Eureka Seven Dai Sato was the headwriter for this anime, and let me begin this review by saying he has yet to let me down. He is easily one the best screenwriters working in the anime industry today. He has written for such titles as Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell SAC , Wolf's Rain, Samurai Champloo , and Ergo Proxy. How's that for a resume? And with Eurkea Seven he proves yet again that he can write brilliantly. This is a man to respect. Easily one of my favorite screenwriters. Pay attention what he works on, for it is always good. It helps that the director, Tomoki Kyoda, is very talented in his own right as well.Anyway some history on how I watched this anime. I started watching this anime on Adult Swim, from the day it first aired. It took a few episodes before I was hooked, but once they grabbed me, they never let go. So please give this series a shot. After it aired on Adult Swim I started buying all the DVD's. I missed a few episodes in the middle and the ending the first time it aired, but watched that, plus the rest of it on DVD. Although this is one of my favorite anime series of all time, I'll try very hard to be fair and as un-biased as I can be.It clearly takes many things from Neon Genesis Evengelion,FLCL, Fullmetal Alchemist, Gundam, and RahXephon. And I noted it acually takes some things from Shadow Star Narutaru as well (like some of the darker aspects of the series, and the Coralians and anti- Coralians are possibly inspired by the dragons [creatures] in Shadow Star Narutaru, not to mention some other smaller things as well). None of this is surprising as many of the people heavily involved in Eureka Seven where involved in these series as well.Plot/Story: 10/10I'm not going to go deep into the synopsis of the plot, because that may lead to spoilers. I thought it was a very well written story, and the plot was just amazing. Lot's of mystery and drama!! It's very interesting to watch the military conflicts unfold. We watch what happens (and the changes to) the government that runs the planet, and how war effects everyone. The series is also very deep, dark, and can get psychological at times (like Eva). It does have it's fun and silly moments, and even an episode or two devoted to humor and jokes. This is very well thought out though, as the drama and "darker" parts are well balanced by this. Comedy is used at the right moments not to depress the veiwer to much. Plenty of action and interesting plot developments to make sure you are never bored. It is a very complex story, moreso then it seems at first. It gets dark, but never too depressing. All of this is important because this is partly a plot driven anime.Characters:9/10All of the characters were very strong. While it's easy to see how Renton was inspired by Shinji (NGE) and Naota (FLCL) he is still very much his own character. Same gos for Eureka (who some say is inspired by Rei from NGE). Talho and Holland are completely original. Most of the characters are well likeable. However I found the "bad guys" of course to be much more interesting, likeable, and just overall cool. The Sage Council are an amazing trio who run the country! I was insantly mesmorized by them, despite thier short amount of screen time. Dominic Sorel, a higher up in the military is very cool, likeable, and interesting. Colonel Dewey Novak is also a great character and develops a lot throughout the anime. You see him from the begining as a complete wreck, and watch him change into a very powerful leader. Every character is interesting, and helps show the viewer a little bit of the world this takes place on. They all are good characters, which is important because this anime can be very character driven at times.Art:8/10The art is very nice. It gets it's job done, plus some! It really amazes you at some times, but being a 50 episode series it does change up a little over the time. No real problems with it, but not incredbly high quality animation or anything like that. The backgrounds are great looking, and the character and mecha designs are very cool. Although I did find many of the character designs to be a bit too generic, but they were not at all bad or anything like that.Sound:10/10MusicThe music was just amazing!! The best songs, from the best bands were chosen for this anime!! But not just great opening and closings either, the insert songs where very powerful! Esecially the insert song "Storywriter" by the band Supercar.DubI only watched the English dub, and I can defently say this is one of Bang Zoom! 's best dubs. Sure Renton (Johnny Young Bosch) could be anoying to some people, but I think he sounded really good. I didn't even know that was him, he used such a high pitch voice. Crispin Freeman will forever be Holland for me, because his voice fit so perfectly!! Despite the tons of other roles I've heard him in, I think Holland fits him best. Peter Doyle was also spot on with Dominic. In fact every single character seemed well cast. Of course Stephanie Sheh gives the overall best performance as Eureka. She's just great at anything she does. Eureka is brought to life with her voice. As it is the real subtleties that bring out that character. And Sheh is really good at that.Final Vertic:A more plot driven/character driven mecha then most people are used to, but actually makes this anime more apealing. It works for people who don't necessarily like mecha anime too much. Plus the mechs fly in the sky on frigen surfboards! How's that for cool? But it's not really a mecha-driven show, althought they do serve a point, and there is some mystery to them. The characters are well likeable. The plot is very well thought out, and just amazing. It gets philosophical, psychological and deep at times, but plenty of action to keep you entertained. It has a good story to tell, and proves once again Dai Sato is the man with the golden pen. When it comes to screenwriting, he always manages to outdo himself.
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