Gekkostate
Voiced by: Yuko Sanpei[1] (Japanese), Johnny Yong Bosch[2] (English)
Renton Thurston (レントン・サーストン Renton Sāsuton?) is the son of the late military hero Adroc Thurston and co-pilot (later become pilot) of the Nirvash typeZERO. He is an outgoing and emotional person possessing strong ideals and compassion, yet is naive and tends to jump into matters before understanding what is going on. Before joining Gekkostate, he lived with his grandfather Axel Thurston in Bellforest, attending school and learning to be a mechanic in Axel's shop. He was heavily influenced by his sister Diane Thurston and believes that he will see her again one day. Though somewhat of a celebrity due to his relation to Adroc Thurston, Renton feels uncomfortable about being his son. His surname is recognized everywhere he travels, and he constantly feels as if he lives in his father's shadow. Renton believes Adroc was a poor father who abandoned his family for his research.
After the Nirvash accidentally crashes into Renton's room next to Axel's garage, Renton meets Eureka and falls in love with her at first sight. He joins Gekkostate to follow Holland, his idol, and to be with Eureka. Renton's unusual link with the Nirvash and responsibility over his father's Amita drive are also factors in his decision. His transition to life in Gekkostate proves difficult, as he is subject to many pranks from crew members (especially Eureka's adopted children). He eventually comes to learn of the origin of Gekkostate and the atrocities that Holland, Eureka and the others are atoning for. Renton stays with Gekkostate to train, and in time his skill as an LFO pilot develops to rival Eureka's. This development creates a rift with Eureka, as she initially does not return his feelings for her. His love for Eureka is not secret; everyone on board the Gekko interferes in his love life. The crew members constantly want to know his progress and cheer him on. His relationship with both the Nirvash and Eureka develops into a deep emotional and mental link that is noticed by Mischa.
Renton has a special link with the Nirvash along with Eureka. Usually, both he and Eureka are necessary to activate the Amita drive, awakening the Nirvash and allowing access to the power responsible for the Seven Swell phenomenon. Specifically, when Renton and Eureka achieve emotional agreement and wish for something, the Nirvash reciprocates with the power of the Amita drive. If their feelings are in disconnect, the Amita drive cannot activate. However, there are some occasions where Eureka is present yet unconscious, and Renton alone convinces the Nirvash to awaken. Renton summons the powers of Amita drive several times throughout the series. The first instance was triggered by an overwhelming need to protect Eureka during his delivery of the Amita drive to the Nirvash and the Gekkostate, resulting in the second-ever occurrence of the Seven Swell phenomenon (the first being Adroc's disastrous experiment with Eureka). During the previews at the end of each episode, Renton is referred to as 'the boy'
Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka[5] (Japanese), Stephanie Sheh[6] (English)
Eureka (エウレカ Eureka?) 
listen (help·info) is a pale young girl with turquoise hair and lavender eyes and is a pilot of the Nirvash typeZERO. She treats Nirvash not like a mere machine, but as a living being, with consciousness and feelings. However, she can seem distant and awkward to other people - she has trouble communicating with other humans and understanding their feelings. She tends to appear randomly next to people, startling them at times. Initially in the anime, she suffers from frequent headaches; these stop later on, seemingly due to the presence of Renton Thurston. She is the adoptive mother of Maurice, Maeter, and Linck, but is often unsure of her role as a mother, and often asks Renton how she should scold them, and if she is a good mother.
It is later revealed that she is actually a Coralian in human form, sent by the sentient Scub Coral to understand and communicate with humans. The Scub Coral, who had become the largest living mass on Earth, longed to connect with humanity, and created two human form Coralians to reach this goal. Sakuya came first, and she foretold of Eureka's arrival. Eureka was meant to be a blank slate, so that she would be shaped by her experiences with humanity, and bring these experiences to the Coralians. She herself is not aware of her past nor does she have any knowledge of the Coralians even though she's one herself. She is the adoptive mother of Maurice, Maeter and Linck, whose families she killed while in the SOF. Her lack of understanding of her own feelings and the methods by which humans demonstrate and share feelings creates many complications at times whenever Renton tries to bond with her. After she entered the Coralian with Renton, she began to suffer at a subconscious level as a side effect of her proximity to the old dig site FAC51, and the large amount of Scub within. She becomes constantly fatigued and seems to be in either despair or depression. Her negative feelings are further increased as she becomes convinced that the Nirvash no longer wants her as its pilot in favor of Renton. She tries to make things up with Renton, but is rebuffed.
As an attempt to deny the emotional changes in herself and her relationship with the Nirvash, she tries to return things to the way they were when she met Renton, and removes Renton's Compac drive from the Nirvash. She falls asleep and the Nirvash, operating on its own, drives her deep into the mine to the face of the Scub. She is seemingly compelled to walk into the rockface, where the Scub reaches out and engulfs her. Renton becomes worried and rushes out to find her. From her point of view, she feels that she is melting away and wishes to be rescued. Just as she is about to melt, Renton is perceived to catch her in his hand. He pulls her out of the rockface and causes another trapar event in the process of using the Nirvash to return her to the Gekko.
As an indirect result of this incident and Holland's apparent lack of urgency about helping her, Renton runs away from the Gekko. She is still very weak, and the crew conspires to prevent her from discovering that he is gone, especially as she seems to be becoming interested in him. After she discovers this, she confronts Holland who basically states that Eureka is more important than Renton, which she denies. She dresses in the clothes given to him for the Ramen prank, and begins to do the jobs that had been assigned to him, "because he is not here". As she begins to confront Renton's importance to her, Mischa informs Holland that the Nirvash needs Eureka and Renton to function properly.
Eureka attempts several times to operate the Nirvash to go find Renton, and fails badly. The Nirvash doesn't seem to agree even when she asks the Nirvash if she misses Renton too, and doesn't she want to go find him. Confronted with the depth of her apparent feelings for Renton, and with her total ineffectiveness with the Nirvash, Holland promises to bring Renton back to her, and leaves to find him, only to return empty-handed after discovering a trap aimed at the Gekko.
Her faith in the perfect score of Holland's word (to her, at least) shattered, and realizing how much Renton has come to mean to her, she borrows a board and leaves to find him, ironically just as he is returning to protect her by warning of the threat to the Gekko. Eventually the situation is resolved, and Renton rescues her again. After this, they effectively become a couple, although neither one really knows how to interact with the other.
She discovers a desire to make Renton happy with her, which leads to a disastrous experiment with makeup, and a deeper trust in Renton, as well as a label for the emotion she feels.
Partially prompted by Renton's reaction to the deaths of Charles and Ray, Eureka's feelings start to allow her to understand guilt and regret as her emotions connect with her memories of the massacre at Ciudades del Cielo. She knows that her past actions led to the deaths of many people, and because she is beginning to understand the human impact of killing and loss, she loses confidence in herself and no longer desires to fight with Nirvash. Renton also believes taking lives is wrong so they both begin fighting to only disable enemy units. Renton constantly consoles her as she's trying to deal with her past actions and facing responsibility for the Vodarac people.
After she is revealed as a Coralian, Renton does not reject her as she feared but rather accepts her for who she is, not what she is, which results in a further expansion of her understanding of human emotions.
Sakuya and Eureka are very similar to each other and Sakuya helped restore most of Eureka's superficial damage, but Eureka wishes to keep her scars to remind her of her struggles. She and Renton enter the Coralian realm hoping to change humanity's fate.
After Eureka, Renton, and the children reached Earth, they crash landed on a coastline. Being frustrated for a while unable to figure out their purpose, they resided near the coastline for a while eating the local vegetation. Eureka's scars were a reaction towards the Command Center and Coralian physical attributes began showing throughout her body. She became more and more ashamed of her form as she worried that Renton wouldn't approve or even reject her form. At one point, Renton chased Eureka into the woods, attempting to cover the green on her arm, and even going as far as to take a rock and damage his own arm with it. Maurice also followed, carrying a gun, who he threatened to shoot Renton with but Eureka stopped him. Afterwards, Renton fell into a high fever, and the kids and Eureka had to take care of him. During Renton's worst moment, she grew wing-like structures upon her back (the structures are referred to simply as wings) and her arm became green and pink of Coralian design. After Renton recovered, Eureka was happy to know Renton liked her wings. After wandering the coast Renton spotted his big sister and ran after her. Eureka and the kids went after Renton and were lost in the great library created by the Scub. Adroc Thurston appeared before Eureka and looked after the children and Eureka before Renton returned. After Renton spoke to Diane about the coming attack on the Command Cluster, Anemone appeared.
When Anemone attacked the Scub Command, Eureka and Renton engage TheEND to protect the Scub. After hearing the sadness and pain of Anemone's words, they decided to save her. After Anemone was saved by Dominic's appearance, all was well until Dewey fired his satellite cannon. The Command Center was blown away, TheEND was destroyed when it moved of its own accord to shield Dominic and Anemone from the blast, and the Nirvash barely managed to escape. Immediately afterwards, the Gekko and Dewey's flagship arrived at the remains of the Control Cluster and Holland boarded Dewey's ship in order to finally put an end to his brother's madness. However, in a surprising move Dewey killed himself, activating the collar-like devices that Eureka and Anemone had always worn. Eureka felt a sudden change in her body and, realizing her time with Renton was over, she apologized for a failed dream together and transformed into a Coralian event.
Inside the Coralian event Eureka was in an artificially created plain, seemingly not on Earth as the planet could be seen in the sky. Renton, enraged at losing Eureka after having gone through so much with her, begged the Nirvash to help him go to her. The Nirvash reacted by transforming into its apparent true form, a smoother, less angular, white and green version of itself with large, round limbs, a differently shaped head, and no seats or board; it flew by channeling trapars through its hands. Instead of piloting with controls, Renton went inside the Nirvash and stood on a large green platform; while inside the Nirvash mimicked his every movement. They broke through the hull of the Gekko and took off to where Eureka was. Smashing into the side of the sphere-shaped space, Renton's feelings for Eureka enabled him (in the Nirvash) to rip open the space and go to Eureka inside. Renton reminded her of his promise to always protect her and be at her side, and they finally kissed. Nirvash pushed open the Coralian zone and ejected Renton and Eureka, bidding them farewell. A year later, in the last episode, the Thurston family register lists her and the three kids as the wife and children of Renton Thurston. The children and Axel eagerly await their return. The couple were seen together near a lake. In the manga, she disappears with the Scub, together with all the other Coralians. But it is implied that when the Scub is restored she will return to Renton and the children.
Her name is usually not pronounced like the word "eureka" in English (pronounced as eau-wreck-uh instead of you-ree-ka). During the previews at the end of each episode, Eureka is referred to as 'the girl.'
[edit]Maurice, Maeter, and Linck
Maurice: Voiced by: Michiko Neya[7] (Japanese), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn[8] (English) Maeter: Voiced by: Eriko Kigawa[9] (Japanese), Peggy O'Neal[10] (English) Linck: Voiced by:Fumie Mizusawa[11] (Japanese), unknown (English)
Maurice (モーリス Mōrisu?), Maeter (メーテル Mēteru?), and Linck (リンク Rinku?) (collectively named after the author Maurice Maeterlinck) are three orphans adopted by Eureka. Three years before the series begins, shortly before Eureka left the SOF with Holland, Eureka found them under a pile of corpses during the massacre at Ciudades del Cielo. Shocked at the sight of the orphaned children, and the sudden consideration of her targets as people that she had killed, Eureka took them aboard the Nirvash and has taken care of them ever since.
Early on, the children consider Renton to be at best a target for their amusement and at worst a direct threat to their relationship with Eureka, whom they consider to be their mother. Through the series this changes slowly, and at the end of the series, the children consider Renton their father.
Maurice is the oldest child. He's also mature for his age — he's the only one who ever suspects that adults may be misstating the truth to keep the children calm, and he's the most sensitive to Eureka's moods. Maurice knows exactly what happened to his old "mama" though he doesn't seem to harbor any ill will toward Eureka, actually embracing the change (to an extreme at some points). Throughout the series, Maurice is the one who accepts Renton the least, despite occasional acknowledgment of Renton's achievements. However, during the final segments, Maurice finally confronts and accepts the depth and permanence of Renton's feelings for Eureka, and accepts him not only for that but also as his father; this is shown in episode 50 when Maurice connects to the Nirvash and claims, "the only one who can save our mama is our papa!" (referring to Renton). In the epilogue part of episode 50, Maurice is seen wearing clothing resembling those worn by Renton when he went to save Eureka, possibly as a sign of adoration and respect.
Maeter is the middle child and only girl of the group. She is quite precocious, known for teasing and temper-tantrums. Maeter also remembers her family, but only as a vague feeling; when hugging Eureka near the end of the series, she says that Eureka is "warm and smells nice", then pushes away suddenly and cries that she remembers another person who felt the same then went away before Eureka came, presumably her original mother. She tends to take care of Linck, a trait she has exhibited ever since Eureka met them.
Linck is ever curious, typical of children his age, and as the youngest, is less aware of the situations around him and more likely to cry when provoked. He was just a baby during the massacre and, as such, has no memories of his original family. Linck has a scar on his forehead left from a bullet wound Eureka gave him the day she found him.
[edit]Holland Novak
Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara[12] (Japanese), Crispin Freeman[13] (English)
Holland Novak (ホランド・ノヴァク Horando Novaku?) is the leader of Gekkostate, captain of the Gekko (Moonlight in the manga), and pilot of the LFO Terminus typeR909. Near the end of the series, his typeR909 is destroyed by Anemone and he transfers over to the top secret and deadly (to its pilot as much as the enemy) typeB303 "Devilfish". This LFO is also destroyed, this time in a kamikaze attack to get Holland into Dewey's command ship. Until a couple of years ago he and his companions were part of SOF, a U.F. elite military unit, but deserted after meeting Norb and accepting his charge to protect Eureka until her partner made himself known; which Holland believes will be himself. The events that led to Holland's (and his squad's) desertion also led to the incarceration of his brother Dewey, and they share a deep hatred for each other, in Holland's case beginning at that time. Holland is known as one of the greatest ref boarders alive, and is an idol to many young people, including Renton.
A recurring theme in the middle portion of the series with Holland is his instinct to run away from his past and responsibility, using Eureka and lifting as a way to escape, much to Talho's chagrin.
In person, Holland is not always as cool and composed as the photos in ray=out magazine might suggest — he frequently loses his temper when a situation turns bad, or when faced with insubordination. He has thrown Renton in the brig for using Nirvash without permission, and has beaten Renton for particularly vexing transgressions. His concern over Eureka's depression motivates him to show illogical animosity towards Renton. His relationship with Talho keeps him from getting too wild, but at times their own relationship suffers whenever he's angry. Holland truly loves Talho, but does not know how to react, especially to her fears that his absolute commitment to protecting Eureka means that he favors Eureka over Talho. Although in episode 33 Holland admits to Talho how he feels and why he is trying to protect the planet (He wants to protect the planet that he met her on). He then picks up the ring he bought for her in episode 5 that she dropped whilest trying to get a handkerchief to wipe her tears. During the end of the episode both Holland and Talho are both wearing the ring (split in half) on their left hand ring finger - indicating that the two are engaged. Holland also suffers from the memories of his bloody past actions, and in reaction to these sometimes lashes out violently.
When he's not occupied with official Gekkostate business, his private persona is quite laid-back and carefree; he might be found listening to records in the room he shares with Talho, or walking around the ship wearing nothing but a pair of swim trunks or boxers. While watching the video of the Ramen prank on Renton, he laughs and calls himself uncool. In "Pacific State", after Talho tries to get him to take time out to have fun lifting (which he fails at, due to his recent injuries), he reveals that he believes he was only good at one thing: lifting.
Despite all this, the LFO and tactical combat skills he retains from his days as an SOF squad leader are superb, and he is willing to lay down every effort to protect and defend Eureka (and later Renton) from those who wish them harm. When he isn't overreacting, he is definitely a leader worth following, and by the end of the series, everyone aboard the Gekko refuses the chance to stay behind safely while he takes the Gekko into near-suicidal combat conditions.
During the latter stages of his SOF days, Holland briefly met Sumner Sturgeon on a mission to Digder, a military mining site. He commended the latter's skills and told him to look out for himself. Later on, after Holland's mutiny, they would cross paths again, this time during Holland's attempt to steal the Nirvash typeZERO from Senan Tower. After the Nirvash was safely delivered to the Gekko, he offered Sumner a position in Gekkostate (which he declined), before going off on his way.
During the previews at the end of each episode, Holland is referred to as 'the man.'
Holland sports a tattoo on his left arm that bears a resemblance to a Germanic rune tattoo that stands for, among other things, "man."
[edit]Talho Yūki
Voiced by: Michiko Neya[7] (Japanese), Kate Higgins[14] (English)
Talho Yūki (タルホ・ユーキ Taruho Yūki?) is the head pilot of the Gekko, but she eventually gives up the position to Moondoggie in episode 34, although she seems to still help him in becoming the pilot (she was seen making an instruction manual for Moondoggie). She met Holland and Dewey when the three of them served together in the military, but in the beginning she was very jealous toward the way he treated Eureka. She initially worked in the Information Bureau, but was demoted as an officer for unknown reasons and became a spy later on. Although Ray suggested it was because of her relationship with a superior officer, most likely Dewey Novak, due to his statement to Holland while rescuing Norb, when Dewey said "[Holland,] you even seemed to have picked up the woman I tossed aside," which, since it appears as though Holland and Talho are in some form of relationship, would imply that Talho was previously in a relationship with Dewey. Her refusal even to leave the Gekko when Holland confronts Dewey toward the very end of the series seems to further suggest a past relationship between her and Dewey. She is also best friends with Hilda.
Initially, Talho makes fun of Renton, but she gets more serious later on in the series and stops doing this, except for a few more playful instances. She constantly looks after Holland's mental state as he vents his frustration at Renton, who he blames for Eureka's mental state. She constantly reminds him of where his mind should focus and not be obsessed with. According to the episode "Inner Flight", she considers Renton, Eureka, Maurice, Maeter, and Linck to be her children.
She and Holland are romantically involved throughout the series, with context suggesting that the relationship goes back at least to Holland's military service. During the early episodes she feels insecure in Holland's commitment to her, constantly reacting jealously to Eureka, as well as to the memory of Renton's sister whom Holland had dated. Towards the middle of the series, Talho cuts her hair, wears a different, less revealing outfit, and demonstrates a newfound maturity in acceptance that Holland is actually committed to a relationship with her and she doesn't have to compete with Eureka. Shortly thereafter, she tells Holland that she is pregnant with his child. Talho's change in appearance comes after a suggestion by Mischa that she should start dressing more appropriately. The scene ends with Mischa closing the privacy drapes in an implication that this is when Talho discovers that she is pregnant. Later, Holland fixes a ring he had bought her earlier in the series (it was crushed by an LFO shortly after he bought it), and splits it in half. Holland wears one half of the ring on his left ring-finger, and Talho wears the other half - indicating that they are engaged. During much of the final segment of the series, Talho effectively serves as the captain of the Gekko while Holland pilots an LFO in combat and recovers from the damage afterward.
[edit]Matthieu
Voiced by: Akio Nakamura[15] (Japanese), Kirk Thornton[16] (English)
Matthieu (マシュー Mashū?) is the easygoing, afro-haired pilot of the Terminus typeR606. He has a passion for music, and seems to be constantly bored. Towards the end of the anime, Matthieu's role becomes minimal as most LFO work is done by Holland in the more effective Devilfish. Matthieu seems to be responsible for gathering information from and maintaining contacts with ref boarders and DJs. Early on, he was one of the few members of the Gekkostate who showed any sympathy for Renton, although he played his fair share of jokes on him as well. He is also regarded as a genius.
Matthieu and Hilda often act like husband and wife. Hilda orders Matthieu around as if he were her husband, and Matthieu treats Hilda as if she were his wife. He even calls her "honey" all the time. They also seem to watch each other's back fairly closely, which usually means Hilda warning Matthieu of something.
Voiced by: Mayumi Asano[17] (Japanese), Megan Hollingshead[18] (English)
Hilda (ヒルダ Hiruda?) is the pilot of the Terminus typeR808 and Talho's best friend. She holds a managerial position similar to a quartermaster on the Gekko, keeping track of Gekkostate's stores of provisions and mechanical parts. In this capacity, she is generally in charge of the frequent trips to cities to replenish the organization's supplies. Towards the last five episodes, Hilda appears infrequently and has no lines when she does. This is in part due to the fact that all LFO usage on the Gekkostate at that point is left for Holland.
Voiced by: Yasunori Matsumoto[19] (Japanese), Doug Stone[20] (English)
Stoner (ストナー Sutonā?) is the photographer and journalist for ray=out, an underground lifter-culture periodical magazine where he denounces the military's crimes and depicts the daily life of the Gekkostate members to their fans around the world. Stoner is a pacifist and, unlike most of the crew, not a ref boarder, so he does not use an LFO. Instead, he rides with Matthieu. In episode 38, he tells Eureka that he is a "war orphan". Stoner is given to expounding on his philosophical ideas at any time and place, including those which may be least appropriate, such as from the back seat of the 606 in the middle of LFO combat. He also likes to take photos mid-flight, and often requests Matthieu fly in such a way as to make his pictures come out perfectly, in spite of the situation. His character is based on Che Guevara.
In Pocketful of Rainbows (Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers), he and Hap are killed by the Nirvash when they attack Eureka in an attempt to prove that she is not a conduit to the Promised Land.
[edit]Ken-Goh
Voiced by: Tamio Ohki[21] (Japanese); Bob Papenbrook (episodes 1-28),[22] Kyle Hebert (episodes 29-50)[23] (English)
Ken-Goh (ケンゴウ Kengō?) is both the owner and the chief gunner of the Gekko. Not much was known about his history with Holland, but dialogue implies that he had something to do with the building of or security on board the Gekko. He once stated that "[he] would not have let [Holland] have the Gekko if [he was]...", cutting off his statement before actually revealing the reason. His marksmanship skills are exceptional and his aim is legendary among the other crew members. Holland refers to him as "Maestro" from time to time. He also enjoys painting and his works are often seen in ray=out.
Voiced by: Yoko Soumi[24] (Japanese), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn[8] (English)
Mischa (ミーシャ Mīsha?) is the Gekkostate's doctor. Originally she was a military scientist specializing in studying Eureka and the Nirvash, and apparently left the military to follow Eureka when Holland stole her away. She has thus known Eureka for years, and is particularly attentive to her well-being. She used to be married to the famous scientist Dr. Greg Egan (also known as "Dr. Bear"), but ended it for an unknown reason. Towards the end of the series, Mischa's role is mainly looking after Talho's pregnancy.
Mischa seems harsh and unemotional on the surface, but she's really just a very serious person. The more one pays attention to what she says, the more it becomes clear that she has her mind on the most important things, or issues that the other members of Gekkostate might ignore at their peril. For the most part, she reminds Talho and Holland often of what things they should do to keep things running well for Gekkostate, both relationship and health-wise. Even though she separated with Dr. Bear, she still shows that she still has feelings for him based on her reactions.
Voiced by: Takko Ishimori[25] (Japanese), Tony Oliver[26] (English)
Not much is known about Gonzy (ゴンジイ Gonjii?), but he has a habit of unexpectedly appearing nearby whenever anyone is troubled, usually sitting on a carpet and calmly drinking tea. He often invites whoever's nearby to have tea with him. Gonzy was originally a stowaway aboard the Gekko, but was allowed to stay in part because the others respect his abilities at fortune-telling.
Though not a priest of Vodarac, he gives the image of a spiritualistic man. He's known to give out information out of the blue when it's most needed. When the crew went into a health craze, most of the members followed Gonzy doing various exercises to maintain health such as Tai Chi and eating healthy foods. It wasn't until towards near the end when the Gekkostate members wondered the fate of their world that Gonzy explains that the event they are witnessing is the "Second Summer of Love."
When Gonzy reveals that he knows about the Second Summer of Love, he opens both of his eyes (concealed under his thick eyebrows during the entire series) revealing the purple eyes of a human-form Coralian. Just as Holland and the crew realize the truth, Gonzy thanks them for a good time and disappears, leaving his clothing behind. He does not seem meant for the "blank slate" as Sakuya and Eureka, but rather as an educated observer. It is unknown when or how Gonzy presumably communicated with the Scub Coral, or if he communicates only after his disappearance, but given his likely position and so influence as observer, it is very possible that he was partly responsible for the Command Cluster's decision to trust humanity (namely Eureka, Renton, and those fighting at their side) with, essentially, the saving of all life on the planet.
In the fourth manga book of the series he was revealed by Holland to be a former elder (as opposed to sage as is used in the anime), and, in addition to this, Holland calls him Gon Karmapa.
Voiced by: Tomoyuki Shimura[27] (Japanese), Dave Mallow[28] (English)
Living up to his name, Jobs (ジョブズ Jobuzu?) does the random jobs on the Gekko and also manages the majority of the hardware aboard the Gekko. Primarily, he's Gekko's engineer and often is found around the core systems room when the ship is requires extra attention in powered flights or battles. He's always immaculately dressed in a shirt, vest, and tie. He also has a calm, expert bearing, but he occasionally lets these mannerisms slip when something is mentioned that particularly excites him. Like Gonzy, he was originally a stowaway, but allowed to stay because of his talents. He admires "Dr. "Bear," as seen in episode 31, and is a huge fan of Dr. Bear's research and engineering theories. He is modeled after Steve Jobs (hence, "Jobs"), one of the co-founders of Apple.
Voiced by: Yuichi Nagashima[29] (Japanese), Dave Wittenberg[30] (English)
Woz (ウォズ Wozu?) is sometimes called "Woz the Whiz". He is the ship's hacker and maintains the ship's software. He and Jobs were originally stowaways aboard the Gekko, but they were invited to stay because of their technical skills. He and Jobs tend to argue over how best to configure the Gekko's systems, since Woz insists on rewriting the control systems to compensate for every modification Jobs makes while Jobs asserts that the software is fully capable of supporting the changes. His hippy attitude and grunge attire are a deep contrast to Jobs, but they seem to maintain a strong friendship anyway. He is modeled after Steve Wozniak (hence, "Woz"), another of Apple's co-founders.
Voiced by: Taro Yamaguchi[31] (Japanese), Tony Oliver[26] (English)
Hap (ハップ Happu?) is the second in command, handles Gekkostate's finances, and manages information (not to be confused with Gidget's position of communications). While on the bridge in action, Hap's job is to monitor trapar levels, though he is also there frequently at night trying to obtain intel on matters crucial to the Gekkostate. He is also one of Holland's childhood buddies (since they were three years old, he asserts), and played a key role in convincing Holland and his SOF team to desert. He gained his nickname from his ever-present "happy smile". Hap is very parsimonious when it comes to spending money and is also notably unathletic.
Voiced by: Fumie Mizusawa[11] (Japanese), Jessica Straus[32] (English)
Gidget (ギジェット Gijetto?) is the sensor and communications officer in Gekkostate. Her role is considered secondary and often she's featured relaying tactical data to crew or talking about relationship issues with Eureka.
Gidget is a bit of an airhead, which she admits, but she's not tactless and will go out of her way to protect others' feelings. She's in a relationship with Moondoggie, but only after she made the first move. Renton spotted the couple having their first intimate moment while hiding in an abandoned mine in episode 16.
About midway through the series, she tries to become friends with Eureka because she wants a sisterly relationship like the one Hilda and Talho have. After Renton left Gekkostate and Eureka realized he's gone, Gidget discovered Eureka taking on Renton's duties and even wearing Renton's sweatsuit given to him to pull off a prank for a laugh, but being the only thing he left behind, Eureka wore it in mourning. She is also one of the few crew members to have heart-to-heart conversations with Eureka, telling her that what she's going through was probably a change inside of her. Everyone found out later as Eureka told Renton and everyone eavesdropped on their conversation on the com-links. In another episode, she also went with Eureka to buy makeup since Eureka wanted to look pretty for Renton. In the end, Eureka tried to use the makeup by herself and ended up looking ridiculous. In the same episode, Gidget also says she couldn't live without makeup. Gidget is also shown to be fond of chocolate bars, and when she first talks with Eureka, she brings her a chocolate bar.
Gidget is based on a character of the same name who appeared originally as the title character of a novel and went on to be the subject of a number of movies and TV shows. The original Gidget was an airhead surfer girl thoroughly entrenched in beach life, much as Eureka Seven's Gidget is an airhead refboarder thoroughly entrenched in lifting culture.
[edit]Moondoggie
Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano[33] (Japanese), Steve Staley[34] (English)
Moondoggie (ムーンドギー Mūndogī?) is the second-newest member of the Gekkostate (the newest being Renton). In the beginning, he was in charge of the LFO catapult systems and launch pads on board the Gekko, but later he becomes the head pilot, replacing Talho when she has to leave the post, as he is the group's only other licensed pilot. His pilot's license, seen in episode 34, lists his name as James Darren Emerson. His nickname is frequently shortened to "Doggie" by other members of Gekkostate, and Renton sometimes calls him "Doggie-niisan" ("Brother Doggie" in the English dub), referring to Moondoggie as his older brother. In the Japanese version, Moondoggie speaks in a strong Kumamoto accent whenever he gets overly emotional. In the English version, he occasionally talks in surfer lingo. Moondoggie's role was minimal towards the end of the series; he would generally only be featured piloting Gekko, often making dramatic maneuvers to avoid attacks.
As one of the youngest members of Gekkostate, Moondoggie often has confidence issues when comparing himself to the other members of Gekkostate. Even though he presents himself as someone that dislikes Renton, he's just really jealous of him and holds no real malice. He eventually explains that he initially felt he couldn't offer much to the Gekkostate, and often is bothered by the idea that he's useless. After he and Renton patch things up, despite Moondoggie's protests, they become sort of like brothers. For a short while he even displays resentment at the fact that Holland's actions caused Renton to briefly leave the Gekko and instead of Holland making the solving the problem he sulks around feeling jealous of Renton. The chance to pilot the Gekko later on allows him to rediscover his usefulness. It's obvious that Gidget loves Moondoggie, but whether he loves her is somewhat unclear. The official US website says he has a crush on Gidget. In episode 16, the two had a small moment where Renton finds them both very close to each other in the dark before he runs away, embarrassed. Then, a little while later, Moondoggie is found in the same room with his shirt off but no Gidget. In volume 3 of the manga, when Renton inquires about the bandages wrapped around his hand, Moondoggie states that "...I at least want to protect the girl I love," referring to Gidget.
Throughout the series, Moondoggie is one of the few crew members who is curious about Renton's relationship with Eureka. While talking amongst the other Gekkostate members, he even ponders if Renton and Eureka are capable of having sexual intercourse, under the mistaken impression that their troubles at the time were because of that. In episode 38, Moondoggie and Matthieu decide to help Renton to this end by giving Renton a stack of dating magazines against Renton's will. Holland comes to the same conclusion due to a comment of Eureka's ("Maybe that is why Renton was so aggressive; maybe Renton really wants to become a dad himself") and subsequently beats the three for what he believes Renton did to Eureka. The situation is cleared up after the fact.
In TR1: The New Wave, Moondoggie makes an appearance as a boy a little younger than Renton. He is involved in a dispute with the main character Sumner Sturgeon over Holland's defection from the military as well as a small incident in which Moondoggie's carrier-truck was (slightly) damaged during a search conducted by Sumner. In the same game, he showed the ability to operate an LFO with at least some skill. However, he needed Sumner's help just to destroy one enemy unit, which is probably why he decided not to be an LFO pilot after joining the Gekkostate.
In TR2: The New Vision, Moondoggie has a much more prominent role. Now a teenager who has recently become a member of the Gekkostate, he happened to run into Sumner during the final Bester lift competition. Since they ended up becoming friends in the first game, he decides to tag along with Sumner and help him out. During their time together, he pilots his very first airship, and helps Ruri and Sumner to admit their feelings towards each other, among other things. Eventually, after flying the two main characters of the game to Thundercloud tower, Moondoggie's airship is shot down, and he decides to flee from the coming battle and return to the Gekkostate.
Like Gidget, Moondoggie is based on a character from the Gidget movies, TV shows, and novel. The original Doggie was the boyfriend of the original Gidget and was a committed surf bum.
U.F. Force
Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu[35] (Japanese), Kari Wahlgren[36] (English)
Anemone (アネモネ Anemone?) is the pilot of another Nirvash LFO, typeTheEND. She looks to be about the same age as Eureka. Anemone is regularly accompanied by her strange and overweight pet named Gulliver (ガリバー Garibā?). Dewey assigns Dominic to be her caretaker, to monitor her condition as his plans develop.
Anemone was modified in some way to make her more like a Coralian (hence the similar eyes), and suffers both mentally and physically as a result. Her body was also modified and conditioned by Dewey's scientists to pilot TheEND. Anemone was the only case that ever survived the medical treatments that the doctors put her through. She regularly suffers from painful headaches, nose bleeds, and emotional instability, most of which can be temporarily treated with a kind of drug(made from a plasma extracted from Eureka) injected into a receptor in her neck. Despite her past trauma, she acts glad of what Dewey made her. But though at first it seems that she responds to Dewey with affection and respect, later it becomes apparent that this is an act, shown when she sings "No one knows nothing, knows nothing about me. Everyone is watching, just watching a lie." in episode 31, and that she truly despises him, shown when she flings one of his hairs off of her, disgusted, in episode 43.
In her drugged state, Anemone is almost unbeatable in the skies with TheEND. Renton and Eureka initially have trouble fighting with her even with the Nirvash, but do much better after it is upgraded. Thanks in part to her more advanced LFO, Anemone can outfly most regular LFOs. Even Holland in his typeR909 wasn't able to stand against her for very long.
At first, Anemone is presented as a remorseless killer with marked antisocial and manic features. When not under the effects of the neurological stimulant drugs, she's often negatively moody and fearful at times when told to carry out a mission with TheEND. At such times, Dominic injects stimulants into her neck, which calms her mind and brings out her more focused, blood-lusting personality. After her multiple failures due to the Gekkostate, she begins to feel depressed as she realizes her own value is gone. In episode 42, in her attempt to follow Renton and Eureka into the Zone, she has a small flashback of her happy life with her parents before she became an experiment subject.
Dominic eventually falls in love with Anemone, but she doesn't seem return his feelings until very late in the series. Anemone begins to show feelings for Dominic after he is sent to retrieve her replacement by Dewey. These feelings culminate when she is sent on a suicide mission to enter the Scub realm and electronically tag the Scub Coral Command Cluster with a transmitter, allowing Oratorio number eight (part of an orbiting weapons system) to target and destroy it.
During her battle with Renton and Eureka, having been nearby at the time, they try to convince her that Dominic will understand her feelings. She believes that it's basically pointless now, and prepares to fire TheEND's "Vascud Crisis", but the sudden arrival of Dominic and Gulliver, who had taken a transport shuttle to enter the Scub realm and chase Anemone, changes her mind. He's now clinging to a ref board, his shuttle having been destroyed through repeated impacts during the trip. In spite of Anemone's sudden change of heart, TheEND fires, the Nirvash having moved out of its path by this point, and the subsequent shockwave knocks Dominic unconscious. In an emotional cry to save Dominic, TheEND's frame changes from a black armor to silver and moves on its own to help her save Dominic, tossing Anemone to him during the attempt. It is while in freefall that they both kiss. In the aftermath of "Second Summer of Love", Dominic and Anemone can be seen camping out at the starry night, looking at the moon that has a heart with Renton and Eureka's names carved in it. Anemone and Dominic are also awaiting Renton and Eureka`s return.
Voiced by: Shigenori Yamazaki[37] (Japanese), Peter Doyle[38] (English)
Dominic Sorel (ドミニク・ソレル Dominiku Soreru?) is the youngest to be second lieutenant and Dewey's subordinate. He is assigned to Anemone to tend to her needs and monitor her physical and mental condition. It's never explained why Dominic was promoted so fast, especially given his occasional naivete. There are men in the military far older than him and yet of much lower rank, who often have trouble obeying his orders. Dominic is also aware that commanding officers give him a hard time following his orders for Dewey as they think he's still a kid.
Dominic is mainly a field officer, constantly working on investigations and field missions for Dewey. If he's not on the ground investigating or on covert missions, he's in the air tending to Anemone. At one point, Dominic was ordered to investigate Renton's grandfather. Seeing how the Thurstons tend to have an effect on the world, Dewey wanted to gather more information from Renton's grandfather. After crashing his motorcycle, Dominic spent a day with Renton's grandpa and got to know him. After staying over the night to get his bike fixed, Renton's grandfather spoke to Dominic in a moving way to look after Renton like family, saying he considers Dominic family as well. Dominic decides not to report the incident, but it is anyway, as Dewey had men watching Dominic's movements. Dewey never seems concerned about this fact, or Dominic's somewhat overt distaste for Dewey's methods, and in fact seems to consider Dominic to be a harmless but occasionally useful tool that can be safely ignored.
Eventually Dominic turns away from Dewey after witnessing the sick human experiments used to create girls like Anemone. He joins up with the crew of the Super Izumo and Gekkostate in an attempt to stop Dewey and rescue Anemone. Even though he acknowledges his love as one-sided, he goes out of his way to look out for Anemone. He even risks his life in an attempt to stop Anemone from interfering with Renton and Eureka, taking a small shuttle into a rapidly-sealing hole that Anemone had used to reach them. Though unsuccessful, the act is enough to convince her to stop and for her to finally return his feelings. After "Second Summer of Love", they are seen camping next to Dominic's bike.
Dominic makes several brief appearances in TR2: New Vision, the events of which take place before the anime. He first shows up to tell 2nd Lieutenant Steven Bisson of Sumner and Moondoggie's connection to Gekkostate, and subtly chides him for losing track of Sumner in the first place. Toward the end of the game, he leads the military fleet that arrives to attack Thundercloud tower, which had, by then, fallen under the control of Steven's renegade forces. His final appearance is after the credits, in which he silently and stoically watches as a KLF squadron is dispatched to Bellforest, presumably to hunt down Eureka and the Nirvash at the beginning of the series.
A bit of a running gag in Eureka Seven is Dominic's inability to use and understand maps. Because of this, Renton calls Dominic a "genuine idiot" twice.
In the manga, Dominic dies shielding Renton from anti-body coralians as Renton tries to cure the Scub Coral of a disease TheEND injected into it
Colonel Dewey Novak
Voiced by: Koji Tsujitani[39] (Japanese), Kim Strauss[40] (English)
Dewey Novak (デューイ・ノヴァク Dyūi Novaku?) is the primary antagonist of Eureka Seven. He is a manipulative sociopath who commits several acts of mass murder in pursuit of his goals. Through a combination of charisma and brains, he seizes control of the U.F. as part of his bloodstained quest to rid the world of the Scub Coral.
As the former commander of the notorious SOF, Dewey distinguished himself by waging genocidal campaigns against the Vodarek people. However, his career came to a screeching halt when he was accused of helping his younger brother, Holland, defect from the military. This was apparently part of a concerted attempt by the Sage Council to shut down the remnants of Adroc Thurston's project.
By order of the government, Dewey is later released and promoted to colonel. He subsequently takes Dominic and Anemone under his command. In a complicated and carefully calculated plan, he undermines the public's faith in the Sage Council and overthrows them.
According to Dewey, the Novak family existed to calm the planet. The ritual to do so involved an act of patricide, an act that Dewey assumed was reserved for him. However, in an unforeseen turn of events, his mother died while giving birth to his younger brother, Holland. Consequently, the title of "Sacrificial King" was automatically passed on to his newborn sibling. With his ambitions of becoming the Novak family's next patriarch ruined, Dewey murdered his father in cold blood only to have the planet "reject" the ritual and his succession. With no legitimate heir, the other noble families seized the Novak family's assets and left Dewey and Holland homeless. As a result, Dewey bears a pathological hatred for his brother as well as the planet for denying him what he believed to be his birthright. However, the only account of this event is given by Dewey to Anemone. It is possible that parts of it might actually be a delusion he created. At the end of the series, Holland admits that he did not know how Dewey's madness came to be.
Dewey also bears a deep hatred for the Scub, and focuses his efforts on destroying it throughout the series. This hatred is such that by the end of the series, Dewey now sees the planet it absorbed as beyond redemption and comes to a final conclusion. To further that ideal, during his final confrontation with Holland, Dewey revealed to his brother that he secretly had a Compac Drive embedded in his chest, much like Norb. His Compac Drive, however, is more like a dead man's switch which he claims binds him to the Earth itself. He states that the entire world will die with him.
Dewey foresaw that Eureka or Anemone would become the replacement Scub Coral command center in the event of the existing command center's destruction. As a result, he had special collars attached to both girls that would be activated upon his death (this is done before the events of the series). In the anime, his confrontation with Holland climaxes with Dewey shooting himself in the head to set his plan of planetary genocide in motion, while in the manga, Holland kills him in a duel. This results in the activation of the collars's self destruct sequence that is meant to be relayed throughout the Scub Coral should either girl merge with it. Holland is found moments afterward with tears in his eyes confessing that he was "too late to save " Dewey, showing a rare moment of sympathy and love for his brother. He goes on in episode 50 to say that he will shoulder Dewey's "burden", even if it takes the rest of his life.
The Council of the Sages
Koda (コーダ Kōda?): Voiced by: Mariko Akashi[41] (Japanese), Barbara Goodson[42] (English)
Braya (ブラヤ Buraya?): Voiced by: Mugihito[43] (Japanese), Michael Forest[44] (English)
Kuzemi (クゼミ Kuzemi?): Voiced by: Tamio Ohki[21] (Japanese), William Knight[45] (English)
The Council of the Sages is the main authority in U.F., apparently located in the same starship that brought mankind to the planet or at what is known as the Capital. They were the few of those aware of the planet's true nature and hid it from the masses until Dewey exposed the "truth" to the public. From there, Dewey disbanded the sages, killing Braya and Kuzemi in the process. Koda, the remaining sage, handed power over to Dewey afterwards. It is unknown what happened to Koda after.
In the manga version, Dewey kills the three sages and takes power.
Ageha Squad
The Ageha Squad (アゲハ隊 Ageha-tai?) is an anti-Coralian unit created by Dewey, composed primarily of five specially-trained children whom Dewey rescued from a refugee camp. Skilled, resourceful, and lethal, these five enjoy their work as children would. They are blissfully unconcerned about the immense number of people killed as a result of their efforts, and are only interested in Dewey's responses. It is revealed by Captain Jurgens in episode 50 that they were found by Colonel Dewey in Warsaw, victims of an ethnic cleansing.
Captain Jurgens
Voiced by: Tetsuo Komura[46] (Japanese), Michael McConnohie[47] (English)
Jurgens (ユルゲンス Yurugensu?) is the captain of the ship Izumo and a hardened soldier who survived the war which saw the death of his wife and two daughters. Jurgens is a loyal soldier, and initially follows his orders whether or not he agrees with them. He eventually finds his personal limit after reading the last issue of ray=out. He helps to spread Gekkostate's message by spreading the video of the meeting between Norb and Dr. Bear across every military channel, essentially informing the entire military. His efforts, however, only manage to secure the loyalty of his own ship. After that, he begins operating against Dewey and supports Gekkostate's action along with Dominic (although Dominic defected to Gekkostate, Jurgens did not).
He is seen along with Holland in the beginning of episode 50 talking about the Ageha Squad, and how he is thinking of taking care of them as redemption for his crimes making the world how it is (meaning blindly following orders up until he helps Gekkostate). It's been subtly hinted throughout the series that he has some feelings for or is in some kind of relationship with Maria Schneider.
Maria Schneider
Voiced by: Eriko Kigawa (Japanese), Megan Hollingshead[18] (English)
Maria Schneider (マリア・シュナイダー Maria Shunaidā?) is the executive officer of the Izumo and trusted right-hand woman of Jurgens. At her computer station on the Izumo's bridge, her desktop wallpaper is a cartoon bunny wearing clothes. It's been subtly hinted throughout the series that she has some feelings for or is in some kind of relationship with Captain Jurgens.
Logica
Logica is a character who appears only in the manga. As a member of the SOF, he is a former colleague of Holland's and bears a strong resentment towards him for defecting. He is downed by Holland in an aerial battle and then later killed by Anemone's TheEnd. He piloted a standard black Terminus-505 LFO, the basic mech used by the SOF.
Yauchi
Yauchi is a character who appears only in the manga. He is a priest and a scienstist who serves under Dewey Novak. Originally he believed that Dewey was the world's savior but was later proven wrong after witnessing his actions. During Dewey's final conflict with Holland aboard his ship, Yauchi betrays him and locks the two inside the bridge eventually leading to the deaths of Dewey and his control team.
Dr. Diamond
Dr. Diamond is a scientist who appears only in the manga. He studies the Nirvash's Amita Drive and wants to learn about the Coralians.
Civilians
Axel Thurston
Voiced by: Takeshi Aono[48] (Japanese), Steve Kramer[49] (English)
Axel Thurston (アクセル・サーストン Akuseru Sāsuton?) is Renton's grandfather, Adroc's father, and a renowned technician who is responsible for Renton's on-the-job education in mechanical engineering. He initially opposed Renton's idea to join Gekkostate, but later he decided to let him go, because he thinks he should see the world for himself, and he also thinks in the end Renton will come back to live with him, presumably Renton did as he states so and is taking care of the children while Renton and Eureka travel the world — he jokingly warns Renton not to return home empty-handed. He was the one who gave the Amita Drive to Renton, and also created both versions of the typeZERO's ref boards.
Yucatan Iglasias
Voiced by: Yutaka Nakano[50] (Japanese), John Snyder[51] (English)
Yucatan Iglasias is Renton's uncle, who runs a produce farm in his childhood hometown of Controrado. He catches Renton, Matthieu, and Eureka when they try to steal a Pancha Fruit from his farm; the three are forced to make up stories about military service to keep him in the dark about Renton's involvement with Gekkostate. Renton is often annoyed by Yucatan's overly-patriotic attitude, though he does not hold it against him. During Renton's visit in "Human Behaviour", the military was called in to apprehend his companions, but after they escaped, Yucatan was incarcerated in their place. He owns an M1 Garand battle rifle.
Charles Beams
Voiced by: Jūrōta Kosugi[52] (Japanese), Patrick Seitz[53] (English)
Charles Beams (チャールズ・ビームス Chāruzu Bīmusu?) is a freelance LFO pilot and mercenary, with his partner and wife Ray. Initially content in his life of transporting goods and people, as well as fighting thieves and raiders, he is brought into conflict with Gekkostate when the Beams are hired by the military to retrieve Eureka and the Nirvash from them. He and his wife were also part of SOF, and they share a past with Holland, Talho (it only shows Ray acknowledges that she knew her), Dewey, and Adroc.
Charles is personally humorous and easygoing, but under his genial exterior he's still as much a killer as he was while leading an elite force. He has many dualities like this in his life — for instance, he displays a collection of high-tech ref boards in his living quarters aboard the Swan, but in battle he always keeps an old bolt-action rifle (possibly a Mauser Karabiner 98k) by his side. It is at least somewhat more advanced than it appears, as the rounds are capable of piercing LFO armor.
Renton stays with Charles and his wife for a short while, even at one point calling him "papa". Charles was killed by Holland during a gun fight in the Gekko's hangar. His body contained a bomb, which Ray activated when she kissed him in order to escape capture, leaving no remains for her to mourn.
When Renton asks Holland why he had to kill Charles, Holland answers that Charles and Ray, like Holland himself, knew no other way. His name along with Ray's is a play off artists/designers Charles and Ray Eames. Given the show's tendency to make musical references, it could also be seen as a reference to Ray Charles.
Ray Beams
Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa[54] (Japanese), Melissa Fahn[55] (English)
Ray Beams (レイ・ビームス Rei Bīmusu?) is Charles' fighting partner and wife, and apparently served with him in the SOF. In the past, she was rendered sterile, possibly by the Seven Swell phenomena that occurred during the First Summer of Love, and finding a child to call her own has become a fixation for her. Her day-to-day life with Charles is peaceful, as they perform various jobs for hire, go to raves, cook for themselves and keep their ship, the Swan, immaculately clean.
When Renton temporarily joins Charles and Ray on the Swan, Ray immediately bonds with him. To her, Renton is the child she could not have and with his presence finally makes her feel like she has a true family. Her extreme joy turns to heartbreak when she learns that Renton is not only Adroc Thurston's son but was also a member of Gekkostate. Even though she lets him return to Gekkostate without protest, she is emotionally distraught. Her grief later turns to anger when she learns that Renton is in love with Eureka.
Ray despises Eureka, who was in the typeZERO when it caused the Seven Swell and blames her for her inability to bear children. Her anger towards Eureka is only heightened when she sees Eureka's children, Maurice, Maeter, and Linck. Ray also blames Eureka for 'stealing' Renton, whom Ray had adopted as her son, away from her. After Charles's death, Ray loses her sanity, tearing their ship apart aside from a table with three plates and monogramed mugs for her, Charles, and Renton. Ray attempts to attack the Gekko again, planning to destroy it in a kamikaze attack so that she, Charles,and Renton could be together forever, only to also be killed by Holland when he destroys the Swan.
Tiptory
Voiced by: Kazuko Sugiyama[56] (Japanese), Philece Sampler[57] (English)
Tiptory (ティプトリー Tiputorī?) is a member of an anti-Federation indigenous religious group called Vodarac (specifically, the sect thereof that is loyal to Norb). She is introduced when Gekkostate made a deal with the military to capture her and turn her in for money, even though Gekkostate themselves are against the Federation. Though the attempt appears legit, it is actually a setup to prevent the Federation from capturing her directly. After presenting her as a captive and receiving their payment, Gekkostate rescues her. She is then dropped off at Ciudades del Cielo, the place of Vodarac's pilgrimage, and the place of Holland's darkest memories. She later shows up to greet Norb upon his return to the Vodarac homeland. She later appears throughout the series in small moments though there is rarely any dialogue.
Norb
Voiced by: Rikiya Koyama[58] (Japanese), Jamieson Price[59] (English) Child Norb Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama[60] (Japanese), Sam Riegel[61] (English)
Norb (ノルブ Norubu?) is a powerful Vodarac priest. He can be considered the main influence towards Holland leaving the SOF after Norb explains to him what Dewey is trying to do and the consequences it entailed for the planet and humanity. Despite his occupation as a priest, Norb smokes, eats unhealthy junk food (such as pizza and chips), and barely reflects any religious point of view even when asked to do so.
Norb's past shows that as a boy he was given the task to be the guardian of what the Vodarac believed to be their messiah but was actually the first Coralian girl spawned by the Scub Coral. At first, Norb tried to maintain the solemn duty of simply doing tasks for this being, or Sakuya, as she would later tell him, but later earned her affection when he interacted with her by giving her a lotus flower. Because of the development of this relationship it was believed that they would be the ones to unite both humanity and the Scub Coral. In the end, due to various circumstances, both Sakuya and Norb suffer consequences. Sakuya is left in the form of a giant lotus flower and Norb was left with a Compac Drive embedded into his chest that originally materialized from Sakuya's remains. The Compac Drive in his chest gave Norb strange powers. These powers included the ability to shut-off or disrupt other Compac Drives, manipulate Scub Coral and cause it to rise as barriers, and even manipulate Trapar energy to the point of using it as an offensive weapon.
Voiced by: Akiko Yajima[62] (Japanese), Jennie Kwan[63] (English)
Sakuya (サクヤ Sakuya?) is Eureka's predecessor, sporting lavender hair. Because she was a girl of mysterious power, the religious authority of Vodarac thought she was some sort ofmessiah and placed her in the central part of the temple. They banned any disciple from speaking to her, and allowed very few select disciples to care for her in a highly reverent, if sterile, manner.
For forty years since her initial appearance, she had no significant contact with anyone. This changes when Norb is assigned to care for her. Norb and Sakuya fell in love. Though they tried to keep it secret at first, a priest catches them embracing and assumes it to be a sign that Sakuya has chosen someone to travel to the Scub Coral with. They are hurriedly sent to cross the zone, but fail in the attempt. Both Sakuya and Norb suffer some sort of physical deformation but Sakuya is by far the most affected since she is turned into a giant lotus flower.
After her transformation, Sakuya erects a barrier around temple city, blocking out everything, including trapar (which is now poisonous to her). Norb eventually brings the Gekkostate to meet Sakuya, since her help is needed to get Renton and Eureka past the Great Wall successfully. Eureka meets with Sakuya in another reality in the form of a library. There they talk about what they learned and how Sakuya and Norb first met. After sending Eureka back, she and Norb stay in the temple to disable the barrier around it and use the energy to help Eureka and Renton pass through the Great Wall. For Sakuya and Norb, they were taken to the Zone where they could be together while Renton and Eureka discovered Earth.
Voiced by: Kenichi Ono[64] (Japanese), Terrence Stone[65] (English)
Morita (モリタ Morita?) is the head of the Tresor military research complex. He was one of the scientists who studied the first Archetype after its unearthing and worked on both versions of the Nirvash typeZERO. Morita is also acquainted with Axel Thurston through Axel's work on the first LFO ref board for the Nirvash. He also knows Holland, though in the past they don't get along well (for unstated reasons).
Dr. Greg "Bear" Egan
Voiced by: Banjou Ginga[66] (Japanese), Joey Camen[67] (English)
Nicknamed "Dr. Bear" for his physically huge body, Greg Bear Egan (グレッグ・ベア・イーガン Gureggu Bea Īgan?) is an iconoclastic scientist who was also part of the Tresor research team that initially studied Eureka and her relationship with the Nirvash. He was renowned as an 'out-of-the-box' thinker capable of combining various theories into a workable gestalt. He was previously married to Mischa of Gekkostate, and tends to act as if they were still lovers — for instance, he calls her "My little cub" and "kuma-chan", the latter meaning "bear". His behaviour often prompts Mischa to take an even sterner tone than usual with him. He is fond of candy, often has a stash of it somewhere on his person, and once told Renton that the candy was part of an important memory in his relationship with Mischa.
Possessing many insights on the Scub Coral, the Coralians, LFOs, and Eureka, Bear is both stunned and overjoyed to learn that from a scientific viewpoint they were found to be almost identical to the Vodarac teachings of Norb; the similarities were revealed in a taped meeting aboard the Gekko. The underground video of this, along with the information published in Ray=Out became one of the main factors for many people, including some military leaders, to reject what Dewey's group was doing. His name references the science fiction writers Greg Bear and Greg Egan.
Dr. Sonia Wakabayashi
Voiced by: Yuriko Yamaguchi[68] (Japanese), Bridget Hoffman[69] (English)
Another of Tresor's scientists, Sonia Wakabayashi (ソニア・ワカバヤシ Sonia Wakabayashi?) formerly studied Eureka along with Mischa. While apparently a good friend to Eureka, she's rather high-strung, and not as adaptable to the Gekkostate lifestyle as Mischa is.
William B. "Will" Baxter
Voiced by: Toshio Furukawa[70] (Japanese), Keith Silverstein[71] (English)
William B. Baxter (ウィリアム・B・バクスター Wiriamu Bī Bakusutā?) or Will (ウィル Wiru?) is a young man who lives somewhat close to Gianas. He nurses Renton back to health while he was returning to the Gekko. He is a bit talkative, yet insightful and empathetic, preferring to work with nature rather than dominate it. He maintains a large vegetable garden that is almost impossible to navigate because of the tall grass growing with the crops. His garden thrives despite his dismantling of several huge pile bunkers that subdue tectonic movements. He lives with his wife and former engineer, Martha (マーサ Māsa?), a victim of Desperation Disease. He speaks to her even though she never answers him audibly. To him, her condition doesn't evoke despair in him, therefore she does not suffer from Desperation Disease. In the end (when the world appears to be ending), Martha (and all the others suffering from Desperation Disease) are miraculously cured. While William was outside tending to the garden, he turned around and saw Martha walking again. She smiled at him, and then a giant piece of shrapnel fell onto their house, presumably killing them both.
[edit]Sumner Sturgeon & Ruri
Though not having a role in the story, Sumner and Ruri are from the video games TR1: New Wave and New Vision and make a cameo appearance in episode 45, watching something launching into space; Ruri has the latest issue of ray=out in her pocket, and the two are apparently listening to a radio. The events surrounding Sumner take place a few years prior to that of the anime. They are also the main characters of the Eureka Seven: Gravity Boys and Lifting Girl prequel manga, which chronicles Sumner and Ruri's lives when they were Renton's age.
- Sumner Sturgeon
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono (Japanese), Sam Riegel[61] (English)
Sumner is from the Sturgeon family, a prestigious family known for producing top-quality soldiers. His father, Bernard Sturgeon, is outspoken against the use of LFOs in the military, and is the first reason why he was recruited into New Wave Academy: to counter his father's actions. He possesses great skill in lifting and LFO piloting. Upon graduation, Sumner is transferred to Sawyer Team — an elite KLF group in the military that is said to be almost on par with Holland's SOF. Sumner never had any ambitions, goals or dreams before joining New Wave Academy. His only reason for joining was so that he could pilot the best LFOs. It is there he meets Ruri for the first time as a fellow cadet in New Wave. It is later revealed that Ruri leaves New Wave Academy upon discovering a dark truth about the academy and seeks refuge within the Vodarac, to whom she appears to be directly affiliated with at present. Sumner is unaware about Ruri's reasons for leaving, and continues to excel in the academy and serve as Sawyer Team's ace pilot. The two meet in the future during a solo mission given to Sumner to investigate the weapons black market in his area, but she later escapes as she was somewhat involved with the black market.
Sumner is on patrol on another mission not long after Holland's mutiny, when he first meets a younger Moondoggie. He asks Moondoggie's purpose in town to which Moondoggie replied that he was there to meet Holland and join up with Gekkostate. Following a series of situations designed to draw away the Sawyer team from the tower, Sumner realizes the immediate Vodarac threat at the tower. It is then when meets Sumner meets Ruri once more while she is on a mission for the Vodarac (or possibly Gekkostate). Her objective was to secure the Nirvash and deliver it to Holland, while Sumner's objective was to protect the tower against terrorist attacks by the Vodarac.
The two confront one another and it is then when Sumner's captain intervenes and shoots Ruri, injuring her arm. Sumner finally begins to realize the lies of the military, his feelings for Ruri, and what he believes is right. Surprising the captain and the Sawyer team (all of whom were his close friends), Sumner defects from the military to save Ruri from certain death. He manages to save her and has her board his LFO and escape with the promise that they will meet at their special place while he takes it upon himself to complete Ruri's objective. Sumner faces off against his teammates and defeats them while riding the Nirvash. His captain makes one last stand against Sumner and two battle at it, on military airport grounds and while airborne on refboards. Sumner proves to be the more skilled pilot and kills his captain in their aerial battle. Sumner then completes Ruri's mission and hands over the Nirvash to Holland. When asked about the purpose of the Nirvash, Holland merely replied that the Nirvash was meant to be piloted by only one person who can use it properly. Sumner sees over Holland's shoulder a younger Eureka staring at the Nirvash. Holland then recognizes Sumner's piloting and ref boarding abilities and invites him to join Gekkostate. Sumner declines saying that he wants to search for Ruri. Gekkostate departs with the Nirvash, leaving Sumner behind. While sitting at campfire in the desert, a vehicle comes along that Sumner hails down. The driver is Moondoggie and he offers Sumner a ride out of the desert. TR1: New Wave ends here, with the story to be continued on New Vision.
Some time later, he reunited with Ruri, and the two became involved with the refboard manufacturers known as Azure. Along with Moondoggie, they briefly traveled with Azure, sabotaging several military installations along the way. Eventually, they learned that Azure's activities were tied to a conspiracy within the military, spearheaded by former New Wave student Steven Bisson and Azure's leader, Roddy Flame. They were responsible for the proliferation of Compac Feedback Systems (CFS) throughout the military's LFO pilots, and were planning on using the technology to revolt and cause mass destruction. Sumner, Ruri, and Moondoggie fought against Azure and their Army benefactors, eventually defeating Steven and Flame and ending the threat. While Moondoggie returned to Gekkostate, Sumner and Ruri stayed together.
- Ruri
Voiced by: Michelle Ruff[72] (English)
Ruri is a student at New Wave and a friend of Sumner. She's an ace pilot and a good lifter, but left the academy after learning about the military's insidious motives, leaving her whereabouts unknown. Two years later, Sumner meets Ruri again. She explains that New Wave used data to steal the students' lifting moves and that she was bringing the Nirvash to Holland. She is in love with Sumner, and the two save the land from destruction.
In the manga, Ruri is a spy of the Federation Military. She shows Dominic the truth about Dewey and helps free Renton and the Gekkostate.
Adroc Thurston
Renton's father, Adroc Thurston (アドロック・サーストン Adorokku Sāsuton?), was a military researcher considered a hero by the military. Original author of the Ageha Plan, which he then sought to have buried as being far too destructive to ever be implemented. His team was conducting experiments involving the Seven Swell phenomenon. It's revealed in a conversation between Eureka and Renton that Adroc vanished during an experiment on the Amita Drive. He prevented the full destructive force of the experiment from being unleashed by removing the Compac/Amita Drive from its socket in the Nirvash, interrupting the transdimension rifting that would have led to the planet's destruction, but in the process was himself taken bodily into the rift it created; nothing of him or his uniform remained, save the Compac/Amita Drive. He was later declared dead, and a massive monument, now largely unvisited by an uninterested public, was erected in his home town of Bellforest.
Later, it's revealed that his state of being was transferred to the Scub Coral along with other human beings, some of whom in normal reality were apparently suffering from the seeming catatonia caused by Despair Sickness. These individuals' consciousness apparently exist in a non-temporal state. They were staying in this form by their own will to communicate with and to attempt to understand the true nature of the Scub Coral. When Renton finally met with his father again, there was no hatred; Renton held his hand and was glad to see him without any animosity from his past feelings.
Adroc has no voice actor throughout the series. The only scenes in which he appears are either narrated flashbacks or non-speaking roles.
Diane Thurston
Voiced by: Sakiko Tamagawa[73] (Japanese), Peggy O'Neal[10] (English)
Diane Thurston (ダイアン・サーストン Daian Sāsuton?) is Axel's granddaughter and Renton's older sister. She and Axel were the ones who raised Renton after Adroc's death. She left home some years ago, and for initially unexplained reasons her family has not heard from her since. Despite appearing in Axel's family photos and in a silhouette in the series opening, her face isn't shown for the first 35 episodes — under many different circumstances, her face in flashbacks and photographs is always covered. Much of the first few episode's narration are made as if Renton was writing letters to his sister.
Talho is troubled by Holland's past relationship with her, and reacts with anxiety at her mention. Diane was obsessed with her father's research; so much that it affected her relationship with Holland. The terms of their breakup weren't thoroughly explained, but it's linked with her desire to more deeply understand Adroc's work.
At some point, Diane somehow ended up in the command center of the Scub Coral. There, in a library artificially created by the Scub Coral, she and a small group of people read to understand the truth they seek. The vast knowledge they wish to seek would take almost a lifetime and all that remain are under their own volition. Even though Diane told Renton they'll stay together, the Scub Coral command center was blown away and Renton had to leave in order to save Eureka and the kids. It's suggested that the command center will return again and that Adroc and Diane are alive and well, continuing their reading.
Kes
Kes is a young girl who is seen in the manga. She meets Eureka when her grandmother sees Eureka in the village. Once the people in the village recognize Eureka, they begin to throw rocks at her. Kes asks Eureka to bring back her father whom Eureka killed. She also helped Matthieu and Hilda by telling them that Renton and Eureka were captured by the military.
Synopsis and themes
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 networks. Almost all of the show's episodes are named after real songs, composed by both Japanese and foreign artists.[2][3]
The series focuses on Renton Thurston, the fourteen-year-old son of Adroc Thurston, a military researcher who died saving the world. He lives what he considers a boring life with his grandfather in a boring town. He loves lifting, a sport similar to surfing but with trapar, a substance abundant throughout the 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, its pilot and a member of Gekkostate, crash into Renton's room. Renton's grandfather orders him to deliver a special part to the Nirvash called the "Amita Drive", which releases the immense power dormant within the typeZERO called the "Seven Swell Phenomenon". 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, and the Gekkostate embark on an adventure that will shape their future as well as the world's.
Eureka Seven works on a wide variety of themes throughout its story.[4] One of the most obvious themes in the series is racial integration, presented via the relationships in the series, e.g. Renton's with Eureka, who is not entirely human. Religious tolerance and harmony is presented in the characters' relationships and also the series' conflicts. Allegories of real world conflicts and wars, current political climates from Japan and abroad, depictions of surf culture[5] and other subcultures and related musical movements that span several generations, and ties to environmental movements.[5][6] The series also covers other more personal themes such as parenting, and family, along with a very innocent view of puppy love/love at first sight from Renton and Eureka.[6] Personal identity and protection play a huge role for Renton and Eureka, as both of them say, "I am me" in the series multiple times, and Renton has sworn to protect Eureka. Continuing with themes addressed in previous series, responsibility and guilt manifest most explicitly with repeating the phrase, "You're going to carry that weight." The series works these themes, as well as the theme of growing up and change, into the journey of Renton Thurston.
Setting
Scub Coral
The setting of Eureka Seven takes place 10,000 years after humanity has made a mass exodus into space, due to the arrival of the Scub Coral, an intelligent, sentient life who merged with the planet, forcing the humans to abandon it. In the current timeline, the remnants of humanity are now settled on an unknown planet (actually a terraformed Earth) known as the Land of Kanan, but the majority of the surface of this planet is now covered by a rock-like surface formed by the Scub Coral. The Scub Coral inhabited the Planet until the return of humans. The theory that the Scub Coral is an intelligent life form was proposed by the scientist Adroc Thurston, who also claimed the Scub is looking for mutual co-existence with humanity. All theories and information about the Scub Coral being a sentient being are kept from the general population. In addition to being the surface of the planet, the Scub Coral has several physical manifestations, called Coralians, that are observed throughout the series. These manifestations are either natural occurrences or a response to attacks from humans. The manifestations are:
- Command Cluster Coralian
- The Command Cluster is a large concentration of the Scab Coral which acts as the central mind for the rest of its "body". It stores all the information the Scab has collected over the last 10,000 years, and keeps the rest of the Scab Coral in a dormant state.
- Kute-class Coralian
- A Kute-class is massive sphere of concentrated energy that materializes suddenly in the skies. Though it is a rare natural occurrence, they can be artificially triggered by causing heavy damage to the Scub Coral. The disappearance of a Kute causes a massive release of energy, ravaging the surrounding landscape and lowering the Trapar count in the area to almost non-existent levels.
- Antibody Coralians
- Antibody Coralians are, as the name suggests, creatures created by the Scab Coral to destroy anything nearby that might be causing it harm. They are unleashed in massive swarms through a Kute-class Coralian when the Scab Coral is threatened or attacked. These antibodies can range in size from as small as a wheelbarrow, or as large as a bomber plane. Their shapes vary wildly, from eyeballs to flying slugs to giant hovering flower-like objects. Their powers are: sending lasers in profusion from their bodies, thus being able to destroy large aircraft, burrowing into a victim's body and imploding it(unconfirmed),and creating a spherical void, which makes anything within its surface area to vanish. Antibody Coralians generally appear in response to deliberate attacks on the Scab Coral. They appear for 1246 seconds (20 minutes 46 seconds) - which is the amount of time the Seven Swell phenomenon is active. After those 1246 seconds, they crumble to dust. Their appearances are that of basic invertebrates such as flat worms, mollusks, and cnidaria. One of each kind appears in Another Century's Episode 3 and Super Robot Wars Z.
- Human-form Coralians
- Human-form Coralians are beings created by the Scab Coral in the form of humans. They are regarded by scientists as emissaries of the Scab Coral, sent to learn about humanity. Humans have attempted to create their own artificial human-form Coralians, but the results are often less than satisfactory.
Trapar waves and lifting
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 Scab Coral produces a tremendous amount of energy. The most important use of Trapar energy is its use as a method of propulsion for 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 official translations in some countries) is their predominant use. Lifting uses surfboard-like devices called "reflection boards" to ride Trapar waves in a manner similar to surfing, 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 life-forms within the Scab Coral.
LFOs and Compac Drives
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.
Terminology
- Ageha Plan
- The Ageha Plan is the theory first proposed by Adroc Thurston that the Scub Coral is an intelligent, sentient life form that is trying to communicate with humanity, as well as the plan for humanity to seek out co-existence. The report was locked away after his death, but later appropriated by Col. Dewey Novac, a move aimed at gaining public support by associating himself with Adroc Thurston, despite Dewey Novac's true aims being directly opposite to the aims of co-existence proposed by the original Ageha Plan.
- Desperation Disease
- Desperation disease is a coma-like condition in Eureka Seven. Those suffering from it become near-vegetables, save for a fixation on 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 consciousness to the coralian command cluster. It is often said that the disease affects not only the victim but those involved with the victim (i.e.: family, friends, loved ones), hence the "despair" is felt by them, not the victim.
- The Great Wall
- The Great Wall is an example of the effect of the Limit of Life being passed. It is a large, unstable area of whirling Trapar winds visible from outer space. It was created at some undefined point before the beginning of the series when a large portion of the Scub Coral was abruptly awakened from its dormant state. The Scub Coral managed to put itself back to sleep before the Limit's consequences engulfed the entire planet. Common physical laws no longer apply in the area encompassed by the Great Wall.
- The Limit of Life
- "The Limit of Life" (件の限界 Kudan no Genkai?), called the "Limit of Questions" in the English version of the series, is the theory that too much sentient life in a given space will collapse reality,[7] resulting in a black hole-like tear in space that would absorb the entire planet. According to this theory's developer, Dr. Greg "Bear" Egan, the Scub Coral itself had already reached the Limit of Life, but avoided total collapse by going into a dormant state.
- Pile Bunkers
- Pile bunkers are rod-like objects driven into the ground to suppress the tectonic shifts in the Scub Coral, which otherwise cause humongous, mushroom-like coral formations to erupt from the ground with little to no warning.
- Skyfish
- Skyfish are creatures that have adapted to float upon the Trapar waves that fill the atmosphere. They are harvested to create a substance known as "reflection film", which is what permits the machinery of Eureka Seven to fly without the use of fuel-based propulsion. It is said that skyfish gather where positive emotions are emitted by humans in the presence of a Compac Drive.
- Summer of Love
- The Summer of Love is an event that took place approximately ten years before the events of Eureka Seven, sparked by the first use of the Amita Drive with the Nirvash. An enormous, non-stop generation of Trapar waves resulted, and the confusion and chaos that resulted from this disaster sparked conflicts around the world, leading to civil wars that left tower states completely destroyed. Adroc Thurston died putting an end to the effects of the Summer of Love, or rather, became one with the Coralian Command Cluster as learned in episode 48.
- Vodarac
- Vodarac is 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 led the government classify the Vodarac as a dissident faction, and it 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 (Spanish for "Cities of Heaven", although literally it translates to "Cities of the Sky"), the city seen as holy grounds for the Vodarac, where the SOF troops stormed a supposed Vodarac extremist stronghold.
- The Zone
- The Zone is a visual effect produced by extremely high concentrations of Trapar particles and dust, which result in the 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, either between mind and matter or physical destinations.
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 theNirvash 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) and also ray=out's covergirl. 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, for hardware and software, respectively. 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. Finally, 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 Novac, 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 Novac and the chief handler of Anemone, who pilots the LFO Nirvash typeTheEND.
Licensing and broadcast
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 Region 1 DVD volume of the series was released on April 25, 2006 in the US, while the European Region 2 version was released on September 25, 2006. The English version is produced by Bang Zoom! Entertainment in Burbank, California.
During its premiere run, Eureka Seven was available for online viewing on the Adult Swim Fix, Adult Swim's online video service, the Friday before its premiere on the channel proper. The series made its televised debut on Adult Swim on April 15, 2006, and ended on 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." Adult Swim aired Eureka Seven reruns for the last time in May 2008. In Canada, Eureka Seven premiered on YTV's Bionix block on September 8, 2006. Reruns were shown for a short period after March 23, 2007, returning to regular airings on June 1, 2007, and ending on November 16, 2007. Currently, the English Dub version of Eureka Seven is available on Crunchyroll's licensed anime lineup. [8]
The pronunciation of Eureka's name in the English dub of the series is based on the Japanese pronunciation [e.uɽeka] (
listen), which is an approximation of the Greek pronunciation of the word "eureka" (Koine [ˈhɛwreːka], Modern [ˈevɾika]), rather than the conventional English pronunciation /jʊˈriːkə/. The dub pronunciation has variously been described as "ey-ooh-reh-ka," "ay-oo-re-ka," or "el-rekka."
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 Boschbecause 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 (although Yuri Lowenthal can still be heard as Renton when Holland is watching a video at the end of episode 7), though Bosch himself admits it took him a while to nail down the voice.[9]
Development
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.[10]
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, then 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.[11] 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. Long-timeStudio Ghibli animator Kenichi Yoshida was the main animator and character designer for the series.
Music
The music of Eureka Seven is available on three different compilations composed by Naoki Satō 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.
Theme songs
- Opening themes
- "Days", by Flow (episodes 1–13; insert song episode 32)
- "Shōnen Heart" (少年ハート Shōnen Hāto?), by Home Made Kazoku (episodes 14–26)
- "Taiyō no Mannaka e" (太陽の真ん中へ?, "To the Center of the Sun"), by Bivattchee (episodes 27–32, 34–39; insert song episode 33)
- "Sakura", by Nirgilis (episodes 40–49; insert song episode 50)
- Ending themes
- "Himitsu Kichi" (秘密基地?, "Secret Base"), by Kozue Takada (episodes 1–13, 26)
- "Fly Away", by Asami Izawa (episodes 14–25)
- "Tip Taps Tip", by Halcali (episodes 27–39)
- "Canvas", by Coolon (episodes 40–49)
- Insert songs
- "Storywriter", by Supercar (episodes 1, 2, 6, 10, 15, 26, 33, 39)
- "Niji" (虹?, "Rainbow"), by Denki Groove (episode 50)
- Movie theme
