Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am delighted to announce we are continuing Renton’s adventures with the Gekkostate team, as we return after far too long to the skies of Eureka Seven. The early ‘00s were one of the truly great eras in anime production, brimming with ambitious post-Evangelion originals, and elevated through brilliant creators like Eureka’s own Dai Sato. Eureka Seven embodies the passion and style of the era while also calling back towards prior eras, standing as one of the last examples of the once-common four-cour original, and demonstrating with its every episode how such a format can breathe life into a world and its characters.

When last we left off, Renton and the team had enlisted the services of the skyfisher Neal, who helped them secure the necessary supplies for repairing the Gekko. This adventure served a variety of dramatic purposes, offering chances for both Eureka and Renton to grow – Eureka through getting in touch with her feelings of jealousy and displacement regarding Renton’s growth, and Renton through coming to appreciate the variability of identity, how Neal (or, more pointedly, Holland) can seem like entirely different people depending on how and where they are framed. Additionally, it emphasized Renton’s emerging psychic link with both Eureka and the Coralian, as these creatures that have allegedly doomed the planet seemingly attempted to communicate with our hero.

With the Gekko now in fine fighting shape, and several episodes of heavy introspection behind us, I’m guessing the energy will be amping up as we return to the skies. But whatever’s ahead, I’m sure we’re in capable hands, and eager to see what adventures await. Let’s get to it!

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to be returning to Eureka Seven after far too long away, picking up after one of the show’s most impressive episodes to date. The combination of Sayo Yamamoto on direction and Chiaki J. Konaka on script made for a uniquely cinematic and psychedelic experience, with intimate, carefully boarded sequences like Renton overhearing Gidget and Moondoggie’s liaison bumping shoulders with tense, bewildering sequences of Eureka’s fraying mental state.

The episode was a perfect fit for both its key talents. Yamamoto is one of the few directors in anime who can evoke comfortable sexual intimacy, not just adolescent sexual preoccupation, making her the ideal choice for conveying Renton’s realization that he’s perhaps not quite prepared for what “joining the world of adults” really means. And Konaka has spent most of his career obsessing over fraying minds (most recently his own), making him an excellent choice for articulating Eureka’s mental disarray.

Ultimately, Renton was sufficiently chastened by his experiences to offer Eureka a genuine apology, and admit he’s still in over his head. Perpetual manchild Holland has made for an awkward role model, but Renton is fundamentally a good kid, more driven by his urge to connect than his need to impress. Admission of misunderstanding is the first step to true understanding; there is still much we don’t know about the Coralians, but if Renton can follow through on his pledge to earnestly engage with Eureka’s world, these two might just make it work. Let’s get to it!

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Hello, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I thought we’d step back in on Eureka Seven, wherein Renton most recently drove a strange rift between himself and Eureka. After a trip to his uncle’s farm raised old feelings of inadequacy to the surface, Renton rallied back through his declaration that “I am who I am,” asserting his proud separation from his family’s expectations. Having thus embraced his true desires, Renton was able to pilot the Nirvash like never before, deftly dispatching his enemies and rescuing Eureka in one swoop.

Unfortunately, Eureka doesn’t seem to appreciate Renton’s transformation. Her response to his piloting was simply “that’s not like the Nirvash at all,” and since that flight, she has forbidden Renton from even approaching the mech. Fresh off a key emotional revelation, Renton must now figure out why his actions hurt Eureka so, and what exactly he can do about it.

And honestly, I feel for the guy. These last couple episodes have hammered heavily on the “difficulty of true mutual understanding” theme, a concept Eureka Seven has carried on from Evangelion – but crucially, Shinji’s quest for understanding generally centered on his relationship with other recognizably human characters. Misato, Asuka, and even Gendo possessed full and coherent human personalities – in contrast, Rei Ayanami was always more of a ghost, and was never fully understood by her companions. With her blue hair, minimal emotional responses, and supernatural origins, Eureka is clearly modeled on Rei, meaning Renton is being asked to achieve a connection not just between human beings, but likely between different species. Eureka’s actions aren’t just mysterious to insecure teenage boys, they’re mysterious to everyone – and if Eureka Seven plans on pursuing this thread of sincere connection, it will likely have to abandon some of Eureka’s impenetrable mystique.

In the meantime though, I’m guessing Renton will attempt a whole bunch of attention-grabbing antics that only serve to weird Eureka out. That sounds plenty fun to me, so let’s get right to it!

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Hello everyone, and welcome to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be diving back into Eureka Seven, because goddamnit, I want to know what happens next! You can’t just stop your screening on a recap episode, that’s ridiculous. I need some action!

Granted, last episode’s series of Dai Sato-scripted monologues certainly helped flesh out our understanding of Eureka Seven’s wider world, relaying a great deal of exposition that would be difficult to integrate into active conversation. On Stoner’s side, we learned the Coralians are creatures of such awe and complexity that human language is simply incapable of describing them. That led into a discussion of the impossibility of fully conveying any felt experience, emphasizing language’s general inability to express all of the infinite facets that make up any moment or feeling. This impossibility is essentially the conflict that drove Neon Genesis Evangelion, though it feels less central to Eureka – Renton generally doesn’t have much difficulty expressing his feelings, it’s only the ostentatiously strange Eureka he has trouble reaching.

Dominic’s material was fittingly more practical than Stoner’s, and mostly focused on the interactions between the Corallians, military, and Gekkostate. We crucially learned that the LFOs were found rather than created, implying that they are also products of the Corallians. And we were also introduced to a former Holland who seemed far more competent and self-assured than our current leader, raising the question of what precisely happened to him between then and now. With all of these new thoughts to ponder, I’m eager to move into the second act of Eureka Seven. Let’s get to it!

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today it seemed just about time to check back in with Eureka Seven, wherein we most recently followed up the show’s most ambiguous and portentous episode with a friggin’ buddy cop adventure. Eureka Seven is truly a show of many contrasts, and I actually loved seeing Renton and Dominic endure some forced bonding over the course of their errand. With Renton’s childlike adoration of Gekkostate having faded into a weary tolerance of Holland’s antics, the two share both an antipathy towards the organizations they represent, as well as a fierce loyalty to the mysterious women at their sides.

It is clear enough by now that both Eureka and Anemone are in some way connected to the Coralian threat, serving as points of connection between the human and Coralian worlds. The watery imagery and series of claustrophobic enclosures presented by episode twelve called to mind both adolescent transformation and the water of the womb, motifs echoed by Eureka Seven’s clearest predecessor, Evangelion. But while we’re beginning to get a clearer grasp of how Eureka Seven’s worldbuilding echoes its thematic priorities, we still know too little to meaningfully chart this story’s trajectory.

For that, we’re going to need some clarification from our good captain Holland. Holland stands at the intersection of Eureka Seven’s narrative and thematic mysteries; his past conceals the worldbuilding we have yet to learn, while his future will likely dictate what precisely Eureka Seven is trying to say. I’m eager to grill our young captain immediately, but also down for some lighter adventures in the wake of our first act climax. Either way, I’m sure there’ll be plenty to marvel at as we return to the world of Eureka Seven!

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to dive back into Eureka Seven, where we most recently experienced Renton’s first full-on psychological breakdown. As an admittedly post-Evangelion property marked with countless parallels to its big brother, it was clearly only a matter of time before we dove into the weeds of Renton’s mental state, as well as the familial trauma he’s been so assiduously denying. And as a first look at that trauma, this episode provided a number of fresh connections with its predecessor, along with some key points of differentiation.

Much of last episode’s imagery seemed to link Renton’s burgeoning adolescence with the environmental catastrophe facing his planet. Imagery like Renton staring down at himself in a classroom emphasized his expanded post-childhood perspective, while simultaneously evoking the sense of looking into a fishbowl, in keeping with Eureka Seven’s general aquatic theme. Other sequences offered a similar fusion of the personal and portentous – his navigation of an endless bathroom illustrated common feelings of adolescent sexual shame, while the ensuing sequence of falling into a deep sea brought us back to this world’s tectonic emergency. A great deal of anime could be summed up as “adolescent awakening framed as a battle for the fate of the world,” and Eureka Seven is effectively interweaving its internal and external conflicts towards just such an end.

Beyond the episode’s general evocation of adolescent anxiety, there was the further question of Renton’s absent sister. Renton’s sister is the key to his story, the blank space that explains everything else, and his relationship with her complicates his burgeoning feelings for Eureka. Does he truly desire Eureka as a romantic partner, or is he just looking for a feeling of safety, a home to return to? Evangelion made this mismatch of desires explicit: all of the Eva pilots were seeking parents rather than lovers, and thus could never truly comfort each other. But Eureka Seven seems to believe there is hope for its leads to connect, and I’m eager to see how. Let’s get to it!

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am eager to get back to Eureka Seven, where we’re currently in the midst of a transition in the ongoing drama. After spending just short of ten episodes establishing the Gekkostate crew, the show has introduced the “Coralian,” an object that’s clearly tethered to both Eureka herself and the overall state of this world, as well as a genuine nemesis for Eureka in the form of Anemone.

Given we already know that Eureka and Holland were once soldiers, it seems safe to assume that Eureka’s unique nature is a result of government experiments. Presumably, both Eureka and Anemone were designed to be natural pilots, along with serving as guides or activation keys for this “Coralian” phenomenon. Eureka Seven is as post-Evangelion a show as they come (Dai Sato himself admitted as much when I saw him a few years back), and Eureka in particular is clearly a riff on Rei Ayanami, so I imagine that the truth of her nature ties in to the heart of this show’s world-threatening tectonic shifts. Is Eureka herself a Coralian, or a link between the Coralian and human worlds? We’re currently a bit short on relevant data, so let’s not waste any more time, as we take to the skies of Eureka Seven!

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to the Gekkostate, as it seems Eureka Seven is about to transition into a new phase of its narrative. The show’s last two episodes each offered crucial revelations regarding Renton’s idols, as we learned Holland and his subordinates were once willing dogs of the military, while Talho was some kind of prisoner. Even the ships and robots that define Gekkostate are stolen military hardware; far from standing as ideals of courageous freedom, it seems like Gekkostate are more fleeing the world at large, distracting themselves from the moral obligations of this era by seeking the next big wave.

And personally? I love it. While many anime tend to sort their characters into audience-relatable children and inscrutable adults, Eureka Seven is reveling in the messiness of young, uncertain adulthood, through the ambiguity of characters like Holland and Talho. Their dynamic is something I’ve seen before, but rarely in anime – a young woman being rescued from her oppressive situation by a seemingly perfect prince, only for that prince to reveal himself as far less of a man than she’d hoped. Holland is selfish, cowardly, and seemingly disinterested in the grand struggle of his era, and all of that makes him far more fascinating to me than your traditional hero. He’s clinging to an ideal of freedom that’s swiftly becoming too childish even for Renton to believe in, and with an entire community relying on him, he simply can’t afford to keep entertaining this fantasy. I’m eager to see how his story turns, so let’s dive right back into Eureka Seven!

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. You all ready to dive back into Eureka Seven? Personally, I’m ready and then some; Bones’ early classic has lain dormant in my Current Projects for half a goddamn decade, but I never lost my interest in this unique and beautiful property. With one of my generous, lovely, intelligent readers having offered it the breath of life, I’m not planning on wasting this opportunity – I’m charging forward as far and fast as I can, buoyed by the wings of financial incentive to ride among the gallant Gekkostate crew.

Episode nine served as a clear turning point in the narrative, as Renton at last learned the true history of Gekkostate, and was formally inducted into the team as a full crewmate. Learning that the team were former military agents actually explains a great deal; their hardware all seemed oddly advanced for a group of beach bums, and odd details like Eureka’s children now make perfect sense. But while the path behind is now clear, the road ahead remains a mystery. I’m hoping Renton’s new position means we’ll at last be learning something of Gekkostate’s true objectives, as we return to the exhilarating Eureka Seven!

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Yeah, no, we’re not doing another five year break between episodes. Eureka Seven has been a delight to return to, and I’m eager to learn more about Holland’s mission and history. The conclusion of last episode seemed to promise we’ll be digging into Holland and Talho’s shared past, but whatever this episode brings, I’m content just to luxuriate in this show’s overwhelming bounty of character animation and background design. We just plain don’t get originals of this scale and quality anymore; the market has moved towards single-cour light novel adaptations as a rule, with only an occasional Deca-Dence or Sonny Boy slipping through the cracks. It’d be easy to lament this transition, but every era of anime production has its own pleasures and pitfalls, and I’d rather celebrate the good in each of them. Let’s explore the wild bounty of the ‘00s then, as we return to the skies of Eureka Seven!

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