Psalms of the planets Eureka Seven - Review

I guess the conception for this series was decided in a drunk-stoned frenzy. Else they wouldn't have come up with an idea so totally whacky and outrageous. I mean, it had to be thought about in some sort of booze-party, this is not just the kind of concept you have an epyphany about.

They had to be stoned, yet they actually made the Idea work.

The strangely named "Psalms of the planets Eureka seven" is a media franchise created by studio Bones. It encompasses (so far) a manga series, an anime, 3 videogames and all sorts of paraphernalia. The long-running (+50 episodes) animation series features very high quality animation, nice character designs and funky 70's references everywhere.

And the story goes something like this:

In the future, on a newly colonized planet: Renton Thurston, son of the legendary war hero, Adroick Thurston; Despairs and whines about his simple and meaningless life in a small town. Baffled with boredom and with a yearning for freedom, his future looks really grim.

That is, until Eureka drops from the sky one night. And things go helter-skelter.

Turns out Eureka is the rouge pilot of the legendary Nirvash Type-0, a sort of alien lifeform encased in a robotic body. A piece of equipment that is very valuable to the goverment forces.

And it also turns out Eureka is part of a rebellious anti-goverment terrorist group called "Gekkostate" which Renton idolizes. Also turns out Eureka is a bit weird, also turns out Renton's grandfather has a very important piece that the Nirvash needs, also turns out the leader of the rebels had a relationship with his sister, and also turns out Renton is madly in love with Eureka.

Boy, is he up for a wild ride.

But that really doesn't cover anything about the story. Not by a long shot. Heck, it's not even a proper summary, since the premise and direction changes so much during the series duration, it's one of those series that has to be seen to understand the underlying charm that runs trough every sweet piece of 20 minute cel drawn frenzy.

Now, I can't really say I'm a fan of Gigant robot anime. I mean, I do like the robots and the rampage, but there's gotta be more on it for me to appreciate this kind of anime. I'm very sensitive against cliches. And even trough Eureka Seven can be catalogued in the "Gigant robot controlled by young pilot with severe mental trauma" genre... Eureka Seven manages to spell a fresh and fruity cliche-free smell.

Heck, there's angst and personal sacrifice there as this kind of anime requires, though it's not so over-the-top that it ends up feeling cheesy. The revelations and underlying story are top-notch and the series does get very cryptic and grim near the end. (There's a bit of gore every now and then, so the faint of heart might suffer a slight distaste in watching some episodes).

Eureka Seven is a good example that with enough originality and style, you can take concepts that have been done again and again, and re-paint them again for a new generation, turning cliche into awe inspiring coolness and style.

It's like when they grind stale bread in supermarkets to make that icky-looking sweet-tastin' delicious bread. You don't remind yourself about the ingredients, you just eat it.

By no means Eureka seven is a classic. I wouldn't even say it's artistic (even trough the character designs are very pretty) But it's one hell of a series. Definitely recommended.

Eureka Seven gets 5 out of five stars of teen angst.

And you get sweet youtube love:





Oh... Did I mention the robots surf? No I didn't.