List Of Edens Zero Characters

The ''Edens Zero'' manga series features an extensive cast of characters created by Hiro Mashima. The story is set in a fictional universe called the , which comprises multiple planetary systems called "cosmoses" that the protagonists navigate using the titular spaceship. The characters consist mainly of humans, robots, and aliens, the majority of which inhabit the "Sakura Cosmos".

Described as a "space fantasy" series by Mashima, ''Edens Zero'' depicts several characters that use a magic-like technique called to harness their bodies' Ether – a magical power source – like the machines of their universe. Other characters include , which are users of an online video platform based on YouTube, and cyborgs, alternatively called in the series. Multiple iterations of the same characters from alternate histories also feature prominently throughout the story, particularly those created by , space monsters that consume the time of planets, and others who inhabit numbered parallel universes across the multiverse.

Critics and readers have compared the characters' designs and attributes to those from Mashima's earlier series ''Fairy Tail'', some of which they noted were intentionally derivative.

Creation and conception

When developing ''Edens Zero'', author Hiro Mashima wrote several characters' storylines to tie closely to the foundation of the story, which Mashima stated would "almost never change mid-series", amidst those he introduced and changed during the story's progression; he described his storytelling method as falling "somewhere in between" his previous works ''Rave Master'', whose stories and characters he had largely worked out by the series' midway point, and ''Fairy Tail'', where the only predetermined aspect was the backstory of protagonist Natsu Dragneel. Mashima's writing approach led him to include new characters to the main cast who were not originally planned to be, while several planned characters such as Homura and the Four Shining Stars were introduced earlier than intended, resulting in a majority of female characters joining the main cast over male characters.

A number of characters are modeled after characters from ''Rave Master'' and ''Fairy Tail'', including Happy, Elsie Crimson (Erza Scarlet), and Justice ( Sieg Hart and Jellal Fernandes). Plue, another recurring character in Mashima's manga who featured prominently in ''Rave Master'', makes a minor appearance as well. The manga also includes fictionalized versions of YouTubers whom Mashima has met.

When discussing the series' villains, Mashima stated that his personal theme for ''Edens Zero'' was to make them "the absolute worst kind of trash possible" so that readers could look forward to their downfalls, while also giving them their own convictions that would lead them to battle the protagonists. He was influenced to do so after receiving comments from those who sympathized with villains that he intended to be "real iecesof garbage" in his previous works.

For the manga's second half, which advances the story by three years, Mashima deliberately gave minor visual changes to most of the characters' designs apart from Shiki, whom he wanted to "stand out"; he added that, with the exception of Hermit and Jinn's redesigns, there "wasn't really any thought" put into these changes.

''Edens Zero'' crew

The primary characters of the series are the crew of the – ''Edens'' being an acronym for "Ether Drive Eternal Navigation System" – an interstellar warship left by Ziggy as inheritance to his adoptive grandson, Shiki. The crew's goal is to navigate the universe in search of Mother, both to prove her existence and have their wishes granted by her.

In the story's second half, the ''Edens Zero'' is revealed to have come from 20,000 years in the future of Universe 3173, a parallel universe where androids suffer an Ether shortage due to Mother's disappearance and humankind's ensuing extinction. To prevent this, the ship was built on the planet Eden for Ziggy to travel to Universe Zero, a temporal convergence point that influences all other universes in the multiverse, using the power of to travel through time. The crew uses Etherion to reach Universe Zero for the final story arc, only remembering events from past worlds in response to personal triggers after living altered, often idyllic lives, while also retaining their experiences in the new world.

Shiki Granbell

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is the sole human denizen of Granbell, a robot-inhabited theme park planet. Shiki uses the Ether Gear to freely manipulate gravity for himself and others, a power learned from his surrogate grandfather, Ziggy, who found him on a voyage for Mother beyond the Sakura Cosmos. He is characterized by his obsession with making friends, as well as a paralyzing fear of bugs. After Granbell's dying robot community chases him away with Rebecca to save him from solitude on their planet, Shiki searches for Mother to fulfill his goal of making 100 new friends across the universe. In the process, he receives the ''Edens Zero'' from Elsie Crimson and inherits Ziggy's title of "Demon King" as the ship's captain. During the series' second half, he gains a more serious and mature personality over a three-year period of fighting a resurrected, evil Ziggy in Universe 3, where Shiki is branded as one of the Oración Seis Galáctica for his growing power and vigilantism.

Continuing his theme of naming protagonists after seasons, Mashima chose the Japanese word meaning for the main character of ''Edens Zero'' to represent the culmination of his previous works. Mashima wrote that he often forgets to draw details of the character such as the patch on his cheek, and that he alternated between design attributes during development, such as giving him white hair instead of the final black, and whether or not Shiki would wear goggles. Other concept drawings depict Shiki wearing a bracelet that transforms into a gauntlet as an early concept for his Ether Gear. The character's transition into a young man was planned early in development, although Mashima hesitated to incorporate the change due to concerns of negative reactions from "fans of the boyishly cute Shiki"; he left traces of his old design to alleviate this, describing the change as "shifting him from cute to cool".

Rebecca Bluegarden

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is a and Shooting Starlight member from the planet Blue Garden, where she lives after being separated from her parents, Connor and Rachel, during her childhood. She aspires to attain one million subscribers for her account, , which suffers from low viewership due to poor-quality content. She is an expert markswoman who acquired her skills from playing first-person shooter video games. After stimulating her Ether through repeated baths in the ''Edens Zero''s spa, Rebecca develops her own Ether Gear called , which enhances her jumping power and agility, and allows her to rewind time and mentally "leap" into parallel universes at different points in time. This power becomes the source of Etherion, which is extracted from a version of her who is killed and sent 20,000 years into the future by a spacetime distortion on the planet Nero 66. Mashima developed the heroine character of ''Edens Zero'' before giving her a name, developing a variety of hairstyles and outfits before settling on the final design. The name "Rebecca" is taken from the Japanese band of the same name, drawing inspiration from their song "Friends" to compliment Shiki's friend-obsessed personality.

Happy

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is Rebecca's best friend and partner, based on the character of the same name from ''Fairy Tail''. He is a feline alien from the planet Excede who was fatally injured in a traffic accident during Rebecca's childhood, leading their benefactor, Professor Weisz, to transfer Happy's mind into an identical android body to help him survive. Happy can transform into a pair of firearms called , which fire non-lethal Ether bullets. He loses his mechanical abilities in Universe Zero, where he never experiences his accident and remains flesh and blood.

Weisz Steiner

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is a man from the planet Norma who practices the Ether Gear , which allows him to instantly remodel machines to improve their performance, deconstruct them, and create weapons. As a result of Weisz fleeing Norma before a chronophage rewinds fifty years of its history, there are two alternate versions of him that co-exist as separate people: his adolescent self, an amoral but good-natured criminal who joins the crew after betraying his gang's leader, ; and his elderly, present-day self, who has since matured into an esteemed robotics professor. During the crew's travels, the young Weisz assumes a superhero identity named , using a powered exoskeleton that he customizes with his Machina Maker. Mashima described Weisz as "one of the good guys, but still a scumbag", which he noted is an uncommon character type among his works. He also said that Weisz's role in the story was "pretty clearly laid out", which made it "fairly easy to get imto do what I want".

E.M. Pino

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is a miniature "anti-bot" android who generates an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that disables machinery and Ether Gear within range for short periods of time. Pino was built by Ziggy to become the , the "next generation" of androids to the Four Shining Stars, but had her memory erased by Sibir when she arrived on Norma for maintenance from the present-day Weisz. She joins Shiki after assigning him as her new master, later desiring to be reborn as a human through Mother. During the crew's battle with Ziggy on Lendard, he restores some of Pino's memory while struggling against the '' Edens One''s control, which allows her to fulfill her purpose of freeing him through her ability to Overdrive. Her full memory is left intact in Universe Zero, revealing that her intended role is to destroy the ''One''.

Mashima created Pino to serve as the mascot character of the series, but during development of the manga, he found it increasingly difficult to include her within the first chapter, where he incorporated Happy to stand in for her. As with Weisz, Mashima said that he found it "fairly easy" to write for Pino due to her established role in the story. He later called Pino his favorite character in the series, adding that he worked out "a lot" of story details for her, and that she would "probably" become an important character. Her name comes from Mashima's attempt to make the term "EMP" sound "cute".

Homura Kôgetsu

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is a young swordswoman from Oedo, a planet styled after Edo period Japan. She is trained by Valkyrie Yuna to use the Ether Gear , which creates swords and bladed weapons made of solid Ether. Homura has the habit of voicing her inner thoughts by mistake, stemming from Valkyrie's encouragement for Homura to overcome her quiet nature as a child. She first joins the crew to search for Valkyrie, who had gone missing for five years, and whom she regards as a mother figure after being abandoned ten years earlier by her uncaring biological mother, Kurenai. After discovering Valkyrie's death on Sun Jewel, Homura takes her place in the Four Shining Stars as "Valkyrie Homura". In Universe Zero's renewed history, she leads a miserable life in debt to Drakken Joe after witnessing Valkyrie's decapitation over Homura's accidental injuring of Seiji Hôjô, the son of Oedo's shogun, but recovers upon learning of Valkyrie's survival and reconciling with the now loving Kurenai. Mashima chose the character's name, which means , to give an impression of the color red and fire.

Four Shining Stars

The are a group of female androids created by Ziggy to serve aboard the ''Edens Zero''. Its members possess functions and powers that improve the ship's travel capacity, with all four required to authorize the use of Etherion. Each android also possesses a that enhances her combat skills. One of the androids, Valkyrie, is replaced by the human Homura after being discovered dead on the planet Sun Jewel.

Witch Regret

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is the , a masked sorceress who protects and manages the ''Edens Zero'', being the only Shining Star to remain aboard the ship upon its delivery to Shiki. She manipulates her own Ether in a fashion similar to magic, using to generate force fields, and to perform elemental attacks such as ice, air, and lightning. She is portrayed as kind and gentle, but becoming ruthless towards those who threaten her crewmates. She is killed during the Aoi War, with Universe 2's version of her perishing with the rest of the crew against Shura's antimatter bombs, while Universe 3's version sacrifices herself to shield the ''Edens Zero'' from the explosion. Her death is eventually undone when the crew travels to Universe Zero's past, although she does not regain her memories of previous worlds due to her absence from the ship during Etherion's activation.

Sister Ivry

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is a dominatrix nun who serves as the ship's medic, the . She uses a healing ability called , which allows her to instantly treat wounds, cure afflictions, and repair "living" machines such as herself and other androids. She is described as "scary" and "foul-mouthed", and uses the masculine pronoun ''ore'' in Japanese. Sister is seemingly introduced as the leader of , a mercenary squad on the planet Guilst, but is later revealed to have been impersonated for ten years by their leader, who held her hostage to monopolize her healing powers. In Universe Zero, her imposter's absence on Guilst leads to the real Sister forming Rogue Out as a vigilante corps that opposes Drakken Joe. When talking about Sister's full name, Mashima said that it had no particular meaning, choosing it because he "liked the sound of it".

Hermit Mio

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is a highly intelligent programmer android with the appearance and behavior of a young ''tsundere'' girl. As the , she manages the ship's computer security by using the hacking ability , which allows her reprogram networked technology to her liking. When first introduced, Hermit suffers from mental trauma due to being cruelly exploited and experimented upon fifteen years earlier by the human Müller and his research team, leading her to isolate her mind within the virtual planet Digitalis. She initially rejects Shiki's friendship out of hatred for humans, but overcomes her mistrust after the crew's kindness rekindles her desire for human friends. In Universe Zero, she avoids her traumatic experience altogether due to Müller's absence, and is found spending time playing on Digitalis.

Mashima originally named the character in her profile, but changed it after realizing he had already used the name for another character in the manga. He derived the name "Mio" from the Japanese word , which is used in ''waka'' as a pun on the phrase , something that Mashima felt reflected her personality. When redesigning the character for the three-year time skip, Mashima changed Hermit's hairstyle due to her resemblance to Hatsune Miku, which he stated was not intentional.

Valkyrie Yuna

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is the , the manager of the ''Edens Zero''s armaments. She is also Homura's childhood guardian and "Soul Blade" mentor. Valkyrie is first mentioned as having been missing for five years, leading Homura to join the ''Edens Zero'' crew in search of her. On Sun Jewel, Valkyrie is revealed to have been dead for three years after perishing against a horde of monsters unleashed by Kurenai, Homura's mother, whom Valkyrie freed from slavery in a misguided effort to reunite Homura with her biological family. In Homura's revised childhood in Universe Zero, Valkyrie is decapitated for her student's injuring of Seiji Hôjô, but survives because of her android nature. She waits on Sun Jewel together with Kurenai for Homura, who aimlessly searches for her mother after mistaking Valkyrie for dead, allowing Valkyrie to reunite with her student and crewmates. Mashima chose the character's full name because he wanted her to be "a darker-skinned character with a classically Japanese name".

Mosco Versa-0

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is a white-colored sumo android who works aboard the ''Edens Zero'' as its caretaker and Sister's verbally abused servant. He specializes in ''tsuppari'' techniques, which also allow him to achieve flight. He also has a button with an unknown function on his belly that Sister forbids anyone from pressing. Debuting as a member of Rogue Out who is reprogrammed to follow Sister's imposter, Mosco resumes his original duties after the real Sister restores him. He returns to being a Rogue Out member in Universe Zero's revised history, this time under the real Sister as a vigilante with dozens of identical robotic copies. Mashima did not originally plan to include Mosco in the ''Edens Zero'' crew, making the decision after he "took a liking" to the character while drawing him. The author based Mosco's name on the character's predetermined catchphrase, , which comes from the sumo term ''dosukoi''.

Connor

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is a spaceship captain from the Aoi Cosmos. He appears as a pompous and eccentric middle-aged man with expert piloting skills, using unorthodox methods to push ships beyond their usual capabilities. As the story transitions through different universes, the crew meets alternate versions of Connor that only Rebecca remembers: the original Connor from Universe 1 is the '' Edens One''s shipwrecked captain whom the ''Zero'' crew rescues en route to Sun Jewel; in Universe 2, he is a reluctant servant of Ziggy who is hired as the ''One''s pilot; and in Universe 3, he is an escaped worker from Ziggy's robot factory on Lendard who has no knowledge of the ''One''. He is eventually confirmed to be Rebecca's father, whose wife, Rachel, left him with their newborn daughter to protect him from being killed by her church for their forbidden marriage, with Universe 3's Connor joining the ''Zero'' crew and reuniting with his family after discovering his relationship with Rebecca.

The character's design underwent multiple changes during development, all depicting him as thinner and more attractive than the finished version as an overweight old man, with different hairstyles varying from a receding hairline to "silky smooth" hair. After storyboarding Connor's debut appearance, Mashima received input from his editor that Connor's feats were "not very interesting" for a "good-looking" character to perform. According to Mashima, the final design received complaints from his female staff over the change.

Jinn

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, truly named , is an ninja who first appears as part of the mercenary squad Rogue Out, and later as a minion of Drakken Joe. He uses the Ether Gear to perform ninjutsu techniques that produce winds with typhoon-like force. During his childhood, Jinn is made into a cyborg by Müller, who orphaned and dismembered him in front of his younger sister, Kleene, as revenge against their parents for withdrawing their financial support. Jinn seeks Sister out to cure Kleene's trauma from the incident, which allows Rogue Out's leader to deceive him by impersonating Sister until he kills the imposter upon her exposure. He boards the ''Edens Zero'' after gaining the real Sister's cooperation, remaining distant from the crew until Sister successfully treats Kleene. In Universe Zero's altered history, Jinn willingly becomes an as part of his home planet's culture, but is forced into Drakken's service with Kleene after coming to Guilst by mistake while studying abroad. The code name "Jinn" is taken from the wind spirit of the same name. Mashima gave the character "a lot more hair" to make him easier to draw during the series' second half, citing difficulties of drawing him consistently in the first half.

Kleene Rutherford

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is Jinn's younger sister, introduced as , the Element 4's representative of wind. Her Ether Gear creates air currents that are capable of stealing objects, redirecting projectiles, and trapping people in wind cages. She suffers from mental breakdowns whenever she experiences any emotion, caused by a repressed memory of Müller forcing her to watch Jinn's dismemberment during their childhood, which requires her to wear emotion-suppressing devices on her head that also indicate her mood. She joins the crew with Jinn after Sister cures her condition by erasing her traumatic memories. She avoids her traumatic experience in Universe Zero due to Müller's absence from her family's lives, although she becomes Drakken's minion anyway along with Jinn after coming to Guilst by mistake.

Laguna Husert

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is a cross-dressing man who uses the water-manipulation Ether Gear , which he combines with Empire Ether to transform others into water whenever they cry. Originally a stage actor, he suffers from an inability to cry naturally due to his over-commitment to his roles, which has led to his retirement. He first appears as the Element 4's representative of water under Drakken Joe, but is inducted into the ''Edens Zero'' crew by Witch after proving himself to be among Drakken's more humane minions. He is later revealed to be an estranged member of the anti-imperial rebel army , which he initially joined to avenge his best friend's death in a raid conducted by Poseidon Nero's empire, but deserted out of a pursuit of greater power. In Universe Zero, Laguna is instead Oasis's leader.

Couchpo

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is a famous personality and gourmand who produces food videos and reviews for her account, ; her real name is . First meeting Rebecca when they and several other are abducted by Rogue Out, Couchpo joins the crew during another encounter on the planet Foresta after being enamored with the ship's kitchen, and provides critiques that help bolster Rebecca's popularity.

Antagonists

''Edens One'' / Void

The warship is a more advanced successor to the ''Edens Zero'', which serves as its prototype. It is captained by Connor in Universes 1 and 2, parallel universes to where Rebecca travels. Originally destroyed in Universe 1 prior to the ''Zero'' crew's voyage to Sun Jewel, the undamaged ship is placed under Ziggy's command in subsequent universes, with the ship's crew becoming the primary antagonistic group faced by the ''Zero'' crew. Following Ziggy's destruction, the ''One'' is revealed to be artificially intelligent and the true main antagonist of the series, having controlled Ziggy to carry out its will to destroy Mother and humankind. In Universe Zero, the ''One'' uses God Acnoella's android-manufacturing device to construct itself a superior body called .

The crew includes the , a group of four male androids that serve as "superior" successors to the Four Shining Stars. , Witch's counterpart, is a magician who performs magic-like Ether attacks; , Sister's counterpart, is an effeminate clown who afflicts others with traumatic nightmares; , Valkyrie's counterpart, is a warrior with nearly indestructible armor; and , Hermit's counterpart, is an assassin and programmer who creates holographic dimensions. The crew also employs the human mad scientist , who rebuilds himself as an following torturous experiments on Kris and Kleene Rutherfood during their childhood.

When speaking about the development of the ''Edens One'', Mashima stated that he settled on the details surrounding the ship "to a degree" upon its first mention in the story, adding that the remaining details would be implemented later during the storyboarding process.

Drakken Joe

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, whom Mashima named after the video game ''Drakkhen'', is a loan shark who controls the Sakura Cosmos's criminal underworld. He is nicknamed the for his Ether Gear, , which transmutes anything into different materials and forms of matter. His base of operations, the , is a space fortress containing a city sector of the planet Guilst, a peaceful planet that he is notorious for turning into a haven for all illegal activity. Raised as a test subject with a fifteen-year life expectancy, Drakken sustains his youth for over 200 years with a life-support machine that steals countless people's life force, but also deteriorates his physical health. He targets the ''Edens Zero'' to extract Rebecca's Ether Gear for himself, viewing her mental time travel ability as a more efficient means of immortality. Following an encounter with Drakken that results in Shiki's death, Rebecca escapes to a parallel universe where the crew is able to reverse his life-support system, aging him into a feeble old man. In Universe Zero's altered history, Drakken sustains himself on the life energy of animals instead of people, forming a stronger moral code as a result.

Due to his unnaturally advanced age, Drakken maintains his Ether's balance with the , a special forces team whose members each use Ether Gear with power over one of the classical elements. Laguna and Sylph begin as members of the team, representing water and wind, respectively; in Universe Zero, Laguna's position is filled by Poseidon Nero. Its other members are , a long-range sniper who represents fire, and , an alien and torture addict who represents earth.

Madame Kurenai

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is the moniker of , Homura's mother from Oedo. She first appears as the tyrannical ruler of the mining planet Sun Jewel who uses , a laser satellite, to execute criminals or teleport them to the labor district as slave workers. Prior to rising to power, she was enslaved for amassing debt at the casinos before being freed by Valkyrie Yuna, from whom Kurenai hid her selfish and greedy nature, allowing her to marry and assassinate the planet's previous ruler. Kurenai is rejected by Homura after being deposed in the laborers' uprising, leaving her to be captured by a vengeful man whom she previously disfigured. She dies after a year in captivity, with Ziggy using her preserved body's Ether to locate Mother, but is restored in Universe Zero as a heroic version of herself who leads a defense force that protects Sun Jewel. Mashima named the character after the Japanese word for in response to Homura's name, meaning "flame", as he associated both names with fire and the color red; he admitted that he did not remember the inspiration for adding to her title.

Poseidon Nero

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is a cephalopod-like alien who possesses the , a set of dice Relics that foretell favorable outcomes at a personal cost. He also uses the Ether Gear to create portals that instantly transport himself and others to different locations in the universe. Nero first appears as emperor of the Aoi Cosmos, who sacrificed his friends, family, and species to build his galactic empire. His former friend Ziggy kills him after destroying his dice and absorbing his Ether Gear. Nero is later restored in Universe Zero, where he appears instead as Drakken Joe's business partner and the Element 4's representative of water after abdicating to Shura, his adoptive son.

Poseidon Shura

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is Nero's adoptive human son and heir, and a rival gravity Ether Gear user to Shiki who was briefly tutored by Ziggy as a child. First appearing as a brutal and insane prince with a loveless childhood, he wages war against Ziggy in a conspiracy to eliminate him, Nero, and the Aoi Cosmos's robot population with the , a network on the planet Nero 66 that influences all machinery in Aoi when the planets are submerged in the cosmic ocean's high tide. He is killed on Nero 66 when Ziggy destroys the planet with Nero's supply of 20,000 anti-matter bombs in a failed attempt to create the time loop that would transform Shiki into Ziggy. In Universe Zero's revised history, Shura is restored as a compassionate figure who succeeds Nero as emperor and reestablishes the empire as a republic.

Shura commands the Empire's strongest special forces team, the , whose four younger members are users of Empire Ether. These four consist of , Jinn's childhood rival who controls mist and disintegrates his opponents; , a card player who alters the values of playing cards; , who creates electric signals to perform hypnosis; and , who travels between mirrors and controls others' reflections. Additionally, Shura is served by his secretary , a former Oasis member who creates red strings that influence others' love and hatred for each other. The designs and powers of the four younger Oceans and Ijuna were included as the five winning entries of an official "original Ether Gear" contest held on Twitter between September 26 and October 31, 2020.

Supporting characters

Ziggy

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is Shiki's adoptive grandfather, an android who portrays the at the Granbell Kingdom theme park. Introduced as a good and kind figure who broke down from old age ten years before the series' beginning, Ziggy discovered Shiki on a failed voyage for Mother aboard the ''Edens Zero'', raising him to use his own gravity abilities. When Shiki revisits Granbell in the present day, Ziggy reactivates with a malevolent personality that desires Shiki's death and the dominance of machines over humans, serving as an antagonist in the series. During his and Shiki's final battle on Lendard, Ziggy reveals himself to be a mechanized version of Shiki from Universe 3173, where he was sent 20,000 years into the future by a spacetime distortion on Nero 66 before using Etherion to travel to the past, gaining amnesia in the process. Furthermore, his evil behavior is revealed to be a result of the '' Edens One''s artificial intelligence taking control of him. After Pino restores Ziggy's original personality, Shiki destroys him at Ziggy's own request to prevent the ''One'' from controlling him again. Ziggy remains permanently dead in Universe Zero, where the ''One'' creates Void to serve as its body in Ziggy's place.

Mashima named the character after the song " Ziggy Stardust" by singer David Bowie, which the author listened to frequently during the manga's production; the name "Ziggy" was originally given to Shiki in the story's earliest draft. Mashima noted that several readers were able to predict the character's backstory before it was revealed, although he stated that there would be "at least one" element to surprise readers due to the backstory's "complex" nature.

Mother

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is the creator of the universe, worshiped by space explorers as the goddess of the cosmos. She is depicted as a gargantuan woman described as being larger than any planet, and is capable of granting any wish to those who find her, causing them to be "born again". Because she exists in the hazardous outer regions of space, she is regarded as a mythical figure within the Sakura Cosmos. Shiki makes it his objective in the series to prove her existence when he is disbelieved for his familiarity with her, later reaffirming his goal as fulfilling Ziggy's dream of finding her.

Elsie Crimson

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is an armored warrior who uses the Ether Gear to absorb planetary Ether and convert it into battle gear or energy attacks. Introduced as a benevolent space pirate captain who is notorious for conquering the "seven cosmic seas", Elsie delivers the ''Edens Zero'' to Shiki to repay a debt to Ziggy, her childhood benefactor. She is later revealed to be the planet Lendard's crown princess, born as , who unintentionally caused a civil war while opposing her corrupt parents during her childhood, orphaning herself and her arranged fiancé, James Holloway. After dying with James on Lendard when the planet is consumed by a chronophage, Elsie is reborn in Universe Zero as Lendard's queen and the Interstellar Union Army's director of operations in the Kaede Cosmos. The character is modeled after ''Fairy Tail'' character Erza Scarlet, with her name being a portmanteau" to reflect her role as a pirate. Mashima commented on her and Justice's relationship, which he described as "a very star-crossed destiny".

Labilia Christy

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, whose name is derived from the word "lovely", is a Shooting Starlight member and highly popular in the Sakura Cosmos. Depicted as a former friend to Rebecca, whose videos inspired Labilia to become a content creator as a means of coping with a terminal illness, she bullies Rebecca and produces videos mocking her content out of disdain for her lack of talent. In Universe 3, three years after her channel loses its popularity, she reconciles with Rebecca and is taken aboard the ''Edens Zero'' to be treated for her illness.

Xiaomei

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is the series' metafictional narrator, who breaks the fourth wall to provide context and meta-commentary to the story. She appears within the story itself as a resident of the rogue planet Mildian called the , a "fortune-teller" with powers of omniscience granted to her by Mother, whose location is the only thing outside of Xiaomei's knowledge. To avoid boring herself with complete knowledge of the future, she limits her power so that she cannot know the outcome of any battles beyond multiple possibilities, satisfying her obsession for watching combat by putting her visitors through battles as compensation for her knowledge. Mashima noted that he had to be careful adding Xiaomei into the main storyline due to her conceived role as an omniscient narrator, but found that because she "knows everything in the entire world", he was able to include her "without too much trouble". He added that she had unrevealed backstory and character traits that "may gradually come to light in the future".

Justice

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is the code name of , a prince and Elsie Crimson's childhood fiancé from the planet Lendard. Like Elsie, he uses the Ether Gear "Star Drain" to absorb and manipulate the Ether of planets. He debuts as an Interstellar Union Army officer who vengefully pursues Elsie for inciting the war that destroyed their home nation and families, and antagonizes the ''Edens Zero'' crew for their association with her. However, he loses his hatred for Elsie after realizing her regret for her actions, and allows himself to be erased from existence with her on Lendard when a chronophage rewinds the planet's time. He and his engagement to Elsie are restored in Universe Zero, where the war never takes place. Mashima modeled Justice after the ''Rave Master'' character Sieg Hart, following a "tradition" of using such characters that includes Jellal Fernandes from ''Fairy Tail'', reflected by the character's blue hair color and markings around his right eye when his Ether Gear is active. The character's code name was selected to reflect his sense of justice.

Xenolith

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is Ziggy's mentor and the founder of the , a set of techniques performed by gravity users in the series. His prowess allows him to control gravity in conceptual senses, such as lightening pain and causing others' thoughts to "fall" into him. Previously a human member of the , a historic group stated to have guarded the Sakura Cosmos during the universe's Dark Ages, Xenolith has since transferred his mind into a robotic body to survive one thousand years after his death. In Universe Zero, he has his powers and identity stolen by Müller, who frames him for destroying the planet Foresta and has him branded as one of the Oración Seis Galáctica, forcing Xenolith to inhabit the body of a small helper robot belonging to , a human girl who becomes Xenolith's ward in other universes. Mashima decided on Xenolith's background some time prior to the character's introduction, something the author noted was a rare occurrence in his series.

Saintfire Nox

is an alias used by the Church of Saintfire's archbishop, who has the ability to control time. At the beginning of the series, the name belongs to Rebecca Bluegarden's mother and Connor's ex-wife, , whom Ziggy captures among numerous human mothers in Universe 3 to extract their Ether and locate Mother. Rachel reunites with Rebecca and Connor after being rescued by the ''Edens Zero'' crew, explaining that she left her family to prevent her church's fanatics from killing them due to her forbidden relationship with her husband, having exhausted her ability to reverse time after thousands of attempts to avoid their deaths. In Universe Zero, Rachel also serves the Interstellar Union Army's director of operations in the Yukino Cosmos.

Groups and organizations

Oración Seis Galáctica

The Oración Seis Galáctica (Spanish for "Galactic Prayer Six"), known in Japanese as , are a group of six powerful outlaws who are described as being capable of "crushing" planets. Elsie Crimson, Drakken Joe, Poseidon Nero, and #Saintfire Nox, Saintfire Nox are introduced as members, while Shiki and Ziggy being branded as members over the course of the story. Its other members are , a 420-foot-tall, mass-murdering android and alter ego of Cure, and , an android woman and Elsie's formerly human mother who commands cybernetic dragons. In Universe Zero, the Galáctica are a faction of androids commanded by Void, consisting of Cure, Acnoella, , , , and a fake Xenolith built by Müller.

Shooting Starlight

is an adventurers' guild on the planet Blue Garden where members receive passports to different planets. , the director of the Galactic Intelligence Agency's Sakura Cosmos branch, works undercover as the guild's master, using Ether Gear to observe people's positions across space and time. With the exception of receptionist , most of the guild's members are depicted as being unfriendly towards each other. Rebecca, Happy, and Labilia begin as guild members, with Shiki joining early in the story.

Interstellar Union Army

The is the cosmic government's military and peacekeeping force. The army's six elite officers form an organization called the Oración Seis Interstellar – simply called the in Japanese – to combat the Oración Seis Galáctica. Another army faction is an intelligence service called the , with Noah Glenfield acting as director of its Sakura Cosmos branch.

Besides Justice, the initial Oración Seis Interstellar are , a captain with a humanoid jaguar transformation; , who can melt and dissolve anything; , who erases things from existence; , who shares Noah's powers of observation; and , a treacherous android with regenerative powers. In Universe Zero, Justice and Cure are replaced by , who can transform into a giant, and , a shapeshifting G.I.A. agent. Another officer is , a member of Oedo's shogunate family who shrinks others and encages them.

Reception

In her review of the manga's first volume for Anime News Network (ANN), Amy McNulty praised the trio of Shiki, Rebecca, and Happy, noting that "Rebecca, who initially comes across as vapid, reveals some depth by volume's end", and that Happy "rounds out the trio nicely, though the manga could use more of his humorous commentary throughout to add more levity." ANN's Faye Hopper described Shiki as "more Tarzan than Luffy", feeling that his unambitious goal of exploring the universe and making friends helped enrich the story, though she added that his act of groping Rebecca "really does a number on hiki'slikability". In contrast, ANN's Teresa Navarro found Shiki to be archetypal of other shōnen protagonists. Twinfinite's Carlton McGrone praised the characters' designs for being "meticulously sketched and detailed". In a review of the first twelve episodes of the anime, John Serba from ''Decider'' considered Shiki and Rebecca to be "very thin characters – naif and non-naif, possibly both quite airheaded – in sincere need of substantial development", and criticized the vague establishment of their goals, but determined them to be "blank slates just ipefor whatever the universe throws at them". ANN's MrAJCosplay commented on the series' villains, opining that Mashima's decision to have the series' villains represent "the worst humanity has to offer" was a "double-edged sword"; he considered the majority of villains to be "boring" for their overly simplistic motivations, but noted exceptions such as the "fun sub-villain" Spider, and commented on the setup for Drakken Joe as " eaninginto a balance of interesting and despicable".

Several reviews for ''Edens Zero'' have commented on the characters' similar designs and personalities to those from Hiro Mashima's previous manga ''Fairy Tail'', with comparisons to Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia being drawn from Shiki and Rebecca, respectively, while acknowledging that the similarities between characters such as Elsie Crimson and Erza Scarlet, as well as both series' versions of Happy, are intentional. Early online commenters have also likened Shiki's design to that of a "child" of Natsu and Gray Fullbuster. Multiple reviewers felt the tie-ins to ''Fairy Tail'' suggested potentially deeper connections between both series. Rebecca Silverman from ANN considered Shiki and Rebecca to be distinct characters from Natsu and Lucy, calling the former "a lot more aware of girls", and the latter "more cautious in her relationships". Ian Wolf from Anime UK News criticized the manga's lack of original designs compared to ''Fairy Tail'', but felt that the similarities would help readers accept the "weirder aspects of the story".

Notes

References

''Edens Zero'' manga

;Entire series
* Mashima, Hiro. ''Edens Zero''. 21 vols. New York City: Kodansha USA, 2018–present.
* Mashima, Hiro. '' dens Zero' (in Japanese). 26 vols. Tokyo: Kodansha, 2018–present.

;Individual volumes

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External links

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{{Edens Zero

Edens Zero