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Eden: It's an Endless World! #5
Eden: It's an Endless World, Volume 5
Backed by their military might and mutated Aeon soldiers, Propater forces continue to seek possession of our planet. They also seek to maintain possession of a body stuck in suspended animation - a body whose consciousness has just been downloaded into outlaw Sophia's sophisticated, cyber-enhanced system. Sophia lost her body years ago, with only her brain surviving the flesh-destroying plague that decimated the world. Will she risk her own existence for a chance to reunite Maya's body with his mind? Hiroki Endo delivers another deep, poignant character study, before sending readers into a brilliant, carnage-filled showdown between Propater mercenaries, a crime cartel, Colonel Khan's renegade crew, and a struggling, post-apocalyptic police force! To make matters worse, Elijah enlists the aid of an old friend and plans an ambush at a Gnosian airport. Desperate, young Elijah seeks a reunion of a different sort... and he'll kill anyone who stands in his way!
216 pages, Paperback
First published July 18, 2000
1 person is currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Hiroki Endo
146 books93 followersHiroki Endo (遠藤浩輝) is a Japanese mangaka born on 1970 in Akita Prefecture. He graduated from Musashino Art University. He is best known for his science-fiction series Eden: It's an Endless World, which has been translated into English by Dark Horse.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 3, 2022
其實有點看不懂人物間的關係了...
February 25, 2019
This volume is straight up DARK. We learn more about Sophia the cyborg and her twisted past in the chapters "Pretty Hate Machine" parts 1 & 2. Could trigger some people, so be warned. Beautifully intricate drawings of fight scenes and the plot plows along as all the dots connect in this vast post-apocalyptic world.
May 12, 2024
We learn more about Sofia and her psychopathy, as well as .
Elia and the Nomads launch 2 uncoordinated actions to get Elijah's family back from Propater, who has anticipated this eventuality, and the whole affair turns into a massacre in the middle of a civilian airport.
Maya, a mysterious new entity - an AI with unclear motives - appears.
Lots of graphic violence once again. While the action scenes are gripping and impressive, I have to admit that the vagueness surrounding the overall stakes is a little frustrating.
Art is once again top-notch, with amazing action scenes.
Elia and the Nomads launch 2 uncoordinated actions to get Elijah's family back from Propater, who has anticipated this eventuality, and the whole affair turns into a massacre in the middle of a civilian airport.
Maya, a mysterious new entity - an AI with unclear motives - appears.
Lots of graphic violence once again. While the action scenes are gripping and impressive, I have to admit that the vagueness surrounding the overall stakes is a little frustrating.
Art is once again top-notch, with amazing action scenes.
July 20, 2018
dnf at halfway through... This is just shit. Sorry. Way too edgy and juvenile. Oh wow the android has had 7 suicide attempts and 3 abortions at age 15! She is soooooooo edgy and cool. Sorry, it's just gross. And the story goes nowhere... *yawn* I don't even want to know how it ends, and that's a tell-tale sign, so this is the last volume I'm going to try.
May 30, 2012
Stuff I Read – Eden It’s an Endless World Vol 5 Review
So I’ve been a little while out of the saddle of this series, due mainly to the sad fact that some of the volumes are not the easiest to come across and that just saddens my day. But luckily I have the next few so the reviews will continue. Volume 4 concluded with the first major resolution as most of the “good guys” survived and won the day against Propater and made it back to their own territory. Of course, that doesn’t mean a whole lot as even in this volume we get a whole new outing of blood and guts and betrayal and such in a rather self contained volume. Where the last few have largely been dealing with the standoff and firefight that happened on the mountain, this volume takes a closer look at Sophia and gives us the background on her, a like the previous volume gave us the background on Kenji. On top of that is the introduction of an AI, Maya, and the movement of Elijah’s mother and sister. Truly, this volume is rather full, but it definitely satisfies.
The first part of the volume deals with Sophia, and her situation as she interacts with the information that the group was trying to keep from Propater. This information turns out to be Maya, some sort of AI, who observes various points during Sohpia’s life. Like everyone in the series, Sophia is messed up, and rather messed up royally. As a human she was unable to truly feel, filtering her experiences as if they were happening to someone else. It’s a rather strange tale that she tells, where she was never loved and so never felt she could love anyone. She lived her life in a shell of sort, running away from feelings, and throwing herself into other pursuits. Strangely, or perhaps fittingly, it is only when she becomes a full cyborg that she comes into her own and really starts to feel. That is when she can start trying to make up for the rest of her life, when suddenly she is able to experience things for herself. It is also when she is unable to cry, which is telling in many ways because it means that she begins to feel better when she is incapable of crying, when she can finally let go more and not have to put on the brave face.
The rest of the volume deals bit more with Elijah as he repairs Cherubim and tries to rescue his mother and sister from Propater. Of course, this deals with a very complicated battle where a great many characters are drawn into the conflict as a great many people want Elijah’s mother and sister to have as hostages against Elijah’s father. Even so, this is a rather crazy battle at an airport and everything goes nuts as Aeons and robots and mech suits and soldiers shoot up the place and make a grand mess. Through all of this we see Elijah try things on his own and Sophia and Kenji are along for the ride trying to retrieve Maya’s real body. Maya eventually shows up, and really the most confusing part of this volume was learning that Maya was a guy. I guess the art threw me for a loop because he looks quite feminine for most of the parts he is there, and then when is body emerges naked you learn that he’s a he. In fact, a couple of characters fall victim to this fate, as the art does not really make that much a distinction between a male youth and a female. They look the same, and I am left wondering what the deal it.
But really that’s a small complaint. Here really we are treated to a frantic assault and can once again feel as the battle goes way over the character’s heads. It’s a bit overwhelming keeping up with who is on what side, but it all works out in the end. That is to say, a few characters die or seem to die and the battle wraps up, which is rather refreshing for a volume of manga, not to draw it out even further. And the series does a nice job in deepening the plot following the rather simple last few volumes where the only real goal was to get through alive. The mystery of what Maya is and what is really going on is still present, and we are still left wondering what the hell happened to the kid, Enoah, from the first volume. We continue to learn his history, little by little, but it is teased so slowly that it is the biggest mystery in all of this, who he is.
Otherwise, the volume does all the right things when it comes to building things back up after a fairly long storyline, giving the reader more insight into some of the characters while dialing right back up the violence and action. New ideas and characters arrive and some are taken off the board, though how the deaths will affect the overall story I’m not sure yet. Still, this series remains a very good, albeit dark and gritty, dystopian future that I still find myself drawn to. It’s fascinating, and I wonder where eventually the story will come down on whether or not any of these characters is redeemable. They are all going down dark paths, and I wonder where it will lead them. For this leg of the journey, though, I give the volume an 8.25/10.
So I’ve been a little while out of the saddle of this series, due mainly to the sad fact that some of the volumes are not the easiest to come across and that just saddens my day. But luckily I have the next few so the reviews will continue. Volume 4 concluded with the first major resolution as most of the “good guys” survived and won the day against Propater and made it back to their own territory. Of course, that doesn’t mean a whole lot as even in this volume we get a whole new outing of blood and guts and betrayal and such in a rather self contained volume. Where the last few have largely been dealing with the standoff and firefight that happened on the mountain, this volume takes a closer look at Sophia and gives us the background on her, a like the previous volume gave us the background on Kenji. On top of that is the introduction of an AI, Maya, and the movement of Elijah’s mother and sister. Truly, this volume is rather full, but it definitely satisfies.
The first part of the volume deals with Sophia, and her situation as she interacts with the information that the group was trying to keep from Propater. This information turns out to be Maya, some sort of AI, who observes various points during Sohpia’s life. Like everyone in the series, Sophia is messed up, and rather messed up royally. As a human she was unable to truly feel, filtering her experiences as if they were happening to someone else. It’s a rather strange tale that she tells, where she was never loved and so never felt she could love anyone. She lived her life in a shell of sort, running away from feelings, and throwing herself into other pursuits. Strangely, or perhaps fittingly, it is only when she becomes a full cyborg that she comes into her own and really starts to feel. That is when she can start trying to make up for the rest of her life, when suddenly she is able to experience things for herself. It is also when she is unable to cry, which is telling in many ways because it means that she begins to feel better when she is incapable of crying, when she can finally let go more and not have to put on the brave face.
The rest of the volume deals bit more with Elijah as he repairs Cherubim and tries to rescue his mother and sister from Propater. Of course, this deals with a very complicated battle where a great many characters are drawn into the conflict as a great many people want Elijah’s mother and sister to have as hostages against Elijah’s father. Even so, this is a rather crazy battle at an airport and everything goes nuts as Aeons and robots and mech suits and soldiers shoot up the place and make a grand mess. Through all of this we see Elijah try things on his own and Sophia and Kenji are along for the ride trying to retrieve Maya’s real body. Maya eventually shows up, and really the most confusing part of this volume was learning that Maya was a guy. I guess the art threw me for a loop because he looks quite feminine for most of the parts he is there, and then when is body emerges naked you learn that he’s a he. In fact, a couple of characters fall victim to this fate, as the art does not really make that much a distinction between a male youth and a female. They look the same, and I am left wondering what the deal it.
But really that’s a small complaint. Here really we are treated to a frantic assault and can once again feel as the battle goes way over the character’s heads. It’s a bit overwhelming keeping up with who is on what side, but it all works out in the end. That is to say, a few characters die or seem to die and the battle wraps up, which is rather refreshing for a volume of manga, not to draw it out even further. And the series does a nice job in deepening the plot following the rather simple last few volumes where the only real goal was to get through alive. The mystery of what Maya is and what is really going on is still present, and we are still left wondering what the hell happened to the kid, Enoah, from the first volume. We continue to learn his history, little by little, but it is teased so slowly that it is the biggest mystery in all of this, who he is.
Otherwise, the volume does all the right things when it comes to building things back up after a fairly long storyline, giving the reader more insight into some of the characters while dialing right back up the violence and action. New ideas and characters arrive and some are taken off the board, though how the deaths will affect the overall story I’m not sure yet. Still, this series remains a very good, albeit dark and gritty, dystopian future that I still find myself drawn to. It’s fascinating, and I wonder where eventually the story will come down on whether or not any of these characters is redeemable. They are all going down dark paths, and I wonder where it will lead them. For this leg of the journey, though, I give the volume an 8.25/10.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 9, 2012
Now we’re really going somewhere! The fifth installment to the “Eden” saga is the best yet since the very strong opening volume. The story has completely recovered from the abysmal mess that was volume three and is now building a plot filled with intrigue, supported by strong character content and a determined grasp of themes and issues. Promising material that makes you want to know where we’re heading next.
March 30, 2024
The opening two chapters introduce us to Maya, an artificial intelligence developed by Propater who functions as a Greek chorus to Sophia as she works her way through her own memories. I can certainly see why some would view the backstory as “edgy”, though I think it effectively explores the mindset of someone who seems tailor made to become a cyborg, struggling with how to associate pain and emotion with herself while in a human body where understanding is gained only after experiencing a rebirth. The ending beat calling on an appeal to indulging in emotion is something Endo returns to a couple of times later, but it does a good job at closing the loop on the backstory segment.
The rest of the volume concerns the setup and execution of a multifunctional action set piece concerning the safety of Elijah’s mother and sister and the repossession of Maya’s physical body. Although shades of espionage thriller were present in Kenji’s backstory in the pervious volume, this is where Endo is first able to showcase his ability to map complex sociopolitical dynamics. He manages to introduce us to the various political actors converging around the heist (Propater, Nomad, Elijah, Sophia and Kenji, the local police, and other civilian power structures), letting the audience know who they are and their objectives at all times without at any point slowing down the action to exposit or provide extraneous characterization. It’s particularly remarkable the degree of lethality he introduces to the proceedings; while characters in the previous arc danced eagerly on the edge of death, here they are thrown straight into the fire, serving their role and expiring the moment the narrative demands it, eschewing any extraneous characterization beyond the implications of their visual designs. In addition to firmly establishing the stakes, it also prevents individual battles from being drawn out to the point of exhaustion, allowing for the full scenario to keep a taut, crisp pace. The willingness to fly from faction to faction also helps increase the density of the world, with the amount of background world building detail available from panel to panel making the chapters feel more encompassing than the plot actually is.
Unlike the first arc, where he’s a bystander conscripted into NOMAD’s flight without any choice, here Elijah throws himself into a complex political world in an attempt to satisfy a black-and-white hero’s quest to rescue his family. However, the best of intentions do not safeguard against the worst of outcomes, with final pages of the chapter solidifying the consequences of his interference that form the basis of his emotional arc through the next couple of volumes. As great as the initial volumes are, here Endo takes the blinders off and shows the first glimpse of his real ambitions.
The rest of the volume concerns the setup and execution of a multifunctional action set piece concerning the safety of Elijah’s mother and sister and the repossession of Maya’s physical body. Although shades of espionage thriller were present in Kenji’s backstory in the pervious volume, this is where Endo is first able to showcase his ability to map complex sociopolitical dynamics. He manages to introduce us to the various political actors converging around the heist (Propater, Nomad, Elijah, Sophia and Kenji, the local police, and other civilian power structures), letting the audience know who they are and their objectives at all times without at any point slowing down the action to exposit or provide extraneous characterization. It’s particularly remarkable the degree of lethality he introduces to the proceedings; while characters in the previous arc danced eagerly on the edge of death, here they are thrown straight into the fire, serving their role and expiring the moment the narrative demands it, eschewing any extraneous characterization beyond the implications of their visual designs. In addition to firmly establishing the stakes, it also prevents individual battles from being drawn out to the point of exhaustion, allowing for the full scenario to keep a taut, crisp pace. The willingness to fly from faction to faction also helps increase the density of the world, with the amount of background world building detail available from panel to panel making the chapters feel more encompassing than the plot actually is.
Unlike the first arc, where he’s a bystander conscripted into NOMAD’s flight without any choice, here Elijah throws himself into a complex political world in an attempt to satisfy a black-and-white hero’s quest to rescue his family. However, the best of intentions do not safeguard against the worst of outcomes, with final pages of the chapter solidifying the consequences of his interference that form the basis of his emotional arc through the next couple of volumes. As great as the initial volumes are, here Endo takes the blinders off and shows the first glimpse of his real ambitions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 8, 2025
I’ve decided to leave the same review for every volume after the first, since my thoughts remain basically unchanged:
What happened???
While the art remains jaw-droppingly clean, detailed, and to die for, the story completely flies off the rails. What began as a tight, post-apocalyptic survival tale about a boy and a robot navigating a ruined world slowly devolves into a chaotic sprawl of disconnected narratives.
The time jump (twenty years? maybe more?) is so abrupt it practically gives you whiplash. Suddenly there are new characters, new factions, and entire genres being swapped out every few chapters. One moment it’s a military desert campaign, the next it’s a political thriller, then a mob drama, a romance, a heist flick with a mech/powersuit fight for good measure, and now… a hostage situation involving a Chinese pipeline and terrorists? I honestly lost track of what this series wants to be.
Even more confusing, the world doesn’t seem all that post-apocalyptic anymore. There are bustling airports and packed cities, so the supposedly world-ending virus from Volume 1 ends up feeling like an afterthought. And while I don’t mind adult themes, the sudden focus on sex workers and drug trade politics feels tonally jarring — like each arc was written for a different series entirely.
That said, the art remains absolutely stunning. Hiroki Endo’s attention to realism and architectural precision puts him in the same conversation as Otomo (Akira) and Inoue (Vagabond). His clean linework, visual logic, and panel clarity are so good they almost redeem the narrative chaos. Almost.
In the end, the art alone earns this series a solid 4 out of 5, but I have to dock a full star for the storytelling inconsistency. It’s visually magnificent — but narratively lost.
What happened???
While the art remains jaw-droppingly clean, detailed, and to die for, the story completely flies off the rails. What began as a tight, post-apocalyptic survival tale about a boy and a robot navigating a ruined world slowly devolves into a chaotic sprawl of disconnected narratives.
The time jump (twenty years? maybe more?) is so abrupt it practically gives you whiplash. Suddenly there are new characters, new factions, and entire genres being swapped out every few chapters. One moment it’s a military desert campaign, the next it’s a political thriller, then a mob drama, a romance, a heist flick with a mech/powersuit fight for good measure, and now… a hostage situation involving a Chinese pipeline and terrorists? I honestly lost track of what this series wants to be.
Even more confusing, the world doesn’t seem all that post-apocalyptic anymore. There are bustling airports and packed cities, so the supposedly world-ending virus from Volume 1 ends up feeling like an afterthought. And while I don’t mind adult themes, the sudden focus on sex workers and drug trade politics feels tonally jarring — like each arc was written for a different series entirely.
That said, the art remains absolutely stunning. Hiroki Endo’s attention to realism and architectural precision puts him in the same conversation as Otomo (Akira) and Inoue (Vagabond). His clean linework, visual logic, and panel clarity are so good they almost redeem the narrative chaos. Almost.
In the end, the art alone earns this series a solid 4 out of 5, but I have to dock a full star for the storytelling inconsistency. It’s visually magnificent — but narratively lost.
April 29, 2020
Amazing!!!!!
March 8, 2024
This one was largely Sophia's backstory. Even after that, she's still my favourite character.
Also, totally unnecessary airport violence and a new AI.
Also, totally unnecessary airport violence and a new AI.
February 1, 2025
Dark and very intense at moments, I enjoyed this volume a lot though and I’m excited to delve deeper into this world!
October 10, 2015
由此集開始，我個人定義為「第二部」。故事進入文明世界，畫鋒也逐漸變得紮實，猜測第四集跟第五集之間應該隔了一段時間。
遠藤習慣在開始一個大故事前，先用一集多一點的篇幅作為序曲，銜接前後篇章，本集就起著這樣的作用（艾力亞淪落凡塵預備備）。這一集也是「蘇菲亞之章」，跟上集一樣，遠藤在主線之間穿插介紹主要角色的過去，有點美劇《LOST》的作風。MAYA驚鴻一撇初登場，這個角色將是後面劇情的關鍵人物。
遠藤習慣在開始一個大故事前，先用一集多一點的篇幅作為序曲，銜接前後篇章，本集就起著這樣的作用（艾力亞淪落凡塵預備備）。這一集也是「蘇菲亞之章」，跟上集一樣，遠藤在主線之間穿插介紹主要角色的過去，有點美劇《LOST》的作風。MAYA驚鴻一撇初登場，這個角色將是後面劇情的關鍵人物。
September 3, 2016
Back story for Sophia and another elaborate action sequence, this time in an airport. While the action is exciting stuff, it slows down the story and some panels are too busy to work out who is shooting at whom.
January 23, 2013
Interesting back story and a refocus on plot.
February 2, 2013
4.5 stars
April 14, 2014
A little confusing (wish the series included recap pages...) but the action was good, parts of it felt like a blockbuster action movie.
December 31, 2014
Whyyy Whyyy Whyyy plot twist in the end
August 7, 2017
We got flashbacks for Sophia in the first part, which was quite interesting. The second part of the manga was complete action to save Eliah's mother and sister which ended with a big failure . This's gone way more Game of thrones in killing characters...
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews