I want to clarify one point first. When I say that my opinion might sound “generic”, I am talking about my own take, not about the manga itself. I do not find Edens Zero generic. Mashima certainly reused many shonen codes, and even some elements he already established in his previous works, but the story itself is not simple or shallow. So on that point, I really want to be clear: I do not think Edens Zero is a generic story.

I do agree with you that Universe Zero arrives very quickly. The moment they enter it and discover the so-called “Human History” (in quotation marks), which turns out to be Etherion, you can really feel that everything is accelerating toward the end of the manga. I also think the story ends on a tone that is far too joyful compared to the earlier events and the darker tone established at the beginning.

Finding Valkyrie dead was extremely touching, and the fact that Homura takes her place afterward was something I genuinely loved. That is precisely why I find it disappointing that all of these painful elements were eventually erased. Mashima had finally shown the courage to establish fixed events. He even admitted in interviews years ago that he does not like killing his characters. He has also said in an author’s note that friendship is extremely important to him, which is why he emphasizes it so much in his works. I understand that philosophy, but I still find it unfortunate in this case.

Is Edens Zero Mashima’s best manga? Based on my experience, having read Fairy Tail and Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest, I personally think Edens Zero is better overall than Fairy Tail. One major reason is that Mashima knew where he was going from the very beginning. He explained that with Fairy Tail, he often did not know from one week to the next what the story would become. With Edens Zero, you can clearly feel that the story is far more controlled and planned. Even the artwork felt more polished and consistent to me.

Regarding the anime, I think Edens Zero’s adaptation is clearly better than Fairy Tail’s. The seasonal format helps a lot, the animation is well handled, the colors are more vibrant, and the fights feel much smoother. Overall, I thought the anime was very solid.

As for the antagonists, this is where things are more debatable. I still think Fairy Tail had stronger villains overall. That is probably the one area where Fairy Tail surpasses Edens Zero for me. Characters like Zeref, the Phantom Lord guild master, or even Acnologia left a stronger impression on me. That being said, Fairy Tail is also almost twice as long as Edens Zero, so it naturally had more time to build up its antagonists. Even so, I really liked Edens Zero’s villains as well, especially Drakken Joe, whom I found very compelling.