Eureka 7

[ChristianKitsune]

So its on....what are you guys thinking of it?

I hear Crispin Freeman's voice.

OOH AND THE VOICE OF VASH!! YAYS!

[RedMage]

That was pretty terrible.

I'm not even sure I could explain why it was so bad. For starters, I get the impression it wasn't translating well. I'll set aside that I had little, if any, idea what was going on, as I guess we aren't supposed to know yet. It struck me as FLCL, Last Exile and Gundam thrown into a blender with a dash of "extreme sports" thrown in just to cash in on the fad.

[Joshua Christopher]

That was pretty excellent.

I'm not even sure I could explain why it was so cool. For starters, I get the impression it was translating well. I'll set aside that I had a perfect idea of what was going on. It struck me as FLCL, Last Exile and Gundam thrown into a blender with a dash of "extreme sports" thrown in just to add something different than the typical mech show.

[GundamGeek]

I love the responses above mine!

I'm watching Eureka 7 now via sub, and I'm really enjoying it. I thought I'd find mech riding on surfboards cheesy, but it's really kind of cool. And from the first few episodes I thought it would be very light-hearted... but it is quickly getting more serious and heavy... which is more to my liking actually. But I like "heavy", and I like mysterious characters, and I like mech... so this show is right up my alley to begin with. Might not be to everyone's taste.

I didn't know that Johnny Yong Bosh was voicing a character in the dub! I'll have to try it out in English too.

[Tommy]

It SUCKED (Just Kidding. If you saw the first episode then you know what I`m talking about).

It`s okay. So far the plot strikes me as more creative than IGPX.

[everdred12a]

It SUCKED

THAT was awesome. But overall, I thought it was decent. I'm not so sure I'm going to go running down to Best Buy and see if I can find it on DVD because I *absolutely* have to have it, but it's not a bad watch. I hadn't heard a thing about it until I was just kinda half-asleep half-awake sitting there and I was like, "Whoah, what is this?" It was interesting to say the least. I can definitely see where people make references to FLCL, Last Exile and Gundam.

To be honest, I actually thought it was IGPX for a moment because I've never watched IGPX, but I found out shortly afterward it wasn't.

[ChristianKitsune]

LOL TD you took the words right outta my mouth! LOL

yeah, it's probably gonna be another sc-CRY-ed for me, not worth recording, but worth watching.

I do have one q. Did anyone else catch how he pronounced Eureka was i Oo-reck-ah or You REEK ah

*looks at the later phonetic spelling and laughs*

[everdred12a]

I remember it being like Eh-ur-eh-kah (the 'eh' is a long A sound), but I did think it was pretty weird. That is like, a perfect example of Engrish ^_^

[RedMage]

Yes, I'm not sure I can endure hearing them pronounce "Eureka" that way any more.

If I had to pick one word to describe this show (in fairness, on the basis of one episode), it would be derivative. Everything this show offers I've seen offered before somewhere else, and usually offered better. There are just so many stock elements in this premise.

Whiny adolescent protagonist dreaming of choosing his own destiny and a life of adventure away from his boring, pedestrian, railroaded existence? Check.

Long-lost parent or relative of said protagonist who disappeared strangely or performed some famous heroic act? Check and check.

Crochety elderly relative guardian of said protagonist who's bitter about his offspring, the protagonist's late parent? Check.

Gateway to excitement and adventure falling into protagonist's lap in the form of a mecha and/or a cute, spacey girl with an affinity for machines? Double check again.

And the "unique" element thrown into the mix that's supposed to make it interesting is...hoverboards?...which frankly strikes me as less a considered artistic choice than an attempt at pandering to a demographic which considers Tony Hawk a deity on Earth.

This seems to be aimed at a substantially younger crowd than Adult Swim's target audience. If I had to guess right now, I'd say AS snapped it up based purely on Bones' previous works like Fullmetal Alchemist and Wolf's Rain and had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

For all that, though...I've been told it gets better if you can suffer through the first story arc or something...so I'll try to gut it out.

[creed4]

Interesting, but need to see more befor I decide

[Radical Dreamer]

Meh. I watched it last night, and I must say, I wasn't all that impressed.

First of all, I thought I heard Johnny Yong Bosch's voice in there, too! But his name wasn't in the credits at the end, though I did see Crispin Freeman's name.

Secondly, yes, yes, and YES to those who said it reminded them of FLCL. XDD When the kid (I forgot his name) started talking about how nothing interesting ever happens, I was like, "Oh, it's a Naota-clone! Let's see where this goes." XD Well, it didn't go anywhere too interesting. I swear, by the time the episode finished, I was so sick of hearing that moody 14-year old saying that this SUCKS, and that SUCKS, and zee oh em jee, it all SUCKS!! *Naota is way better, by the way.* XD

Now, maybe I'm just not a huge fan of mech anime, and maybe I'm just ready for AS to show a shoujo series or two (hehe), but I just didn't find anything interesting (or understandable, other than there's a kid who thinks life sucks) about this show in particular. Maybe it'll get better, maybe it'll get worse. I doubt I'll stick around for the entire thing, but I might pop in every now and again to see how it's going. As for now, though, I'm not interested.

[mitsuki lover]

Check the end credits both Crispin Freeman and Kari Wahlgren are in this one.
Also check ANN Enclyopedia,they only list a couple of the VAs in the dub,but the girl with the blue hair(Raye)is voiced by Melissa Fahn who played both Ed on Cowboy Bebop and Rika on Digimon:Tamers.According to the information they have her she's a classically trained singer.If you listened to Raye's voice it does sound a bit like Rika but gentler.btw:Raye is the name from the ANN Encylopedia listing.
May favorite scene was toward the end when the kid jumps the canyon and then
wonders why the heck he did it.

[Sami_jane]

it was ok i guess. didnt really impress me for the first episode. lol every thing sucked in the kids opinion. it was kind of depressing i guess what with all taht happened. lol im sure it will get better, i just didnt really like the first ep.

i know that it was made from teh same ppl as FLCL and they really showed that. lol it was the same kind of animation as FLCL and the main character in my opinion acted kind of like the main character in FLCL. depressed. dont know why im telling yall this cause its pretty obvious. lol i guess im jsut bored so just ignore this last bit i guess.

edit: lol after reading a few of the posts above me i guess im not the only one that was reminded of FLCL. lol sorry for pretty much repeating what yall said. lol i guess i should read more of the posts above me first.

[uc pseudonym]

I saw the majority of this episode and was thoroughly unimpressed. Though I don't watch a great deal of mecha anime, I didn't see anything that struck me as not terrible derivative of something else. Simply put, it didn't distinguish itself from the general sea of mediocricy in any way.

[Mangafanatic]

DARN IT! I missed it! Any word on when the first episode will re-air? And what time does it come on?

[Chosen Raven]

DARN IT! I missed it! Any word on when the first episode will re-air? And what time does it come on?

It should re-air twice Thursday night. Don't know the exact time, though.

My opinion on the show? Pretty much what other posters have said already. It's unimpressive, derivitive, and cliche. Reminds me of IGPX. AS really needs help in picking out their anime. Their only recent good choice was S-Cry-Ed. What!? I loved that show!

[Joshua Christopher]

Dang, I don't get how we can say Eureka 7 is so bad from one episode in a 50-some odd episode series.

Of course, everyone loves FMA, and there was absolutely nothing impressive about the first episode save pretty animation.

[RedMage]

Dang, I don't get how we can say Eureka 7 is so bad from one episode in a 50-some odd episode series.

I'm not prepared to say Eureka 7 is bad. I'm quite content to say that the first episode of Eureka 7 stunk.

I try to give any series at least a few episodes before I pass final judgment. Except Excel Saga. ]Of course, everyone loves FMA, and there was absolutely nothing impressive about the first episode save pretty animation.[/QUOTE]

I don't love FMA.

[Doubleshadow]

I didn't like the stock hero/stock anatgonistic-dream crushing relative/stock heroine routine, but, that doesn't mean it cannot get better. We'll see.

[everdred12a]

Aww... but Excel Saga was fun. I <3 Excel Saga!
And while I did end up liking FMA over all, I thought like, the first 10 episodes were pretty lame.

Moving on, I had no idea Eureka 7 was 50-ish episodes. I was honestly expecting it to be one of those 13 ep kind of things. I'm not really sure *why*, but that's the impression I got. I didn't think the first episode of E7 stunk at all. I thought it was decent. I have higher expectations for future episodes, but I'm not going to write it off just yet. There have only been a few animes that hooked me with the first episode.

[Joshua Christopher]

I'm not prepared to say Eureka 7 is bad. I'm quite content to say that the first episode of Eureka 7 stunk. n::

Okay, just clarifying. I didn't think it was bad at all. I think if, as a lot of people have said, it gets better later on, you may be able to look back at the first episode and think it was pretty good. Like *MANY* anime, the first two episodes are usually a sort of two-part prologue that introduces a few things, and isn't necessarily that great, but builds on what was started.

I don't love FMA.

Me either. In fact, I don't like it much at all. The first half was decent, but I hated the rest of it. I figure most people really like that series, so I just used it as an example.

While we all have our differing opinions, I myself didn't see anything that struck me as lame or bad from the first episode. Please name me one anime that isn't similar to at least one other anime. Heck, there are only so many types of stories you can do with anything. Just because it seems cliche`now doesn't mean it won't improve, and besides, just because it isn't the most original thing in the world doesn't make it bad.

A lot of people *love* RahXephon, myself included, but most people realize it is very very similar to Evangelion, which itself is nearly identical in plot structure to Mobile Suit Gundam, and has a lot of the same themes as Space Runaway Ideon.

[uc pseudonym]

DARN IT! I missed it! Any word on when the first episode will re-air? And what time does it come on?

I couldn't find it listed online, oddly enough.

Of course, everyone loves FMA, and there was absolutely nothing impressive about the first episode save pretty animation.

That's a very good point. I probably would not have been very impressed by the first episode if I hadn't already read the manga (which I like much better than the anime for various reasons) and expected better things to come. Though I would argue that the first episode of Fullmetal Alchemist introduces alchemy (which is at least vaguely original), tries to address the issue of the value of human life, and seems to promise a serious treatment of religion.

Dang, I don't get how we can say Eureka 7 is so bad from one episode in a 50-some odd episode series.

You could argue this is a bad policy, but I generally take a "not worth my time until proven otherwise" view of anime. I'm willing to give Eureka 7 a few more shots at proving itself, maybe more if it improves in some ways.

While we all have our differing opinions, I myself didn't see anything that struck me as lame or bad from the first episode. Please name me one anime that isn't similar to at least one other anime. Heck, there are only so many types of stories you can do with anything. Just because it seems cliche`now doesn't mean it won't improve, and besides, just because it isn't the most original thing in the world doesn't make it bad.

That isn't how I would characterize my position. I recognize that everything will have influences from previous works and borrow ideas, and this isn't a problem. But for me there is a difference between something that is similar to another work and something that seems derived from something else.

In this case, what I was most struck by was that I just didn't see anything that worthwhile in the first episode. While many of the aspects weren't necessarily bad, they also weren't necessarily good. For me, it isn't enough for a series to break even, it has to impress me. But, as I said, I'll give it some more time.

[freerock1]

I didn't think the first episode was great, but it wasn't bad either. I definitely thought there were some FLCL similarities. The jury's still out on E7; it would be easy to write it off as another s-CRY-ed (no offense to those who liked it), but I am intrigued by some of comparisons I've seen to FLCL (and even a few to NGE, as far as going over the top later on) that I'll probably stick it out for a while.

DARN IT! I missed it! Any word on when the first episode will re-air? And what time does it come on?

It runs on Adult Swim Saturday nights at Midnight Eastern/Pacific, with a 3AM repeat.

Likely it will get a 2nd airing sometime during the week, though to my knowledge the network hasn't made an announcement on that yet. We'll keep you posted in the network TV schedule thread.

[GrubbTheFragger]

i liked S-cry-ed alot lol anyways ........what is the series about cuz i was interested in it but i never saw anything about it

[Joshua Christopher]

Fullmetal Alchemist also takes a *ton* of influence from Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series.

Exhibit A
FMA: One of the main characters is named Edward. He's kind of a jerk and hates the fact he's short. He has hazel-colored eyes.

DT: One of the main characters is named Edward. He's a jerk and a heroine addict who makes bad jokes and gets heckled for being short. He is described as having hazel-colored eyes.

Exhibit B
FMA: A black girl named Paninya, loses both of her legs and an arm (just the legs in the Manga) in a train wreck. She grows up to become a thief.

DT: A black woman named Odetta Holmes loses both of her legs when they are run over by a train. She grows a multiple personality disorder and her alter ego becomes a cleptomaniac.

Exhibit C
FMA: [spoiler]The concept of a "gate" leading to an alternate world (Namely 20th century Earth) becomes a main feature later in the series.[/spoiler]

DT: [spoiler] Literal doors lead to the alternate world of 20th century Earth.[/spoiler]

Exhibit D
FMA: The main character Eward loses his right arm and left leg in a failed human transmutation.

DT: [spoiler]The main character Roland loses part of his right hand and left foot to a mutant lobster.[/spoiler]

But this is about Eureka 7. Overall I would say the first episode was pretty cool. I didn't think it was spectacular or anything, but the great animation and art direction at least make it fun to look at, plus, how often do you see surfing robots? : P

[Tommy]

I would assume that is a coincidence.

Mutant Lobster? Oh yeah, I can see the influence.

Anyways, I can agree, the first episode of Eureka 7 was sort of *yawn*...

[KhakiBlueSocks]

I would have to rewatch the first episode again, but for all intents and purposes, Eureka 7 reminds me of FLCL meets Gundam-series. Giant robot anime doesn't really work for me, but if I could give S-Cry-Ed a chance, I can certainly give this one a chance.

Oh, and on a sadder note, one of the voice actors on Eureka 7 recently passed. I don't know if he appeared in the premiere episode but Bob Papenbrook, the voice of Ken-Goh, passed away on March 17, 2006. I'm assuming the dubbing was done prior to his passing, but I'm not sure.

[Joshua Christopher]

I would assume that is a coincidence.

Mutant Lobster? Oh yeah, I can see the influence.

You can assume all you want, but that doesn't make it right. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, but I'm definitely going to stand by the fact that Arakawa took a lot of influence from these novels.

As for Eureka 7, I don't think just because you can compare it to one single other anime makes it totally unoriginal. Quantity spawns unoriginality. So E7 has a similarity to FLCL, but I've not seen many anime to use a similar plot device to it.

And to address one other thing about FMA, I don't see why anyone considers "Alchemy" to be so "original." I have nothing against the series (I really love the manga), but the alchemy is just a Sciencey-sounding name slapped over the characters' superpowers. How different is it from Ninjutsu in Naruto?

I thought from some standpoints the first E7 episode was really cool, but it's not the best thing I've seen. Judging the episode by itself, I wouldn't call it great, but judging the overall series, being every episode, I've read it gets extremely good. A good anime series can start poorly, but as long as it builds up and ends well, I'd consider it a great series. Fullmetal Alchemist and Hellsing seem like the reverse of this. They both start off really good and fizzle out, IMO.

[uc pseudonym]

Fullmetal Alchemist also takes a *ton* of influence from Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series.

Let me admit immediately that I don't know direct facts and just did some basic internet searching. The Fullmetal Alchemist manga was began running in Japan in 2001, the anime was produced around 2002, and the first book of Stephen King's series was published closer to 2003. Unless I have overlooked a major fact or was misled by my sources, that casts doubt on the latter influencing the former. Still, interesting parallels.

Of course, the time frames are much closer if you think about when they would have been inventing their ending for the anime. I'm not particularly interested in defending the anime, as my view of it is somewhat "fanfiction with a really big budget."

And to address one other thing about FMA, I don't see why anyone considers "Alchemy" to be so "original." I have nothing against the series (I really love the manga), but the alchemy is just a Sciencey-sounding name slapped over the characters' superpowers. How different is it from Ninjutsu in Naruto?

I'm not among those who will call it the most original idea in the history of mandkind. But for me, what distinguishes alchemy among all the other superpowers are its limitations. Alchemists require the proper materials, can't create something from nothing, etc. I also like the fact that it is knowledge-based - there isn't anyone who can be a great alchemist just because they have a lot of the equivalent of chakra.

[RedMage]

Let me admit immediately that I don't know direct facts and just did some basic internet searching. The Fullmetal Alchemist manga was began running in Japan in 2001, the anime was produced around 2002, and the first book of Stephen King's series was published closer to 2003. Unless I have overlooked a major fact or was misled by my sources, that casts doubt on the latter influencing the former. Still, interesting parallels.

The first book of the Dark Tower series was published in 1982. The subsequent installments appeared in 1987, 1991, 1997, 2003, and a pair including the conclusion in 2004.