Eureka 7

Alternate Titles: Eureka Seven Psalms of Planets and Symphonic Poem Eureka Seven

Original Japanese Release Date: 2005

Episode Length/Run-time: 50 episodes

Summary:

Renton Thurston is your typical 14 year old boy who lives in a boondocks town and believes he will be destened for boredom forever.  One day when a giant robot literally crashes through his window he is swept away with the crew of the Gekkostate, a renegade ship of people living on the edge of the law.  Or so Renton thinks.

Review:

I think it’s pretty safe to say that everyone’s first impression of eureka 7 is “wow another shonen show” and for the first… oh, 10 or so episodes you’re pretty much right.  The first 10 episodes serve as an introduction to the characters and their interactions with one another.  Of course you have your standard fourteen year old shonen boy who suddenly discovers a burst of power who is Renton.  One day a robat crashes into his room, yes literally, named the Nirvash typeZERO.  This belongs to the renegade group Gekkostate who is led by Renton’s “Lifting” (a sport similar to surfing but through the air with the medium of “trapar.”) idol Holland.  Piloting this robot is Eureka a strange girl with eyes that are different from the rest of the general populous (thank you foreshadowing and foresight).  Renton’s grandfather then tells him to deliver a part to the robot the “amita Drive” and when he does this an unlimited power is unleashed.  Renton joins the group of the Gekkostate and begins to learn what life really is.

The second part of the series up until about episode 30 really begins to take a shift where they begin to introduce these mentally disturbing scenes and mature subjects.  Where most series just kind of peter off, especially Shounen series, this one simply gets better.  Renton’s naivety is not annoying, for once, but is portrayed in an innocent and reflective way through which you can see him grow.  This innocence is what often times gets him and Eureka into trouble.

Right at the peak of all this craziness the series then shifts again to develop the characters further before concluding in such a way that answers all the questions which they opened earlier in the series.

It’s great to see a series surprise you amidst so much predictability these days.  If you have the time this is definitely one worth investing in.

[starrater]