2012 · Shooter

Eureka Seven

PlayStation exclusive

Japanese anime television series

Released: 20 September 2012
Platforms: PlayStation Portable
Genres: Shooter
Developers: —
Publishers: —

About

Eureka Seven, known in Japan as Psalms of Planets Eureka Seven (Japanese: 交響詩篇エウレカセブン, Hepburn: Kōkyōshihen Eureka Sebun; lit. "Symphonic Psalms Eureka Seven"), is a Japanese anime television series created and produced by Bones. The series was directed by Tomoki Kyoda, with series composition by Dai Satō, character designs by Kenichi Yoshida and music by Naoki Satō. Eureka Seven tells the story of Renton Thurston and the outlaw group Gekkostate, his relationship with the enigmatic mecha pilot Eureka, and the mystery of the Coralians. The fifty-episode series aired on MBS between April 2005 and April 2006.

The series spawned six manga adaptations, a light novel, three video games and a feature-length anime film which was released in April 2009. A sequel anime series, titled Eureka Seven AO, aired 24 episodes between April and November 2012. A manga version of Eureka Seven AO was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Ace between January 2012 and October 2013. Eureka Seven was well received by critics and earned several awards at numerous award shows in Japan, most notably the 2006 Tokyo International Anime Fair.

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Development

The series was made by Bones and co-produced by Bandai Entertainment. Bandai Entertainment provided the title and handled the creative aspects of the series. Bandai had originally proposed a mecha anime series to the animation studio Bones. The studio had initially rejected it, but later reversed its position because it had already planned to create an anime using mecha designs by Shoji Kawamori. With the appointment of director Tomoki Kyoda and writer Dai Satō, Bandai's proposal was more or less scrapped and the staff began work on their own series that would become Eureka Seven.

While conceptualizing Eureka Seven, Kyoda "wanted something that reflected the music and the subculture of his generation—and a love story." As such the show contains several references from music of the 1980s and the 1990s, and almost all of the show's episodes are named after real songs, composed by both Japanese and foreign artists.

Reception

Towards the end of its original Japanese run, Eureka Seven won multiple awards at the 2006 Tokyo International Anime Fair, including Best Television Series, Best Screenplay for Dai Satō, and Best Character Designs for Kenichi Yoshida. Yoshida, the series' main animator and character designer, also received an individual award at the 10th Animation Kobe Awards in September 2005. The series also won an award at the 20th Digital Content Grand Prix in Japan in January 2006. At the Anime Expo 2006 SPJA Awards, Eureka Seven won the award for Best Television Series, and Best Female Character for Eureka.

Anime Insider voted it "Best DVD Series of the Year" in 2006. During a conference in 2010, writer Dai Satō claimed that many anime fans dismissed Eureka Seven as a clone of Neon Genesis Evangelion without even watching it.