#11
Sequels are strange things. They are always better or worse than the original work in many different ways. None are ever strictly "just as good" as its predecessor, at least the sequels I have seen so far. Whether it is because the novelty of the original "new" story" has worn off or the authors took a new approach to the series, it is no surprise that there tends to be a lot of hate from various fans once the sequels hits the screens. Unfortunately, there is only so much a sequel can do to re-engage viewers. It is far more likely for sequels to be less well-received than the original. The sequel, an extension meant to expand upon the universe of a particular franchise, usually becomes a flop as it fails to live up to its original work. Eureka Seven AO is no exception to this. First, I want to type about its predecessor, Eureka Seven. I absolutely adored Eureka Seven with a passion. Watching Renton Thurston grow from an immature, naive boy into a respectable man over the course of the series is what I will remember the most about E7. Renton's mistakes, flaws, and failures make his subsequent maturation all the more memorable. He does not have random bouts of heroism just so the plot can make him look good. Instead, he swallows a steady stream of painful experiences and sadness that shapes him into a person that had earned his happy ending. Renton deserved his ending, just as much as everyone else in the series in one way or another. Of course, Renton was not the only character who was satisfyingly fleshed out. Eureka and the others all had their own places in the story, shaping E7 into something more than "Just another mecha anime." In all, the scriptwriters controlling characterization of the cast did an excellent job in E7. However, they dropped the ball on this when writing E7: AO . If you are familiar with the original E7, which you should be considering you are reading about its sequel, you would know that its story can get convoluted at times. Very convoluted. If you did not pay attention to a particular conversation or event, it was very easy to lose track of what was going on. Heck, E7 is probably the only show where I would recommend watching the recap episodes. The story was simply that confusing at times. Actually, E7's story was closer to a mechanism rather than a story: a machine meant to carry the characters through a sequence of events. The main entertainment, aside from the aerial mecha battles, was seeing how the characters grow and interact with said events, not the actual story's conclusion itself. E7: AO chose to focus on the plot instead of the characters. This was simply a mistake on the scriptwriters' part. E7 as a franchise seems to suffer quite a bit in the storyline department. Its story is simply not enough to carry the show through by itself. E7: AO's focus on the story at the exclusion of almost everything else is what made it vastly inferior to the original E7. Honestly, there was not really much of anything about E7: AO that was particularly special. Plot, plot, and more plot is all it had and considering the slightly mindscrew nature of the franchise's storyline in general, this "benefit" was already on shaky grounds. The harsh yet enlightening character interactions that E7 had that taught the characters life lessons? E7: AO does not have it. The interactions in E7: AO lacks the magic that made E7 so great. The characters end up being like any other mecha anime's characters in which the viewer does not have empathy for their individual joys and sorrows. The characters are just not interesting here. How about romance like Renton + Eureka had in E7? Sure, there is indeed romance in E7: AO, but that "romance" is far from satisfying. It is a stretch to even call it romance in the first place. A more apt label would be "a sequence of friendzoning in the Eureka-verse." If you want to watch E7: AO for the tale of young love E7 had, you are better off watching something else. The story, and by extension characters, of E7: AO is pretty bland compared to its predecessor. Regarding the visual department, E7: AO takes a hit in quality. Although the art style and animation is more or less the same as E7, it is ultimately not as satisfying. Aside from blatantly obvious moe elements meant to grab viewers, the thing I found the most unsatisfying was the combat scenes. This is due to the differences in combat styles the mecha have between the two. E7 had what is essentially air-surfing mecha fighting on a large, dying world. E7 used this concept brilliantly and raised the bar of what high altitude combat should be in anime. The flips and flourishes of the air-surfing mecha, dramatic falling scenes, and grand vistas brought a palpable sense of scale that made combat in E7 simply amazing. E7: AO's high altitude combat was very boring in comparison. Not only is E7: AO set in our "modern times", the early 2000s, the mecha themselves are no longer air-surfers; they are just mecha that can transform into jets. I do not know about you, but jets are pretty boring compared to air-surfing mecha. There are not as many fancy things (also known as visual candy) you can do with jets that you can do with air-surfers. Not only this, but again, E7: AO is set in our times. This means the use of mecha in general is pretty limited. The human military forces are stuck with ordinary warships and weaponry that we see today. The mecha-like enemy "Secrets" that we see are simply unsatisfying replacements to the human-piloted mecha that E7 had. They just do not make E7: AO as dramatic as it should be. Sound-wise, E7: AO also takes a hit in this department, but not by much. The soundtrack of the original E7 was filled with chilled, relaxed "jazzy" beats that made the viewer go "Yeah, life's good." This was absolutely perfect for the surf culture vibe that E7 had going for it. During its dramatic scenes, it employed a vast array of orchestral music that I personally would label as "uplifting battle music." E7 simply had music that made you want to fight and feel epic. In E7: AO's case, while it still used orchestras for its dramatic moments, it ditches the "jazzy" beats in favor of "poppy" music. Though they are definitely not bad pieces of music, it did not add to a neat, charming little package that the original E7 had created. They were simply there to fill in the gaps when needed. Furthermore, I felt that E7: AO actually had fewer pieces of music than E7 had; there was simply not as much variety. Nevertheless, this is likely due to E7: AO only having half the number of episodes that E7 had. I really wanted to love E7: AO just as much as I loved the original E7, but this sequel did not have anything much going for it. The lack of charming character development, lackadaisical story, less exciting combat, as well as many other things just left me disappointed. This is a prime case of me expecting far too much out of a sequel. You may have noticed that this entire review was simply comparing E7 to E7: AO. There is a reason for this: you cannot watch E7: AO without first seeing the original (unsurprisingly). E7: AO took too much out of E7 and ended up piggy backing on its predecessor's success. There was no room for E7: AO to stand on its own as an original package that was simply set in the Eureka-verse. Now that I think of it, E7: AO was not even needed in the first place. E7 ended quite fine and was a done deal. Happily ever after. E7: AO as a sequel is probably what you would get if Key Visuals decided to make a sequel out of Clannad: After Story. Sure, it is far more easier for scriptwriters to write around pre-existing subjects, but it does not mean that they should. There is just too high of a chance in utterly disappointing your viewers expecting a new swath of awesomeness out of it all. Sure, there are a few of you out there that would love a series to death no matter its flaws, but for the more sensible fans of E7, do not expect the same level of love for E7: AO that you had for the original work. Actually, do not expect anything particularly great at all.