Eureka Seven Review

 
 Eureka Seven Psalms of Planets
An exciting journey with a timely ending...


Synopsis:  Renton Thurston is a 14-year-old boy whose life is the same every day.  He lives with his grandfather, who is a mechanic, and dreams every day of a more exciting life.  Nothing ever changes, until one day a giant mecha called an LFO (Light Finding Operation) literally comes crashing down on his house.  From that he meets a girl named, Eureka.

Review:
     Every anime has a central theme (or multiple); whether it is revenge, romance, coming-of-age, discovery, impending doom, or others.  Not very many shows attempt a central theme like Eureka Seven though; the theme of love.  Not the simplicity of falling in love, but the act of choosing to love someone.  This is the central (though underlying) theme throughout the majority of the story and not only with the two main protagonists, but the side characters as well.  There are of course other themes; the coming-of-age and the possible destruction of the world, to name a couple.

     Not only does Eureka Seven attempt an uncommon theme, it also executes it well.  We see the theme displayed through many of the characters.  Choosing to love someone and loving them no matter what they do or may not do, what they become or may become.  I like that they were risky enough to choose this theme and I'm glad that they execute it so well.  It's not too obvious, actually being somewhat subtle at times (of course after reading this you'll notice it for sure).  Normally a show trying to portray an uncommon theme like this would be lacking in some other key aspects.  Eureka Seven was able to portray the theme successfully while keeping the integrity of most everything else.

     The story is simple, though kind of confused by fillers or possibly unnecessary parts at times.  It tends to move along a little slow, while the action parts definitely take on their own pace.  I found the main protagonist, Renton, often annoying; to the point of almost quitting on the show.  This is probably a fluke thing with me and no one else will have this problem.  So, at times I had to remind myself that Renton is only fourteen years old and there is a coming-of-age story in here.  Other than that, each character had their own depth and they were mostly likeable.  Some of them were predictable at times, but they created a nice "family".  The action was done well and is fun to watch.  The show really only has one villain and he's forgettable if he's not on screen at the time.

     The animation was crisp and the characters and mechas were done very well.  The expressions were a little funky at times, but the world was absolutely gorgeous.  From desolate waste towns, to space, to the other world, and the rolling plains; everything was beautiful.  It was and is a gorgeous world.  The soundtrack was excellent, I especially enjoyed a couple of the endings and loved the last couple insert songs towards the end of the show.  I will be getting the soundtrack for sure.

     In short, it's a great show with a well executed theme and great characters.  A simple story with maybe a little too much length to it (fifty episodes); I was kind of relieved it ended when it did.  The animation is good, the music is great.  If you have not seen it I would recommend watching it.  How far up it goes on your priority list would be different for each person.  But make sure you see it at some point, it is worth the viewing.

Eureka Seven -- B+ violence (some graphic), adult themes, profanity, partial nudity