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Forum - View topicREVIEW: Eureka Seven Blu-Ray
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Cyclone1993
 Posts: 947 |
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I can't really agree about the second half being all that bad. The first time I watched it, the second half was vastly superior, and the majority of my favorite episodes are in the second half. Although the first grew on me a lot as well. I know like both halves even though the second half can seem to drag a little bit.
I think the second half has a lot more emotional catharsis than the first half, which only really has episodes 22-26 for catharsis. While the second half had episodes like 36, 46, 50, and a few others that I'm probably forgetting. As for Renton's character, I never once found him whiny or annoying. He seemed to me like a socially awkward teenager, and that's exactly what he was, and is for that matter. Even after all my rewatches, Eureka Seven has remained my favorite anime. It just speaks to me on a personal level because I was in pretty much the exact same position Renton was when I watched the series the first time. I still relate to him a lot, even after all these years. Its a story that ultimately sticks with you, largely because in my opinion, the series has the best developed romance I've ever seen in an anime. Especially since it ties into the bildugsroman that the series essentially is for Renton. I plan on buying the Blu-Ray when I get the chance, the series probably looks really nice, probably a lot better than the previous Bandai DVD only release... |
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Angel'sArcanum
 Posts: 303 Location: Toronto, Ontario |
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I too disagree about the second half, I find there is more going on in the latter half and everything feels more grand and fresh. The first half was a little duller in comparison. The peak of the series is episodes 21-24 and 26-30 I'd say (and possibly episode 25). After that point it loses a bit of the intricacy, relentless emotional power and honed pacing, but the second half still has more meaty events transpiring and stuff generally has a lot more gravitas and grandeur to it with all those revelations and new plot elements. The ending is a bit muddy though unfortunately, and the first half is rather stale in places but still good. I definitely understand where that "hollow feeling" is coming from, I felt it a bit from various points in the series, like those rather dry episodes in the cave area, Anemone's pseudo-deep mind rupturing on Renton in their first encounter, some of the long winded talks on Scub Corals and such and a little bit of the politics. I will also agree that it sometimes borders on the melodramatic with some of the emotional byplay, and the characters will emit this sense of awe from things that can be rather minuscule or asinine even. Lastly, I never got tired of Renton, I pretty much empathized with him the whole way, I'm surprised to see reviewers constantly pick at that, but maybe that's just me. On the other hand I find that while there's substantive character development for everyone, Holland is too big of a dick for far too long even with the bildungsroman foils and parallels considered.
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4088 |
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As for me, I'm still stuck on episode 7 and I can't find Renton anything but whiny and annoying. I can't see how his "Oh, why doesn't Eureka love me? I'm the main character" personality is supposed to be endearing. Also, Airboarding mechas ... that also fly on their own {giant flying robots does not equal boring, I don't care how jaded your counterculture main characters are. And ... that...why the hell did I have to write that? Don't introduce the counterculture before the main culture. Damn this show! "It's the 60s, you can tell from the names!" That's not how this science fiction thing works, it's like having the Empire fly around in Star Wars while we spend the entire movie with the Rebellion saying how bad they are}{but I digress ... a lot...}... is not brilliant, the correct term is "f***** stupid". Kind of like Renton's habit or airboarding without robot, without helmet. It's not the fall that requires the helmet {instant death}, it's the concept of "midair collision" that demands a helmet. Of course, he wouldn't look as "cool". Yotsuba looks cool in a helmet but then again, that happens a lot with Yotsuba. I'm sure the show gets better. Mmm, exactly how many brain cells do I need to kill off in order for that to happen? I watched the first DVD out of 8; I still haven't heard a reason to watch this one series that tries to be four things rather than four series that does one or two things quite well. Sadly, telling a cohesive story is not one of those 4, for some reason. |
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DangerMouse
Posts: 3983 |
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Completely agree with you, I liked both halves and the really excellent climax of the first half but on my initial watch or two I also found the second half the better one taking advantage of all of the setup so it's a bit weird seeing it reviewed as the weaker half. Angel'sArcanum made some good points about it and it's especially interesting since I find it relatively common to find people who complain about Renton or especially the kids in the first half and then later in the first half look back and feel like it was all worth it for that early character interaction/development but really get into it for the last 2/3rds. Though as Angel'sArcanum also mentioned it does contain some dragging parts particularly those rather dry episodes in the cave area. Love seeing more praise for how good the secondary characters were in the second half, particularly ofcourse the Anemone stuff and how amazing her episode at the end was (as mentioned, was already a fan thanks to FLCL and that ep sure even further cemented me forever as a Kari Wahlgren fan). I'm not sure I agree with two of the voice weaknesses mentioned since I didn't really find it a shortcoming of Kate Higgins being a little stiff as Talho from time to time since to me that's part of Talho's personality and not really a weakness in her performance. Nor can I blame Sheh's Eureka being a bit underpowered sounding since that's Eureka at times and overall I sooner partially blame that a bit on the story and focus on Renton since I think she's pretty strong sounding in the first half and she nails Eureka's delivery throughout plus pretty much all of the times when she's called on for some powerful moments with her voice in both halves, but the character never really takes back her ace piloting skills and commanding side in the second half. I can't really agree with the review that it's not the classic it is nor that it doesn't have staying power, this show is one of my examples of staying power thanks to its developments and all of the payoffs in the story. Also, oh man that incredible soundtrack, man does it stick with you. Last edited by DangerMouse on Tue Jun 24, 2014 10:47 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Cyclone1993
Posts: 947 |
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Can you really judge a 50 episode show on its cohesiveness after only 7 episodes? Those are the episodes that establish the characters and world, and yes the culture of that world. It's made clear from early on that the world of the series is pretty much a military state, so therefore people who oppose the military are in the counterculture since the military life is kind of the culture of the world. Renton is supposed to be a kid at the beginning of the series. He's meant to have character flaws. If his character isn't flawed then he can't grow throughout the series, which is important since the whole series is literally about him growing into adulthood. If you can't see how he is at the beginning then you won't be able to enjoy how he is at the end. |
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DangerMouse
Posts: 3983 |
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There are those that feel that way during Renton's early moments on the ship and come out loving the show (and get attached to Renton over time) so don't give up on it if there's stuff you like in the show. I'd say rather than be something that's supposed to be endearing, it's something that you're just supposed to relate to and perhaps feel his frustrations at since getting to know her and become closer to her is the main reason he came along. Plus like most his age he's not yet really paying attention to the world around him yet and is being a bit selfish. It also highlights some of his flaws that you will enjoy seeing him overcome. spoiler[No, it'll more be his tenacity to work for it once he gets beyond that that will be endearing.] |
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Monster in a box
Posts: 671 |
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Cons: The orphans are the worst characters in history, constant crying, the orphans crying
I felt like the show wasted at least 13 episodes worth of time personally, and Dominic and Anemone were way more interesting than Renton and Eureka, and only got like 1/20 the screen time. Also, yeah, the second half was better for sure. |
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Ranho
Posts: 68 |
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This show was a typical BONES original show: amazing to look at and listen to but pretty lacking in the story dept. where things just seemed to be made up on the fly as the show went along (jargon heavy terminology that was never explained, introduction of new characters at puzzling parts of the show etc).
Wolf's Rain (the worst offender of the lot), Rahxephon and Xam'd all followed the same formula and were shows better watched for the character interactions than the plot itself. Captain Earth it ain't at the very least. That show is awful (in my opinion). |
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KENZICHI
 Posts: 1103 |
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I also disagree with the the second half being lack luster. I love this show so much. I do like the first half better than the second, but it's still a good show all around with great emotions and conflict. Renton was never annoying to me. He's a kid that was pretty much in a closed off town his whole life so he's naive to the outside world. How do you think he'd react with all this constant strife happening all around him? Come to think of it there was no one I really heavily disliked in this show other than the kids. I even liked Holland (but maybe because Crispin did such a good job with him).
I finally bought the first half of this series (none blu ray). I'll buy the second half soon too. Gotta support one of my favorite anime! |
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partially
Posts: 702 Location: Oz |
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Opinions, eh. 
I would say Wolf's Rain was the best constructed. Sure it had a lot of jargoney bits as per Bones typical. But at the same time it had a compelling plot that did a lot of interesting stuff. Rarely in the show is stuff thrown in for the heck of it, it all serves a purpose (well almost anyway, ugh those recaps). Whereas a lot of Bones' other shows seem to throw in a lot of includes just because they seem cool at the time or something. Wolf's Rain was more than can be seen on the surface. Can't really say the same about E7. Not saying E7 is bad mind you, I enjoyed it. But the show was pretty much a flashy veneer for the most part, scratch the surface off and it was pretty hollow inside. |
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Cyclone1993
Posts: 947 |
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It's kind of strange for me because I have the exact same feelings, except for Wolf's Rain. It was a pretty show, and I did like it, but I felt like there wasn't a whole lot to it, that was particularly interesting. I love BONES' works. I've watched all but 2 of them, and I plan on watching them very soon. Some shows they do are utterly fantastic, but other shows are rather meh, like The Mars Daybreak, which they haven't really done anything like it since, thank goodness. I find Eureka Seven to be one of their best works, up there with Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, and to a lesser extent the Darker than Black series. |
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SquadmemberRitsu
 Posts: 1391 |
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I'd say the 'weaker second half' and 'not as good as in retrospect' criticisms are up there with the A+ rating for Flowers and calling the Fairy Tail dub 'unenthusiastically professional' as some of the most ridiculous things I've seen in Carl's reviews.
As much as I'd like to go into a lot of detail about why I love the show here I think Cyclone hit the nail on the head. Although I wouldn't call it my absolute favourite. It's in my top 10 though |
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4582 |
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I pretty much agree with all of the disagreements in here (now that's an awkward sentence). I thought the series as a whole was expertly crafted on multiple levels, including a consistent sci-fi underpinning, and featured one of the best-developed romances I've come across in any medium. The second half certainly built on the setup provided by the first half, and the greater physical and emotional stakes involved definitely made it better viewing in my book. I most vehemently disagree that it can't be viewed as enduring or a classic: it's a show that affected me on an emotional level that few other works of fiction have, and I'll always hold it as one of my all-time favorites. I probably will double-dip for these Blu-rays at some point.
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meiam
Posts: 3442 |
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Renton never really grow up, I don't remember any point where he sit down and went "Okay my dad wrote a bunch of book about everything that's going around me, so I'm gonna swallow my stupid teenager pride and read them so that I can finally be useful". Nah, the show pretty much realize that Renton whining was really annoying and made him super overpowered with Nirvash, so that he can then start using violence to solve all his problem. Really the most mature he could have done was convince Nirvash/Eureka to let Halland pilot Nirvash, would have save a whole bunch of lives.
I would say the second half is far stronger than the first half if only because Renton is in it less than the first half, Anemone, Dominic and Dewey are far more interesting character. There's also Ray and Charles which are my favorite character of any media, but I dunno if you consider them part of the first or second half. |
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Cyclone1993
Posts: 947 |
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Except his Dad didn't write a book about everything going on around him. He had a military report, but since Renton wasn't in the military, there was no where he could get a hold of it, let alone understand it. After episode 20 though Renton tries to avoid violence, that was the entire point of that sequence with the spoiler[hand] to bring it home to what is actually going on. Also Nirvash/Eureka chose him as a pilot, there were plenty of opportunities for her to choose Holland, but she never did, because there has to be a special connection between the pilots in order for it to work. It would be like convincing someone that they shouldn't be dating you, and should be dating someone else because they would save the world. People don't fall in love with whom they are told to be in love with often, and as such, she couldn't have chosen anyone but Renton. Renton begins as a selfish kid, who wants a live of adventure, and meets a cute girl who encourages him to join a band of outlaws. Then by the end of the series, spoiler[he's gotten past his selfishness, and is even willing to give up his humanity to save the girl he loves. If that isn't development, I don't know what is. ] |
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