「シーズ・ア・レインボウ/moonlight ship」 (Shīzu A Reinbō)
“She’s a Rainbow”

Gonna need the thesaurus to try and do justice to how amazing this episode was.

I wasn’t sure if AO could possibly have an encore that would live up to the expectations created by the blockbuster ending of last week’s episode. But it did – amazingly it exceeded the sky-high expectations and delivered an episode that succeeded on every level. It connected the new series with the old, it shed light on many of the pressing questions AO has raised while at the same time opening new possibilities, and perhaps best of all it offered some of the finest character interaction of either series. I’ve never wavered in my love of this show and never doubted that it knew exactly what it was doing, but it’s still exciting to see long built-up events realized so gloriously.

The true introduction of Eureka and even more her first on-screen meeting with Ao were probably the most anticipated events for the first cour of the series. Needless to say, I was thrilled with the results. I thought every scene between Eureka and Ao was spectacular, and a lot of the credit goes to the seiyuu – it’s great to hear Nazuki Kaori’s familiar tones again, and Honjou-kun once again shows he was a brilliant casting decision to play Ao. I found these scenes really moving, especially as you consider them from Ao’s perspective – this is his first time meeting his mother in ten years, and she doesn’t know him. Yet, she’s the same kind and loving woman he vaguely remembers, and she acts like a mother towards him even if she doesn’t know he’s her son. Eureka, obviously, was always inclined to take lost little birds under the protection of her wings, and whether she suspects Ao’s identity or not, she clearly sees such a lost boy in him.

The writing and the performances get these scenes just right. Ao’s eagerness, held in check by shyness as he tries to get closer to Eureka and understand who she is – it’s really heartbreaking stuff. Imagine Ao’s reaction when he saw Eureka was pregnant. Initially, he probably thought this was a younger sibling, then came to realize over time that it was most likely he himself – or some version of him – that was six month’s along in Eureka’s womb. And all the while, he’s under orders from GenBleu to try and win Eureka over to their side as combat ships from all sides converge on their location. How is a child supposed to deal with all that emotionally, exactly?

The question of just who is “this” Eureka is of course fundamental to everything. There’s a very interesting dynamic here in the role reversal with Eureka and Ivica: during her appearance ten years earlier, she know who he was (as well as Japanese officer Endo (Sasaki Satoshi)) while he didn’t know her, but during the “current” appearance it’s he who knows Eureka while she doesn’t know him. The implication of course is that she’s from another time, and the Eureka with the two year-old Ao remembers the current visit we’re watching unfold – and that Renton was building the Nirvash Ao currently pilots during that visit two years into her future. This seems to set up a fairly straightforward time travel scenario – indeed, Georg identified the Gekko-Go as being from 12,005 AD. Eureka is from the future, and has the ability to appear at various points in the past due to scub bursts – seems simple enough.

But you know, that just doesn’t feel right to me – or at the very least, it’s not that simple. The two words that keep coming to mind when I watch events unfold in this world are “ant farm”. I can’t shake the feeling that this reality is a science experiment, and periodically someone shakes the box to see what the ants will do. The Truth’s shouted “You cannot change, this world, Ao Fukai!” could be his own way of saying, “What are you doing in there, Ao Fukai – you’re not an ant!” It seems very likely the The Truth is (or is very strongly connected to) The Secret that Eureka did battle with during her visit ten years into this world’s past but two into this Eureka’s future – the one she “took with her” as a last resort to save that world. But we also have another Eureka, appearing to Ao as an apparition (not a hallucination, as Gazelle sees her too) telling him that something very bad is going to happen soon, and that “The Secrets are not your enemies”.

There’s no question that a lot of stuff happened in this ep – a brain-bruising amount of stuff, so much that there’s no wonder there was no time for an ED (a wise sacrifice, though as we’ll likely get a new OP/ED next week I was hoping to hear it one more time). But I feel that moment with the spirit Eureka was uber-critical. Apparition, spirit, whatever else you call it – another possible term for what Ao saw might be “astral projection”. The implications of that are obvious enough. The relationship of these worlds is deeper and stranger than merely a gap of 10,000 years in time, I’m sure of it – and Eureka’s ability to move between them is at the heart of the mystery. And we seemingly have mother and son poised to do battle, in twin Nirvash, with Truth. If you’re curiosity isn’t piquéd now, you should probably drop Astral Ocean because you’re probably immune to its charms.

Why this all works for me – as usual – is character, and how much I care about the ones here. This episode did so much to deepen our understanding of both the old cast and new. This exchange between mother and son jumps out at me:

“We were like children back then. He was a crybaby too, and kind of useless…”

“You didn’t love him?”

“Nope – I did. Every bit of him.”

What a wonderful recollection of the original E7 that was. And equally great was Ao’s reaction to it – relieved, a little embarrassed – and the fact that he was wearing what looked like Renton’s jumpsuit when the conversation took place. There were great character moments all over the place here – Fleur’s frantic worry about Ao. Ivica’s true motivations revealed – his dismay about taking Ao’s mother away from him, and his resolve both to care for Ao and prevent more children from losing their mothers. Even new character Endo’s determination to keep his promise to Eureka and protect her child. In the end it’s the character moments that make AO a great show for me, and since as much as anything AO is a show about a lonely boy who misses his mother, to see their reunion brought off so brilliantly marks one of the highlights of the year in anime.

 

Preview

86 Comments

  1. I completely and totally agree with you Enzo. This was a gorgeous episode, one I’m unlikely to forget anytime soon. I’m slightly disappointed we got a time traveling scenario, but I too feel that something else is afoot, and it will likely be a while before we find out. I’m not complaining though, the interaction between Eureka and Ao was something I’d been hoping for since I heard about the series, and it was perfect in every sense of the word. That particular dialogue was my favourite of the whole; it was adorable to see Ao look so much like Renton and Eureka recalling the days spent on the Gekko. I also thought it wonderful that Ao’s Nirvash isn’t just his mother’s legacy; Renton seems to have built it himself, and so it is a gift from both parents to the child they would never get to raise.

    Genesis
  2. I’m completely disappointed that this post made no mention of Elena’s depressive attitude due to eureka’s arrival. Something that is making me super confused about what did she due to her.

    StrikeChaos
  3. I wholeheartedly agree with you Enzo. This episode was executed about as perfectly as one could be on all levels, and even my lofty expectations have been shattered. As a staunch E7 fan like yourself, I kinda chuckle a bit seeing the massive praise this series has now garnered among fans these past two episodes after the negative uproar that seemed to hound it post-episode 4 during any discussion I would come across. I had faith that it would all come together and it certainly seems to be doing that in spectacular form. And of course in typical Bones fashion, the answers are never easy to figure out but the speculation sure is fun.

    Lark
  4. Wow. WHERE’S MY NEW OP?!

    Disappointment aside, I feel much relieved that AO won’t turn out to be some recklessly-planned sequel to E7. It’s good to finally have some of the past revealed, and the time twists introduced in this episode are really interesting and workable aspects. Also nice to know that, so far, it doesn’t seem like this Earth is an “alternate world,” and that my personal theory hasn’t been completely eliminated.

    And Truth–is he a Secret after all? It leaves me to wonder if he is the Coralian of this Earth–his attacks certainly show similar designs to actual Secrets, but he is in human form–or if he was simply somehow affected from the Scub Burst ten years ago. I’m also curious if Truth has seen Eureka’s hairband-less form, since that’s how he presented himself to Ao. And how is Naru possibly tied to this, and to Eureka? And of course, there’s Elena to consider…

    Though we still don’t know what happened to the Eureka that gave birth to Ao, it was nevertheless awesome seeing him in Renton’s old jacket; I can only hope Renton himself will appear soon (though probably not until the end). Can’t wait till next week!

    1. My thinking is that all the Secrets are Coralians trying to interact with this new world. Not all Coralian’s can take human form so I’m looking forward to seeing more of the Truth.

      Ani_BEE
  5. now THIS is what i was really expecting in the AO series!
    the first cour was kind of dry during some episodes tbh, i put watching eureka on the backseat last season since i was watching other shows. but this season it’s really at the top of my “watch immediately” list.

    and again, eureka. is. so. beautiful. omfg that scene with her at the window talking about renton. *_* i want screenshots to that beautiful angle of her face.

    grey
  6. I don’t think Eureka will stay with them for more than a month or so. She has to leave, then come back, then give birth, then leave three years later.

    And then there’s Elena. She’s been spouting cryptic stuff that seem relevant and sounds like a prelude.

    Twi
  7. …I really need to finish watching the original E7. It looks more worth doing so that when I watched Aquarion just so that I can get into Evol.

    Shame that its seems Renton won’t be in this though.

    paulrenzo
      1. That’s gonna be interesting. I’ve noticed a reaction that Ao gave from previous episode when the subject of his father was brought up and he didn’t think too highly of him.

        Mike F.
      2. I think the only reason Ao had that reaction is because he assumed his father had abandoned him and – more importantly – Eureka. Now that he sort of knows the truth, I wouldn’t think he would be hostile towards Renton at all.

  8. I’m slightly bothered by the fact that Ao’s mother (Eureka old) piloted the IFO Nirvash during the first scub coral incident 10 years prior to Ao’s timeline. If this world is indeed a continuum, then LFO Nirvash spec ii piloted by the current Eureka (ep12-13) would probably have disappeared during the episodes to come, through whatever reason.

    Another thing I’m bothered by is that in the original E7 series we never see LFO Nirvash spec iii revert back to spec ii, nor do Renton + Eureka retrieve LFO Nirvash after she sends them home (correct me if I’m wrong). How then, can Eureka (ep12-13) be piloting LFO Nirvash spec ii into Ao’s world?

    E7fan
    1. My theory is that spec-2 “lookalike” was built by Renton as a sort of replica to the original Nirvash in the E7 timeline/universe before he started on the RA272. That’s just my crackpot theory until Bones fills in the blanks.

      Lark
  9. haHAAA!!!!!! WHOOOHO! THAT. WAS! AWESOME XD!

    Aquarion Reference. orz. X3;. “All this time these twelve thousand years singin’~” AUGH. the wait until next week is painful. PAINFUL!.

    Ho.ly. crap. I have no idea where they can take it from here, but it’s clear that the world building was worth it. So Worth it. Freaking awesome episode.. I’mma just keep gushing here o3o… sane speech? Nah, just gushing ^^;;;.

    Kumakaori
  10. A detail that I just noticed: Current Eureka isn’t wearing the hair pin Renton supposedly gave her during the original E7 (the one with the flower) series, whereas Ao’s mother (older Eureka) is. Not sure if there is any significance behind this or not.

    E7fan
    1. We must have been watching different anime because AO had a great start and I never once felt that an episode was out of place or boring… Hell, the original Eureka 7 had more episodes that were bleh by far (don’t believe me? go back and rewatch it sometime)

      Koji
  11. Even for a person who hasn’t watched the original series, this episode packed a punch. It’s going to be a sad moment when Eureka has to leave again :/

    And Elena (is she even “Elena Peoples”?) – there’s something significant there too, although I can’t really pin down what it is yet.

  12. I thought for sure that Bones would troll us. I thought they had lost sight of what made Eureka Seven great. I thought they would betray me, and everyone who grew up watching the original series. For week after week, the sequel failed to impress me. Until this moment.

    We finally have a connection that was long overdue, and it brings to light what made the original series so fantastic: its characters, their development and their interaction. Words cannot describe how joyous I was at seeing Eureka again, at hearing Renton’s name mentioned, and seeing the Gekko-Go on screen, crew or not.

    I had almost lost hope that this show would ever meet the stature and emotional resonance of the original series. I had almost given up on Bones entirely. Episode 13 has changed everything.

    Bones, you have my attention. Just don’t fuck this up now.

    A Disgruntled Fan
    1. “grew up watching the original series”…. ? Are you 12 or something? The original was from 2005… Every year it seems like the average age of anime viewers gets younger and younger -sighs- God I’m starting to feel old.

      Koji
      1. Basically, what I think of E7AO right now, is that it’s possible that the original E7 is the future of E7AO. Some original E7 spoilers below and my theory below.

        Show Spoiler ▼

  13. Awesome episode which I enjoyed from start to end, no, actually, at the end I was like “ouucchh!” when it ended because I wanted to see more, NOW! But it will have to wait till next week aha~

    But on the other side, I really don’t know how this is going to ‘work’, whether Eureka Ao is the past of the 1st series, or an ‘experiment’, I don’t see a ‘happy ending’ in which everyone would be ‘happy’:
    -if it’s an ‘experiment’ and that it falls apart/ends, it would be terrible for all the characters we’ve seen till now to just vanish and it would deeply hurt Ao who was born and lived all these years there. Though, I don’t see how it could be such an experiment, considering it was established in this episode this was the past, furthermore Eureka said she had no idea where she was and that she wanted to protect that world.
    -if it’s the past, which seems to be the case, then what? Will Ao leave the place he’s been raised in and protected to go to a distant unknown future? But it would be a ‘happy ending’ in the sens he would be forever reunited with his parents though. And if he stays, it would mean he would have taken the decision to live separate of his parents forever? Or would Eureka/Renton move to the past? But I believe they are needed in the future…

    I’m very curious to see where this will all take us, still a whole half series to go! XD

    sherry
  14. Now THIS, THIS justifies the series. Bones had me worried there, what with Naru being… retarded and Truth being incredibly out of place in the series, but motherly Eureka is the gift of the universe.

    Tarage
  15. >>Eureka is from the future, and has the ability to appear at various points in the past due to scub bursts – seems simple enough.

    Time travel: The motif of this part of the series.

    So Ao is in the past where his mom travels through various points in time. Feels like the novel “The time-traveler’s wife”, only “The time-traveler’s son” seems more appropriate.

    Good luck Ao! Time travelling is a chore. You’ll need all the freaking luck you can get.

    The Moondoggie
  16. Renton is in AO world right now! Remember back a few episodes where we saw a black IFO under generation blu that was kept secret. Now we have a flash back of when the geko and the nirvash with the black IFO that was consumed by the Coral. So odds are Renton was swallowed up as well but probably transported in to another time period since he was in a different location in which the geko ship was.

    Akumetsu
  17. i swear, if i didn’t know any better this episode could have just as easily been a pure 23 minutes of fan service, and could have just as easily been lifted from a fanfiction. you were right to say these past 12 episodes were crucial, because wow.

    all these callbacks!!! renton’s jumpsuit, renton namedrops, ao wearing renton’s jumpsuit and holding the compac drive, the butterfly wings, the nirvash, time travel, eureka calling out to the nirvash and starting it up along with the compac drive, and the fact that we now have definitive proof of what happened after the series ended (they went back home like the completely anticlimactic couple they are and GOT BIZZAY)

    AND OF COURSE EUREKA HERSELF

    my little fanboy heart can’t handle all of this!

    Nitro
  18. Okay, I’m most likely going to be down voted and flamed to hell for what am I about to say, and it’s okay. I understand my opinion will most likely be in strong contrast to everyone else’s and I can live with that.

    Just yesterday, I finished re-watching the entire Eureka Seven series, and in no less then a couple of hours later did I jump into AO, completely ecstatic that I would be able to continue the incredible amount of love that I had for the previous series. But something was wrong. From the very first episode, and even up to this one, I couldn’t feel it. I couldn’t get into it. And as I read through all of Guardian Enzo’s and everyone else’s positive posts about the series, I couldn’t understand why, or what I was missing out on that prevented me from liking it.

    Until it hit me. It just isn’t Eureka Seven anymore. I love the mecha action (especially their designs, which are so badass), the fight scenes, the characters, but it just isn’t a Eureka Seven Sequel. The entire vibe of this show is such a drastic change from the original, the cast, the story, the tone, theme, everything. It feels like such a sharp turn from the prequel that it feels almost as if it was it’s own completely individual series in which it only borrowed the name and some concepts of the Eureka Seven series. Every episode feels more like a cliche mix of previous great mecha shows like Gundam, Evangelion, and Code Geass, in which it almost COMPLETELY ignores everything that the previous series had set for it. The lifting,those amazing swells of trapar waves being left behind, the catchy pop-techno music, the brilliantly vibrant world of color that the previous series had taken place in, and most importantly, the chemistry between it’s characters, was all something that really made the original Eureka Seven series stand out,and what I feel has been so painstakingly missing from Ao.

    With Eureka Seven, it felt much more wider, a larger world, an adventure of a much grander scale. From the start of Renton meeting Eureka, from him joining the Gekko crew, everything seemed to fall in place so wonderfully. I’m excited that now, finally some questions are being answered, and that finally Eureka is actually of a bit more importance, but for it to take half of a series to clearly identify it’s connection to it’s prequel seems a bit rough, and now with this time travel theory, the show feels even a bit more out of hand. We knew there was a possibility of different dimensions from the previous series, but time travel was never ever clearly identified in the series to be a power possible by the Scubs.

    I understand the idea of having an original like sequel, but one must never alienate the sequel to the original series. I could have seen this series being one of my favorites this season, if just only, if only, it had not cared the same name as Eureka Seven. But I do hope, that somehow the series will win me over and completely change my opinion. 😛 Let the down vote begin!

    Rin-kun
      1. Well, I feel it does to a certain point. :/. I suppose I expected it too. Even the soundtrack, which feels like something more out of Escaflowne, feels likes something I would never envision with the name of Eureka Seven.

        I’m not asking for a copy and paste job, I’m just asking for it to somehow stay more closer to it’s roots.

        It feels more so like I’m watching Evangelion again. All I need to do is replace “Secrets” with “Angels” and call “Truth” “Kaworu” instead. :I. But it is, after all, only my opinion.

        Rin-kun
      2. There’s nothing wrong with wanting more of show that you’ve enjoyed immensely.

        However, if you let it get to the point where it starts to prevent you from enjoying another show on its own merits, well, you’ve got issues.

        Mike
      3. Even if they do not you cannot blame people for expecting that from what was explicitly billed as continuation and didn’t deliver in narrative OR spirit until halfway in.

        Frumix
    1. so, what, nobody’s allowed to make a sequel that also stands on its own? honestly i think everybody’s pretty spoiled by the fact that most sequels today are just more of the first season. and that’s okay if the first season was good and was left open-ended, but with eureka seven, it would have been detrimental to rehash its old themes and do direct continuations of their characters. you’ve had a full 52 episodes of those themes, surely you don’t need another 26.

      AO is doing an incredible job at putting the established mythology in the previous series to good use, fleshing out an interesting plot that not only serves as a sequel for the characters, but a prequel for its world. not to mention it just as easily stands up as its own show with different themes and and different core cast. i honestly couldn’t ask for a better, more interesting “sequel”.

      Nitro
      1. I understand your qualms Rin-kun, but there is a possibility that E7AO is actually intricately linked with the events of E7, even though it hasn’t look that way for the beginning bit. Since you’ve already watched the original E7, I’ll point you up to my spoiler comment up above, which is a theory I’m wondering about regarding this fact. 😀

      2. @Zephyr, I totally did read your previous theory on the series and because of it, I continued to push myself to finish E7AO and I started to actually accept the series as more of a prequel ha. I still have my doubts about it, but with Eureka back in the picture, and the very likely upcoming appearance of Renton, it is finally starting to make some sort of sense on how it all connects.

        Rin-kun
  19. Awesome episode. The show has finally reached the level of its strong start again, or hell, maybe even surpassed that. This episode hit all the right notes regarding laying a connection to its predecessor, revealing things about the world, action and character building while keeping you interested in what’s going to come next.

    The time-travel makes sense to me; personally I don’t think there’s an ant farm-effect going on. The Coralian, alien lifeform that it is, has a lot of strange powers and already was practically the planet itself in E7, so a kind of omnipresence through space and time doesn’t seem too odd. Eureka’s exclamation that the Secrets aren’t their enemies probably refers to the (now still young) Coralian as well; they’re part of it and killing them the way Ao has been doing could be bad.

    Truth, however, in my theory, is someone (or something) who is aware of it all, that this is all the past. The whole different worlds thing could mean different timelines, and not being able to change the world in that context would mean not being able to change the flow of time. For all we know, he’s trying to change the past in some way. Given that the human race eventually abandoned the planet and let the Coralian swallow it, it may be that there’s some kind of big cataclysm that’s about to happen and he’s trying to mess with it (which is why he wouldn’t care about getting rid of whoever’s in his way). He’s still an asshole though.

    Well, whatever, that’s just my theorycrafting. The show has picked up steam again, so I’m waiting with baited breath for the next ep.

    Dvalinn
  20. Here’s my theory about Truth, given this episode:
    Show Spoiler ▼

    jhpace1
  21. After this episode I have a feeling that Naru is going to be assimilated by scub in the end, to be found as Eureka in the future. It can’t be just a coincidence that one appears only when another disappears.

    On the other hand, Ao is seemingly present in two copies simultaneously. Not sure how much of a paradox that creates…

    j4c06
  22. It really feels like a sequel of E7 now

    Now to wait for gekkostate gang to appear(pls. I want to see them again)

    I still have no idea on what is the use of elena here (we all know that she’s going to be an important person though)

  23. I’d say this is the best episode so far (and I hope/know there will be more episodes that are even better than this, seeing the pace and direction that AO takes), the revelation that E7 happens in a distant future from AO really took me off guard. It makes sense though, judging from the technology, the amount of sub corals, and fact that there’s no sea at all on E7’s timeline.

    I’m kind of confused tho when/how did Ao’s Nirvash got transported to this present timeline.

    And Truth. What was he doing, why did he impersonate teen!Eureka instead of the pregnant Eureka or Ao’s mom!Eureka. Also what is the Truth anyway, did he also come from the future? Uhhh I need more episodes of AO, I’m sad that this title is so underrated. D:

    kaoffeine
    1. “the revelation that E7 happens in a distant future from AO really took me off guard”

      There were a few instances throughout the original series where the year was mentioned, something near the 12,005 AD seen here (I don’t remember the exact year shown). So this isn’t coming out of nowhere. There was even a montage in the later episodes of E7 showing the history of the scub coral’s original landing on Earth, which happened near our present time since space shuttles were still in use.

      Tre
      1. Which eps was it on? I don’t remember that thing at all–

        I see. I guess I should just rewatch E7 again, it’s like– I’ve forgotten all the details other than the characters and the storyline. Thanks Tre. :3

        kaoffeine
      2. I don’t blame you for not remembering these things, since important details were very often shown at random and fairly unimportant scenes in the original series. I think the year showed up in something someone was reading, or maybe when a monitor turned on in the Gekko-go. I have no idea what episode it was.

        I tend to remember the weirdest details about the show, like the episode where a “terrorist” priest was rescued from the “Dabu Ghraib” prison, a clear reference to the real life Iraq Abu Ghraib prison, which was the site of a prisoner abuse scandal (beware, it’s very NSFW if you want to look this up).

        Tre
      3. Ah, found this:

        http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r56/Outrider42/Eureka%207%20Episode%20Caps/Eureka%207%20Ep%2050%20Caps/outriderE7Ep50cap279.jpg?t=1197844117

        http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r56/Outrider42/Eureka%207%20Episode%20Caps/Eureka%207%20Ep%2050%20Caps/outriderE7Ep50cap280.jpg?t=1197843865

        It’s the family registry shown in episode 50 which makes Eureka, and the 3 kids who are always with them, part of Renton’s family. Notice the years on the side, which I think is the date their names are placed in the registry.

        Tre
      4. The registry said the year was 12006 but the gekko go’log stated 12005. Maybe after the finale of E7 the gekko go was shut down and left in the scub where it will eventually be transported to the past? If that’s really the case which i think is true, i think the gekkostate members would’ve spread out and that they won’t appear in AO

        Boo
  24. I’m surprised that no one mentioned this. I think that astral projection saying “the secrets aren’t your enemy” isn’t Eureka, but Naru. I’m pretty sure it was her before turning into Eureka. Considering how Naru is with Truth, it makes sense.

    RickyMack
  25. Can’t stop fangirling over Eureka and Ao’s interactions! I was grinning like an idiot for the entire episode. Now I’m just waiting for Renton to make his appearance….

    whiteviolet

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