kei or something?” In fact, most people in the movie are portrayed as acting coldly towards their robot servants. The robots that serve the schoolchildren wait in the hallway outside the classroom, holding various things for the students, such as their umbrellas. However, these brats don’t even say please and thank you. They just shove their bags or whatever into the arms of the androids and walk away, leaving the android a bit puzzled. All for fear of being called a “dori-kei.” The phrase is commonly used throughout the movie, even by the main characters.
The story itself revolves around a high schooler named Rikuo. Rikuo and his best friend, Masaki, are just normal high school kids, living average lives. One day, Rikuo is using his cell phone to check the navigation data for his household android, Sammy. He sees some coordinates that he doesn’t recognize, and notices that Sammy has been out at weird times lately. He and Masaki head to the coordinates, only to end up at a door in some alley. They watch another man head through the door, then build up the courage to enter themselves. Inside the building is a little coffee shop, called “Eve no Jikan (Time of Eve).”
The Time of Eve cafe. The customers all appear human. But is there more than meets the eye?
The café has but one rule: Don’t discriminate between humans and androids. This is written upon an electronic chalkboard, right in front of the entrance.
The chalkboard with the golden rule.
Unfortunately, they never show what happens if you violate the rule. The main character does once, but all he gets is a demerit point. I'm just assuming that if you get x amount of them you get kicked out or something.
It is in this café that most of the story takes place. In it, Rikuo will learn the stories of its customers, learn a bit about himself, and watch his surroundings change forever, for better or worse. Everything in the café (the walls, cups, plates, etc.) bears the ominous message “Are you enjoying the Time of EVE?” The message goes with the central theme of what constitutes a human being, and really makes the viewer think about it. I felt that all the characters had a unique story behind them, and the movie’s goal was to really make the viewer feel that the androids should be treated as equal to humans.
In the art department, the movie was beautifully made. The art wasn’t anything unique, but it was still solid, and looked pretty in the glorious 1080p. Most of the character designs were good looking, especially Sammy, IMO.
As for various film techniques, I was very turned off. The film had a habit of playing weird sound effects at times, or acting all serious then having something funny happen. It made it impossible to tell sometimes when the movie was trying to be serious or silly. There was also a problem with the shaky camera. I hate the shaky cam thing anyway, but why is it in an animated work? It’s not like there is a camera to worry about holding still >.>
Overall the music was decent. It ranged from happy to scary/suspenseful songs. And the credits had an awesomely beautiful Kalafina song.
Overall the movie was extremely touching. You know that feeling after you watched Finding Nemo for the first time and you’re like “Fuck humans. Fish forever ;_;?” This movie gave me a feeling like that, but replace the fish with robots. The filmmakers did a great job at portraying the advanced society, building characters, and delivering a touching story, all in 106 minutes. Probably one of the best few anime movies that I have ever seen. Definitely at least Tier A. It’s a must watch for any lover of science fiction, especially involving robots.
Also, Sammy is my robot love.
Your guide to Ferrose's rating system:
God Tier: 11/10. Very few shows can attain this tier. These are the best of the best. Make sure to watch them.
Tier S: 10/10. Shows that are once in a lifetime.
Tier A: 9/10. Wonderful shows, but they have a fatal flaw that won't let them get Tier S.
Tier B: 8/10. Still good and an auto-recommend.
Tier C: 7/10. Pretty average. Watch it if you're a fan of the genre.
Tier D: 6/10. Shows I didn't really like. A lot of these get dropped. Don't bother with them.
Shit Tier: <6/10. I hate these shows. They are a disgrace to anime. Perfect example: Code Geass R2.
I really enjoyed this piece, done very well, when it first came out as an OVA it was slow as hell though. hahahaha Review is well done, was a good read
Nice, nice I already added this to my "planning to watch" list. I might speed it up even, after reading this. Obviously you put some time and work into this with adding screenshots and the wording. You described the general outlines of the movie without spoiling too many details. I also like the jabs you take at foxnews watching people hahahahah. Poison adds flavour ;d
Your guide to the ratings is also very nice ;D The jab at CG:R2 had me giggling for a good minute. You should also link us to your MAL anime list for comparasion. I'd like to see/know how you rated Planetes, 5cm/s, CG season1, the girl who leapt through time.
I would be happy to talk about anything on my ever-growing list.
On March 14 2011 23:42 quarky wrote: Wonderful anime. Do you know if the movie version has more scenes or is otherwise different from the episodes, only watched the latter.
What do you think of Planetes?
The movie, from what I know, has a few extra scenes. But since I haven't seen the original, I can't tell you what's new lol.
On March 14 2011 23:46 Siniyas wrote: What? Fate/Stay night average? You sir are insaaaaaane! And no i wont make a contract with you!
F/SN is horrible if you've ever read the VN. DEEN basically mashed routes together and ended up screwing up the show. And UBW was even worse. -_-
Edit:
On March 14 2011 23:42 quarky wrote: Wonderful anime. Do you know if the movie version has more scenes or is otherwise different from the episodes, only watched the latter.
What do you think of Planetes?
Several scenes were removed and several scenes were added in the transition from the OVAs to the movie. Overall, the added scenes are of slightly more importance.
On March 14 2011 23:42 quarky wrote: Wonderful anime. Do you know if the movie version has more scenes or is otherwise different from the episodes, only watched the latter.
What do you think of Planetes?
Several scenes were removed and several scenes were added in the transition from the OVAs to the movie. Overall, the added scenes are of slightly more importance.
Arrr. I got to get into reading VNs really. Always read about them being awesome, but somehow i never developed the habit. Even got F/S N lieing around on my pc. Oh well going to install it one of these days.
Its got really awesome quality at 360p on youtube, almost thought it was on 720p.
And for some reason, the "Obey the rule and have a fun time..." line reminds me of when i first made a TL account.
I only watched part 1 of the first episode but i get the same feeling i got when i watched avatar: you really feel like the place in the movie is a utopia, only when after the movie finishes, you realise how shitty reality is.
Great anime, but your review reads more like a summary, and then reveals petty complaints rather than helping someone choose whether or not they should spend their time watching it. Next review try to focus on reasons people would or would not like the anime, if your goal is to get people interested. Try to be unbiased and not reveal personal qualms, and instead say 'this movie has this style; If you like this style you will like this movie because it did it well.'
Hey, just read it. Great review and I agree with most of your points. I watched the movie not long ago without great expectations and it surprised me in a good way .
On February 26 2011 12:04 tyr wrote: Woo finally catched up on Madoka. Just finished watching ep8 I'm really starting to like this show (and thats an understatement too) :D
So many unexpected things happening :D Like many of you, I'm pretty sure though that Kyubey will turn out to be the main vilain of the whole thing. Homura has seen stuff from the future and basically knows what will happen, and has for some reason fallen in love with Madoka and is trying to save her for like 50 loops now but without any success. This time though she will do something that will affect Madoka and it'll work out well, like Madoka becoming God, making Kyubey disappear and reviving Sayaka and stuff (or something along the lines). I'm kinda expecting a super-happy-end Mai-Hime style, but yeah ... This show never stops surprising me so I'm probably completely wrong about all this. :D I'm definitely expecting more yuri though. I mean .. It's totally obvious at this point. I really like it though. ^^
Madoka is the epitome of God Tier.
, I thought you were talking about the character in terms of power (because the nested quote talk about Madoka becoming a God)
My apologies for the misunderstanding. I'm a huuuuge Haruhi fanboy, but I would not personally classify the show as God tier.
EPT![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/bEidl.png)
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/IMHKl.png)
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/Qmcjl.png)
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/1F5ig.png)
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/NAJn6.png)
![[image loading]](http://imgur.com/MGQEQ.png)
I already added this to my "planning to watch" list. I might speed it up even, after reading this. Obviously you put some time and work into this with adding screenshots and the wording. You described the general outlines of the movie without spoiling too many details. I also like the jabs you take at foxnews watching people hahahahah. Poison adds flavour ;d
. 
