Although it took nearly a year to complete the manga, Eden: Its An Endless World, this nearly perfect science fiction tale with Gnostic themes is irresistible. Set in a postapocalyptic world of the future, no other manga series has quite captured the apparently pointless attempts at "solving" the problems of the world for it only to blow up in our collective faces. Uighurs, child soldiers, racism, environmental collapse, drug cartels and addiction, doctors trying to do their job, and the epic, but doomed to failure rescue mission to save Elijah's sister are all suspenseful, violent, and heartbreaking. Indeed, each protagonist has a backstory that led them on a path to violence, vengeance, or the search for power, but once their hands are bloody, they're never clean again. Yet, despite the seemingly endless conflicts, division, and destruction of human society, those who choose to resist joining the colloid (disclosure virus) make the hard choice of staying in our universe, finding meaning in the hope for a better future. Moreover, this is the only series we have read in which much of the story takes place in Peru, with a mix of cops, cartel dealers, gunman, and prostitutes occupy a central role. In fact, Peru is the setting for one of the great story arcs that pits Elijah, the main character, against gangsters and the sordid world of crime, drugs, and sex. Unfortunately, the ending of the series throws some curveballs at the reader and produces some deus ex machina characters/developments to wrap up loose ends. Nonetheless, we find the ending to be quite clever despite this. Indeed, with Maya and Alethia Lethia each staying in the respective "worlds," there is a great risk for both in terms of hope for a better future.
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