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Eureka Seven
交響詩篇エウレカセブン (Kōkyōshihen Eureka Sebun)
Demographic	Shonen
Genre	Adventure, Bildungsroman, Mecha, Romance
TV anime
Director	Tomoki Kyoda
Writer	Dai Satō
Studio	Bones
Network	Animax, MBS, TBS
Other networks: Animax Adult Swim YTV ABS-CBN, Hero
Original run	17 April 2005 – 2 April 2006
Episodes	50
Manga
Author	Jinsei Kataoka, Kazuma Kondou
Publisher	Kadokawa Shoten
Other publishers: Haksan Publishing Bandai Entertainment Kadokawa Media (Taiwan)
Serialized in	Shonen Ace
Original run	26 July 2005 – 26 September 2006
Volumes	6
Manga: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl
Author	Miki Kizuki
Publisher	Kadokawa Shoten
Other publishers: Bandai Entertainment
Serialized in	Comptiq
Original run	May 2005 – 26 September 2006
Volumes	2
Novel
Author	Tomonori Sugihara
Publisher	Kadokawa Shoten
Serialized in	Shonen Ace
Published	October 29, 2005 – May 31, 2006
Volumes	4
Game: New Wave
Developer	Bandai
Genre	Action
Platform	PlayStation 2
Released	October 27, 2005
Game: Psalms of Planets
Developer	Bandai
Genre	Action
Platform	PlayStation Portable
Released	April 6, 2006
Game: New Vision
Developer	Bandai
Genre	Action
Platform	PlayStation 2
Released	May 11, 2006

Eureka Seven, known in Japan as Psalms of Planets Eureka seveN (交響詩篇エウレカセブン, Kōkyōshihen Eureka Sebun^?), is a mecha anime TV series by Bones. 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.

Bandai produced three video games based on Eureka Seven; two of them are based on events prior to the show, while the third is based on the first half of the show. Both the original concept of the anime and the video game Eureka Seven vol.1: New Wave have been adapted into manga series, as well. The TV series has also been adapted into a series of four novels in Japan.

Contents 1 Development and reception 2 Synopsis and themes 3 Setting 3.1 Scub Coral 3.2 Trapar waves and lifting 3.3 LFOs and Compac Drives 4 Terminology 5 Characters 6 Anime 6.1 Episodes 6.2 Licensing 6.3 Staff 7 Music 7.1 Theme songs 8 Manga and novels 9 Video games 10 References 11 External links

The series' origins can be traced to a pitch of a mecha anime series that Bandai had proposed to the animation studio: Bones. At first, the studio 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.^[1]

While conceptualizing Eureka Seven, director Tomoki Kyoda wished to design the series as one that would at first focus on the personal elements and conflicts of the characters and 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. ^[2] The series was Tomoki Kyoda's first as chief director for a TV anime; his major credits to date before that, were his position as Assistant director of the RahXephon TV series and subsequent position of Director for the movie adaption, also from studio Bones. RahXephon creator and director Yutaka Izubuchi provided additional design works for Eureka Seven, as well.

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 Ken'ichi Yoshida.^[3] Ken'ichi Yoshida, the series' main animator and character designer, also received an individual award at the 10th Animation Kobe Awards in September 2005.^[4] The series also won an award at the 20th Digital Content Grand Prix in Japan in January 2006.^[5]

At the Anime Expo 2006 SPJA Awards, Eureka Seven won the award for Best Television Series, and Best Female Character for Eureka^[6]. Anime Insider voted it "Best DVD Series of the Year" in 2006.^[7]

Eureka Seven centers around 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 mechanic grandfather in a boring town. He loves lifting, a sport similar to surfing but with air as the medium. He dreams of joining the renegade group Gekkostate, led by his idol Holland, a legendary lifter.

An opportunity to do so literally falls into his lap when a large mechanical robot, called the Nirvash typeZERO, and Eureka, a member of Gekkostate, crash into Renton's room. Renton's grandfather orders him to deliver a special part to the Nirvash, which reveals the immense power dormant within the typeZERO. 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 along with the Nirvash and the Gekkostate will embark on an adventure that will shape their future as well as the world's.

The themes covered by Eureka Seven that shape its narrative range from a wide amount of issues such as allegories of real world conflicts and wars, current political climates from Japan and abroad, depictions of various subcultures and related musical movements that span several generations, and ties to environmental movements. The series works these themes, as well as the theme of growth and change, into the journey of Renton Thurston.

The setting of Eureka Seven takes place 10,000 years after humanity has made a mass exodus into space, leaving Earth behind. In the current timeline, the remnants of humanity are now settled on a planet they refer to as the "Promised Land". The majority of the surface of this planet is covered by a rock-like surface referred to as the Scub Coral. The Scub Coral is in fact believed to be an intelligent, sentient life form that makes up the entire planet. The theory that the Scub Coral was an intelligent life form was proposed by the scientist Adrock Thurston who also claimed the Scub was looking for mutual co-existence with humanity. All theories and information about the Scub Coral being a sentient being are kept away from the general population. The Scub Coral is said to have a central point that acts as its mind; this point is called the Command Cluster. The Scub Coral also has three physical manifestations, called Coralians, that are observed throughout the series. These manifestations are either natural occurrences or a response to man-inflicted pressure. The manifestations are:

• Kute-class Coralian: A massive sphere of concentrated energy that makes its appearance in the skies. The Kute is a rare natural occurrence, but can be triggered by outside forces. The disappearance of a Kute causes a massive release of energy, subsequently ravaging surrounding landscape.
• Antibody Coralians: A swarm of creatures unleashed through a Kute-class Coralian when the Scub Coral is threatened or attacked. Like their name implies, the Antibody Coralians serve to protect the Scub Coral and eliminate the foreign threat presented to it. Antibody Coralians generally appear in response to man-made attacks on the Scub Coral.
• Human-form Coralians: Beings born out of the Scub Coral that take the form of humans. They are regarded by scientists as emissaries of the Scub Coral, sent to learn about humanity. Humans attempted to create their own artificial human-form Coralians, but the results are often less than satisfactory.

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. Norb, 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 could produce a tremendous amount of energy. The most important use of Trapar energy has been the harnessing of it to supply power to flight capable vehicles.

Though Trapar-propelled airships are relatively common, using Trapar waves for "lifting" (or "reffing" according to some fan translations, as well as some country's official translation) is their predominant use. Lifting uses surfboard-like devices called "reflection boards" to ride Trapar waves in a manner similar to surfing or snowboarding, 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 lifeforms within the Scub Coral.

Main article: Light Finding Operation

The mecha of Eureka Seven are called "Light Finding Operation", commonly abbreviated to LFO. LFOs are humanoid alien skeletons excavated from the Scub Coral that have been fitted with armor and control systems. Military LFOs are known as KLFs (for "Kraft Light Fighter"). LFOs are able to fly by exploiting the same principles of lifting — Trapar particles. An LFO is composed of a giant organic base, called the Archetype; armor; a ref board; and a Compac Drive, a device that allows humans to interface with the Archetype, as well as other machinery.

• The Ageha Plan: The discovery by Adrock Thurston that the Scub Coral is an intelligent, sentient life form that is trying to communicate with humanity, and the plan for humanity to seek out co-existence. The report was locked away after his death, but later appropriated by Col. Dewey Novak, a move aimed at gaining public support by associating himself with Adrock Thurston, despite Dewey Novak's true aims being directly opposite to the aims of co-existence proposed by the true Ageha Plan.
• Summer of Love: The enormous non-stop generation of Trapar waves that took place approximately ten years before the events of Eureka Seven. The confusion and chaos that resulted from this disaster sparked conflicts around the world, leading to civil wars that left tower states completely destroyed. Adrock Thurston is said to be the man who died putting an end to the effects of the Summer of Love.
• Vodarac: A religion with many believers in the world of Eureka Seven. Their peculiar views and beliefs clash with modern science, especially in regards to treatment of the planet. This, coupled with the existence of extremist factions in the religion, have made the government classify the Vodarac as a dissident faction and has on more than one occasion engaged in military campaigns against them. The prominent conflict depicted in the series is the attack on Ciudades del Cielo, the city seen as holy grounds for the Vodarac, where the SOF troops stormed a supposed Vodarac extremist stronghold.
• The Limit of Questions: The existence of the Scub Coral in conjunction with humanity also poses problems for existence itself. In the series, a theory is given that only so much sentient life can exist within a specific space, known as the "Limit of Questions" (件の限界, Kudan no Genkai^?). Should too much life exist within a given space, reality would tear itself apart, causing an effect similar to a black hole.
• The Great Wall: A large area of whirling Trapar winds visible from outer space. Its origin is linked to the Scub Coral partially triggering the Limit of Questions at some undefined point before the beginning of the series. The Scub Coral had managed to put itself to sleep before the Limit's consequences engulfed the entire planet; the Great Wall is the area of space that remained damaged from that event. It is said common physical laws no longer apply in the area encompassed by the Great Wall.
• The Zone: An extremely high concentration of Trapar particles and dust that result in the human mind seeing an endless corridor surrounded by brightly hued colors. Typically, the effect of the Zone is seen when trying to penetrate a Kute-class Coralian, but it may also manifest if a high enough concentration of Trapar happens in a closed space. The Zone is often depicted as a gateway, whether between mind and matter or physical destinations.
• Skyfish: These creatures have adapted to float upon the Trapar waves that fill the atmosphere. These creatures are harvested to create a substance known as "reflection film". This film is what permits the machinery of Eureka Seven to fly without the use of fuel-based propulsion. It is said for those wanting to get near them that skyfish will often gather where positive emotions are emitted by humans in the presence of a compac drive.
• Desperation Disease: A strange disease that results in those afflicted becoming near-vegetables, save for a fixation into a Compac Drive. The sickness is related to the relationship of the Scub Coral, the Trapar and the Compac Drive; all three together drive the victim deep into a trance which leads their conscience to an elsewhere location.
• Pile Bunkers: The rod like objects that are found driven into the ground all over the world of Eureka Seven. The Pile Bunkers are driven into the ground as a way to suppress the tectonic shifts that are caused by the Scub Coral, usually seen as humoungous coral like mushrooms that erupt from the ground without any notice.

Main article: List of Eureka Seven characters

Most of the characters of Eureka Seven are part of either Gekkostate or the U.F. Force.

Gekkostate is an anti-government militia and counterculture collective led by Holland, who also pilots the LFO Terminus typeR909. Eureka, an aloof, pale girl, pilots an LFO called the Nirvash typeZERO. After joining Gekkostate early in the series, Renton co-pilots the Nirvash with Eureka. Stoner is a photographer who writes Gekkostate's illegal magazine, ray=out. Talho is the head pilot of Gekkostate's aircraft, the Gekko (月光号, Gekkō-gō^?, lit. moonlight; "Moonlight" in the English manga). Hap is Holland's childhood friend and the second-in-command of the Gekko. Ken-Goh is the weapons specialist and owner of the Gekko. Jobs and Woz are the ship's engineers. Mischa is the resident doctor. Moondoggie is a secondary pilot and operator of the launch catapult. Hilda and Matthieu are the pilots of the Gekkostate LFOs Terminus typeR808 and Terminus typeR606, respectively. Gidget is the communications operator. Gonzy is a fortuneteller.

The U.F. Force is a military under the command of the Sage Council (or The Council of the Wise), the main authority of the United Federation of Predgio Towers. Serving under the Sage Council is Lieutenant Colonel Dewey Novak, who directed a special operations force called the SOF prior to his imprisonment at the beginning of the series. Dominic Sorel is an intelligence officer under Novak and the chief handler of Anemone, who pilots the LFO Nirvash typeTheEND.

Main article: List of Eureka Seven episodes

Eureka Seven consists of fifty episodes which aired from April 17, 2005 to April 2, 2006 on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and Tokyo Broadcasting System. Almost all of the show's episodes are named after real songs, composed by Japanese or foreign artists.^[8][9]

Distribution of the English version of Eureka Seven is handled by Bandai Entertainment and its affiliates. The U.S. and Canadian distribution of the show is handled by the main branch while Beez Entertainment, Bandai's European branch, handles the show's release in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. Madman Entertainment handles its release in Australia and New Zealand. The first translated DVD volume of the series was released on April 25, 2006 in the US, while the European version will be released in the summer of the same year, according to Neo Magazine. The English version is produced by Bang Zoom! Entertainment in Burbank, California.

Since the Friday before its premiere on Adult Swim, Eureka Seven has been available for online viewing on the Adult Swim Fix, Adult Swim's online video service. Episodes are shown weekly each Friday, one day before their premiere on Adult Swim proper. The series made its televised debut on Adult Swim on April 15, 2006 and ended April 28, 2007. Beginning with episode 26, Adult Swim began airing an additional parental advisory warning for extreme violence before each episode. In keeping with Adult Swim's practice of making jokes in such warnings, the warnings claim that they would rather air the episodes uncut since they are "American Cowboys."

In Canada, it premiered on YTV's Bionix block on September 8, 2006 at 9:30 p.m.; on March 9, 2007 it was moved to 11:00 p.m. On March 23, 2007, instead of airing episode 27, YTV's Bionix began airing reruns starting with episode one; YTV did not begin airing the rest of the series until June 1, 2007. On November 16, 2007, the final episode aired uncut. As of November 23, 2007, YTV is airing reruns of the series.

The pronunciation of Eureka's name in the English dub of the series is based on the Japanese pronunciation /eɯɺ̠eka/ listen (help·info), which is an approximation of the Greek pronunciation of the word "eureka" (Koine: ˈheʷreːka; Modern: ˈevrika), rather than the conventional English pronunciation /juːˈɹiːkə/. The dub pronunciation has variously been described as "ey-ooh-reh-ka," "ay-oo-re-ka," or "el-rekka." However, while the Japanese voice actors pronounce 'Anemone' as it is normally pronounced in Japanese, the English cast say her name as it would be pronounced in English.

Yuri Lowenthal had at one point been contracted by Bandai to provide the English voice for Renton, but after recording thirteen episodes he was replaced by Johnny Yong Bosch because the director of the English dub felt that his voice was too low for the character. All of Renton's lines were subsequently redone for consistency, though Bosch himself admits it took him a while to nail down the voice.^[10]

• Planning: Seiji Takeda, Shin Unozawa, Masahiko Minami, Kazumi Kawashiro, Ken Iyadomi, Takuo Minegeshi
• Original concept: Bones
• Director: Tomoki Kyoda
• Series composition: Dai Satō
• Script: Dai Satō, Yūichi Nomura, Hiroshi Ohnogi, Shōtarō Suga, Ichirō Ōkouchi, Chiaki J. Konaka, Megumi Shimizu
• Character designs: Ken'ichi Yoshida
• Main animators: Ken'ichi Yoshida, Eiji Nakata
• Main mechanical designs: Shoji Kawamori
• Conceptual designs: Kazutaka Miyatake
• Design works: Shingo Takeba, Shigeto Koyama, Takayuki Yanase, Yutaka Izubuchi, Eiji Nakata
• Director of photography: Toshiya Kimura (T2 Studio)
• Music: Naoki Satō
• Music production: Aniplex
• Sound director: Kazuhiro Wakabayashi
• Sound effects: Shizuo Kurahashi
• Sound production: Fonishia
• Art director: Kazuo Nagai
• Assistant art director: Atsushi Morikawa
• Color designs: Nobuko Mizuta
• Scientific advisor: Shinya Ogura
• Special effects director: Yasushi Muraki
• Producers: Hiroshi Morotomi, Hirō Maruyama, Hirofumi Inagaki, Atsushi Yukawa, Kōtarō Nakayama
• Assistant producers: Chikako Fujii, Daiki Hasebe, Yasuyo Ogisu
• Production: Mainichi Broadcasting System, Project EUREKA (Bandai, Bandai Visual, Bandai Entertainment, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners), Bones

The music of Eureka Seven is available on three different compilations composed by Naoki Sato and a variety of other artists who composed insert songs used in the series. The third soundtrack, Complete Best, includes the full-length versions of the opening and ending themes for both the series and game, as well as the insert song for the final episode.

Opening themes

• "Days", by Flow (episodes 1–13)
• "A Young Boy's Heart" (少年ハート, Shōnen Hāto^?), by Home Made Kazoku (episodes 14–26)
• "To the Center of the Sun" (太陽の真ん中へ, Taiyō no Mannaka e^?), by Bivattchee (episodes 27–32, 34–39)
• "Sakura", by Nirgilis (episodes 40–49)

Ending themes

• "Secret Base" (秘密基地, Himitsu Kichi^?), by Kozue Takada (episodes 1–13, 26)
• "Fly Away", by Izawa Asami (episodes 14–25)
• "Tip Taps Tip", by Halcali (episodes 27–39)
• "Canvas", by Coolon (episodes 40–49)

Insert songs

• "Storywriter", by Supercar
• "Trance Ruined", by Newdeal
• "Draft Any Funk", by Newdeal
• "Get It By Your Hands", by Hiroshi Watanabe a.k.a. Quadra
• "Rainbow" (虹, Niji^?), by Denki Groove (episode 50)

Video game theme

• "Realize", by Flow (Eureka Seven vol.1: New Wave & Eureka Seven: New Vision)

A manga adaptation based on the same basic concept and character designs from the anime series began running in Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Shōnen Ace, starting from the March 2005 issue and continuing until the January 2007 issue, covering a total of 23 chapters. These chapters were later compiled into six volumes.

Another manga adaptation, Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl, features the protagonists of the video games New Wave and New Vision. It was serialized in Comptiq, another Kadokawa Shoten publication. It is shorter than the main series; collected, it spans only two volumes.

Eureka Seven was also adapted into a series of four novels by Tomonori Sugihara. The novels, much like the manga, differ from the TV series in various ways. The titles of the novels reference musical works much like the series — in particular, the bands New Order and Joy Division. The novels are:

• Volume 1: Blue Monday
• Volume 2: Unknown Pleasures
• Volume 3: New World Order
• Volume 4: Here to Stay

Eureka Seven has had a total of three video games. With the exception of Eureka Seven V.2: Psalms of Planets, all were released for the PlayStation 2.

Eureka Seven vol.1: New Wave was released in Japan on October 27, 2005. It is set two years before the anime and features a different cast of characters. The theme song, Realize, is sung by FLOW, however the song was cut in the North America version of the game. It was released in North America on October 24, 2006.

Eureka Seven: New Vision is the sequel to New Wave and takes place two years later. It was released in Japan on May 11, 2006, and was released in North America on April 19, 2007.^[11]

Eureka Seven V.2: Psalms of Planets, created for the PlayStation Portable, was released on April 6, 2006, in Japan. This game is based on the events from the first half of the show.

Eureka Seven is set to be featured (and firstly featured in crossover production) in the third installment of the Playstation 2 game series Another Century's Episode. The series, published by Banpresto and developed by From Software, features fast paced action with robots from popular mecha anime in storylines that intertwine the various series. Another Century's Episode 3 was available in September in Japan, with likely no release in the United States due to complicated licensing issues. Eureka Seven is one of the titles with the greatest number of units available (in total eight mechs, a tie with Dragonar and only three units behind Gundam X) and became a large part of the whole story, while sharing some of its storyline mainly with Getter Robo, as an adaption to the theme of the original story, the "planet" is set back into Earth while the U.F. Force becomes a main faction in the New UNE (from Gundam X, though the New UNE in the game mainly adapts settings of U.F. Force instead of original one).

• Official Eureka Seven website (Japanese)
• Bandai Entertainment's official Eureka Seven website
• Adult Swim Eureka Seven page
• YTV's Eureka Seven page
• Eureka Seven mecha profiles at MAHQ
• Madman Entertainment's official Eureka Seven website
• Eureka Seven (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Eureka Seven (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
• Eureka Seven at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e Eureka Seven
Main	Episodes • Characters • Mecha
Misc.	New Wave • New Vision