Category: Eureka Seven Ao

Plot build-up! And it’s the good kind of build-up that has enough interesting things to do while the chess pieces are all set right. This episode was necessary to confirm a few things: the secrets indeed have been different from what was assumed. This episode confirmed this by revealing that these things are sentient, and that the Japanese government has managed to collect a living example of this.

The characters instead were the ones who made this episode interesting, using Ao’s complete change after meeting with his mother as a catalyst to show different sides of a lot of different cast-members. Ao in particular has really changed in how he views his responsibilities, as shown by how he tried t get these sleeping pills. In this episode it went to the point of taking this too far, where he desperately wanted to live up to what he thinks are his mother’s expectations.

Also I’ve probably mentioned this before, but Fleur’s father has to be inspired by Ikari Gendou from Evangelion. He’s not as extreme, and there have been points in which he has been fleshed out quite nicely as a father figure, but in this episode he revealed where exactly he has been taking the Quartz that he has harvested. What I find interesting is how, even after the revelation that the Secret aren’t exactly evil as long as you don’t get in their way, he still is more intent on destroying them, rather than the actual scab coral.
Rating: (Excellent)

At this point, I think I’m pretty sure of the big difference between Eureka Seven and Eureka Seven Ao in terms of series structure: consistency. Based on the past fourteen episodes, I can say that Eureka Seven’s stand-out moments were much more shocking and much better delivered than Eureka Seven Ao’s. On the other hand, Eureka Seven Ao just had a streak of awesome episodes that doesn’t seem to end anytime soon. Compare that to Eureka Seven’s season of build-up. Which one’s the best? I’d say that Eureka Seven still edges it for its world development and these mind-blowing standout moments. But seriously: I love its sequel as well.

This episode also had an awesome plot twist to add to this show’s vast array. And really, these are the kinds of plot twists that make me wtf out loud. They toy with your expectations, and strike when you’d least expect it (I really thought that Eureka immediately knew that Ao was her son, but holy crap Ao has a sister!), and yet they feel part of the plot, instead of just shoved in for the sake of having plot twists.

The rest of the small plot twists were also very fun and interesting to watch, but there is one in particular that caught my attention: Ao hating his father. I originally thought that there was some deep reason behind that. I mean, this series likes to withhold certain pieces of information from the viewer, even when it’s about the main character (which is great, by the way: it shows that said main character had a life before the start of the series), but in the end, he just blamed him for being there with his mother. Which, you know, is pretty reasonable for a kid his age.

This episode also made me realize what the creators were trying to do with him. I mean, the one thing that makes Ao stand out: he acts mature for his age. Why? Because he had a bad childhood. He never really got to be a child because of all that island and discrimination stuff going on. This is the biggest reason why he is so fundamentally different from Renton, who despite losing his parents (he did, right? My memory si fuzzy about that one), did grow up happily and he even had an idol to look up to. And that brings us back again to the main theme of this series: kids don’t belong in war. You could see that again when that one smirky officer was about to shoot Ao, and how many people jumped on him.
Rating: (Awesome)

This episode disappointing? Hah, Ao finally had the time to see his mother again and answer some of the big questions of the plot, and this worked out really well.

As expected, this is a time travel plot; everyone just labeled Eureka as an alien. Apparently Eureka traveled through time twice, this being the first one. Also, Renton got mentioned! This episode was all about relating back the things that Eureka did 10 years ago, which made for some very good character development for the ones involved. Also, why was Elena so upset?

Also, this episode showed even more that this is Eureka Seven with an Evangelion inspiration. First of all there was this one facial expression from Truth (who really kicked ass in this episode by the way), and then there was this remarkable Secret-design from Eureka’s past. Coincidence?
Rating: **+ (Excellent)

I already saw some reactions on the shoutbox about this episode, but as I started watching the episode I started wondering what was up. Sure, it brought in some nice plot twists and all, especially with the way in which Ao has been piloting the Nirvash, and how well it relates back to the first season of Eureka Seven. It was all interesting, but nothing like what the previous episodes have shown us. And then the Scab Coral crashed into the earth.

HOLY CRAP! Oh my GOD, my mind has been completely blown here. That was absolutely amazing! Christ, the reappearance of the Gekko-Gou already made me yelp out loud, but the actual cliff-hanger of this episode was the real shocker. I’m a bit speechless by this.

But yeah, with this it’s now pretty clear that this series was made for the fans of Eureka Seven. If anyone plans to check this series out: watch Eureka Seven first. This is pretty much what Last Exile – Ginyoku no Fam should have been doing: involve its older cast more: as side-characters who do have a significant meaning to the story, rather than being random cameos. With this, Eureka Seven Ao just became the best teenaged-focused sci-fi series of the year.

On a random note: why are people surprised with blue hair when there are purple-haired people walking around the world?!
Rating: **** (Fantastic)

With this, I’m sure: ever since creating Eureka Seven, the creators watched Evangelion. When thinking of this series as a cross between these two, it all makes sense, and that only means that things will get even more interesting when the second half hits. This episode once again was really awesome and it loved playing mind tricks on the characters.

This is the kind of series that, once it pulls a background episode, completely changes the characters in question. Elena has mostly been a side-characters o far, but her real background got revealed in this episode and it just kept taking twists and turns, especially since the reason why she did all that hasn’t been revealed yet. The only thing this episode showed that she was spy that somehow ended up performing as a rock star all over the world and that she finally buried that part of herself at the end of this episode. This episode revealed so much, only to kill this off again, yet I can’t help but hope that there will be many different consequences from this episode.

What has impressed me the most here is the interesting things that this series does with its character. Not only Elena was great, but the rest of the cast also had some nice and funny touches, like cutting off George’s nose, or how everyone, ranging from her father to the secrets, are teasing Fleur with any possible hint of romantic development.
Rating: **+ (Excellent+)

Sorry for the delay on this episode. But really, do check it out because Eureka Seven Ao just got better here.

One of the many reasons the original Eureka Seven was so great is was how well and inventively it portrayed the mental states of its characters. Even though the plot and themes of Eureka Seven Ao are completely different, this is really the episode I’ve been waiting for. It’s not like this was as extreme as some of the stuff that happened in the first Eureka Seven, but still: the scene in which Ao stood in the middle of all those civilians getting killed was an awesome point for him to break down. Later on in the episode, I also loved how the creators portrayed the adrenaline flowing within him as he experimented with fleeing inside a tent.

The tent parade by the way was also very creative, not to mention how this episode shed more light on what the Secrets are and how they act. Beyond that, this episode had some really good moments for two members of the supporting cast. The chief in particular really made use of his role as the team leader this time.
Rating: *** (Awesome)

This was an episode for character and setting building, but thankfully it also remembered to deliver some good drama and action along the way. I like that about this show: it has fairly more time than usual, but when it needs to build up it does try to make this build-up interesting.

The episode had two main goals. The first was building trust between Ao and Fleur and Elena, showing that they’re beginning to read each other more and more. This is interesting development, but it does have a potential pitfall: developing into something generic. The way they interacted with Ao so far was very interesting and there was a lot of tension between them. Them getting to trust each other is natural of course, but this will remove some of that tension. So yeah, this series will have to put something in to replace that.

Second was that we saw that Truth guy continuing with his plans to what I presume will be world destruction. In this episode he recruits a soldier who is surprisingly similar to Dominic from the original Eureka Seven. I can definitely see that the creators are trying to do something interesting with Truth, especially by introducing him so relatively early in the series. I like how his powers enable him to just turn up from absolutely nowhere, but this does have the disadvantage of making him a bit too overpowered. What this guy needs next, is flaws.
Rating: *+ (Great)

It’s back to the regular storyline with this episode, as we finally get a good look at the president of the whole operation. He’s a rather witty character who isn’t afraid of manipulating the international news in order to get his way. He’s an interesting character, reminiscent of Shinji’s father from Evangelion, but less of an asshole on the surface.

For Ao, this was an episode of bonding and getting to know his team mates. Right now I’m most afraid of the romance getting forced in, but at least so far this just got limited to some delusions from a side-character. It’s also a plus that Fleur’s character doesn’t just exist for Ao, but she has her own issues and will too. The car accident backstory is a bit forced, but at the same time it is very vague: this episode showed some of her feelings about it, but not all of them came to the surface. This series can be really subtle and un-subtle at the same time, and I like that about it.

also, Ao hates his dad. That’s something pretty major here being casually revealed. How does he know his father if Eureka crashed down from the sky being pregnant of him? Why does he hate his “father”? Did he actually meet him?
Rating: *+ (Great)

Again, my laptop sucks and I have plans for this evening so I don’t have much time. Here is the gist of my thoughts of this episode:
– Brilliant! Love the complete tone shift!
– Shows as Rinne no Lagrange and the other mechas that appeared this year may have been very good, but they lacked something to be truly outstanding. With this episode Eureka Seven showed that it does have that potential to make it an outstanding mecha.
– Half real dream sequence rocked!
– Excellent villain is excellent.
– Love how Naru plays with her role: she was useless aside for emotional support, but left on her own will. Not sure if that was 100% but regardless you could see a huge load lifting from her shoulder. She would have done this.
– More of this please!
Rating: *** (Awesome)

Eureka Seven Ao’s best episode yet. Seriously, this episode marked a huge change from the first five episodes. It starts off like a completely different series when we suddenly move to Peru and Myanmar for some side-stories, only to turn over to Ao again with a message that lives really are on the line in this series.

And I must say that that death really made impact. It made great use of red herrings of the girls introduced last episode. I did not expect that so early on in the series. It took a second watch-through to make out what exactly went on during their deaths, but this was very tightly written.

Then we also get to see what looks to be the main villain of this series. His scenes were completely standalone from what happened in the rest of the episode, but the creators did succeed in making him seem menacing, and feel like a threat. Next up will be giving him flaws, motivation and background.
Rating: **+ (Excellent+)