The Silent Room

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Small Talk:
I marathoned Tiger and Dragon a few days ago and realised how much I enjoyed Yakuza comedy. I watched Gokusen a few years back and thought it was pretty cool, too. Can you recommend any more good Yakuza comedy?

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What is EVE no Jikan? It is a short series that completely blew me away – nay, blasted me away – with its fabulous storytelling and unique style. Just so you know, EVE was not broadcast on terrestrial networks so don’t bother asking whether or not you’ll get to see it on Animax or anything. It is an ONA, and I dare say, it is probably the best among its peers.

What is an ONA, you ask? Well then, let’s start with something a little more familiar.

Original Video Animations, or OVAs as we like to call them, are direct-to-video anime productions. A few years ago a new, similar type of production appeared on the net. They came to be known as Original Net Animations, simply meaning that they are videos released on the internet via streaming video websites.

For anime fans outside Japan, we get our anime from the net, regardless whether they are TV broadcasts, direct-to-video or even theatrical releases. The same goes for ONAs. However, due their similarity with OVAs (particularly when it comes to the frequency of new episodes) we tend to refer to ONAs as OVAs anyway. Some examples of ONAs you might remember include Hoshizora Kiseki, Hetalia and Candy Boy (delicious yuri twincest).

Now, back to the main point.

EVE no Jikan is a story set is the not-so-distant future. A time when androids are fully utilised as workers in human society, taking mundane jobs like house-keeping, janitorial work, waiting tables, etc. The plot begins when Rikuo, a high-schooler, discovers that his house-roid went off course to a destination that is not in her programming. Upon following the trail, he discover a small, non-descript cafe with a peculiar rule: No discrimination between humans and robots are allowed.

In that cafe, an android can fully pretend to be a human, and no one would notice. And that, is where the story gets really interesting. Upon entering the cafe, Rikuo meets some of the peculiar patrons of EVE no Jikan and has an interesting conversation – without realising that some of those patron may be androids pretending to be completely human. It is a story of how humans and robots meet, clash and interact with each other and how healthy relationships between the two can be sustained.

The 6-episode ONA was directed by Yoshiura Yasuhiro, the man who previously created the OVA gems Aquatic Language and Pale Cocoon. I’ve only seen Pale Cocoon when I first saw the trailer for EVE, and naturally, I was excited. Pale Cocoon has a fabulous plot twist, even for one-shot, 23-minute video. I wasn’t sure what kind of punch to expect from a 6-episode production, but I believed that it would be good – and it sure as hell was.

After I finished watching the first episode of EVE, the first thing out of my mouth was ‘Holy shit’. If you’ve seen I, Robot before, similar themes are also explored in EVE. This includes Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics, and a plot revolving around robots gaining sentience and self-awareness. In this line, we have classic characters like HAL9000, and current generation horrors like GladOS.

EVE, however, has a different take on this point. In an interview, Yoshiura makes some very interesting remarks on this issue;

“To be honest, personally I can’t go along with the idea of making androids the same as human beings. Not at all. Of course, I’m not saying that androids should be treated horribly as slaves or anything like that.

My ideal is that both androids and humans are aware that they are different, and based on this awareness, they meet halfway to improve their mutual relationship. That’s the most necessary thing, and I think that idea is most important for building ideal relations between humans and robots.”

(You can read the rest of the interview here and here.)

The nice thing about EVE is that each episode is only about 10 minutes each, except the finale (which is absolutely fabulous) that goes up to 27 minutes. Each episode is pretty much bite-sized and you can easily finish the whole series in one sitting and not miss a thing.

What I like the most, though, is how well all the characters are fleshed out. It doesn’t focus on just one or two main characters, but each episode explores the stories behind each of the cafe patrons. You don’t get some moeblob jailbait, no excessive chernobyl-waste tits and no huge sparkly eyes. Just characters that feel… real, characters that you are very likely to meet in your life, characters you can easily relate to. You can also feel the closeness between the patrons and Nagi, the barista.

It not only explores the deep, philosophical themes brought on by Asimov, but also the simple friendships you build with the people you meet. They may be simple patrons of a cafe, but if one spends time to know the other person better, something new is born. It may be friendship or love, but regardless of what it’s called, it is something you treasure and EVE delivers this with a kind of passion you don’t see very often in anime. Oh, I couldn’t find the right words to describe the love I have for this show.

So, take my word for it; EVE no Jikan is definitely one of best offerings this year and I urge you not to miss it. You will love it, for sure.

PS: Click HERE to watch the first few episodes of EVE, brought to you by EMiNA Fansubs!