Eden

So I'm gonna make this one short: eden* is a masterpiece that would've deserved to become so much more popular than it did, but sadly it didn't...
Really all i have to say about this is: if you are into melancholic, bittersweet or just downright sad stories, you'll love this one. (getting SPOILER-ish here)It's the perfect example for why the ending of any story doesn't necessarily need to be bad to make it realistic, relatable or believable. And that doesn't go only for the ending, but for the entire story as a whole. Don't get me wrong, it's anything but upbeat...oh my, really, anything but that...but at the same time it's also not "in your face because we want your tears" sad or unfair. It feels right, everything that happens feels like it's just bound to have done so afterwards (which doesn't mean the story is predictable or boring in any way) and thus feels like nothing really had to be forced to make it happen by the writers. It just progresses almost by itself. Same goes for the character development. All of them just develop as the story progresses, but there's never the feeling of the story being put on hold for the sake of introducing or developing a character. They do so themselves throughout the entire story, even the ones that aren't present for extended periods of time get their fair chance of development at some point sooner or later.

It's sad to see how the works of minori often don't really get the attention they truly deserve, this one being no exception (its been so long, but naive as i am i'm still hoping for them to turn it into an anime...i mean, it worked with ef, right?)
The storywriting is exceptional in the way it merges with the character development, and even if the overall style might not be for everyone, it's undeniable that eden* is simply brilliant...
Oh, and to top that all off, it's got some awesome art as well

You know what? Go get the Visual Novel as well while you're at it. Even more amazing art, amazing storytelling and music by Tenmon just to make it all the more emotional. It's brilliant.

So is this Manga

Story: The story felt derivative, SAO focusing on taking out the villainous players. It wasn't horrible, but I am not overly upset that this is part 1 and that part 2 isn't available (though it still could occur, it isn't that old). If I picked up the sequel, it would be to see if my predictions of where the story is going are correct.

Art: Nothing spectacular, neither is it horrible.

Character: Again, this seems derivative. SAO.

Enjoyment: I didn't hate it and if I become aware of the sequel, I might read it if it is also short.

If you like the genre and you have an hour or so to kill, go ahead and read it, otherwise pass.