Amazing Grace

Eureka 7 is quite frankly one of the best anime series I have ever seen. It is one of those rare shows that, through a confluence of artistic creativity and good story telling, manages to take the established conventions of a rather staid genre and turn enough of them on their head to produce something that is at once familiar and fresh.

The setting of the show is a fanciful earth-like planet that is prone to sudden tectonic shifts. The atmosphere positively hums with a mysterious form of energy known as Transparence Light Particles, or Trapars for short. Trapars allow people and robots to surf through the air on special boards, as well as allowing airships to stay aloft for long periods of time without needing to refuel. The story centers around a teenage boy named Renton, who at the start of the series lives with his grandfather in a sleepy, out of the way place called Bellforest, where he helps run the family mechanic business. Renton longs to escape this mundane life, and he gets his chance when a giant military robot quite literally falls out of the sky and lands on his room. Turns out, the robot is named the Nirvash, and it is piloted by a beautiful, yet mysterious young girl named Eureka. Renton is smitten with her, but they soon find themselves under military attack for reasons unknown. And, you guessed it, Renton manages to save the day with a device passed on to him from his late father that unlocks a power hidden in the Nirvash.

From that point on, Renton joins Eureka as part of the Gekkostate, a renegade group of mercenaries that is fighting the aims of a shadowy government experiment (sort of like the A-Team, just with giant robots). As the story unfolds, Renton must come to terms with the harsh realities of life and deal with his feelings as his relationship with Eureka continues to develop. Eureka 7 is thus primarily a coming of age story, which is an all too familiar theme in anime. However, it is executed with such a depth of feeling that I found myself starting to really care about the characters. One thing that is nice to see is that in Eureka 7 the characters actually progress and grow over the course of the series. When one compares Renton of episode 1 to the Renton of episode 50, the difference is striking. The same goes for Eureka and many of the other characters of the show.

All of this plot and character development is backed up by production values that are simply second to none. Eureka 7 is very pleasing to the eye, being chock full of fancy light effects and CG that has been seamlessly integrated. Character and mecha designs are a bit stock in trade, but they are well executed and the surfing mechanic adds just enough novelty to keep things interesting. The audio of this series is also top-notch. The soundtrack is largely orchestral, although there are a few techno/dance beats mixed in here and there. Either way, the music of the show nicely complements both the action and the emotion of the scenes it accompanies. The show cycles through a total of four opening and closing sequences, each with a different song. This is a bit more than usual, and I found a couple of the songs to be somewhat forgettable. However, my favorite opening definitely has to be the fourth and final one called Sakura, by Nirgilis. As for the dub, the English cast does an outstanding job at capturing the nuances of their characters. At no point did I feel the dialog was forced; the cast really seemed to have a nice chemistry going. Performances of particular note were Crispin Freeman as Holland, the leader of the Gekkostate, and Kate Higgins as his love interest Talho. These two characters have a very interesting and complex relationship that I think the actors really nailed spot-on.

This series was originally aired on Adult Swim, following which it was released in 12 individual volumes. Recently, however, the show was repackaged into two sets of 6 discs each, making it much more affordable to collect. This is the version of the show I bought, and I am pretty happy with the packaging. It is a very efficient space-saving design, which is a major consideration for a show that stretches over 12 discs! Extras are limited to commentaries and also interviews with both the English and Japanese casts. These are interesting, as they give a window into the making of not only this show but anime in general. The interviews with Freeman were particularly interesting, as he goes into some depth about the themes and references made in the show. Rounding out the extras are textless title sequences and a smattering of trailers which, oddly, don't really change much over he course of the 12 discs. The textless titles are nice, as the animation used in the opening sequences is actually quite well done.

Overall, this show is simply too good to pass up. Although it lasts for 50 episodes, the plot ticks along so nicely that it felt more like 13 episodes. This show is one of those that tempt you watch it in a marathon session, so those new 6-disc sets are both a blessing and a curse! Be warned, there are some scenes of pretty graphic violence, and some of the themes at the end of the show may be a bit over the heads of some younger viewers. For anyone in their mid teens and up, though, Eureka 7 is highly, highly recommended!

By Andy Rucker