Eureka Seven

Eureka Seven, titled Psalms of Planets Eureka seveN internationally, is a 1995 American-Australian animated series created by Bear Bones Productions. The series was directed by Moses Mbungu, with series composition by Yonathan Ashad, character designs by Craig Kellman and music by Jim Latham. 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 ran in first-run syndication between April 17, 1995 and April 2, 1996.

The series spawned six comic book adaptations, a chapter book, three video games and a feature-length film which was released on April 25, 1999. One of the comics titled Eureka Seven: AO, serialized between January 2002 and October 2003, was further adapted into an animated series which aired for twenty-four episodes between April 13 and November 20, 2002. Eureka Seven was well received by critics and earned several awards.

Setting

 * Scub Coral
 * Eureka Seven takes place in the year 12005 and it has been 10,000 years after humanity has made a mass exodus into space, due to the arrival of the Scub Coral, an intelligent, sentient life who merged with the planet, forcing the humans to abandon it. In the current timeline, the remnants of humanity are now settled on an unknown planet (actually a terraformed Earth) known as the Land of Kanan, but the majority of the surface of this planet is now covered by a rock-like surface formed by the Scub Coral. The Scub Coral inhabited the Planet until the return of humans. The theory that the Scub Coral is an intelligent life form was proposed by the scientist Adroc Thurston, who also claimed the Scub is looking for mutual co-existence with humanity. All theories and information about the Scub Coral being a sentient being are kept from the general population. In addition to being the surface of the planet, the Scub Coral has several physical manifestations, called Coralians, that are observed throughout the series. These manifestations are either natural occurrences or a response to attacks from humans. The manifestations are:


 * Command Cluster Coralian
 * The Command Cluster is a large concentration of the Scub Coral which acts as the central mind for the rest of its "body". It stores all the information the Scub has collected over the last 10,000 years, and keeps the rest of the Scub Coral in a dormant state.


 * Kute-class Coralian
 * A Kute-class is massive sphere of concentrated energy that materializes suddenly in the skies. Though it is a rare natural occurrence, they can be artificially triggered by causing heavy damage to the Scub Coral. The disappearance of a Kute causes a massive release of energy, ravaging the surrounding landscape and lowering the Trapar count in the area to almost non-existent levels.


 * Antibody Coralians
 * Antibody Coralians are, as the name suggests, creatures created by the Scub Coral to destroy anything nearby that might be causing it harm. They are unleashed in massive swarms through a Kute-class Coralian when the Scub Coral is threatened or attacked. These antibodies can range in size from as small as a wheelbarrow, or as large as a bomber plane. Their shapes vary wildly, from eyeballs to flying slugs to giant hovering flower-like objects. Most forms are based on the sea creatures they absorbed when they just started their 'growth'. Their powers are: sending lasers in profusion from their bodies, thus being able to destroy large aircraft, burrowing into a victim's body and imploding it (unconfirmed), and creating a spherical void, which makes anything within its surface area to vanish. Antibody Coralians generally appear in response to deliberate attacks on the Scub Coral. They appear for 1246 seconds (20 minutes 46 seconds) - which is the amount of time the Seven Swell phenomenon is active. After those 1246 seconds, they crumble to dust. Their appearances are that of basic invertebrates such as flat worms, mollusks, and cnidaria.


 * Human-form Coralians
 * Human-form Coralians are beings created by the Scub Coral in the form of humans. They are regarded by scientists as emissaries of the Scub Coral, sent to learn about humanity. Humans have attempted to create their own artificial human-form Coralians, but the results are often less than satisfactory. As shown with Eureka in the sequel series, human-form Coralians are biologically capable of reproducing the same way as humans do; she gave birth to a daughter and son. However, due to her children being Human-Coralian hybrids, the high level of Trapar would be too dangerous for them.


 * Trapar waves and lifting
 * In Eureka Seven, as a result of the Scub Coral covering the planet, the atmosphere is permeated by an enigmatic energy known as Transparence Light Particles, dubbed Trapar waves for short. Norbu, the Vodarac leader, states that all thought carries with it energy. As a result, a sentient life form on the scale of the Scub Coral produces a tremendous amount of energy. The most important use of Trapar energy is its use as a method of propulsion for flight-capable vehicles.
 * Though Trapar-propelled airships are relatively common, using Trapar waves for "lifting" is their predominant use. Lifting uses surfboard-like devices called "reflection boards" ("ref boards" for short) to ride Trapar waves in a manner similar to surfing, and is a popular sport in the series. The most grandiose use of Trapar—massive humanoid fightercraft—are a recent development, made possible by the discovery of bizarre alien life-forms within the Scub Coral.

Plot
The series focuses on Renton Thurston, the fourteen-year-old son of Adrock Thurston, a military researcher who died saving the world. He lives what he considers a boring life with his grandfather in a boring town. He loves lifting, a sport similar to surfing but with trapar, a substance abundant throughout the air, as the medium. He dreams of joining the renegade group Gekkostate, led by his idol Holland Novak, a legendary lifter. An opportunity to do so literally falls into his lap when a large mecha, called the Nirvash type ZERO, and Eureka, its pilot and a member of Gekkostate, crash into Renton's room. Renton's grandfather orders him to deliver a special part to the Nirvash called the "Amita Drive", which releases the immense power dormant within the type ZERO called the "Seven Swell Phenomenon". Afterwards, Renton is invited to join Gekkostate, where he quickly discovers that the behind-the-scenes life of Gekkostate is hardly as glamorous or as interesting as printed in the glossy pages of their magazine, ray=out. Only one thing makes it all worthwhile for him: the presence of Eureka, the mysterious pilot of the Nirvash. Renton, Eureka, and the Gekkostate embark on an adventure that will shape their future as well as the world's.

Cast

 * Scott Menville as Renton Thurston
 * Janice Kawaye as Eureka
 * Pamela Hayden, Mary Kay Bergman and Cree Summer as Maurice, Maeter and Linck
 * Jack Angel as Holland Novak
 * Jeannie Elias as Talho Yuki
 * Dorian Harewood as Matthieu
 * Cree Summer as Hilda
 * Doug Stone as Stoner
 * Jim Cummings as Ken-Goh
 * Susan Blu as Micha
 * Ed Asner as Gonzy
 * Rob Paulsen as Jobs
 * Tom Kenny as Woz
 * Hamilton Camp as Hap
 * Crystal Scales as Gidget
 * Carlos Alazraqui as Moondoggie
 * Sherry Lynn as Anemone
 * Dino Andrade as Dominic Sorel
 * Jeff Bennett as Dewey Novak / Norb
 * Barbara Goodson as Coda
 * Keith David as Braya
 * June Foray as Kuzemi
 * Michael Bell as Jurgens
 * Lacey Chabert as Maria Schneider
 * Tim Curry as Axel Thurston
 * Héctor Elizondo as Yucatán Iglasias
 * Charlie Adler as Charles Beams
 * Melissa Fahn as Ray Beams
 * June Foray as Tiptory
 * Philece Sampler as Sakuya
 * Michael Gough as Morita
 * Danny Mann as Dr. Greg "Bear" Egan
 * Ruth Buzzi as Dr. Sonia Wakabayashi
 * Danny Cooksey as William B. "Will" Baxter
 * Jason Marsden as Sumner Sturgeon
 * Cheryl Chase as Ruri
 * Joe Alaskey as Adrock Thurston
 * Nancy Cartwright as Diane Thurston

Development
The series was made by Bear Bones and co-produced by their Australian department. Bear Bones Australia provided the title and handled the creative aspects of the series. Bear Bones Australia had originally proposed a mecha anime styled series to Bear Bones' main offices in Austin. The studio had initially rejected it, but later reversed its position because it had already planned to create a similar series with designs by Craig Kellman. With the appointment of director Moses Mbungu and writer Sheen Vincent, Bear Bones' proposal was more or less scrapped and the staff began work on their own series that would become Eureka Seven.

While conceptualizing Eureka Seven, Mbungu "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.

Mbungu wished to design the series as one that would at first focus on the personal elements and conflicts of the characters, then subsequently move the framework into a broader scale and perspective. The series' two halves each have their own very clear focus that reflects this design choice.

With the premise of the surfer robots in mind, Vincent interviewed several real-life surfers and came to conclusion that they are close to nature. From this perception, he envisioned the environmental thematic as central point of the story. He said "I thought it might be an effective message for children. It's pretty veiled. I didn't want to be preachy."

Release
Eureka Seven consists of fifty episodes which aired from April 17, 1995, to April 2, 1996, in first-run syndication.

An sequel series titled Eureka Seven: AO began airing on April 12, 2002 and ended on November 20, 2002. It ran for a total of 24 episodes. On May 16, 2003, Artisan Entertainment announced the official DVD releases of the series. The first twelve episodes were released on DVD on August 13, 2003, and the rest of the series released on October 15, 2003.

Video games
Eureka Seven has three video games, all of which were published by Acclaim Entertainment. The first to be released was Eureka Seven Vol. 1: The New Wave, which was released on October 27, 1995. The game features a different cast of characters and takes place two years before the series. A sequel, Eureka Seven Vol. 2: The New Vision, was released on April 17, 1997. New Vision takes place two years after the events of New Wave. Both games were released on the Sony PlayStation. A Game Boy game sharing the same name of the series was released on April 6, 1996. This game is based on the events from the first half of the show.

Films
A theatrical adaptation, Eureka Seven: Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers, was first announced in May 1998; it was publicly released on April 25, 1999 by Artisan Entertainment, with the animation services handled by Wang Film Productions. It contains a new mythos in an alternative universe, despite still featuring Renton and Eureka as the main characters, and confirming the events of the original series happened in a parallel world.

A second three-part theatrical adaptation, Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution, was announced on March 17, 2007. The film trilogy takes place before and during the events of the original series, as well as having an original story. The first movie, Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution 1, was released on September 16, 2007 by Lionsgate. It shows the "First Summer of Love" phenomenon, previously only alluded to in the series and retells the "Charles and Ray" arc (episodes 22-27) of the original. The second film, taking place in an alternate universe and focusing on Anemone, was released on November 10, 2008 under the title Anemone: Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution. The last film, titled Eureka: Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution was originally planned for release in 2009, but was delayed to early summer 2011. It was delayed again to November 26, 2011.

Reception
Towards the end of its original run, Eureka Seven won multiple awards, and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in 1996, including for Outstanding Writing for a Children's Series for Sheen Vincent. The series was nominated for a Saturn Award for "Best DVD Series of the Year" in 2006, but lost to the first season of Masters of Horror.