Eden of the East/Analysis

The Seleção each represent different parts of society

Contains spoilers for the series and both films.

Each of the Seleção represent different parts of society, and the traditional stereotypes of said parts.

• Daiju Mononobe (No. 1) - Represents the government/politicians/businessmen. A former politician, Mononobe is head of Mr. Outside's company after taking it over via Juiz's influence, his ultimate goal to win the game is to become Mr. Outside himself, as the Anonymous Benefactor serving the country. He acts like the Sleazy Politician he used to be, acting very polite and honest but is quite manipulative behind the scenes. Mononobe believes Japan is in a state of apathy with the profit it had gained after World War II, and dependent on other countries, and wished to shake up the country with Careless Monday, making him a bit of a traditionalist to Japan's old political ways. Despite his good intentions he returns to his roots, trying to overthrow the government and calls for a tax cutting off inheritance for NEETs.

• Jintaro Tsuji (No. 2) and Taishi Naomoto (No. 6) - Represents the media. While Tsuji is a bit of a mystery, both he and the filmmaker Naomoto represent the manipulative and powerful media of present days. After Takizawa saves Japan from the missile attacks, Tsuji marketed him as the Air King, building him up with the intention of bringing his world crashing down by claiming he is the dead Prime Minister's son, a common trait seen in today's press. As for Naomoto, he is a very Prima Donna Director, wanting everything to be explosive and action-packed as seen when he tries to blow up and assassinate Takizawa whilst recording it on tape, trying to catch events as they happen.

• Toshiko Kitabayashi (No. 3) and Saizo Ato (No. 12) - The two elderly members of the Seleção, Toshiko and Saizo (Mr. Outside) represent the elderly and previous generations, often portrayed in media as being nostalgic for the old days as seen with Mr. Outside. Toshiko is shown to be in hospital, but well cared for, unlike some elderly people in the world. Toshiko and Saizo have some sort of relationship, nodding to how the elderly seem to band together in hard times.

• Detective Kondo (No. 4) - The police. Kondo is a bit of a Dirty Cop but wants to do good, but has wasted much of his money on gambling and uses Juiz to kill loan sharks. He represents the decency of policemen, tumbling back and forth between delivering good honesty by the book justice or Police Brutality which seems to becoming frightenly common nowadays.

• Doctor Hiura (No. 5) - The medical public servicemen. Dr. Hiura is a bit of a martyr, creating a state of the art hospital for the elderly and disabled, but gained his own victory through politicial bribes that caused the media to label him as a source of corruption. Despite this, his patients see him as a godsend. Dr. Hiura is eliminated a happy man, and his efforts appear to symbolise the ongoing advances and development of medicine and those responsible for it, medicine also getting the least controversy from the media.

• Akira Takizawa (No. 9) - Our protagonist and The Messiah, Takizawa represents the average joes of society, being one himself before the game began. He becomes a hero for Japan's people and the NEETS, turning from newspaper boy to safety officer to martyr to terrorist to hero to a public enemy to a self-proclaimed terrorist again, and all for the benefit of the everyday people. While other Seleção seek justice, revenge, or aid for a certain group of people, Takizawa is most open and helps everyone he can.

• Ryo Yuki (No. 10) - Represents the unemployed. Yuki stereotypes the unemployed guy, looking quite scruffy and dishevelled, and has a personal bitterness towards the government, politicians and the workings of society - and he wants to hit them back hard with the missile attacks. Because he tries to make his tormentors suffer and instead not simply try to find a new job, Yuki falls by the wayside and leads to his own self-destruction, repeating his actions against Mononobe.

• Kuroha Diana Sarutobi (No. 11) - Kuroha represents women and victims of crime. Sadly sexism and crime are still common in modern day society, Kuroha representing those who have suffered because of this, or more notable, rape. In response, Kuroha has become a powerful feminine figure, secretly kidnapping rapists and cutting off their "johnnies" as justice/revenge for the abused women of Japan.