Anime Fix

Psalms of the Planets – Eureka Seven : 10/10

TV Series; 50 Episodes
Apr 17/2005 – Apr 2/2006

Genre: Adventure, Drama, Mecha, Romance, Sci-Fi, Shounen

Original Authors: Chiaki Konaka, Masayuki Miyaji, Sayo Yamamoto
Production Studios: Bones, Mainichi Broadcasting, Production Reed, Bandai
Director: Tomoki Kyoda and Masayuki Miyaji
Music Composition: Naoki Sato

Plot
Renton Thurston lives in the town of Belleforest, he spends his free time honing his reffing (a sport similar to surfing that uses trapper (air) currents instead of water) skills, attempting to equal his role-model Holland. Holland is the leader of Gekko State, an insurgent operation, famous for publishing the underground reffing magazine, Ray=Out. Gekko State comes to visit Renton’s grandfather, a renowned mechanic, to fix their strongest LFO (a humanoid mechanized armor). Once the military catches wind of Gekko State’s location, they prepare to attack. Renton discovers the amita drive, an invention and legacy of his late father, and moves to assist Gekko State in fleeing from the military. Once they successfully elude capture, Renton becomes a member of the elite reffing dissidents, Gekko State, and joins them in their quest to change the world.

Conclusion
Eureka Seven brings to life a meandering storyline that builds to an impressive and cataclysmic finish. It fully captures the emotional overloads of its characters and ultimately finds the links to bring all of them together. With a compelling plot and uniquely themed story, there is much to love about this anime. Some aspects of the story environment go unexplained, but the brilliance of everything around them leaves these mysteries as ineffectual afterthoughts. Any complaints I would have become meaningless, as any changes that would be made would alter the pace and feel of the storyline, and do nothing to improve the quality. For its touching characters, uplifting themes, and unique presentation, I have nothing but praise for Eureka Seven, and it stands out as the most complete, interesting, and emotional work I have ever viewed.

Characters

Renton Thurston: acted by Yuuko Sanpei
A free spirited adolescent and skilled mechanic, he dreams of a more exciting life than the one he leads, living with his grandfather in Belleforest. It is among the crew of Gekko State he begins to find a purpose and quickly grows to find happiness through his experiences. Sampei delivers a splendid performance, fully capturing the head strong excitement and masochistic retreats of his character. His ability to be confused and reassuring in the same sentence allows for a great definition of the role.

Eureka: acted by Kaori Nazuka
Constantly cold and emotionless, she is the pilot for Nivrash one of Gekko State’s LFOs. She has the ability to feel out and understand mechanical function, and is far more comfortable around the predictable and lifeless contraptions, than she is around brash and emotional people. Through her journey with the crew, she gradually finds herself growing stronger attachments to those around her, particularly with the addition of Renton’s vigor to the troupe. Nazuka’s ability to develop the character throughout the series is an impressive progression. She rapidly becomes the most dynamic and difficult role, but amazingly endures as the strong center for the dialogue.

Holland: acted by Keiji Fujiwara
The leader of Gekko State, his complicated past unfolds throughout the story, and he gains depth and emotion as the catalyst for plot development. He is a rigid, violent, and lazy character, but proves to be much more than that, as his decision making continually pushes forward. Fujiwara adds a weathered feel to the rough character, and his serious tone allows for a great understanding to the history of such a character.

Dewey Novak: acted by Kouji Tsujitani
A colonel and leader amongst the UF (military) forces, his position is always one of great insight. He is cold and calculating, and always remains one step ahead of the storyline. His character is constant and undeterred; his true motives remain a mystery throughout. Tsujitani is the perfect antagonist, he is calm and abrupt, unaffected by any new developments, as no matter what happens it all seems to fit his plan.

Genre
The most significant development throughout this anime is its ability to be many things at once. There is a smooth transition and consistent feel of the story’s multiple genre niches. Presenting at first a Shounen story, it follows Renton throughout, never losing his emotions and motivations from its focus. His struggles of youth are clearly displayed in every situation. Evolving from that, is a Mecha anime, with high speed aerial battles, light and smoke trailed projectiles, and broken parts and explosions filling the screen. Added to that is a Psychological anime, as its sci-fi details pick up speed, it draws comparisons between religion and science, and probes at the nature of living beings and how they connect to each other. With all those pieces acting as supports, the true identity within this story is Romance. The ability of the script to fill the world around its characters and create such an expansive love story is as unique as any other. Clearly displaying the strongest of emotional attachments, the choice of growing closer, and the shared will and belief of its protagonists, Eureka Seven eventually strikes the core of any romantic as it joins its characters to each other with the closest of bonds.

Themes
The etched will of humanity upon a blank sheet of paper is its beating heart. Eureka Seven defines itself with the pulsating ebb and flow of its characters. Those who lose heart fall into despair from the illness of their loved ones, and those with a belief in the future and the will to make their desires into reality, find happiness. Continued use of episode titles “experience” create a shared will amongst its characters and displays the growth of love and understanding, from one to another. It challenges the lines between the dream of shared consciousness and the wish of shared experience, fully embracing the latter. In the end there is only one character unable to find the desire for the future and a family around which to build it.

Style
There is a more emotional and realistic feeling to the characters appearance than a number of other animations. Atmosphere is given heavy detail, as the landscapes are beautifully rendered and often used to add to the geo-centric storyline. Uniquely rendered cityscapes and consistent flow of battle scenes are also positives. There is an impressive blend of musical styles, making use of dramatic symphonies as well as segueing scenes and backing up dialogue with electronic rhythms. The electronica not only feeds the feel and emotion of the anime, but also weaves into parts of the story with its “underground” style characters. Repeatedly used fade-outs at dramatic points near the ends of individual episodes stand out as poignant and remarkable interludes before the conclusions.

Opening Theme

#1: “Days” by FLOW (eps 1-13)
#2: “Shounen Heart (少年ハート)” by Home Made Kazoku (eps 14-26)
#3: “Taiyo no Mannaka he (太陽の真ん中へ)” by Bivattchee (eps 27-39)
#4: “Sakura” by NIRGILIS (eps 40-50)

Ending Theme

#1: “Himitsu Kichi (秘密基地)” by Kozue Takada (eps 1-13,26)
#2: “Fly Away” by Izawa Asami (eps 14-25)
#3: “Tip Taps Tip” by HALCALI (eps 27-39)
#4: “Canvas” by COOLON (eps 40-50)