Forum › Eden no Otome discussion

Sena
joined Jun 27, 2017

The feeling I get is just that the author decided to throw in all classic tropes - all-girls school. Flower gardens. Arranged marriages. Deranged psychopaths. It feels to me just like a "I'm picking this classic setting and adding a few twists to it"; I'm a bit dubious about how concerned this story is with anything beyond this.

joined Jul 26, 2016

Same. As mentioned before it remains to be seen if any of this will have any actual plot relevance - not holding my breath, personally.

Eetw4a5ueaiu2_t
joined Jun 1, 2017

Also, it really does seem like the story is heading toward an Aoi x Kohane ending at this point, but it's got a lot of work ahead of it to get there from here.

Just as it should. I'm actually praying for Kohane x Aoi (or Aoi x Kohane) ending in my mind every day since the first time they met.

Fingers crossed!!

joined Feb 21, 2018

You're welcome to come up with more plausible in-universe reasons for the phenomenom to still be kicking around than good old dynastic alliance-building.
I'll wait.

Good old dynastic alliance building isnt even still a thing in modern Japan, let alone in the future after the near apocalypse. Besides, the point is that I shouldnt have to fill in the bubbles myself.

You said it yourself - "business reasons." AKA what I've been repeating ad nauseum about strategic alliances, power and wealth.

And like I have said over and over again, they would have to be very specific story based business reasons why a rich girl can only marry this one specific other rich girl. Its all about the specific reasoning, not some reader assumption made to fill in a plothole.

You seem to have some rather odd, if not downright naive, ideas about how powerful upper-class clans have universally operated everywhere and still do in many parts, and why.

The irony is palpable. You seem to have some fantastical idea how upper-class clans operate, it seems you have been reading too much shoujo manga stuffed with unrealistic situations that it has become your default.

OrangePekoe Admin
Animesher.com_tamako-market-midori-tokiwa-deviantart-950416a
joined Mar 20, 2013

Eden no Otome ch06 has a minor error in pg 8, it was fixed https://hachimitsu-scans.blogspot.com/2018/05/let-there-be-light.html

Fixed, finally.

Megu
joined Mar 22, 2014

Oof, chapter 8 page 13... I may be reading too much into it, but I sure as heck ship Aoi x Kohane.

"I was able to show her everything inside of me, but I'm sure (I like)"

Of course, that's after splicing up two different things going on at once.

Omochikaeri_thumb
joined Nov 2, 2013

Aoi sure is an interesting character huh. She seems to have OCD or some sort of personality disorder.

but I sure as heck ship Aoi x Kohane

Me too. Seeing more of Aoi's personality I feel more confident they are end game since Aoi seems to be obsessed with being perfect and Kohane, like Hanatsuka, is dirty and clumsy.

last edited at Jun 17, 2018 3:31AM

Yuu
joined Mar 28, 2015

I'm 80% sure that Kohane is more attracted to Aoi than to Hanatsuka, even if she doesn't realize it completely. She's attracted to her intensity.

And of course, Sayuri is attracted to Kohane and it'll be a triangle. Or a square.

Megu
joined Mar 22, 2014

Aoi sure is an interesting character huh. She seems to have OCD or some sort of personality disorder.

but I sure as heck ship Aoi x Kohane

Me too. Seeing more of Aoi's personality I feel more confident they are end game since Aoi seems to be obsessed with being perfect and Kohane, like Hanatsuka, is dirty and clumsy.

Maybe Kohane will eventually (metaphorically) fix up the broken garden that is Aoi. :^)

Sena
joined Jun 27, 2017

♪ Well alright
There are women
In Cypress Grove
And if they catch ya
You don't go home ♫

Megu
joined Mar 22, 2014

Oops, I'm like, triple posting here, lol. Couldn't find the raws for chapters 10-13, but I read 14 & 15 on the Pixiv site, and...

(Image is from chapter 15, but not really a spoiler) So cute.

Lengthy summaries below, LOL.

Chapter 14:

Oof, Aoi x Kohane (platonic) bonding time in chapter 14. I don't know what happened in the chapters before this, so I'm guessing Aoi was ready to leave the club, but Kohane (who still hasn't joined) comforts her (she points out the "himawari" (sunflower) and "tachiaoi" (hollyhock) in the garden, both of which are spelled with Aoi's given name in kanji, and tells Aoi that her flowers have properly bloomed), reassures Aoi that she is very much so needed within the club, and tells her that ever since Aoi attacked her, Kohane made the realization that nothing would change by just sitting around and doing nothing.

Kohane essentially tells Aoi that there is meaning to her membership with the club: Aoi is the reason that Kohane is finally trying to make something out of her own hands and change for the better. Without Aoi, Kohane feels that she would've just been stuck in an indecisive limbo forever. After hearing this, Aoi thinks Kohane is selfish for coming up with such a reason that ties her down to the club, but is grateful nonetheless. Kohane suggests that they start over from the beginning. Aoi takes her hand and agrees.

Chapter 15:

Kohane actually wakes up on time for school, what a miracle. And the reason for this is out of excitement after finally being able to get along with Aoi. However, her mood is quickly destroyed by her atrocious test grades. In this scene, she points out that she and Sayuri's seats have been separated after the exams ended, so they have probably become more distant.

After class, Kohane finds Aoi standing right outside of her classroom door (causing Kohane to think: "No way. Did the Aimiya-senpai actually come here just for me?) Aoi, in standard tsundere fashion, asks Kohane if she was planning to go to the gardening club, and suggests that they go together (so Aoi can face Rekka, and Kohane can finally join). Kohane teases Aoi by asking if she was actually just too scared to go alone. Aoi responds to this by asking, "Sorry, did you say something? ( ᓀ ‸ ᓂ )"

Of course, Sayuri sees this and calls out to Kohane, worried that Aoi has coerced her into something again. However, Kohane clears things up by reassuring Sayuri that she and Aoi have actually just become friends. Sayuri asks why and how they even became friends after the "incident" (refer to chapter 4) like nothing ever happened, and she calls them weird for making up at all. Aoi responds by pointing out that Sayuri had been behaving similarly- just like nothing had ever happened at all- and calls her weird for doing so as well. The two of them tell each other (at the same time) that the other has no room to speak.

Kohane tries to calm them down, which causes Sayuri to realize she had shown an unsightly side of herself to Kohane, and runs off. Kohane is about to run after her when Aoi tells her not to do so until she's sure she knows how to tackle Sayuri's feelings, and that if Kohane spends all of her time chasing after people's backs, then she will never change. Aoi then apologizes to Kohane (in a tsundere fashion, of course) for that "incident", to which Kohane asks her to repeat it, since she didn't hear it properly. Embarrassed, Aoi storms off ahead of her towards the gardening club. Lagging behind, Kohane thinks to herself that everyone is kind of cruel, and that if they have something important to say, they should just suck it up and say it already.

When Kohane and Aoi get to the garden, Aoi is a nervous wreck when she sees Rekka. She clings onto Kohane's skirt, and is unable to formulate any words. Kohane tells Aoi to get her shit together and face her fears, but Aoi comes up with an excuse to run off and ends up pushing Kohane towards Rekka instead so she can deal with her business first. With Aoi gone, Kohane tells Rekka that she wants to join the gardening club for real now... but for some reason, Rekka formally declines the request, essentially stomping on Kohane's earlier plans in chapter 14.

last edited at Jun 17, 2018 4:12PM

OmegaBlue0231
joined Jan 11, 2018

Of course, Sayuri sees this and calls out to Kohane, worried that Aoi has coerced her into something again. However, Kohane clears things up by reassuring Sayuri that she and Aoi have actually just become friends. Sayuri asks why and how they even became friends after the "incident" (refer to chapter 4) like nothing ever happened, and she calls them weird for making up at all. Aoi responds by pointing out that Sayuri had been behaving similarly- just like nothing had ever happened at all- and calls her weird for doing so as well. The two of them tell each other (at the same time) that the other has no room to speak.

Well time to dump this series.

That combined with her saying the incident helped her grow is just too much.

last edited at Jun 17, 2018 8:51AM

Yuu
joined Mar 28, 2015

I find it interesting because the MC, for once, doesn't seem to be going for the beautiful onee-sama or "the-girl-who's-been-at-her-side-the-whole-time", ala Strawberry Panic.

I tip my hat to the way the kindof sexual assault has been handled because, actually, it has not been hand-waved but integrated in the 3way relationship of Aoi x Kohane x Sayuri.

I can understand why some people don't like the idea of an assault not having consequences, but I'll just say that it's not that kind of story. The author isn't writing about rape. They are writing about complex relationships between girls in the context of a menless world.

last edited at Jun 17, 2018 11:18AM

EnjoyTheNoise
Zigv3uyqlg0hih2ixcp8saivs99g-ehejzp51vcc89w
joined Feb 8, 2018

What the hell is even happening here, fuck this.
And all these things revealed by Seira are in chapters 14-15??? That's some fucking slow progess.
I'm out.

Megu
joined Mar 22, 2014

For starters, I’d like to say I don’t condone sexual assault, but this is all taking place in a world that’s different than ours. Perhaps assault is viewed differently there, or taken lighter for whatever reason, or the girls have been conditioned to put on nothing but a pretty face in public, or Kohane & co. are simply just insane for tolerating it. People are reading too deeply into it if they think the “message” the author is sending is that assault is okay. For us, obviously it isn’t, but their world is different from ours and we know too little to be making assumptions.

Personally, I think the author was just trying to show the readers (and Kohane) that Aoi is super broken, and at the same time, super passionate and utterly mad for Rekka. Kohane realizes here that Aoi is beautiful for even being able to have these thoughts in the first place, and admires Aoi’s personal “garden” (even if it’s not something she’s necessarily on board with). And I feel like we might not have seen Kohane’s true feelings about the actual incident itself. Perhaps Sayuri has finally ended the silence with her recent confrontation.

Although, I understand that the assault can make people uncomfortable and drive them away from the series. There is nothing wrong with that at all. All I’m trying to say is that the message the author was getting across was not assault = okay. Perhaps Aoi’s intensity and brokenness were just executed really poorly, but I don’t think that should be a testament to the author’s moral compass.

Basically what Nya-chan said:

I tip my hat to the way the kindof sexual assault has been handled because, actually, it has not been hand-waved but integrated in the 3way relationship of Aoi x Kohane x Sayuri.

I can understand why some people don't like the idea of an assault not having consequences, but I'll just say that it's not that kind of story. The author isn't writing about rape. They are writing about complex relationships between girls in the context of a menless world.

EDIT: I wonder if there's a reason why everybody's pretending it's okay and like nothing ever happened. Never mind Aoi, Kohane and Sayuri, it seems like even Rekka is turning a blind eye to it. However, Kohane is aware that something is wrong and yet, everyone (including herself) seems to be so adamant on preserving the peace in the garden. Maybe everyone in the club has committed some kind of sin (excluding Kohane, because she's not a member of the club), but they're all choosing to be silent about it with each other. Or maybe the seven deadly sins? (Aoi = Lust, Sayuri = Greed? Wrath?, Rekka = unknown, maybe something to do with the president, Kanamori = Pride?, Ukyou & Momo = ... Gluttony?, Kohane = Envy? And maybe one for the president herself?)

last edited at Jun 17, 2018 5:06PM

Omochikaeri_thumb
joined Nov 2, 2013

I agree with Seira and Nya-chan

I find it interesting because the MC, for once, doesn't seem to be going for the beautiful onee-sama or "the-girl-who's-been-at-her-side-the-whole-time", ala Strawberry Panic.

I did expect it to go the route of strawberry panic so im pleasantly surprised it didnt. Since we are on the topic of sexual assault, strawberry panic is the one that hand waves it away. Shizuma is a toxic person but that part of her personality is completely ignored and she still ends up with Nagisa without really working on herself.

Aoi in the spoilers seems to be taking more responsibility and is aware of her toxic behavior. Shes a broken girl and just the fact that shes trying to get along with Kohane even after hating her in the beginning shows she has way more room for growth then Shizuma ever did.

last edited at Jun 17, 2018 2:00PM

Yuu
joined Mar 28, 2015

Seira posted:

EDIT: I wonder if there's a reason why everybody's pretending it's okay and like nothing ever happened. Never mind Aoi, Kohane and Sayuri, it seems like even Rekka is turning a blind eye to it. However, Kohane is aware that something is wrong and yet, everyone (including herself) seems to be so adamant on preserving the peace in the garden. Maybe everyone in the club has committed some kind of sin (excluding Kohane, because she's not a member of the club), but they're all choosing to be silent about it with each other. Or maybe the seven deadly sins? (Aoi = Lust, Sayuri = Greed? Wrath?, Rekka = unknown, maybe something to do with the president, Kanamori = Pride?, Ukyou & Momo = ... Gluttony?, Kohane = Envy? And maybe one for the president herself?)

There's some underlying meaning, beside botany, in this and this.

The girls are the flowers, obviously, And what the vice-president implies is some sort of supervision the girls are under in this "Garden Of Eden". I think the vice-president is probably someone who has given up because the one she loves (the president) can't be with her. But she doesn't want to move on, so she rejects Aoi and embrace the philosophy of protecting the status-quo, because if someone breaks it, it would mean her "sacrifice" is meaningless.

Anything unnecessary will be removed, or rejected. That's probably why Kohane is rejected when she wants to enter the gardening club: she disturbs the balance in the club.

It's very Japanese: the group protects the wa and the harmony continues, even if it's only on the surface. And the pests are removed.

last edited at Jun 17, 2018 6:19PM

Omochikaeri_thumb
joined Nov 2, 2013

Seira posted:

EDIT: I wonder if there's a reason why everybody's pretending it's okay and like nothing ever happened. Never mind Aoi, Kohane and Sayuri, it seems like even Rekka is turning a blind eye to it. However, Kohane is aware that something is wrong and yet, everyone (including herself) seems to be so adamant on preserving the peace in the garden. Maybe everyone in the club has committed some kind of sin (excluding Kohane, because she's not a member of the club), but they're all choosing to be silent about it with each other. Or maybe the seven deadly sins? (Aoi = Lust, Sayuri = Greed? Wrath?, Rekka = unknown, maybe something to do with the president, Kanamori = Pride?, Ukyou & Momo = ... Gluttony?, Kohane = Envy? And maybe one for the president herself?)

There's some underlying meaning, beside botany, in this and this.

The girls are the flowers, obviously, And what the vice-president implies is some sort of supervision the girls are under in this "Garden Of Eden". I think the vice-president is probably someone who has given up because the one she loves (the president) can't be with her. But she doesn't want to move on, so she rejects Aoi and embrace the philosophy of protecting the status-quo, because if someone breaks it, it would mean her "sacrifice" is meaningless.

Anything unnecessary will be removed, or rejected. That's probably why Kohane is rejected when she wants to enter the gardening club: she disturbs the balance in the club.

It's very Japanese: the group protects the wa and the harmony continues, even if it's only on the surface. And the pests are removed.

An interesting theory, I always assumed that everyone's ideal "garden" was a metaphor for their emotional state. I keep getting drawn back to Aoi from what she say's here she hates dirty things but says a garden full of pests and bramble would be worth protecting if they surrounded a single beautiful flower. Maybe it has something to do with how messed up her emotional state is now since not receiving any flowers from Rekka.

Megu
joined Mar 22, 2014

There's some underlying meaning, beside botany, in this and this.

The girls are the flowers, obviously, And what the vice-president implies is some sort of supervision the girls are under in this "Garden Of Eden". I think the vice-president is probably someone who has given up because the one she loves (the president) can't be with her. But she doesn't want to move on, so she rejects Aoi and embrace the philosophy of protecting the status-quo, because if someone breaks it, it would mean her "sacrifice" is meaningless.

Anything unnecessary will be removed, or rejected. That's probably why Kohane is rejected when she wants to enter the gardening club: she disturbs the balance in the club.

It's very Japanese: the group protects the wa and the harmony continues, even if it's only on the surface. And the pests are removed.

Interesting! I was looking too deeply at the surface and hadn't actually considered that the girls could be flowers in this Garden of Eden (should've been obvious, ahh). I mean, the title is "Maidens in the Garden of Eden" (in German, supposedly). :P

Again, I've never read chapters 10-13, but I wonder if Rekka never intended to let Kohane join, or if something happened. I also wonder if Aoi will join the garden again if she finds out that Kohane has been rejected.

In any case, I wonder what Sayuri's "ideal garden" looks like, haha.

Yuu
joined Mar 28, 2015

At least, my opinion on this improved.

I thought at first it would be a Maria-sama or a Strawberry Panic, but Kohane doesn't seem to be a Nagisa at all.

Capturedsfdsss_x213
joined Mar 16, 2018

Everyone still seems vaguely insane, like they could snap at any moment. It's like the school is just filled with Jack Torrance's.

Megu
joined Mar 22, 2014

Aoi was/is broken, Rekka is probably broken, Kanamori’s odd remark of flowers looking unsightly in a birdcage and suddenly panning over to Aoi (who’s holding a sunflower under a gazebo in the shape of a birdcage), nobody’s visiting the courtyard, and Kohane still isn’t a member of the club.

Interesting...

Midnightgunner
Gt00pn-odpc
joined Sep 30, 2017

I´m sorry... No matter how much the author tries, I just cannot feel any sympathy for the yandere rapist or the president who just decided to brush it over like nothing happened. I really don´t like these characters.

last edited at Jun 28, 2018 1:01AM

Dynasty%20avatar
joined Sep 10, 2017

Just a random Aoi x Rekka shipper passing by ~

joined Jul 21, 2016

All this drama going on and all I want is for kohane x sayuri to happen.

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