Otakuism

In the near future, maybe in Japan, humans and androids will live side by side, identical except for the data halo’s that float above androids’s heads. Average teenager Rikuo becomes concerned for his family’s android, Sammy, when he finds an odd string of data in her memory. Investigating with his friend Masaki they find that the data leads to a cafe with only one rule: in this cafe there is no discrimination between humans and androids.

This is the first work by indie anime director Yasuhiro Yoshiura I’ve seen, but I’m determined to find his other works now, as Eve no Jikan just blows me away. It takes the almost cliche story idea of humans and androids living together and infuses it with new life by using wonderful visuals and a low-key style. The main plot is very simple: why would an android freely go to a cafe where it could pretend to be human, but the ideas and questions it brings up are numerous, especially when the twist at the end of the episode is brought into effect. I particularly like all the little things that are shown to provide more depth to this near future world.

Robots have revolutionized agriculture but food that is specifically grown by human hands is advertised as being better. The media labels and mocks “dori-kei,” or android otaku who refuse to treat their androids like slaves. The fact that Rikuo just may empathize with the dori-kei also adds a lot of depth to his character. Masaki, a character who appears superfluous at first, also adds his unique spin on things as it is revealed that his family owns no androids and he views the whole cafe and dori-kei phenomenon with a sense of distant disgust.

However, the visuals are the real star of the show. It’s easy to draw comparisons to Makoto Shinkai in Yoshiura’s use of light and shadows in showing Rikuo’s every day life. However, the show shuns from the epic vistas of Shinkai, keeping everything focused on the perspective of Rikuo. The only sweeping views we get are multiple angles of the cafe. The camera, unlike most anime, isn’t static but moves with the characters, sometimes switching to a literal eye’s view to make the situation more personal. It gives the show a lot more life, though it was a bit too shaky at times.

Overall I’m completely infatuated with Eve no Jikan. It’s one of those unique shows that doesn’t feel like anime while still using animation to its fullest extent. The wonderful direction and visuals, added together with the though provoking story, make this an award winner all around. Eve no Jikan is actually an ONA production, so does anybody know how long it will be between episodes?