Eureka 7

[Kevin]

For the past few weeks I've been watching Eureka 7, usually when it airs at 1:30am but some on the DVR as well.

For those not familiar with the title, here is the synopsis from WikiPedia:

Eureka Seven centers around Renton Thurston, the fourteen-year-old son of Adroc Thurston, a military researcher who died saving the world. He lives what he considers a boring life with his mechanic grandfather in a boring town. He loves lifting, a sport similar to surfing but with air as the medium. He dreams of joining the renegade group Gekkostate, led by his idol Holland, a legendary lifter.

An opportunity to do so practically falls into his lap when a large mechanical robot, called the Nirvash typeZERO, and Eureka, a member of Gekkostate, crash into Renton's room. Renton's grandfather orders him to deliver a special part to the Nirvash, which releases the immense power dormant within the typeZERO. 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.

So after watching all of the episodes for the past few weeks the final episode aired again last night and.... darn it, if it didn't raise more questions then it answered.

As a whole the series is pretty riveting as it explores so many topics such as religion, our environment, relationships, and especially humanity. Some recurring themes such as surfing and Japanese & European pop music also run through all of the episodes. There are even a few, what seems to be obligatory these days, references to the US Military thrown in.

The story line might seem to meander at times but the final & fourth season, especially the last few episodes, brings everything back together to show that from the very first episode that all of the major characters & events are actually intertwined.

Episode #50 is the last episode and kind of annoyed me since it almost seemed like there should have been another episode or two between it and #49; it was almost as though the writers realized they were suddenly at the end and had to cram in a bunch of things. The episode did answer a lot of items but it also seemed hurried compared to the rest of the series.

If you're a casual viewer of anime some of the themes might seem a bit strange but if find yourself up at 1:30am with nothing better to do, then try watching a few episodes when the series starts airing over again and you just might be entertained.