I often get asked by older anime fans who haven't watched newer anime in ages if I have any suggestions on more “modern” titles I'd recommend—so here's the beginning of a new, sporadic article series that you may see pop up on the blog from time to time! I hope you enjoy it.
Recently, I was gifted a copy of the Time of Eve Complete Collection bluray from Animeigo! As always, while this bluray was provided to me from the publisher, my thoughts and opinions are my own.
Time of Eve is a title that I think a lot of anime fans, old AND new, might have missed out when it was initially released in the US. Originally funded by a Kickstarter in 2010, both the original ONA and Film versions only ever had a modest fanbase in the English-speaking world. In 2010, streaming was still pretty new, and even with Crunchyroll adding the title to their streaming catalog, it was still hard to compete with the titles that were coming out at the time. This is one of the reasons why I was so excited to hear that Animeigo was going to be doing a brand new release of Time of Eve-- this is a title that I really love, and I hope that it finds its way into more people's hearts and collections.
Set in a not-too-far-off future where technology has advanced enough, almost every household now has it's own helper android. And most of these androids are indistinguishable from humans—save for a digital halo visible around their heads. But hidden in a quiet alleyway, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, is a little cafe called “Time of Eve”. And in this secluded little cafe, you can have a cup of coffee, chat with the fellow patrons, and stay as long as you like. But there's one rule: “You cannot discriminate between Androids and Humans.” For here in Time of Eve, androids turn off their digital halos, and relax away from those who might hate them just for being who they are.
When we first venture into Time of Eve, it's through high schoolers Rikuo and Masaki—one who treats androids like appliances, and the other someone who distrusts all robots. But through meeting and talking to the various patrons at the cafe, both boys seem to slowly form friendships with some of the regulars. And because they can't tell who is android and who is human, they start to realize that maybe they have to reevaluate their feelings about androids, and their relationships with them in their everyday lives.
If you've ever played the Coffee Talk games, Time of Eve is sort of in the same vein: you learn more about the characters in the cafe the more they talk to each other. And similar to Coffee Talk, this anime uses the guise of “fear of androids” to be a metaphor for racism, transphobia, homophobia, etc: how people are quick to judge on the differences of others from themselves. But maybe--just maybe--if you actually talked to the ones you fear like they're human beings that deserve the same respect you do? You'd realize that you'd have more in common with them than you think. For something that was originally made all the way back in 2008, it's kind of sad that Time of Eve almost feels like it's even MORE relevant now than when it first was released.
If you're an older anime fan like myself, I think you'll appreciate Time of Eve for it's “soft” cyberpunk story, its strong character writing, and its down-to-earth, more realistic animation and character designs. This is also a title where I really enjoy the English dub that was made for it. Yuri Lowenthal and Michael Sinterniklaas have great chemistry as the two male leads, so much so that I've wondered if they actually recorded their lines together. Other stand-outs in the dub include Stephanie Sheh as Nagi, the warm but mysterious barista of the cafe, and Casey Mongillo as TEX, a household robot who was once a beloved member of a family, but has been wrongly silenced for years. For an anime that's extremely character-driven, it's great to hear such a strong cast for it's English version. They give these characters real depth and a lot of emotion, and even a few laughs here and there.
I do admit there's a few parts of animation here and there that might not have aged all that well, thanks to the original series coming out when digital anime was still working out some of the kinks, but Animeigo's done a great job making this release look just as good as the day it was animated. Don't expect it to be as good-looking as a big budget mainstream series, but it still has a great, subdued look that works well for the story. While Time of Eve was originally a 6-episode ONA (original net animation) released in 2008, there was also later a compilation movie that came out in 2010 that I think I prefer—it does a better job keeping the story a little tighter and cohesive. But both are included in this bluray collection, so you don't have to choose between them. The bluray is one of those “Kitchen Sink” releases that Animeigo is so well-known for: Pretty much everything from the original Kickstarter release is included, which means it has a TON of on-disc extras, and has a ton of language subtitle options—on top of the fact that the discs themselves are Region Free!
If you're an older anime fan that misses when more releases where of a thought-provoking sci-fi nature, and you missed it when it originally was released, I think now is a great time to give it a try!
As of this writing, you can order Time of Eve – The Complete Collection bluray directly from Animeigo's webstore (and get an exclusive slipcover!), and they also have copies of the Time of Eve light novel, which expands on the original story. You can stream the movie version of Time of Eve in the US for free on RetroCrush and Tubi.
If you enjoyed this writing, consider leaving me a tip on my ko-fi here! If you tip me 2 or more “coffees”, I will give you a shout-out in the Special Thanks segment of the next episode of my podcast!
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