|
|
Home
|
R2 DVD Reviews
|
|
Written by maehara
|
|
Wednesday, 02 April 2008 16:00 |
 Taking our first bite at what could be a long haul (Eureka 7 runs for 50 episodes), it's time to take a look into the world of mercenaries-for-hire Gekkostate. Sounds more like a country for lizards, but there you go. Renton Thurston has always wanted to join them, but when he finally gets his chance, he finds out that it's not quite what he was expecting...
1 - Blue Monday
Meet 14-year-old Renton Thurston, a kid who's discovering that life can be rather dull. He's determined to change that, though - his idol is a man named Holland, charismatic leader of the mercenary group Gekkostate, who use giant mecha called LFOs in their operations. His family are keen to put him off the idea of trying to follow in Holland's footsteps - but when he meets young girl Eureka after she crash-lands her LFO on his grandfather's workshop (and not just any LFO, but the original Nirvash Type Zero), he finds himself caught up in events far more sinister than he ever bargained for...
2 - Blue Sky Fish
Carrying out what could well have been his grandfather's last wish, Renton heads into the skies on his board, on a mission to bring the Amita Drive module to Eureka. Once installed in the Nirvash, it'll boost the mech's capabilities - but with military LFOs swarming around, along with Holland and his friends, getting to the Nirvash is just the first of Renton's problems. A successful delivery - and an unusual burst of power from the Nirvash while he's on board it - brings Renton to Holland's attention, though, and he offers Renton a place in Gekkostate, if he's brave enough to take it...
3 - Motion Blue
Renton and Eureka have been getting on like a house on fire - and his influence on her seems to be helping her in several ways, too. He soon finds himself falling in love, but between his own doubts about how to handle girls and a few throw-away comments from Eureka that indicate she may not be as young as she appears, it looks like Renton's road to romance isn't going to be a smooth one. He's made one firm decision, though - to join Gekkostate, and learn to be a mechanic on their lead ship, the Gekko. If that's going to happen, though, there's the small matter of evading the military, who are closing in with their search for the Nirvash...
4 - Watermelon
the Monarch Project was put together years ago, seemingly by Renton's father, and now the powers that be are beginning to worry that the pans contained in the project are starting to come together - something they don't want to happen. But what can they do to stop it? Renton, meanwhile, is trying to get used to life on board the Gekko, but it's not quite how he expected it - as the new boy, he's the lowest of the low and is stuck gofer'ing for the rest of the crew. He's also finding out that, despite their high profile and cult status, Gekkostate is pretty much broke. That becomes his chance to fit in, though - with Holland keen to try anything that'll bring in some money for the group, Renton begins looking for opportunities, and soon hits on one...
5 - Vivid Bit
Renton's efforts at fitting in on the Gekko aren't going well - between trashing the cargo hold, accidentally wiping computers, and throwing up in the Nirvash's cockpit, he's doing a good job of annoying everyone. Except for Eureka, at least - she's genuinely happy to have him around, but whereas Renton feels love (or lust?) for her, she's just happy at the effect he has on her piloting. His torture continues when he's sent on a shopping trip with Talho - not only is she the one person who really gets a kick out of bullying him, but after she indulges in a few drinks too many in town, and she's soon at the centre of a potentially dangerous scene...
I'll start by picking on one aspect of Eureka 7 that's probably going to bug me all series: sky-surfing robots is a dumb idea. Really. But since across the course of these five episodes you don't actually get to see that much surfing action (they also transform into other modes, which are made more use of - here, anyway), I'm hoping that's not going to be something that spoils an otherwise enjoyable show.
The key to Renton's involvement with Gekkostate turns out to be Eureka - a strange girl, if ever there was one. She's quite young by appearances, but her three kids and a few other hints would indicate that she's considerably older than she looks. She's also almost emotionless - the only person who can break through her cold skin and get any sort of emotional response out of her is Renton, and that perhaps more than anything else is what gets him his place in Gekkostate - Eureka is the Nirvash's pilot, and pairing her with Renton brings a marked improvement in her piloting effectiveness. When flying is your business, that's not an effect you want to let go. But while you get to see plenty of Eureka across these 5 episodes, she's always the enigma, with "something" bubbling under the surface that hasn't be revealed yet. Is she some sort of non-human? What's the deal with her family? Why does Renton have an effect on her that no-one else has? Plenty of questions, and no answers.
Renton himself is far easier to figure out - he's the typical annoying teenager (more for his general cluelessness than the angst issues that certain other teenage pilots have), with motivations that are easy to read (lust) and some promising skills that he'll get to develop along the way (mechanic & pilot). His family has had connections with Holland in the past and would much rather have kept Renton away from them, but fate doesn't work out that way. He's not a great character - too simplistic - but he works okay as someone to build the story around.
Of the other characters, Talho's the only one who really gets much of a personality at this stage - she's the scantily-dressed lovable rogue, and at the moment is taking great delight in teasing Renton, especially about his feelings for Eureka (that she quickly makes sure the whole ship knows about). Other Gekkostate members don't get fleshed out that much - the main ones are Holland (a bit of a layabout, in contrast to his cool public persona), camera-obsessed Stoner and fellow LFO pilot Matthieu. Hopefully these guys will get more of a look-in later.
Story? Again, not much so far. Gekkostate, as mentioned, are mercenaries; the legitimate military of the nation they're in would quite like to get their hands on the Nirvash (and by extension, Eureka) for some reason, but that reason is as-yet unknown. Watch this space.
Eureka 7 is produced by Bones, who have always been strong on visual style and who manage to keep up the good work with this series. They've been lax in the story department lately, but these five episodes are a good start for the series and lay the groundwork for what should hopefully turn out to be a good series. Time will tell...
|
|
