Ouch! That's is all.
...okay, that wouldn't make for much of a review, but really, the best way I can put this series was it was painful to watch. I remember seeing the original series in both English and Japanese and loved both. One of the few English dubs that I didn't despise that much. I really hope this doesn't get localized so it can slap the faces of any other Eureka Seven fans that don't watch subbed anime.
Okay, enough venting and more reviewing. The problem with this series was the story and character development...and boy, was it bad. Bones had a pretty strong reputation before this series but I get the impression it's going to take a major hit. The writers tried to create an innovative plot that took Eureka Seven character archetypes, put them in a time travel/dimensional travel plot, and see what happens. It's almost as if Bones took a look at Steins;Gate and said "see how successful this was?! We need to do that!" Problem is, Steins;Gate created a full cast of likable characters and didn't make the plot any deeper than it had to be. This? It was confusing from start to finish. It's one thing to slowly pace out plot development out of suspense, it's a complete other thing to slowly pace out plot development and then not have a proper payoff.
What made the original series so great was the character development. There was a cast that was well hashed out, well developed, and most importantly, the characters were actually likable and memorable. Astral Ocean failed in that department. It had some unique characters that could've filled that role. I felt as though Elena and Fleur were probably the best characters outside of Ao in this series when it comes to likability. However, even they were not hashed out as well as they should've been and in moments where the dramatic tension should've been high, it wasn't. Simply put, I react well to animes that can convince me that there's dramatic tension between the characters and how they respond to each other. I wasn't sold on any of their dramatic tension.
By far the WORST part of Eureka Seven: Ao though was the ending. Since I'm not allowed to "spoil" it, I'll just come out and say...it was pointless...and I mean that literally. The ending deemed the entire Eureka Seven: Ao storyline essentially pointless. On top of that, it COMPLETELY hung Ao, the series lead character, out to dry. I found it to be an absolute TERRIBLE approach. It's one thing to have a tragic ending that has an affect on the main cast of characters. This anime didn't have that. It had a tragic ending that effectively left zero impact on the main cast of characters. Buzz kill is really the best way to describe the ending.
I know I said a lot of bad things about E7: Astral Ocean so far, but are there any good things? Yeah, there are. The artwork was pretty consistent with the original series and I'd even say slightly better. Although, I do think they went a little overboard with Truth's facial expressions. The music on the whole was pretty good. I also found myself REALLY enjoying the 2nd OP BlazBlue by FLOW. The OP set up the feel that the anime would have an epic 2nd half...so good advertising on Bones part...just poor execution.
Ultimately, the bad outweighs the good. I can say that for the most part, I did enjoy the series but like many series before it, poor writing and an absolute "worst possible ending" just ruined the series for me. The writers tried to do way too much with the plot and not enough with the character development. In an attempt to be innovative, the writers instead created a confusing, heaping mess that even by the time everything was cleared up and explained, it left me unsatisfied. For a sequel to a great series like Eureka Seven, Astral Ocean failed to meet expectations...and then some.
