Movie Square

This DVD boxset contains only the first half of Eureka seveN, but I’ll be commenting on the series from start to finish.

For me the series tanked with episode 36 and “Eureka’s Bad Make-Up Day” (my title). There were warning signs ahead of this, such as lame dialogue, incoherent plotting, and underwhelming animation. After the scenes with Charles and Ray, I started to get that uh-oh feeling. You know, when disappointments are piling up and ruining what ought to have been one of the best anime in a long, long time. When Coralian antibodies attacked Feres City, I felt a twinge of embarrassment, kind of a “What the hell?” in the pit of my stomach. But I stuck with it, because I had enjoyed the show so much until then.

Granted, there are some memorable moments in later episodes, as when Skurve-scarred Eureka is trying to carry supplies to help refugees from the Coralian antibodies’ latest massacre, she collapses, is offered a drink by a traumatized child… who relives the horror when he looks into Eureka’s inhuman eyes. But the dramatic moment is mishandled and short-lived. Some heartstrings were plucked, I admit, when Dominic and Anemone finally got it together late in the series. And Renton’s self-inflicted wound was a curious development that piqued my interest momentarily.

Why did the creators of this series stop taking their storytelling seriously in the second season? They should have realized that the strength of the show for many viewers was believable characters in far-out situations that made sense nonetheless. NOT having the young couple’s names somehow get emblazoned on the moon, NOT one preposterous battle scene after another where nobody who’s anybody gets killed or even injured, NOT Norbu’s silly backstory, NOT Sakuya giving a “My Book” to Eureka to write her story in, NOT glowing hearts coming out of a Compac Drive and other nuttiness. If you liked those bits, pardon me, but I did NOT.

Two aspects I really enjoyed, more in the earlier episodes: the voice-acting (uniformly superb) and the scoring (y’know, the soundtrack). I’m listening to the BGM right now, and it’s got a lot going for it.

THIS JUST IN: While reviewing episode 1, I nearly fell off my chair when I noticed some lip-synching. This is SUPER-RARE in anime… almost never happens! Watch closely when Renton sputters “Eee-to, eee-to” and moments later when he gasps, “Tomurai?!” The animators admirably matched the lips to the voice track. ASTONISHING!

Rating: 3 / 5

Great anime i love it. The series consists of 50 episodes so you hav to purchase the collection 2 to finish it off but its so worth it.
Rating: 5 / 5

“Eureka Seven” is one of the most breathtaking mecha series, even if robot surfing seems a little too cheesy to take seriously.

The sport in this series is called lifting, a form a airboarding. It’s all the rage. The main character of “Eureka Seven,” 14-year-old Renton Thurston, is hell-bent on become a great lifter, just like his idol, Holland Novak. But all his plans change when a cute blue-haired girl named Eureka crashes her LFO robot into his home. When enemy LFOs attack her robot, Renton is faced with daunting responsibility of saving the girl he loves.

After the battle in the sky, Renton is greeted by Holland with an offer to come aboard his ship, the Gekkostate. This is an offer that Renton cannot refuse, and the start of his new adventures.

“Eureka Seven” is a beautiful masterpiece of flashing colors, liquid-smooth fighting animation and romance. Although it opens like a simple romance, it develops into a hard-edged drama of humongous proportions. Gekkostate is at war with the United Federation Force over the fate of the world, and the battles are emotionally shattering.

For starters, Eureka is as emotionally detached as the Evangelion character, Rei Ayanami. She hides the crushing emotional guilt of killing innocent people. And as much as Holland hides the truth, Renton is bound to discover that Eureka is an emotionally depressed girl who is definitely out of this world. Literally.

Eureka and Renton express extreme angst throughout the series, but their relationship is very compassionate. There’s plenty of sadness in the middle of this volume of the collection. However, the characters’ constant struggle to help each other through the most difficult times is incredibly heartwarming.

“Eureka Seven” is a series which I can never stop watching. Even when Holland’s defensive hold on Eureka tends to overwhelm Gekkostate, Renton is a remarkable character who truly understands what is best for her.

Although the release of the Complete Collection of Eureka Seven is far overdue, the drama and power of “Eureka Seven” is still unmatched. Get it now, while it’s still cheap.
Rating: 5 / 5