Anime Lovers: Time of Eve

Time of Eve Sci-Fi Film's New Footage Previewed
posted on 2010-02-19 07:33 EST
Compilation of net anime series to open in Japan on March 6

ASMIK Ace Entertainment's official channel on the Yahoo website is streaming a 24-second video with new footage from the Time of Eve the Movie: First Season Complete Edition compilation film. The new footage features the character Sammy (Rie Tanaka).

Time of Eve (Eve no Jikan) began in 2008 as a "non-hard science-fiction" net anime series from director Yasuhiro Yoshiura and Studio Rikka — the creators of the Mizu no Kotoba and Pale Cocoon anime. The anime, which was watched over 3 million times online, deals with everyday life in a future Japan populated by robots and life-like androids. The upcoming film version will compile the six episodes of the original net anime series with new footage. Time of Eve the Movie: First Season Complete Edition will open in Japan on March 6.

Besides the film, Yuuki Ohta launched a manga version in Square Enix's Young Gangan magazine on Friday, and Kei Mizuichi and anime character designer Ryuusuke Chayama are publishing a novelization on November 18. Shaddy is even producing the "Evlend" original blend coffee that appears in the anime this month. The Crunchyroll website has been streaming all six net episodes.

Source: Saishin Anime Jōhō

Anime Review

Time of Eve/Eve no Jikan

Genre Science fiction

Story

In the not too distant future androids have come into common usage. Taking the androids for granted, humans

Rikuo, who has taken robots for granted for his entire life, one day discovers that Sammy, his home android, has been acting independently and coming and going on her own. He finds a strange phrase recorded in her activity log, "Are you enjoying the Time of Eve?". He, along with his friend Masaki, traces Sammy's movements and finds an unusual cafe, "The Time of Eve". Nagi, the waitress, informs them that the cafe's main rule is to not discriminate between humans and androids. Within the cafe androids do not display their status rings, and, when patrons depart, the door is automatically locked for two minutes to prevent someone from following them to discover their true nature.

The first few episodes involve conversations between Rikuo (usually accompanied by Masaki) and the cafe regulars: the bubbly Akiko, child Chie and her elderly guardian, the lovers Koji and Rina, and others. These conversations make frequent allusion to Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics, often highlighting surprising interpretations of those laws, some of which form apparent loopholes. The overarching plot involves the beginnings of independence displayed by the androids, what they do with that independence within the bounds of the three laws, and what motivates them. Secondary plots involve the individual stories of each android the protagonists encounter in the cafe, and how they come to discover which patrons are androids and which are not.

Characters

Rikuo (リクオ, Rikuo^?): Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama

Rikuo is a boy who attends high school with his friend Masaki. He is a very talented piano player (enough to win the grand prize at a competition) but after witnessing an android playing a piece flawlessly, he questions why he plays when an android could clearly play better. For this reason he has quit playing. Since childhood he's been taught to treat robots and androids like tools, as is normal in this near-future society. So this is also how he treats his android, Sammy. One day, while reviewing Sammy's activity log, he finds an entry that says, "Are you enjoying the Time of Eve?". Prompted by curiosity, he investigates...

Masaki (マサキ, Masaki^?): Voiced by: Kenji Nojima

Masaki is Rikuo's best friend (the official website notes that Masaki is his last name, not his first). They both deny it, but the truth is that they are. Masaki doesn't have robots at home, and the reason is a mystery, but it's implied in the first episode that his father is involved in anti-robot activism. He decides to help Rikuo investigate more about Sammy's activities, and goes with Rikuo on his search...

Sammy (サミィ, Samii^?): Voiced by: Rie Tanaka

Rikuo's android, which has the appearance of a young woman. At home, Sammy doesn't display a personality, she just obeys orders without emotion. At the Time of Eve, on the other hand, she is a shy and worried girl, who wants nothing more than to make the members of her family happy (referring to Rikuo, Naoko and their parents). As the series progresses, Sammy can be seen displaying token amounts of independence from time to time, usually when her owners aren't looking. She is all too aware that any independence on her part is frightening to Rikuo.

Nagi (ナギ, Nagi^?): Voiced by: Rina Sato

When Rikuo and Masaki arrive at the Time of Eve, they meet Nagi, the attendant who works there. Nagi is clearly at home in Time of Eve. She carefully manages the coffee shop, ensuring good service and that the customers respect the house's rule. Nagi occasionally displays odd behavior, such as being unable to decide how to properly react to a given situation, implying that she might be an android, but Rikuo and Masaki never pick up on this and assume she's human.

Akiko (アキコ, Akiko^?): Voiced by: Yukana

A lively girl, and the first customer Rikuo and Masaki get acquainted with at Time of Eve. She likes to talk very fast, asks a lot of questions, and makes jokes. In short, she is like a regular teenage girl who's been repressed all her life. At the end of the first episode it's revealed that she is an android. Like Sammy, she doesn't show emotions outside Time of Eve, and she ignores Rikuo and Masaki.

Koji (コージ, Koji^?): Voiced by: Michio Nakao

Rina's lover, or so it seems. A male-form android whose master is a women who works hard, but can't keep a regular boyfriend. She relies on Koji to calm her loneliness, so Koji has befriended Rina at Time of Eve in order to learn how to be a better boyfriend to his master. He believes Rina to be a human woman.

Rina (リナ, Rina^?): Voiced by: Miki Ito

Rina is a female-form android which has been illegally modified to perform as a sex-bot. She was formerly owned by a VIP, who abandoned her during an assassination attempt. Her right leg was damaged while she was attempting to protect her master, and it malfunctions periodically, threatening to reveal her identity as an android. Since she's been illegally modified, she cannot be sent back for repair, and is technically on the run from the authorities. She won't seek help because her existence would embarrass her master. Rina and Koji each believe the other is human, and their relationship is dependent on this assumption.

Shimei (シメイ, Shimei^?): Voiced by: Motomu Kiyokawa

Shimei is the foster parent (養育里親 - youiku sato'oya) of Chie. He is revealed to be a new prototype android in episode 5 - "Chie & Shimei", one who's duty is to act in place of a real parent. Shimei has yet to reveal to Chie of his identity, as he wants to just watch over her as she acknowledges him now, in her naive state.

Chie (チエ, Chie^?): Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro

Chie appears to be a young girl of about 6 years old. She loves to steal and hide other's belongings, and is fond of declaring herself to be a cat. She is revealed to be a human child in episode 5 - "Chie & Shimei". She's deeply attached to Shimei, although she is kept in the dark about his true identity.