Time of Eve

[Miz]

Time of Eve
"Are you enjoying the Time of Eve?​

Plot
In the not too distant future androids have come into common usage. Taking the androids for granted, humans treat them as if they were common everyday tools. Some people, however, are unhealthily attracted to the androids due to their human-like appearance (save for a digital ring floating above their heads). This has become a social problem and these people are frowned upon as a result. A public campaign has been formed to promote natural, non-android-assisted lifestyles, and the campaign is gaining traction in spite of the public benefit of robotics.

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 (So far)

Rikuo (???)
Human
Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama
Rikuo is a boy who attends High School with his friend Masaki. 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 (???)
Human
Voiced by: Kenji Nojima
Masaki is Rikuo's best friend. 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 (???)
Android
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 (??)
Undetermined
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 (???)
Android
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 (???)
Android
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 (??)
Android
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 (???)
Android
Voiced by: Motomu Kiyokawa
Shimei is the foster parent of Chie. He is revealed to be a new prototype android in episode 6 - "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 (??)
Undetermined
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.

Setoro (???)
Undetermined
Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugito
While Setoro has made many appearances so far, including the latest episode (episode 5), he is relatively unknown. So be expecting some explanation about him soon.


My Comments
I enjoy this series and find that it is for anyone who enjoys the Science Fiction genre and thinks about what robots could be like in the future. Especially if they could develop individuality. The series, while it takes long to develop and only had four episodes (so far) it has very good animation, characters and storyline. It isn't action-packed but it is a comedic and amusing anime that gives you a relief from constant drama of other anime series. So enjoy the relaxing anime
My Rating:

4.5/5 Stars

Anime Episodes
You can watch free legal episodes or 'acts' of Time of Eve on Crunchyroll. Each episode is about 15 minutes long, so enjoy yourself.

Episode 1 - Akiko
Episode 2 - Sammy
Episode 3 - Koji & Rina
Episode 4 - Nameless
Episode 5 - Eve's Melody
Episode 6 - Time of Eve (Season Finale)​

Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics
The Three Laws form an organizing principle and unifying theme for Asimov's fiction, appearing in his Robot series and the other stories linked to it, as well as his Lucky Starr series of science-oriented young-adult fiction. Other authors working in Asimov's fictional universe have adopted them, and references (often parodic) appear throughout science fiction and in other genres. (Such as Time of Eve)

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
   
   
2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
   
   
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

See the Official Site: TimeofEve.com​

 

[Syndrome]

rofl i was gonna post this up after watching the 4th one, but you already did -_-.
that constantly-about-to-explode robot is hilarious, but also sad.
hi-quality anime, definitely something you want to watch.

 

[Miz]

Episode 5 - Eve's Melody has arrived.
"Facing his demons, Rikuo wrestles with his despair over android artists and his own dreams of playing the piano. Meanwhile,Masaki simmers with anger after finding alarming hints that androids are being developed to handle childcare. Can Rikuo and Masaki retain their humanity as they struggle to define themselves in a world populated with androids?"
(That is a legal episode on Crunchyroll)