Eureka 7

**Eureka 7** is an action, adventure, mecha, romance, comedy, romantic comedy, drama, coming-of-age, science fiction, anime original series that was directed by Tomoki Kyoda, written by Dai Sato, musically composed by

   Naoki Sato, and produced by Studio Bones.  It originally aired from April 17, 2005 to April 2, 2006 for a total of 50 normal episodes and 1 special episode.  It later got a manga adaptation written by Jinsei Kataoka, illustrated by Kazuma Kondou, and published by Kadokawa Shoten for the magazine Shonen Ace from July 26, 2005 to September 26, 2006 with 6 volumes in total.  After that it got another manga series, titled Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl, which was written by Miki Kizuki and published by Kadokawa Shoten for the magmazine Comptiq from May, 2005 to September 26, 2006 for 2 volumes in total.  After that it got a light novel adaptation, which was written by Tomonori Sugihara, illustrated by Robin Kishiwada, and published by Kadokawa Shoten for the magazine Sneaker Bunko from October 26, 2005 to May 31, 2006 for 4 volumes in total.  After that it got an anime film, titled Pocketfull of Rainbows, which was directed by Tomoki Kyoda, musiclly composed by Naoki Sato, produced by Studio Bones and Kinema Citrus, and originally premiered in Japan on April 25, 2009.  After that the original anime series got a sequel manga, titled Eureka 7:  Astral Ocean, or simply Eureka 7:  AO for short, which was written by Yuichi Kato and published by Kadokawa Shoten for the magazine Shonen Ace from January 26, 2012 to September 26, 2013 for 5 volumes in total.  Eureka 7 AO is notorious for being terrible by fans of the classic series and non fans alike.  After that Eureka 7:  AO got a sequel manga, titled Eureka 7:  AO - Save a Prayer, which was written by Ran Fudou and published by Kadokawa Shoten for the magazine Newtype A from February 10, 2012 to June 10, 2013 for 2 volumes in total.  After that the series got another sequel, titled Eureka 7:  nAnO, which was written by Katsuwo and published by Akadokawa Shoten for the magazine 4-koma Nano A, from July 9 2012 to January 9, 2013 for just 1 volume in total.  After that the Eureka 7:  AO manga series got an anime adaptation, directed by Tomoki Kyoda, written by Sho Aikawa, musically composed by Koji Nakamura, and produced by Studio Bones.  It originally aired from April 13, 2012 to November 20, 2012, for a total of 24 main episodes, 1 OVA episode, and 1 ONA episode.  After that the series got another manga series, titled Psalms of Planets Eureka Seven New Order, which was written by Oonogi Hiroshio, illustrated by Miyama Fugin, and published by Kadokawa Shoten for the magazine Comptiq from June 8, 2012 to May 10, 2014 with 2 volumes in total.  After that it got a trilogy of anime films, titled the High Evolution trilogy, which were directed by Tomoki Kyoda and Hisatoshi Shimizu, written by Dai Sato, musically composed by  Naoki Sato, and produced by Studio Bones and AUS.  The first one was released on September 16, 2017, and the second one is set to be released in 2018 and the third and final one is set to be released in 2019.  Eureka 7 also got three video games created over the years.  The first to be released was Eureka 7:  Volume 1 - The New Wave, which was released in Japan on October 27, 2005, and in North America on October 24, 2006.  The game features a different cast of characters and takes place two years before the anime.  A sequel, Eureka 7:  Volume 2 - The New Vision, was released in Japan on May 11, 2006 and in North America on April 17, 2007.  This game takes place two years after the events of *New Wave*. Both games were released on the Playstation 2 and feature the theme song "Realize", sung by Flow.  A Playstation Portable game sharing the same name of the anime, was released on April 6, 2006, in Japan. This game is based on the events from the first half of the show.

## Plot

The series focuses on Renton Thurston, the fourteen-year-old son of Adrock Thurston, a military researcher who died saving the world. He lives what he considers a boring life with his grandfather in a boring town. He loves lifting, a sport similar to surfing but with trapar, a substance abundant throughout the air, as the medium. He dreams of joining the renegade group Gekkostate, led by his idol Holland Novak, a legendary lifter.

An opportunity to do so literally falls into his lap when a large mechanical robot, called the Nirvash type ZERO, and Eureka, its pilot and a member of Gekkostate, crash into Renton's room. Renton's grandfather orders him to deliver a special part to the Nirvash called the "Amita Drive", which releases the immense power dormant within the type ZERO called the "Seven Swell Phenomenon". Afterwards, Renton is invited to join Gekkostate, where he quickly discovers that the behind-the-scenes life of Gekkostate is hardly as glamorous or as interesting as printed in the glossy pages of their magazine, *ray=out*. Only one thing makes it all worthwhile for him: the presence of Eureka, the mysterious pilot of the Nirvash. Renton, Eureka, and the Gekkostate embark on an adventure that will shape their future as well as the world's.

## Anime Movies

1. Eureka 7:  Pocketfull of Rainbows
2. Eureka 7:  Hi-Evolution - Part 1
3. Eureka 7:  Hi-Evolution - Part 2
4. Eureka 7:  Hi-Evolution - Part 3

## Video Games

1. Eureka 7:  Volume 1 - The New Wave
2. Eureka 7:  Volume 2 - The New Vision
3. Eureka 7:  Psalms of Planets

## Why It Rocks

1. Incredible animation, especially during fight scenes, dramatic scenes, or scenes where the mechs are flying through the air on the surf boards.
2. Very appealing art style and character designs.  The highlight in this regard is that of the mechs, which look phenomenal.
3. Good voice acting in both sub and dub.
4. Amazing music and soundtrack.
5. Excellent cast of characters, all of them are unique from each other, interesting, entertaining, flawed, and likable.
6. The best part of the show for many fans is the growing romance between Eureka and Renton Thurston.  It's incredibly engaging and has a satisfying conclusion.
7. Eureka 7 has one of the best coming of age stories in all of anime.  It's able to tell it's messages without hammering it into the viewer's heads, it's very subtle like that in most instances.
8. Phenomenal ending, it wrapped everything up and was pe4rfect, it didn't need the crappy sequel that it got.
9. Neither side in the war is depicted as being completely right and compelely wrong.  Both sides have likable and unlikable characters as well as clearly defined, understandable reasons for fighting.  War in real life isn't completely black and white, and this is one of the few anime that understands this.
10. Stunning mecha action scenes.
11. Great comedy.
12. This is one of the few anime that almost everyone would be able to like and get something out of.  It has great action, romance, comedy, a huge cast of likable characters, it's dark but not grimdark, it's an amalgamation of everything that people loves, and somehow no aspect of the story seems pushed to the side or forced in.
13. Eureka 7 was important for raising the bar in terms of what you can show in an anime aimed towards kids and teenagers.  While it's not the most mature anime of all time, it still has a lot more maturity and realism than a typical anime Shonen anime of that time.

## Bad Qualities

1. While the comedy and coming-of-age aspects of this series are supurb, a lot of the scenes where Renton is being made fun of and humiliated seem rather mean spirited and might turn off a lot of viewers.
2. While not diretly related to seaosn 1 in general, there was a second season to Eureka 7, which was godawful and didn't need to be made.  It completely ruined the characters and the story established in the original series.

## Reception

Towards the end of its original Japanese run, *Eureka Seven* won multiple awards at the 2006 Tokyo International Anime Fair, including Best Television Series, Best Screenplay for Dai Satō, and Best Character Designs for Kenichi Yoshida.[33] Yoshida, the series' main animator and character designer, also received an individual award at the 10th Animation Kobe Awards in September 2005.[34] The series also won an award at the 20th Digital Content Grand Prix in Japan in January 2006.[35] At the Anime Expo 2006 SPJA Awards, *Eureka Seven* won the award for Best Television Series, and Best Female Character for Eureka.[36] *Anime Insider* voted it "Best DVD Series of the Year" in 2006.[37] During a conference in 2010, writer Dai Satō claimed that many anime fans dismissed *Eureka Seven* as a clone of *Neon Genesis Evangelion* without even watching it.[38]

The sequel series, *Eureka Seven: AO*, was met with mixed-to-negative reviews from fans and critics, who criticized the series for being a contradiction to *Eureka Seven*. It was however awarded the jury selection prize by the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards.