Film: Eureka Seven: The Movie
Release date: 18th April 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 111 mins
Director: Tomoki Kyoda
Starring: N/a
Genre: Anime
Studio: Manga
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Japan
From Bones, the anime studio that brought the world Fullmetal Alchemist, Soul Eater and Ouran High School Host Club comes Eureka Seven. While this film’s story is unconnected to the fifty episode series of the same name that preceded it, it uses the cast from the series in a fresh story to create an all-new adventure!
For over half a century, mankind has been at war with an alien race known as the Image. Young Renton Thurston lives in Warsaw happily with his teacher Dominic, a small creature named Nirvash, and Eureka, a mysterious young girl unable to come into contact with the sunlight. As Dominic disappears and Eureka is kidnapped by the government for testing, Renton is left scared and alone.
Several years later, an older Renton has now joined the military in the battle against the Image – and partnered with a fully grown (pilotable mecha) Nirvash is determined to find Eureka. In one crucial battle, he is reunited with his childhood friend, but they’re far from a happy ending.
When Renton’s superiors turn on him, believing Eureka to be the key in unlocking ‘Neverland’, Eureka’s mysterious origins are revealed and the pair are thrust into a series of events where the only people they can rely on are each other…
Unlike many anime movies, which are either sequels of their accompanying series or shortened retellings, Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers is an all new story using the same characters. That isn’t to say you need to have seen the series to understand the roles of each character, though, because even fans will be as equally in the dark when the film begins. Villains become heroes, heroes become villains, and some major characters from the series are reduced to mere cameo roles. The only constant that remains is the relationship between Renton and Eureka.
With a lot less time to develop their eventual romance, Eureka feels a lot more human to her series counterpart and their friendship is already established when the film begins. Despite the speedy progression, the film pulls of the idea of two childhood friends reuniting nicely, and this dynamic gradually evolves into one of young love and romance. The downside is that awkward dialogue makes the reveal of what exactly Eureka is abrupt and off-putting, which isn’t helped by the fact the subject was given one line of explanation with very little detail to begin with.
What perhaps makes the plot truly interesting is that there are no real bad guys present in the story. When the crew of the Gekko, Renton and Eureka’s kidnappers reveal their past to them, it’s shown that they have been wronged much in the way that they are about to wrong Renton and Eureka. What they do, they do out of desperation, and while some of their actions are misguided, it’s not hard to feel sorry for them. It’s this multi-layering that proves Eureka Seven has as much strength in its cast as it does in its unique mecha designs and action sequences. Also, what the Image are is never truly revealed in the film – on the surface they appear to merely be an alien race attacking the populace of planet Earth, but the narrative never really takes it any further than that. A simple alien threat or is there perhaps more to it? Plenty is left up for speculation without causing unnecessary plot holes.
The story has enough twists and turns to keep the viewer guessing, with several references to J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan to enforce the antagonists’ goal of ascertaining Neverland. Its only downfall is the ending – on the one hand, it’s a sweet ending that nicely draws the story to a satisfying conclusion; on the other, the logistics behind it are barely explained over the course of the film, coming out of nowhere and making little sense to the viewer even after repeated viewings.
As engaging as this all is, Eureka Seven still manages to have its moments of comedy. Unlike the series, which merely hinted towards the idea of it having true sentience, the Nirvash mecha is most certainly alive, and able to revert into a smaller ‘chibi’ (super-deformed) alien-like creature. Even when the film is beginning to reach its emotional climax, a fight breaking out between chibi Nirvash and similar creature theEND is enough to provoke a smile, without jarring the effect the full narrative is creating.
The animation certainly lives up to the high standard Bones have set themselves. Despite many of the sequences actually being footage from the original series, several make the use of new backgrounds and have been repurposed in such a way that they feel like they were animated just for this film. As far as the new footage goes, the film truly excels during its fight sequences, particularly the climatic clash between the Nirvash and opposing mecha the Devilfish. Fast paced visuals, colourful explosions and intense action make the film a delight for the eyes as well as the ears and mind.
While it doesn’t quite recapture the magic that the series had, Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers is a solid film that is both accessible to fans and newcomers alike. With engaging characters and flashy mecha-action sequences, coupled with a gripping adventure/romance plot, this is a film that really does have something for everyone. AJ
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