Woah. Just……….WOAH. Get a tissue ready for this one. There were a few titles that came to mind based on the spoilers, but after reading the chapter; this is the only one that will fit. This will be Edens Zero Chapter 58: “The Reunion of Silence.”
The cover page depicts all 4 Starshines, together again. Seeing the 3 of them standing together makes me wonder; how did Ziggy land on 3 adult women, and then a 12 year old like Hermit. Like; he made these 4 himself! Did he run out of material and Hermit just ended up being the last one he made? If so; 1) Impressive based on how smart she is and 2)did they all have to be female? This cover is very misleading, as well as the caption; “The Ultimate Squad is about to Reunite!” Yeah…………
So the chapter is mostly flashback; 5 years ago on the planet Sun Jewel: Valkyrie has finally come across Kureani Kougetsu, Homura’s biological mother. Now; the translations are a bit weird. Mangafreak is really weird with this; last week clearly called her “Kureani Kougetsu,” but this week she is known as “Crimson Kougetsu.” @Doc on twitter is the guy I get the spoilers from, and he calls her “Kureani.” So we’ll go with Kureani. She’s sitting, exhausted and beaten when the Starshine walks up to her. “I’ve finally found you, Kureani Kougetsu. My name is Valkyrie, and you must be Homura’s mother.” She catches note of it; she hadn’t expected Homura to be alive by now. Because the last time she saw her was when Homura was like 5, and this takes place a little bit after last chapters flashback with the court case.
She then explains the situation for the women of Sun Jewel: “The Sex Traders called the Baron Mordon rules over these parts.” So…….how do I even segway into how messed up that is? No joke; that’s messed up, man. I’m currently watching season 3 of 13 Reasons Why(NO SPOILERS PLEASE!), and it’s continuing to deal with Jessica’s rape(mostly how she’s moving on from it). I like how Mashima sensei was able to address the issue without making it “the biggest part” of the chapter. It comes back later, but only in a subtle way. Anyway; Valkyrie offers to take Kureani back to her daughter. And she explains that she wants to return to Homura, but:
- She has the slave necklace on, indicating that in addition to being sex slave; the women also have to mine the stones as well.
- She came to Sun Jewel to to make money gambling, and then return to her daughter. But instead she racked up a mountain of debt, and she’s here to work it off. If she leaves, then she’ll end up endangering Homura with whatever comes with not paying that debt.
Valkyrie has a solution to both! The solution to the first problem: Paul. Valkyrie explains that he is a thief that can remove the collar. She got in a “little fight” with him, and now he follows her everywhere, calling her “teacher.” He doesn’t look battle damaged, though we don’t know how long ago that “fight” was prior to this. But at this point; he’s still wearing his collar. He explains that he’s wearing it so he can mine for a rare metal without arousing suspicion. This metal isn’t transferred to Baron Mordon(who, based on this chapter, was the “ruler” of Sun Jewel before Kureani); “Rakurima,” or “the Tears of Planets,” are high grade, condensed ether crystals that can be sold for a lot.
He told that to Kureani, who is still on the planet years later………….is she still looking for the Rakurima? Maybe she’s planning on giving this to Homura so she can live her life in a way Kureani never had, or could ever provide for her. I like the idea of a sympathetic villain in “Edens Zero” because of this chapter. I’ll talk about this more later and on my Facebook page, but keep this in mind.
As for problem #2; Valkyrie plans to take her place. Which makes sense; she’s tough enough to be the offense of the Edens Zero ship. She could probably pay off the debt in a week. She’a a machine; probably doesn’t even need to rest. And this Mordon guy probably won’t even care until the next time he’s h0rny. And maybe not even then; there are most likely more for him to……………anyway; it’s a smart idea. And she promises, “on the name of the Starshines,” that she’ll pay it off. So; Kureani promises to reunite with Homura.
2 years later; Paul and Valkyrie are having lunch. “A woman’s life if very short, isn’t it, teacher?” Paul asked; “a report came in recently that that Kureani woman you let escape became the wife of Baron Mordon.” Uh………..WHAT? That’s what Valkyrie asks. I’m guessing she did so to gain more money so she wouldn’t be left in the same position she was when she got into this mess. Because let’s say she did return; would they be able to live a good life, or would they still be broke? Valkyrie is mighty p!ssed by this, and plans to “drag her back” if necessary. Paul continues; “That woman murdered the Baron and took over the Planet. She now goes by the ‘Scarlet Woman.'” Like I said earlier; her life as a sex slave comes back, but not in a significant way. It may have mostly been about taking his money and position, but I like to think part of that was revenge for being his sex slave.
Paul tries to calm his teacher down, telling her Kureani is “Just on of those women.” And all the feminists of the world jumped into the panel just to kick him square in the nuts! No, but seriously; she mades debts at a casino, complained until somebody felt sympathy for her, and then found someone just DUMB enough to settle down with her and a whole lot of money to marry. She’s a conniving, manipulative demoness. Or a woman who wants to give her daughter a better life; you never know with anime. Valkyrie tells him: “Oh, don’t be like that. Being human or android is no excuse to be awful. What a stupid woman!’ She orders Paul to get these necklaces off so they can “put that woman in her place.” Just then; a loud “yelp!” comes from the mining area.
The miners are running from a hoard of stones, let loose by Kureani herself! And these stones are ripping into their bodies; people……..people died here. I remember one of the complaints about Fairy Tail being that no one died, which Mashima seems to be trying to correct in his new series. Especially with the end of the chapter. Valkyrie rushes to the scene, learning the full story: “The woman who came into power after the Baron ordered us to mine more metals, and released these stones on us!” One of the miners states that if they don’t stop the stones soon, then the living quarters won’t even be livable anymore. So they prepare a defense. Valkyrie tells them “not to interfere,” because she plans to stop them herself! “I was the one who released that VILE WOMAN; I’ll handle this myself!”
She begins transforming, gaining wings and creating multiple “Soul Blades” in the air around her. True to the norse reference in her name; this mode is called “Odin Strike.” But I like to call it………..well; I’ll save that for the big Homura moment that will most likey come later in the arc. And the next epic line before the bloodiest battle ever had: “I’ll show you what was once called…………EDENS SWORD!“And the blades just go EVERYWHERE, cutting through EVERYTHING in their path; massive explosions and bloody chaos ensue, as both the stones and Valkyrie give it their all to kill the other. God almighty; this could be considered a sannin right now! And Kureani laughs as all the metal Valkyrie is tearing off is transported to her. While back in the slums; Valkyrie continues to fight, even though the stones are tearing her apart, piece by piece.
By morning; the dust settles finally. She plants her sword in the ground, and thinks back to what Homura said: “I love you, Teacher!” She smirks, and thinks “I just remembered; I didn’t respond……………..I love you as well………….” And then it cuts to present day; Valkyrie is in that same spot, in the same stance; her blade planted into the ground, down on 1 knee when Homura finally arrives. And what she sees…………..is Valkyrie’s rotting corpes; half her body is actually gone, and her 1 eye lifeless. Homura’s eyes well with tears saying “It’s a lie………There’s no way it’s true……………..” Back with Shiki, Paul, and co; Paul tells them straight up: “She protected us……….then she died.” Edens Zero Chapter 58 END.
Now; some people were coming up with theories that Valkyrie would die this arc. And……….it’s not like they were WRONG. It’s just………….she was already dead. How are the Starshines going to take this news? How is Shiki taking this? Next chapter is probably going to be Homura blaming herself for Valkyrie’s death in some way. Shiki could either go and comfort his friend, or go immediately after Kureani. I hope it’s the former; I feel like they just need to mourn for the moment, collect themselves, and plot to avenge her. That’s the way I hope it goes, at least. But that’s all for now. Until next time!
Sun God Zero 