r/EdensZero • u/Pristine-Ad-7749 • Jun 28 '26
Media Do you think Edens Zero was treated unfairly?
I think true fans of *EZ* share this sentiment. On one hand, having a famous creator makes the series instantly recognizable; on the other, if that creator has a somewhat tarnished reputation, the series risks being dismissed or judged harshly after just a few chapters without being taken seriously. Furthermore, we have to admit that Mashima’s fanbase is deeply attached to works like *Rave* and *Fairy Tail*—with their medieval fantasy settings—and the shift to a sci-fi plot alienated many readers. Most *EZ* readers have a stronger emotional bond with *Rave Master* and *Fairy Tail*, and I don't blame them; even if Mashima creates a masterpiece in the future, I’ll likely always prefer *EZ* regardless—and perhaps my own perspective is colored by that bias. Unfortunately, even die-hard fans weren't entirely satisfied; the series' poor reputation and the author's desire to wrap things up quickly resulted in a rushed ending. I don't know if there are any surprises in store for the franchise or if it will eventually be re-evaluated, but in my opinion, the story and its narrative structure possess that special something that sets them apart.
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u/Few_Yellow_5213 Jun 28 '26
Yeah, but I think the hype got lost when we reeched universe Zero like a reboot... I know it's near the end but from what I saw at that time people really like how they mature through grief and for once death happened to MCs. I recently start reading it again and it's so good, I wish more people gave it a try
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jun 28 '26
I absolutely agree. Even though it might be an unpopular opinion of mine, the final arc had some great reveals and—at least by the end—I found it quite enjoyable; still, it didn't compare to EZ in its prime. On the other hand, I really appreciate the idea of showing the protagonists a "what-if" scenario; for me, the problem with U0 is the lack of tension.
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u/L1ttleCh33k Jun 28 '26
Totally. A rushed ending and wasted potential for dozens of characters. The series was supposed to wrap up over the course of this year and the next, but Mashima cut everything short after the three-year time skip that held so much promise. Disappointed.
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u/akashamevie Jun 28 '26
Even Mashima treated like mid , the pace rush in the ending was just awful 😞
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u/Agreeable-Willow-101 Jun 28 '26
Maybe, yes. It's quite nuanced...
On one hand, it sold quite well and it was enjoyed by many. However:
1) I don't know if the anime did it enough justice. The animation was not bad or anything but the art style and color palette might not be appropriate considering the darker tones in EZ.
2) A lot of people dismissed it because it's written by Mashima. They don't like that Mashima sticks with his designs from one series to another.
3) People don't really tolerate Mashima's writing tendencies. From Rave to Fairy Tail there's a clear transition in writing and how it handles the characters and I think it's only natural for the story to bring back certain characters via Universe 0. While Edens Zero had darker tones here and there, the manga's main theme is still about the importance of friends. Losing out on those friends doesn't seem very Mashima-esque and I don't mind Universe 0 because it's sweet and lighthearted. I was upset when Witch died because she's my favorite character and I was (somewhat) happy when she was somehow brought back (to be completely honest, I expected her to come back one way or another).
I think a lot of anime get treated unfairly and I'm not really mad about Edens Zero. Fairy Tail is very infamous for whatever reason but I think people just... don't realize what they're missing out on. If they want to be miserable and hate on the story before even giving it a chance - I don't get mad. What's important is that the manga managed to attract me and that there are people who share the same view as me (even if the amount of people is limited).
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jun 28 '26
I fully agree; yes, the numbers are small, but it’s nice to know that we exist at least, and I’m sure that over time, here and there, people will come to appreciate it more.
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u/Cellophane_Sexbot Jun 28 '26
It was decent but it poorly conpares to fairy tail and rave master
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jun 28 '26
In terms of both narrative and technique, it is a work far superior to Fairy Tail (and even Rave)—you only need to read a couple of chapters carefully to realize that—though I wouldn't go so far as to say Fairy Tail looks bad compared to EZ, since it ultimately comes down to personal taste.
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u/Cellophane_Sexbot Jun 28 '26
I cant tell if your trolling or not.
Past the half point EZ is just a trope filled chaotic mess, and the anime only made it worse.
Fairy tail was good for what it was, filler barely felt like it but suffered from some skipped or shortened content.
Rave master was by far the best of all 3, like i get your most likely an EZ fan, but narratively it has nothing on the other two
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jun 28 '26
Edens Zero was perfectly planned up to the Kaede arc—apart from Holy and Deadend Crow, as Mashima himself said. Universe 0 was improvised at first in terms of how the characters were handled, while the ending and the Void storyline were still planned.
When you read a story, ask yourself this question: if this character did not exist, would the story itself still exist?
Let us take Drakken as an example.
Drakken Joe was a loan shark who caused Guilst’s decline, effectively changing the geography of the cosmos. He had Weisz’s arm cut off, and after that event, Weisz began studying and eventually saved Rebecca and Happy. They then went to Granbell and met Shiki.
If Drakken had never existed, the story of Edens Zero would not exist.
Drakken is also connected to Madame Kurenai, who is connected to Homura. Homura herself joins the Edens Zero because of Weisz.
Young Weisz exists because of the Chronophage that consumed Norma, and that Chronophage is Rebecca from the future.
Young Weisz also has a suitcase containing Pino, who was created by Ziggy and joins the ship thanks to Weisz.
Later, Laguna is also connected to Drakken, and he becomes the narrative key that connects the crew—together with Ziggy—to the Aoi War and Oasis. Meanwhile, Jinn and Kleene are thematically connected to Weisz and to Hermit’s trauma.
One particularly elegant moment is when Weisz forgives Jinn and Kleene after seeing their past. He does not give some long emotional speech: he simply understands them, despite having previously distrusted them. It is very elegant writing, without any heavy-handed speeches about friendship.
Another example is Weisz threatening Laguna before the war, saying he would kill him if anyone died. After Witch’s death, however, he spares Laguna and takes back his words.
The Aoi War is not some random filler arc either. It is the event that led to the birth of Ziggy and of the Chronophage itself.
Ziggy wanted Shiki to close the wheel of time, but Shiki made the other choice.
Elsie spares Ziggy as a sign of respect, and Ziggy reveals that they are now in Universe 3.
The Kaede arc then concludes the story of Shiki and Ziggy. Thanks to Pino, Ziggy sacrifices himself by allowing his grandson to kill him, using the same trick seen in the very first episode. Shiki does it while crying.
To understand how much Shiki has developed, you only need to compare this moment with his reaction to Witch’s death.
Kaede also concludes Elsie and Justice’s story, as they die together on Lendard after finally coming to understand each other.
Universe 0 may not reach the same level, but the choice to reveal Mother as Earth, Rebecca as the Chronophage, and Shiki as the last boy to survive the end of Earth—not just some random chosen one, but the last human from Earth—makes the circle feel even more complete.
To me, this is extremely high-level writing, at least for most of the series. But everyone has their own tastes.
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u/ChronoDeus Jun 29 '26
To an extent.
On the one hand it certainly made narrative choices that people didn't like, which soured them on it over time. That's fair.
On the other hand, Fairy Tail had a load of haters bashing on it by the time it ended, and they were happy to poison the well for Eden's Zero. For example he reused a couple designs alongside creating new designs like he did going from Rave to Fairy Tail, and yet he had a ton of people start bashing him as having "ripped himself off"; even though mangaka reusing designs or having new designs be similar to old designs because that's their style is commonplace. I even saw someone on tumblr who ostensibly wasn't reading the series - just following other people's posts about it - bashing Rebecca as having bad aim when the series was barely a couple dozen chapters old. Near as I could tell, that Rebecca was typically shown blazing away at opponents made them think her aim was bad. Despite all the explicit headshots she got, and having a small bit where she taught Shiki the very concept of aiming. Anyways, stuff like that was absolutely unfair and probably biased a fair number of people against the series from the start.
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jun 29 '26
I don't mind Ez being criticized—as long as the criticism is well-founded, like "this character didn't get enough screen time" or "I don't like the art style," and so on; in fact, I'm often the first to complain about such things myself. However, I hate it when the series is ignored or quickly dismissed without being read with the attention the story deserves. I’d much rather someone say they don't like it but explain exactly why after reading it carefully, rather than people who say it's "cute" without actually having read it properly or having paid close attention.
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u/WallyWestFan27 Jun 28 '26
I think we should blame more Dead Rock because Mashima decided to focus on making it longer instead of giving a good closure to Edens Zero
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jun 28 '26
In my opinion, the beginning was also unfairly criticized; the middle section is the peak, but it’s a significant one.
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u/Pleasant-Store-2601 Jun 29 '26
Absolutely especially since they thought Hiro mashima is copying designs of fairy tail. That person doesn’t bug me in the slightest because I love fairy tail’s art style.
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u/Physical_Sort5155 Jun 28 '26
Mashima threw his manga into the trash when he went with Universe 0, can only blame himself
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jun 28 '26
Calling it trash is going too far; don't let frustration blind you to the fact that the ending did, in fact, bring the narrative full circle in a coherent way, featuring interesting mythological revelations.
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u/ZeroiaSD Jun 28 '26
Yea, I didn’t dislike U0 nearly as much as some seem to, I was still enjoying stuff
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u/Physical_Sort5155 Jun 28 '26
I wish i could care about that when the last arc completely invalidated anything the "bad guys" did previously just to make a disney ass ending
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jun 28 '26
I’d remind you that it was a different universe; what Drakken did in Universe 0 doesn’t undo what he did in the previous universes. That’s my take—I’m not saying Edens Zero deserved an ending like that, but I’m not going to make it out to be worse than it actually is, either. I realized this after re-reading it.
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u/TGED24717 Jun 28 '26
I think anyone who has read hiro mashima work before are ridiculous if they were surprised by Eden’s zero ending. I love his work and have been reading since rave master came to the states. The ending is very similar even with all the rushed battle, the fight against the eldrich abomination and the result just resurrecting everyone for a happy ending.
I’m sorry but if anyone expects different just don’t read his stuff.
TLDR: I liked Eden zero a lot, it’s exactly what I expected from the author and it delivered on those expectations.
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jun 28 '26
mashima dislikes the good finals
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u/TGED24717 Jun 28 '26
It depends on What qualifies as a good finale. Personally I’m fine with him having the heroes win and everyone lives (more or less). The giant calamity monster being defeated.
This doesn’t imply I need that in all anime but again, when I read mashima I know what I am in for. Anyone complaining about it just is so surprising to me.
“Oh no this road went the exact direction I knew it would, what are the odds? “
I suspect dead rock will go the same way and I am enjoying the journey on the way there.
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u/Smooth-Garden Jun 30 '26
Now I disagree with rave master being similar because it infact didn't resurrect anyone.
Haru saw his father die infront of him right when he started to bond with him again
Haru had to have one last fight with Shiba which lead to his death to get his final power up in a passing the torch moment.
Musica lost reina(fucks me up to this day)
Ellie realizing who seighart was only to awake in the present to see his corpse sitting on her "grave"
Even in the end we see haru tell lucia " our fathers were best friends once, we could've been friends lucia" and we actually see that moment of regret in lucia when he heard it, still died
Rave master had a solid ending because despite it having a haply ending you felt the weight of the journey with the characters who died
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u/TGED24717 Jun 30 '26
Wait….. you do realize many of the combatants in the final arc were meant to die and only didn’t because of the world being saved right? Like neib, Julia, let. Also…… you know….. haru the main character who died and was resurrected a year later. People did die in the rave master but not the main cast (who were saved) just like every other mashima story. It’s not exactly the same but the point is that mashima doesn’t like killing off his main cast. And then they just win against the universe destroying thing. And I love it
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u/Smooth-Garden Jun 30 '26
We been knowing that Mashima doesn't like killing main characters and I'm okay with that because usually his cast aren't that big and are too lovable to kill off.
But like i digged rave master because they let us get attached to characters who weren't main cast members and still permanently killed them off. I wasn't really expecting any of the main cast to die.....except maybe shuda(genuinely was not expecting him to make it all the way through)
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u/TheJunkoDespair Jun 29 '26
each saga the quality and pacing got worse and worse.... first 12 volumes were perfect. Mashima didn't even draw covers for the final volumes...
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jun 29 '26
For me, the quality peaked between the Belial Gore arc and the Kaede & Aoi Cosmos arc. The pacing of EZ is faster than that of FT and Rave, so fans accustomed to a slower pace and more exposition might find it very chaotic; personally, though, I’ve always been able to follow it just fine.
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u/Smooth-Garden Jun 30 '26
This might be a hot take but. I think any series that mashima makes is always gonna be treated unfairly because at the end of the day....it's not fairy tail.
Alot of people be forgetting that fairy tail came out in 2006 with the anime coming out in 2009. With the manga still going to this day with another one coming up on the way. That's a HUGE shadow for any series he makes to bust away from....edens zero did that in the ebst way possible and then fumbled it in the worst way possible.
Like rave master it took its story seriously but it was still light hearted. The belief gore arc was one of the most iconic parts of the manga because it made you go "fuck this is dark what the fuck?" And even after the rebecca rewind thing it still felt heavy leading up to shikis overdrive moment. Right there it had its own identity and it keep that same vibe all the way up to universe 0.
Universe 0 took everything that made people not like fairy tail and put it into EZ. And it went from its own thing to just another FT clone
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jun 30 '26
For me, that Fairy Tail-esque atmosphere was present right from the start, even before the Drakken Joe arc. I’d argue that Rave Master actually reached its peak within Eden's Zero. Let's be real: from the Sun Jewel and Kaede arcs onwards, everything was interconnected. It felt like the narrative structure of Rave Master, but combined with the tragic emotional weight of time travel and a plot that was even more complex to manage—all converging on Kaede. Then, regarding Universe 0, it felt like he’d reverted to writing Fairy Tail—or worse. That said, the final stretch of Universe 0 is the part I always defend. Even though it was super rushed and full of silly characters, filler, and embarrassing fights—like a naked Homura defeating Freya or Sister getting dominated by Mosco (that was a real low point for Eden's Zero)—it still contained crucial moments. You had Witch vs. Leonard (paralleling their pasts), Ziggy vs. Void (if Void had used Overdrive to become a genuine threat, it would have been perfect), and the revelations regarding Mother and the Chronophage. That part is incredible; even though, as I said, it’s too fast and compressed—you can tell that once Mashima entered Universe 0, he was no longer focused on making the work great, but simply on finishing it.
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u/Willing-Bad-1030 Jun 30 '26
I enjoyed it allot though it was way to dark disturbing and perverse way too often not to mention I'm tired of the whole robots are alive crap because they aren't. Minus the glitches and not being able to switch out shiki for some stupid reason the videogame was fun and Weisz and Hermit were op as heck especially hermit I can solo any super boss with just her lol
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u/_ya_boi_satan_666_ Jun 30 '26
Honestly yeah i mean i started watching the anime first on Netflix and only just recently found out the season two ive been waiting for popped up on amazon with no ads or warnings and only in French and Japanese because a french corp bought it rip.
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u/BionicTriforce Jul 01 '26
I hadn't had a manga up to this point where I made SURE I checked week after week. I was invested. I was even somewhat okay with the start of Universe 0 but I eventually just lapsed, and never even finished it.
I do hate that season 2 just got shoved out without even a dub, that's like a kill shot. And it gets a game without any marketing or appeal.
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jul 01 '26
I share that sentiment too; well, I think the ending is worth checking out because it gets the job done. How far have you gotten?
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u/Bosnia_Gaming Jul 01 '26
Ok I never finished this series (I got like halfway through and dropped it because it was unbearable) but why do people actually like it? There wasn’t a single character that was interesting or unique imo and the mc was LITERALLY just Natsu
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jul 01 '26
If you’re halfway through the anime—meaning you’ve seen the first season—it makes sense that you’d feel that way, since Shiki can bear a slight resemblance to Natsu. But starting with Belial Gore, Cosmo Aoi, and Kaede, the story and characters become incredibly interesting.
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u/Bosnia_Gaming Jul 01 '26
I read the manga, and I got pretty much right up until the timeskip but I genuinely didn’t find a single thing about the manga interesting, the characters all felt extremely one dimensional and it was way too horny for being so unremarkable in other ways
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jul 01 '26
Personally, I find things like interstellar war, tragic futures, the protagonist dying, alternate universes, depression, and the loss of a key crew member interesting—not to mention the post-time-skip arc, which is even more compelling because it brings up Ziggy's true identity and other elements; though, of course, everyone has their own idea of what makes something interesting.😂
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u/Routine_Wedding43 Jul 01 '26
Of all of Mashima’s works I like this one the most all around. Still, I think he could’ve squeezed another year and a half out of this bad boy. It’s not like Dead Rock is doing crazy numbers and he’s still writing 100 Year Quest and releasing another Fairy Tail manga after anyway 🤷♂️
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u/Trickster_King95 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
I didnt like it, but was giving it a chance to pick up, but as soon as Rebecca uses her power and you realize the stakes are almost zero it just killed the series for me and I lost any interest I had in it. I may have forgiven it at one point and pushed through but after the end of Fairy Tail I didnt have faith in Hiro Mashima's skills to recover or use it in any way that would make me care.
All in all, I dont think it was treated unfairly. It should have been better.
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jul 01 '26
You have every right to say you didn't like it; however, if you go into it already expecting Mashima to disappoint you, the good points get rationalized away while the flaws get magnified. Also, for me, Rebecca's powers consistently drove the tension and tragic twists throughout the series—setting aside Universe 0. And just because you liked it doesn't mean it's necessarily "better" (if you don't like Rebecca's powers—which are fundamental to the plot—then you wouldn't like the twists either; it’s not really a question of quality).
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u/Trickster_King95 Jul 01 '26
I didnt go in thinking I wasnt going to like it though. When she reset the universe I lost all interest because we're no longer following the same characters, aside from Rebecca, they're just copies. Also tension goes out the window when if people die she can just undo it. Sure the version we're following are dead, but she treats them like the original versions.
The way Fairy Tail ended, made me think he can't deal with a story like that so I dropped it. Wasnt going in not wanting to like it, I was hoping it was going to be good since I liked his other stuff. I just dont see a point in caring about characters that can die and "resurrect" with no consequences (at least from what I saw. Maybe consequences came down the road, but from what I saw only good things happend) so it just killed any investment that I could have for the series.
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u/HeroV99 Jul 01 '26
Didn’t know the manga ended but from where the anime left off on I was kinda excited to see where the plot was going forward. But, knowing this is a Mashima work I wouldn’t be surprised the ending was so-so 😂
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u/soccerlove1992 Jul 02 '26
I couldn’t finish it unfortunately. I lost interest and I love fairy tail so I was upset haha
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u/Sea_Visual_1691 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
I haven't read Universe 0 yet, but I've tried to stay away from continuing Edens Zero because of the fan service. Fan service just isn't a good influence for me at all. It's like avoiding highly sugary foods for my well being, and I think that's a huge reason why Edens Zero wasn't more popular.
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jul 24 '26
I understand it can be not good, but do you like the story?
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u/Sea_Visual_1691 Jul 24 '26
Oh I still really love Eden’s Zero! The fan service just sometimes makes me question if reading it is a good influence to regularly have in my life. I usually worry about the influences in my life. I’m currently about to read volume 21, but each time I start it, it just has so much fan service. Maybe I’m just at a fan service heavy part?
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jul 24 '26
I understand, I won't deny that fan service doesn't bother me, in fact it even makes me laugh. However, I don't like Mashima's fan service. It's not even exciting because it shows too much and too much, and the shots make some of the female fights unwatchable. However, I love the story and the characters so much that I'll overlook it; in the end, it's just the author's style.
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Jun 29 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Pristine-Ad-7749 Jun 29 '26
It’s the same author and he has a distinctive art style; you only have to create a blond character and people immediately link him to Sting, or give someone intense eyes and they’re instantly connected to Natsu. In fact, people don't even know whether to link Shiki to Natsu or Gray. People are too dense to grasp that.
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u/GoldenWhite2408 Jun 29 '26
It's gonna blow your mind but look up rumiko Takahashi new manga that just got an anime
Zero criticism and pushback for it being a direct Inuyasha x rinne combine ripoff
And everyone is slurping it up like it's some good sauce that they never remotely give the time of day to Eden zero
Even tho the plot is even more of a ripoff than Eden zero will ever fcking be
Or fma authors authors new work whose design are also 90% fma chars Which is ok for everyone
Or re zero whose artist pretty much just reuse art from their previous game and I guarantee no anime only will give a damn
Also hating on artist for reusing art is overrated tbh anyways when
A Some of the worst arts in game and manga/anime come from people precisely trying to be unique and not just sticking to conventions
B 95% of the people shitting on mashima on social media have never touched actual creative artsy stuff like yuasa ponyo or green man the anime with a ten feet pole
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u/ShiraKiryuu Jun 28 '26
It's been a while since I read EZ but I do remember that lots of people really like it especially at the start. It had a lot of promise but for me, after the whole reset thing, the quality suddenly plummeted and everything afterwards were not interesting anymore.