EVE no Jikan (Time of EVE) is probably what Chobits would have looked like if Chobits hadn't been so relentlessly juvenile and pandering. In a near-future world that's "probably Japan," life is pretty much the same-- with the exception of the rise of the android as a home appliance. Society gets used to robo-slavery pretty quickly, but people are worried about the spread of "dori-kei": people of the younger generation who are too into this whole robot business. Robot-loving social outcasts. You know, like they were otaku or something. Dori-kei is used as a code word throughout, and we all know what it means.
Our hero, android-owner Rikuo, is pretty indifferent, and while his buddy Masaki acts paranoid and distrustful, he's unusually knowledgeable (Asimov's Laws and all that) and obviously really wants one for himself. When Rikuo finds that his android Sammy (played, funnily enough, by Chobits lead Rie Tanaka) has been making unusual trips to unusual places, he and Masaki follow the GPS to a well-hidden that turns out to be the titular cafe, Time of EVE. As it turns out, EVE is a place robots go to relax. At EVE, there is one rule: there is to be no discrimination between humans and robots. Nor can you tell the difference by looking at them, as an android's signature halo disappears when they enter the cafe.
The guys are totally out of their element here. Whispering conspiratorially, clearly terrified, and sticking out like sore thumbs, they attract the disdain of magic-star-winking proprietor Nagi and the curious attention of Akiko, a regular who calms them down by simply talking faster than they can. The guys seem to get along alright, but Rikuo's perceptions about androids-- particularly Sammy-- are pretty shaken by the visit, culminating in a weird, petty freakout that ends the episode.
I like a lot of things about this show: the animation is stylish, with appropriate uses of lighting and POV shakycam, but they're not trying to overwhelm you with it. EVE, like Nagi and her cafe, just wants you to sit back and chill, and I love sitting back and chilling, especially when it's with a cartoon. Not to say this is slow like my other glacial anime favorites Bartender, Marimite, or Yokohama Kaidaishi Kikou, but it's relaxed just like they are. At a 15-minute runtime and with online releases on a "when it's done" schedule, I really want to see more of this anime as soon as possible, but I'm sure the staff would tell me "Hey, man, take it easy. Kick back. It's gonna be alright."
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