Highlights
- In the latest work "Edens Zero," author Hiro Mashima explores a darker side of humanity through the characters' somber backstories.
- Hermit's tragic and traumatic past stands out as the embodiment of this theme, as she has experienced unimaginable events, from killing her own kind to enduring slavery and torture.
- Despite Hermit overcoming her past and finding happiness again, her trauma still haunts her, and the unresolved events from her past may come back to haunt her once more.
In his latest work ‘Edens Zero,’ author Hiro Mashima has taken a slightly unorthodox route compared to his previous series, with a focus on the grim and despair-ridden side of humanity. This shift in storytelling is evident from the characters' somber backstories, as almost every single member of the crew has gone through some sort of horrid event in the past. However, Hermit's past is the embodiment of this running theme as the tragic and traumatic nature of her backstory stands out the most.
From being manipulated into killing her own kind to being enslaved and tortured for years on end, Hermit has experienced traumatic events of inconceivable nature. These incidents had a major impact on Hermit's personality, a fact that becomes clear from her initial abhorrence for humanity. While Hermit is eventually able to overcome these unfortunate events of the past, her trauma still haunts her as she is yet to find closure for the time spent under captivity.
Hermit’s Desire for Human Friendship
After Ziggy and the Four Shining Stars parted ways, Hermit went on to find her own individual purpose. On her journey to make human friends, she came across Dr. Muller, the lead scientist at Muller Royal Laboratories on Planet Newton. Impressed by her extraordinary knowledge on machines and coding, Muller requested Hermit to aid him in his newest endeavor – an Ether Accelerator. According to Muller, the purpose of this machine was to save planets that were on the verge of dying due to Ether deficiency, with Planet Hook, a wasteland of discarded bots, as the primary target.
Inspired by Dr. Muller’s ambition to unite androids and human beings, Hermit immediately joined the project and effectively completed the development of the Ether Accelerator. During this time, Hermit and Muller grew closer together, with the scientist even describing their professional relationship as more of a close friendship. Since Hermit had grown quite fond of Dr. Muller, she blindly trusted him and his purpose for the machine, without even a speck of doubt in his intentions.
Dr. Muller’s Deception
On the day of the Ether Accelerator’s completion, Muller Royal Laboratories' entire android staff was sent to Planet Hook, with Hermit as the only robot on base command. As the Ether Accelerator was powered up, emergency warnings from the androids on Hook started going off, yet the staff quietly watched the horror that befell right in front of their eyes. The Ether Accelerator supercharged Hook with Ether, forcing the planet to explode into nothingness.
Muller Royal Laboratories’ entire android staff and the discarded bots on Hook perished alongside the planet. The event revealed the true colors of Muller and his staff and their intentions with the Ether Accelerator. Instead of saving the androids, Muller wanted to end their very existence. His detest for robots led him to commit mass genocide, and Hermit unknowingly became an accomplice to the entire ordeal. The only reason Hermit survived was due to her serving as a contingency in case the machine faced any issues.
Torture and Enslavement
Muller’s abhorrence for robot-kind was far too profound, and his willingness to destroy an entire planet is a testament to his hatred. Hermit was bound to face the same fate, yet a subordinate convinced Muller to keep her alive to conduct more experiments on her body. For the next two years, Hermit’s body was used as Muller’s personal punching bag, using her as a ragdoll to let out his frustrations.
The guilt of being an accomplice to a genocide and the trauma of torture and captivity changed Hermit’s entire disposition, and the once-cheery android lost any smidgen of joy left in her. Hermit was eventually saved after the Interstellar Union Army raided Muller Royal Laboratories and arrested Muller for his crimes against android-kind. Two soldiers of the IUA found Hermit’s soulless body in a room, freeing her from captivity. Instead of reacting to her freedom, she simply gets up and walks away, with an expressionless face depicting her empty heart.
How Did Hermit’s Trauma Affect Her?
Traumatic events of such intensity are bound to take a toll on a person, and Hermit’s change in disposition is the most obvious effect of her past. After Muller broke her trust and subjected her to endless torture, Hermit came to detest humanity from her core, vowing to seclude herself and never interact with another human again. She eventually settles in Iron Hill and logs into Planet Digitalis, where she simply sits in isolation and stares into nothingness.
She eventually overcomes her trauma after she meets Shiki and reunites with the rest of the Four Shining Stars. Her cheery personality is rekindled and her love for helping humans is resuscitated after staying aboard Edens Zero. However, Hermit was never able to find closure for the events that unraveled on Planet Newton or her guilt for helping Dr. Muller in his heinous project, meaning it's likely that the ghosts of her past might come back to haunt her once more.
Edens Zero is available to stream on Crunchyroll.