Eureka Seven: Summer of Love

Synopsis: "Renton Thurston is a 14-year-old boy who lived with his mechanic grandfather in a backwater town. Every day he dreamed of being with the mercenary "Light Finding Operation (LFO)" aircraft pilot group "Gekkostate" and riding "Trapar" particle waves-- a sport called "reffing"-- with their charismatic leader Holland, especially when faced with his father's acclaimed past or his grandfather's desire to protect him. When a young girl named Eureka riding the original LFO, the "Nirvash typeZERO", asks his grandfather for a tune-up, she inadvertently brings the attention of the military to the garage; as a result, the garage is destroyed and Renton is forced to deliver a new type of interface-- the "Amita Drive"-- to the Nirvash. After a heated fight in which the Nirvash destroys the military LFOs by unleashing an immense amount of power, Renton is invited into Gekkostate. However, he quickly realizes that behind the facade of a traveling group of mercenaries is a very bitter reality." Source

Eureka Seven is one of my new favorite animes. In fact, I'd rate it as my number two anime. The main reason for this is that Eureka Seven finally scratched a big anime "itch" of mine, namely a story with a well-developed romantic relationship. Most animes I have seen stop short of characters actually coming out and saying "I love you." Instead, in anime, if two characters (especially if they are the main characters) are obviously a couple the best you are likely to get is them asserting that the other character is their "most important person" or maybe they just hold hands during the climax of the show. Rarely do we get to see the characters say the three magic words in the middle of the show and actually view them in a relationship outside of a rushed five minute anime ending. There is an entire genre of anime based on Japanese "dating games" that focus exclusively on character relationships, but from what I know about them (no I don't watch these kinds of animes) they tend on the melodramatic side and the personalities of the characters almost always conform to particular archetypes that Japanese dating game fans expect. In short, they are poorly written. Also, I take issues with these shows because I don't just want a love story, I want a love story taking place in a larger world with a larger story. However, political anime political dramas such as Gundam typically just can't make themselves take a romantic relationship anywhere meaningful.

I have my theories about why this is the case. From my understanding of Japanese culture, the Japanese are much more reserved in their relationships, at least in theory. I'm not sure if in real life they are actually reserved about expressing romantic love or if it is just their culture idolizes reserved romantic feelings. This is probably why in Gundam SEED, the two "purest" characters, Kira and Lacus, who obviously harbor feelings for each other and are a perfect match never express their feelings verbally and the only physical expression is a kiss on the cheek and an occasional hug. The Japanese just really appreciate these two "pure" characters being modest and shy in their romantic relationship. Another reason is that in a move to cater to fans, anime writers often like to keep romantic relationships ambiguous so that fans who like to imagine their two favorite characters are romantically involved can do that without the show outright saying that it isn't going to happen. A great recent example of this is Code Geass, where the main character Lelouch has three important potential love interests in his life, but never commits to any of them, despite the fact that he obviously cares about all three of them.

Eureka Seven however doesn't tease us like this. From the beginning of the show the main character, Renton, is open with his feelings about the female lead Eureka. While it starts as puppy love, by midway through the show they and everyone around them acknowledge that they are in the relationship. Because there is still half a show left we actually get to see their ups and downs as Renton and Eureka cope with Eureka's past and role in the larger story. One fault that may or may not bother you is that Eureka Seven chooses not to deal with the more physical side of their relationship. They kiss from time to time, but the show never comes very close to dealing with any sexual pressures between them (except as a joke in a single episode). Personally, that's fine with me, because shows that deal with teenage sex always inevitably love to deal with teenage pregnancy and that's not what Eureak Seven is about, although there is an adult pregnancy by the end. And seriously, who wants to think much about two 14 year olds "getting physical" or having sex?

In all this talk about Renton and Eureka's relationship, I have barely mentioned that there is a larger story going on. It involves the Gekkostate, the organization Renton joins early in the show, which functions as both a group of rebels against the military and a counter-culture group trying to spread the truth of what the Eureka Seven world government is REALLY up to. Many of the mysteries of the show revolve around the leader of Gekkostate, Holland, and why he quit his job as a special forces member and now leads a small rebellion.

I can't say that the larger events that drive Eureka Seven are anything particularly special (although they will keep you guessing a little), but notice that I mentioned how the Gekkostate is a counter-culture group. You often hear counter-culture associated with the 1960's. Eureka Seven is in love with the culture of 1960's and early 1970's. Many of the character and episode names reference this time, in fact the subtitle of this review "Summer of Love" is a historic world-shaking event in Eureka Seven. The clothing and hairstyles occasionally seem to be derived from the time period as well. The Gekkostate itself almost functions as a group of environmentalists standing against an abusive military. It almost sounds like an anime version of Vietnam War protesting.

Eureka Seven is also a mecha show, so there is typically an action sequence in every episode if you are one of those people that has to have pure action from time to time. However, it really just plays second fiddle to the various character relationships in the show. Renton and Eureka aren't the only characters trying to get a grip on their emotions and the show has a large cast.

In the end, Eureka Seven is a show that covers a lot of territory being simultaneously a teenage love story, coming of age story, political drama, mecha, and an anime where there are a lot of older "adult" characters running around coping with pasts that they aren't always proud of. It has something good for everyone to enjoy and if you are an anime fan looking for a show where a meaningful well-written romantic relationship is fully dealt with (minus sex), Eureka Seven is THE show to watch. Maybe if I watch it enough times, it'll replace Gundam SEED as my favorite anime.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam: Believe in the Sign of Zeta

Synopsis: "The year is Universal Century 0087. Seven years have passed since the end of the One Year War. In its zeal to stamp out any remaining opposition, the Earth Federation has organized the Titans, an elite fighting force. However, the Titans soon get out of hand, committing atrocities on par with the worst the Principality of Zeon had to offer during the war. In response, dissatisified citizens, former Zeon soldiers, and even members of the Earth Federal Forces form a resistance group known as the Anti-Earth Union Group, or AEUG. As the next war is brewing, a small AEUG group arrives at Side 7 to investigate the new Gundam Mk. II..." Source

Within the Gundam fan community, there are those who absolutely cannot stand Gundam SEED. When asked about what Gundam they like they often cite Zeta Gundam. Seeing the show hailed as the best Gundam time and again instead of my personal favorite, SEED, I finally took the time (and money) to sit down and watch it. I don't think Gundam SEED has anything to worry about, although Zeta isn't bad. But it also has some problems, which I'll discuss.

First however, the good things about Zeta. The main character, Kamille, sort of has a reputation for being an antagonizing jerk to those around him. Normally, this would be an annoying problem. While he is certainly like that during the first quarter of the show, by the end he is one of the most steady and level-headed of the show's younger cast members, although he retains his characteristic temper. This is a plus, because we see him develop from a young hothead into a character that we can admire. The show manages this by showing him taken in under various mentors, first Char Aznable, then Amuro Ray, and finally Bright Noa. These three mentors are main characters from the original Mobile Suit Gundam show. This was a great way to let the old cast members get some screen time for their fans, while at the same time not steal the spotlight from Kamille. Compare this to a show like Gundam SEED Destiny where the new cast members have the spotlight stolen from them by SEED's original cast with the new cast effectively functioning as the show's villains.

Another improvement from Gundam SEED and other newer Gundam shows such as Gundam Wing is that the heroes of Zeta never acquire mobile suits so powerful as to guarantee them an easy victory. By the end of Gundam SEED, Kira and Athrun could defeat entire armies by themselves. In Zeta, even after Kamille acquires the titular Zeta Gundam, he seems to just be on par with his enemies at best. He is often required to work with his teammates and to use cover and tactics in order to defeat his enemies rather than simply pushing a button that launches laser beams everywhere guaranteeing an easy win. This keeps the battles exciting throughout the entire 50 episodes of the show.

However, once we start talking about excitement outside of battles, Zeta Gundam begins to falter. Many of the episodes involve the crew of Kamille's ship, the Argama, attempting to get from point A to point B. Inevitably in every episode, Kamille's enemies, the Titans, attack the ship and he is forced to defend it. While a lot of Gundams do this (SEED, SEED Destiny, Gundam 00) it can get annoying as sometimes the destination can be a little vague. I found myself quickly tiring of this formula after about 15 episodes. I wanted more politics, exploring the motivations and policies of both the AEUG, the Titans, and later the Zeon Axis members. Often, the Titans would attack a space colony, and we would never see their leaders discussing exactly why such a decision had been made. Another example would be how the Zeon Axis betrays the Titans, meets the Titans in order to ally with them, betrays them again, then attempts to ally with them once again (of course betraying them once again!). Because we never see the Titans discussing why they keep attempting to ally with the Zeon Axis forces after these betrayals, they come out looking kind of gullible and outright dumb. The show tends to focus purely on action, and I had to fill in a lot of these blanks for myself.

As you can probably gather, Zeta Gundam is best at action. However, even the action misses easy opportunities for drama. Often, the Argama and Kamille will be plagued by the same enemy commander for 3 or 4 episodes. Inevitably, that enemy commander will meet his doom when his time to leave the show comes. However, we never get any exploration of these commanders, never knowing who they are and why they are fighting for the Titans. This ensures that their deaths mean nothing to us no matter how dramatic the music or scene. Surely the show could have spared a few minutes for the enemy to think about his wife and family and what events in his life spurred him to join an oppressive regime bent on bringing the Earth Sphere firmly to heel. Gundam is touted by many fans as a series that always humanizes and characterizes the warriors on all sides of the wars its plots center upon. However, Zeta fails to do this more than any other Gundam show I've seen. The Titans in Zeta all thirst for simple power or glory it seems.

In the end, Zeta is definitely a fun show to watch. There are a few good emotional moments, but action is always its primary focus. Most of the show will keep you interested, except possibly the episodes in the first half that take place on Earth. I found myself kind of bored and annoyed with them. If you are a Gundam fan, Zeta is pretty much required watching. Otherwise, if you don't like mecha anime or Gundam in particular, avoid it, although you'd probably already do that without me telling you. I myself prefer Gundam SEED, the king of drama in the Gundam universe, or if I need a politics fix, Gundam Wing or Gundam 00. If you tire of these kind of shows and just want to see some cool mech fights, you can't really go wrong with Zeta though.