Ranked #816

Eureka Seven (Manga)

Of the many merits the Eureka Seven anime hold, the series is well-known for its outstanding soundtrack and slick animation. So naturally, the question that dwells on the mind of anyone who is considering the manga is: "Would the manga adaptation fare well within a medium devoid of these things?" The answer is "yes". With a darker and more mature story, great artwork, and extremely engaging drama, the Eureka Seven manga is well worth the time of newcomers and anime veterans alike.

The story centers around the adventures of Renton Thurston, who upon meeting a peculiar mecha-riding girl named Eureka, escapes his mundane life at the town of Bellforest to join the Gekko State, a band of counter-culture renegades. The coming-of-age story that ensues is one full of the spirit of adolescence: self-identity, love, rejection, and rebellion. Though this in itself may not be anything special, Eureka Seven sets itself apart by placing the balance just right. The unfolding drama never feels too vague or distant, yet it never dips into the "overwrought and cheesy" territory. The product is an engaging tale of two young lovers that should viciously tugs at the your heartstrings if you were ever young and in love at some stage of your life. As the story progresses, it becomes considerably darker as the reader is increasingly confronted with themes of human nature and the environment. Though this may take those who watched the anime off guard, the different direction taken by the adaptation is nevertheless a welcome one as the grim narrative not only has the intensity to glue the reader’s eyes to the pages, but to provoke some profound thought on the off chance as well. Furthermore, fans of Anemone and Dominic of the anime will be overjoyed to find a much more elaborate and emotionally charged story of the two characters, despite minor alterations to their characters.

Like the plot, the artwork does not slouch either. Though the dizzying spectacles of the mecha sequences are sometimes hard to follow on paper, the action is still kinetic, bold, and often more strikingly visceral than the anime counterpart. The character art does not deviate far from the anime, which is good news to veterans and newcomers alike, as the cast looks expressive and stylish. However, more so than the impressive technical merits, it is the creative aspects of the manga that really ought to be brought to attention. The manga masterfully incorporates motifs from The Wizard of Oz into Anemone's story, as well as taking imaginative liberties with the imagery of the hallucinogenic segments of the story. Not only does the symbol-laden art look great, it contributes to the intrigue of the story without the use of words.

Unlike many short anime-to-manga adaptations, Eureka Seven is by no means a quick money grab to ride on the success of its anime counterpart. In all fairness, this manga adaption stands shoulder-to-shoulder with its inspiration. While the anime offers a mostly light-hearted romance and adventure, the manga offers a grim and intense story that leaves reader little room to breathe – or put down the book, for that matter. Fans of the anime should find the distinct take on the story very interesting (assuming they are not die-hard loyalists to the anime’s plot), and newcomers to the franchise will have no problem diving into this engaging and well thought-out story.


Pros:
- Substantive story complimented by effective drama
- Anemone and Dominic's story
- Imaginative artwork in the hallucinogenic segments

Cons:
- Mecha action is sometimes confusing read more

Eureka Seven (6 Volumes/23 Chapters)

The Eureka Seven manga is essentially an adaptation of the original Eureka Seven anime series. I was skeptical at first and was under the assumption that the manga was a simply a copy of the animated series. I was ecstatic to learn that I was wrong in my assertion and that the manga is in fact an alternate version of the consistent Eureka Seven story.

First I'll start off with aspects of the manga that I adored. While we all know that the Eureka Seven series is known for it's dramatic undertones the manga produces a nice counter balance with the use of comedy that remains consistent throughout the manga series. the use of comedy also helped in easing the tension between characters and the situations. The manga handled Renton and Eureka's relationship very flamboyantly and quickly progressed through there interactions. I'd say within the first couple of chapters Renton had already professed his love for Eureka and this helped to move key aspects of the plot along. the manga made good use of there relationship and there was a air of genuinity to there relationship which intern was conveyed slightly better that the Eureka Seven anime. The plot could only be deemed as being fast paced while still maintaining some level of character development so not all was lost. Towards the end of the manga Renton and Dominic became men and there actions in the last couple of chapters could only be summed into one word Manly.

It's only fitting that I elaborate on the flaws and weak points I saw in the manga series. One issue I had with the manga is the ending. I'll make this clear the ending in the original Eureka Seven anime series was exceedingly supior to that of the manga. I'd say the only strong suit of the manga ending was that we got to see a seventeen year old Renton via a time skip. I would however deem this as little more than fan service to compensate for an anticlimactic ending. Perhaps it's just that I don't prefer sad endings since one could say the Eureka Seven manga ending paralleled the ending of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagaan in that the heroin was lost in the same way. One other flaw i saw in the series was that during the later part of the series the plot had become difficult to decipher and it was hard to tell what was going on. That being said the ending seemed to clear thing up for the most part so I wouldn't say I'm all that concerned with this aspect.

The art style was handled magnificently and i saw no discrepancies in any of the drawings or the techniques used by the artist. The art style used to highlight serious moments were simply amazing and beyond any level of epic. All together I rather enjoyed the Eureka Seven manga. Seeing as how the Eureka Seven anime is my all time favorite animated series the manga was a nice approach on changing the actual story. If your an avid fan of the Eureka Seven series them i would implore you to check out the manga.

Rating: 8/10 read more