Probably the biggest problem I initially had with this sequel is that it denies fans the happy ending that a lot of us had pictured as following the end of Eureka Seven. Ao's parents are missing, Ao's island home in is remarkably different from the setting of Eureka Seven and most returning themes are subverted in one way or another sporting a considerably different vernacular as well. This is an especially hard pill to swallow for fans who already watched Pocket Full of Rainbows as AO immediately gives off the feeling of another blatant redacting of the Eureka Seven universe. In retrospect this seems like a creative choice to play with fans' expectations coming into the sequel although this might have been a little over done as I dropped this series the first time I watched it because of this.
The next issue seems to be the result of over ambitious writing. The combination of everything that is going on in AO and the relatively large central cast results in a number of difficulties in telling each character's story while conveying a sense of overarching plot that viewers can comfortably follow. For some people this makes the character development seem rushed, unclear in execution or tacked on. Where as other reviewers were left wanting more character driven story and were disappointed with the overarching plot which was truly hard to follow with all the back stories popping up along the way. I found myself in the middle wanting a clearer plot and more time with each character (except Truth.) Aside from this, transitions between episodes often felt jarring and confusing since the series rarely fell into a familiar swing while trying to find a place for everything.
A lot of reviewers have said this and I feel it deserves restating: This series is not Eureka Seven. This is fairly obvious to those who've watched or are considering watching this series, but this phrase holds a considerable amount of weight to it. Lets consider some of the things that Eureka Seven has/had to its advantage over AO. Eureka Seven had the benefit of open expectations, a new word to discover and fifty episodes. This makes Eureka Seven a reasonably hard series to follow up in twenty-four episodes without disappointing a lot of people. It is arguable that issues with the story and presentation of the series could stem from trying to fit more into this series than could be done in twenty-four episodes, but I feel that is more a matter of opinion than fact so I've kept this as a separate shortcoming in the series.
My opinion of this series is that there is a lot to love and hate. For me personally there was more to love in this sequel. For a lot of reviewers there was more to hate and I find that completely understandable since there is a lot to look past to start seeing what this series did well. With that said I don't think everyone that enjoyed Eureka Seven will enjoy this sequel, but I think fans who approach this series with an open expectations and are willing to look for what they like in this series will find a lot of pleasant surprises.
I really liked the whole set up for this anime. In a cohesive, although not very well presented, plot the creators of this show managed to bring the audience into a setting that is both similar and different than the setting of Eureka Seven. This allows the audience to become reacquainted with the familiar while discovering what is new and different about the setting of AO through Ao's adventure in a way that was, for me, very nostalgic.
There is a large and diverse cast of characters in this series and most of them are pretty likable. Although the majority of the character development felt forced and out of place in this series I still really liked the characters and I have to credit this to the fact that every primary character has some form of back story or side story.
The setting of AO is much more politically diverse than Eureka Seven. I felt this really made AO stand out as a sequel and, although it added to the side story clutter and general messiness of AO's presentation, I still enjoyed the political aspects of the story.
Even by the end of Eureka Seven there where many questions left unanswered and aspects of mythos left unexplored. AO continues this tradition by answering some questions viewers might have never known to ask about the Eureka Seven universe while revisiting some old questions and introducing new ones along the way. Though fairly simple, I feel this is one of AO's more notable successes as a sequel. For me this is what most of my opinion of this series as sequel hinged on. More than the characters or the story, the world of Eureka Seven is what originally drew me into this franchise and I am glad to see that aspect of Eureka Seven done justice.
Closing Note:
I read the guidelines and it was suggested to avoid something like this (but not expressly prohibited.) So, I held it off until the end to respectful of everyone's time. This is my first review and although I read the guidelines and kept them in consideration while writing this review I am sure people will notice things that I overlooked. If you have any advice on how I could make this review more helpful, clear or more compliant with the guidelines, please let me know.