With the exception of .hack//sign, this is the third mecha series out of the last 4 reviews I've done. Unlike Code Geass, though, Eureka Seven is very specifically a mecha series. A friend of mine got me into this series two years ago, but I'm still only on episode 18 because I don't watch episodes online. The library only owns up to volume 4, but I'm working to fix that.
The protagonist of Eureka Seven is a young teenage boy named Renton Thurston (like Lelouch, and half the male protagonists in the dubbed anime world, voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch). Renton's father is the "hero", Adroc Thurston who somehow saved the world and discovered lots of things about LFOs, trapar, and the first summer of love. Because of my long break from the series and the differences between the anime and manga, I have no idea what exactly about those things he discovered.
I CAN however tell you that "trapar" is "transparent light" and is a kind of invisible "wave" that can be ridden with a lift-board--basically, you surf in the sky. An LFO is a "Light Finding Operation, a mecha that can lift board, and yes, the pop-culture reference is intentional, especially when the military LFOs are called KLFs, and there's no point in finding out what the acronym is because it's a British band and that's all you really need to know. The show is ridden with pop-culture references, everything from the episode titles all being based on real songs, to the characters "Jobs" and "Woz" (Apple founders), to Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water in episode 16. No, I'm not kidding.
Anyway, Renton's father did some amazing stuff, but died. Renton is a loner, though everyone gives him attention because of his father. He's a great mechanic thanks to his grandfather, Axel Thurston, and loves to lift. (the act of lift boarding) One day, a girl in an LFO crashes into his house. That girl is the title character, Eureka, whose past, identity, and everything in general is nothing but a big mass of spoilers. I read the manga, so I get it (at least somewhat) but the anime doesn't reveal most of it until the 20s.
The series is animated by some of the folks who did Cowboy Bebop, and the studio that did Fullmetal Alchemist. The animation is spot-on, with everything from emotional scenes between Eureka and Renton to spectacular LFO board-riding fight scenes. The English voice acting is great, with such actors as Johnny Bosch, Crispin Freeman, Stephanie Sheh, and down there with a somewhat minor character, Megan Hollingshed. I have no problems with any of the acting, now that I've gotten into this trend of watching the English dub instead of the Japanese. I just figure if Bandai took the time to dub it, I ought to take the time to watch it. In fact, all of the last four titles I've reviewed were released by Bandai. What happened to my "FUNimation is the king of dubbing!" standpoint?
Overall, an exciting, yet emotional title. It's got all the stuff you'd expect with mecha anime, which Code Geass is significantly lacking. (emotional bonding with the mecha and so forth) There's a great story, though it takes a while to get through it. I'm itching for the rest of Holland's past, but so far, they have not obliged. Eureka alone is complicated enough for the relationship, but there's at least 4 on the ship, though only two ever get much development. Not to mention the other characters with the military, who really complicate things.
Great show! Though perhaps I'm a bit biased, but I give it an A.
As always, it was featured on Adult Swim, so 13+. It's not particuarly graphic or explicit (so far), but just to get your head around the emotional stuff, you ought to be 13.
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