Kôkyô shihen Eureka Sebun

Most Americans are conditioned from birth to think "animation=cartoons=kidstuff." Those who know better won't even need this review, but for those who are just discovering that animation can carry dramatic and imaginative themes as well as any other medium, I'm going to make a few observations about Eureka 7 -- a somewhat underrated gem even within its own genre.

To begin with, this is no kiddie show. Yes, it's told from the standpoint of an adolescent protagonist, but then, so are Kidnapped, Catcher in the Rye and Oliver Twist. Renton's journey from naive and somewhat bratty boy to mature young man is gradual, entirely plausible, ultimately engaging and just as full of hard knocks as Real Life.

And it's certainly not kid stuff. There's deadly violence aplenty, real emotional conflict and (in the fansubbed version I saw, anyway) enough foul language to fill an army barracks. The gritty world of Eureka 7 is no jolly romp, either for Renton or for the crew of the renegade airship he falls in with.

Nor does the crew of the Gekkostate -- itself stolen from the militaristic Federation -- bear any resemblance to Robin Hood's Merry Men. They're a gang of moody misfits, all of them nursing some personal grudge against the world and all too often ready to take it out on the new kid who can't fight back.

And as if young Renton doesn't have enough trouble fitting in with this surly pirate crew, there's the enigmatic Eureka, beautiful but distant and inarticulate. She's surrounded by mystery, and as we gradually find out, it's nothing simple, either. Renton is fascinated by Eureka and utterly devoted to her, and in spite of her flaws, it's not hard to see why. She's both hard-as-nails tough and at the same time utterly vulnerable, and hence irresistible to a romantic like Renton. If any fictional heroine was worthy of the emotional and physical hard knocks that poor Renton endures, it's Eureka.

Don't expect to be pulled into Eureka 7 by watching one or two episodes, any more than you'd judge a Dickens novel by the first few pages. Give it a chance and let the epic-length (50 chapters) story weave itself around you. Once the complex characters and their interlocking motivations begin to spin themselves out, you'll be hooked. Eureka 7 is like a richly textured book that well rewards the reader for entering its world.

Oh, and don't be put off by the "giant robots," either. The mecha are roughly the equivalent of a combination tank and fighter plane in Eureka 7's world, and they have a humanoid shape for a very good reason, as you'll see.

For gorgeous animation, beautiful music (I recommend listening to it with a good pair of stereo headphones), three-dimensional characters and a genuinely moving story, you just can't beat Eureka 7. Anyone who can overcome a deep-seated prejudice against "cartoons" is going to be introduced to a whole new world with this series.

And by the way, let's also clear up the common stereotype that Japanese anime is only for the high-school set. I'm 59 and I find Princess Mononoke and Steamboy to be among the best movies ever made in any medium. And Eureka 7 hooked me from the start.

Eureka 7 is addictive, and rightfully so. Get your fix now, and find out what you're missing.

Eureka Seven is far and away one of the greatest works of fiction in existence. From the captivating world to the seamless characters (and not to mention the bad-ass mechs), this anime series transcends its medium. When I first began watching Eureka Seven on Adult Swim it was an interesting new series to me, but nothing more. I didn't want to wait an entire week between episodes, however, so my impatience led me to download the entire series in Japanese with English subtitles. I watched the entire series in three days and it immediately became the opiate of my mind for at least that much time afterward. Eureka Seven has a beautiful art style, an entrancing world, absolutely phenomenal high speed fight scenes, and an excellent story that is absolutely full of twists and turns, shocking moments, and profound surprises. Nothing, however, compares to the masterpiece that is the character cast. Renton is the main character who is at the beginning of the series a bored and whiny kid who is oblivious to the nuances of adult life. After he meets the mysterious Eureka in the first episode (and immediately falls in love with her), his character sets off on a true adventure and by the end of the series Renton truly becomes a man. The fantastic romance between Renton and Eureka is the center of the storyline and will undoubtedly cause at least half of Eureka Seven's audience to burst into tears at multiple points of the story (yeah, it really is that powerful). The other characters in the story are no less interesting and many go through extreme changes just as Renton did. The cold, hard, and reluctant leader Holland morphs into a compassionate and strong hero by the end of the story and many people who watch this series start out hating Holland but absolutely love him by the end. I could go on and on, but just take my advice: GO WATCH THIS SERIES RIGHT NOW.

Eureka Seven is a marvel to behold, a true work of art.

I can't speak highly enough of Eureka Seven. Of the little TV I have time to watch, it's at the top of the list. There's something about the crafting of the characters that draws you in slowly and effortlessly. I started watching the show because of the high quality of the animation; now I'm completely hooked because I care about people in the story. And that's part of what is so beautiful about the series – the characters do become people, people you start to care about and want to see again. Like all good anime (Cowboy Bebop, Gunslinger Girls, Ghost in the Shell) and all good stories, the characters grow and define themselves, and that journey sucks you in and leaves you wanting more.

If you look around at reviews, you will see criticisms of the series – most of these boil down to "not enough robot battles", or too wishy-washy with adolescent love, or some other pick at one of the many minor themes. These jabs all miss the point though. The story is really about love and family. We are reminded of how difficult love and family can be, how they change and define us, and how very much they are worth all of that effort.

I'll wrap this comment up before I get too sappy. Just watch Eureka Seven. I can honestly say it is my favorite story in years. It's a fairy tale, but sometimes we need fairy tales to help us make sense of the world.

As everyone else has already said, the first 10 episodes you hate Renton, because he says obscenely stupid things. Yet after that, you see him start to change, and how everyone else changes as well. This is what makes this anime so great, its like Inuyasha if things actually progressed, and they have only around 2 episodes of filler, and they weren't really filler, but oddly done mini-plots. After the last episode,I felt as if my life was over, with that creeping sorrow that you experience after losing anyone important to you. Yes, it truly was that good.

I bought the series(Japanese: Subbed not dubbed) and am currently watching it for a 4th time, after being dissatisfied with Blood Plus, Fullmetal Alchemist, and many other animes that don't really seem to work, as they have the weird anime expressions that seem so unnecessary now.

The first time I watched Eureka Seven, I was in a mood of "meh, this is going to suck," it didn't but I definitely didn't love it either. After watching the first two episodes and failing to be interested enough to continue, I forgot about it. Some weeks later, on a forum I regularly visit, people were gushing over it. I was wondering what the hell they were on about; they reassured me that it got better and better and better and better….and then even better. "Mecha just isn't my thing" I said "especially when said mecha rides on lame surfboards through the sky". WRONG. The mecha aspect is such a miniscule part of the show that placing it into that anime genre is a crime against humanity. Instead the show becomes one of the most compelling dramas I've ever seen, anime or not. So yes I continued to watch, the next few episodes were nothing special, humorous in parts, interesting in others. I was growing impatient waiting for an arc to form. And then it happened and everything changed, by episode 30 I was proclaiming Eureka Seven as the best anime I've ever had the pleasure of watching and by the end of it all, Eureka Seven had solidified it's place in anime history as possibly the most beautifully written anime ever.

So what is it about it that makes Eureka Seven so refreshing and wonderful? For starters it's nothing like the general mecha anime, if you look at all of them, they are all named after the mecha: Rahxephon, Evangelion, Gundam etc. Eureka Seven set itself up from the very beginning as a character drama and by naming it after the main female character they achieved this. Eureka Seven is all about the characters. Occasionally there are no mecha battles for episodes at a time, when there is one, they are there to compliment the story and the characters own development. At first I felt Renton was rather annoying and I continually found myself saying "shut up" allowed, whenever he was on screen, however by the end Renton had undergone such an excellently written change, he wasn't the annoying kid anymore he was instead one of the most endearing male leads in any anime I have ever seen. Technically Eureka Seven is an achievement. Every aspect, the music, the animation does its job with finesse. The music by Sato Naoki is superb and at time compels you to tears in even some of the happiest most uplifting of scenes. It weaves itself into the anime and never feels out of place. The animation is mostly consistent but at time it drops in quality, however the high level of art is maintained throughout. The arcing story is always interesting and doesn't fall into boring clichés and contrivances which plague most anime today. The writers indict war and it's meaningless with beautiful tact and subtlety. The mysteries are well told and answers are littered throughout, a lot of them leaving the viewer to ponder over and think about, rather than having them shoved in your face.

Sadly Eureka Seven has slipped under most peoples radars; brushing it off as the same thing I felt it was when I first watched it. Fullmetal Alchemist another offering from Bones animation Studio has managed to make a dent in the anime community, even though I liked that anime quite a bit it pales in comparison to Eureka Seven. Hopefully as word of mouth spreads Eureka Seven will find itself as widely acclaimed as it deserves to be.

Eureka Seven is what every anime, no every TV show aspires to be, something original, intriguing and always fun. It's a rarity to have such a uniquely told story that is full of lovable characters and wondrous technical achievements. Eureka Seven is the best anime of 2005. No, the best anime in years.