Edens Zero Chapter 185 – Elsie VS Ziggy: The Arrival Of Justice

April 1, 2022 by Syphin 2 Comments

Capitalizing on his deception, Ziggy continues to force Elsie’s defenses down in order to land a finishing blow on her. Elsie on the other hand, struggling to stabilize her mind and body from the injury, is given no time to evaluate what just happened due to immediately and continuously being barraged by forces of gravity. Likely, Elsie’s mind is still reeling from the unintended reaction at Ziggy’s hollow and dishonest plea. Elsie fully intended to kill Ziggy but something within her heart compelled her to pause at the performance of Ziggy. An act that reached deep inside Elsie’s heart and triggered feelings Elsie thought she locked deep away before engaging in this battle. Along with her body being in shock from the injury, her mind as well remained in disbelief. Thankfully though, a third party arrived to save her from such a situation. A savior in the form of a person who too wishes to kill her. Justice.

I expected Justice to make an entrance within this arc at some point due to War on Lendard being initiated in the Kaede Cosmos and the spread of such news being inevitable. But I did not expect him to show up right at the start. Feather truly didn’t enjoy having the Edens Zero slip through her fingers while they were in the Sakura Cosmos. But I had expected her to keep what information Holy shared with her to herself. Seems she may be more a team player within the Oración Seis Interstellar than I thought. Or maybe she believes that it is necessary for the whole of the Oración Seis Interstellar to get involved in the War in order to prevent the worst case scenario from resulting i.e. Ziggy winning. Which at this point in time seems to have been the smartest move. Could Feather have anticipated Ziggy teaming up with multiple Oración Seis Galáctica members? Potentially, Feather may even end up showing up sometime during this arc. Her main prioritises are the Edens Zero and the Oración Seis Galáctica members, of which four out of the known five are present on Lendard. If the Oración Seis Interstellar were formed to counter the Galáctica, participating in the Lendard War seems to be the most logical option going forward. Also, did Holy know this would happen? She intentionally mentioned Lendard to Feather likely knowing that the other Interstellar members would be informed about it. Possibly, it could be that since Holy knew Deadend Crow was working with Ziggy, she may have suspected other Galáctica members to join his side, so she took the most conservative approach and established a scenario where enemies of enemies become momentary allies.

As for Justice, his mannerisms within the chapter were completely different from his past reactions when Elsie was involved. Usually Justice is so blinded by vengeance, that he can’t help but act like a fool. But this time, his eyes were different. Rather than being glazed with an immature fury, their was a deep consideration within them. Justice probably still doesn’t intend to forgive Elsie but he may have reached a point where he balanced out the emotions he feels toward Elsie. Justice may say he is not rescuing Elsie but he is totally rescuing her. From the timing, to comments made to Ziggy, to the aloof attitude, to the princess carry. Justice during the past 3 years may have come to some form of realisation and brought his inner conflict to a balanced point. Perhaps, he researched more into the Lendard War from the past and came to an understanding of why Elsie did what she did. Whatever the case, Justice’s presence on Lendard alongside Elsie may bear fruits that begins to repair the once intimate relationship the two shared. Acnoella’s encounter may even catalyst such a shift.

I enjoyed Acnoella’s dispute with Ziggy when he began to treat her as a subordinate. She clearly is aware of Ziggy’s programming and how he considers himself. Which is why she immediately restates the parameters of their relation once Ziggy strays from how they initially came to an agreement. Acnoella politely reminds Ziggy she is not his subordinate and even cordially drops a threat if Ziggy plans to betray her. A reminder she poses to serve as a counter to his nature. Unlike Deadend Crow, Acnoella isn’t subservient to Ziggy because of some promise. She chose to assist Ziggy because she states she shares his aspirations for a world of only mechanical beings. Aside from that, it isn’t made known if there are other considerations in play behind the agreement the two made. I personally doubt Acnoella’s words because based on what we have seen of Dragons so far, the extinction of humanity doesn’t appear to be their primary objective. Dragons at this point in time in the story have not been associated with calamity, instead majesty and mystery has surrounded them. From their appearance in the initial chapter on the first page, to their relationship with Mother highlighted in the second chapter, to their passive presence around the Sakura Cosmos in the form of Dragonfall, to Sister’s comments about Dragons only attacking in very rare circumstances, to Dragon’s general detachment from conflicts across the Cosmos until this Kaede Cosmos War. There is reason to doubt that Acnoella’s goal is the extinction of humanity. If Acnoella was driven by such a cause, Dragons would have been more aggressive toward humanity in the past. Their lack of activity appears to signal an intention that exist beyond conflict. Additionally, Mother’s association with Dragons leads me believe that Acnoella is an agent of hers. An agent that may have been activated to indirectly help Shiki. I expect Acnoella to follow Ziggy’s request to follow Justice and Elsie but I don’t believe she will fight to end them. Rather, details of her intentions may come to light during the fight.

Deadend Crow is truly massive. And just by his sheer size, he is tanking all the weaponry directed at him. His insane defense and size still leads me to believe that in order for Deadend Crow to be defeated, damage will need to be done from the inside. I expect Connor to set up Holy, piloting an Edens Zero Knight Gear, for an opportunity to enter the machine and wreck havoc internally. Defenses in place inside of Deadend Crow which should other characters like Jinn, Kleene and Laguna moments to be highlighted. Holy will be the one to hammer in the final nail. She is clearly ready to impress her justice onto Deadend Crow for what he has done.

The Four Dark Stars appearing in front of Shiki, Pino, Rebecca, Happy, Weisz and Homura is curious. I always expected the Four Dark Stars to naturally face off against the Four Shining Stars in order to convey which of the two generations were more complete. It was a set-up that established its own narrative so seeing only one Shining Stars present in the battle against them somewhat gives me concern. The Four Dark Stars were enemies that appeared conceptualized to highlight and further the stories of the Four Shining Stars whose focus has waned significantly as of late. Despite Hermit’s feats in the recent chapters, Sister and her have been handled with a lack of presence and role associated with main characters. This is especially true for battle focus. The last time Hermit and Sister had arcs to be featured fighting in against named enemies, it was the Belial Gore arc which was nearly 100 chapters ago. Hermit was the focus during the Müller story but she didn’t get to fight him. To be honest, I am tired of seeing Shiki, Rebecca, Weisz and Homura dominate all the battle focus. This is why the Elsie battle was refreshing albeit short. I would like the other members of the Edens Zero crew to also get balanced focus too, especially the Four Shining Star androids.

The removal of Witch also lessens Hermit and Sister’s importance. Witch was the most active Shining Star android being the commander and director of the ship. She also wholeheartedly believed in Shiki and took on the role of mother within the crew. Witch being focused on meant that Hermit and Sister naturally got panel time due to the interactions they had with Witch. Now Witch’s role has been filled by Connor (helming the ship) but due to the lack of connection he shares with Hermit and Sister they don’t receive much flow on focus when he does. Holy and Labilia do help bring focus to Hermit and Sister respectively but they are recent additions and may not last beyond the current arc (pending for Labilia if she awakens her Ether Gear when overcome with the desire to save/protect Rebecca). Additionally, Sister and Hermit continually being stationed aboard the Edens Zero means they have little chance to face off against any arc antagonist unless the enemy directly comes to them which was the case for Shura but that wasn’t even a fight. I honestly hope that Hermit and Sister tap in for Shiki, Pino, Rebecca and Happy in their battles against the Four Dark Stars. Shiki and Rebecca have more important roles within this arc than fighting the Four Dark Stars.

Lendard’s life being drained by Ziggy’s mechanisations and the Chronophage’s movements means that time is of a sensitive nature presently. Shiki needs to locate Ziggy and Rebecca needs to find her way to the core of the planet where she can progress Operation Planet Eater. By keeping Ziggy distracted, his attention is kept away from Rebecca who is believed to have the ability to summon the Chronophage. If Ziggy is made aware of such a plan, he will immediately use his Wormhole ability to stop Rebecca and/or escape Lendard. This may end up happening but the chances only increase if Ziggy is left alone. Very much looking forward to the next chapter.