Eureka Seven



""I! Can! Fly!""

Eureka Seven (AKA Kōkyōshihen Eureka Sebun or Psalms of Planets Eureka seveN) (Pronounced "Eh-oo-wreck-a seven") is a 50-episode sci-fi mecha anime first broadcast in Japan from 2005 to 2006 and produced by acclaimed animation Studio BONES. It was later picked up in the US by Cartoon Network's Adult Swim Block. Right now, every episode is available to watch free and legally to US residents on Crunchy Roll both subtitled and dubbed.

The story concerns Renton Thurston, a 14-year old boy leading an uneventful life with his grandfather after losing his father (who was involved in narrowly averting a planetwide catastrophe) and sister (who set out to look for her father, and who Renton regards as a mother figure). His life is changed forever, however, when he meets and falls for Eureka, a mysterious LFO pilot who serves in the Gekkostate, an anti-military group under the guise of a countercultural commune. The rest of the series focuses on Renton and Eureka's growing relationship and involves general themes of love, acceptance, and the tolls of war. It also involves Sky Surfing mecha, superintelligent alien lifeforms, evil master plans, more than a few mind screws, and more musical references than one can count.

Perhaps most notable for being a sci-fi action show in which the hero's romance is at the very core of the story; none of the usual tacked-on romantic subplots or sudden end-of-series couplings here. The often-bumpy evolution of Renton and Eureka's relationship (along with a couple of others) forms the backbone of the entire plot.

Two Video Games and two manga series were later made, the games and one series serving as a prequel focusing on other characters (two of which did a split second cameo in the show) and one manga series set in an Alternate Universe. That one is noticeably darker, with severe damage and death among the main cast, actively malevolent Coralians, and a Downer Ending.

A movie premiered in 2009. (In Japan, the title is Psalm of Planets Eureka Seven: Pocket Full of Rainbows; the American title is Eureka Seven: Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers.) It's set in an Alternate Universe from the series, but still features most of the main characters.

A Sequel Series, Eureka Seven AO, debuted in April 2012.

Oh, and it's pronounced Eh-Oo-Recca, not You-Ree-Kah. It kind of sounds like "Erika", but with an accent (especially if you speak English).

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Tropes:
"Hilda: "When I think of the Nirvash as a, everything falls into place."
 * Aesop Amnesia: Eureka's kids learn at least twice directly, and numerous times by being on the ship, that Renton will do anything to protect her. They completely forget this in the last few episodes and a painful, both for the viewers and for the characters, reeducation takes place.
 * All Men Are Perverts: In "Date of Birth", when Renton is caught looking in a porn magazine for advice on how to patch things up with Eureka after a miscommunication regarding her relationship with his father, the other members of the Gekko think that the tension between the two is because Renton has been pressuring Eureka for sex. While the women on the ship counsel Eureka about resisting unwanted advances, the men come to Renton's room with whole stack of porn and start redecorating his room according to instructions in the magazines to make an atmosphere suited to seduction. Holland is NOT amused, with predictable results.
 * All Your Colors Combined: The "Seven Swell" attack.
 * Almost Kiss: In Episode 31, Renton is about to kiss Eureka after a heartwarming moment, but just as he comes close, Eureka senses that the Nirvash is in pain and rushes off.
 * Alternate Continuity: The relationship between the anime and the manga.
 * Some characters  are changed in personality or behavior.
 * The symbolism is drastically different
 * Certain characters die in the manga that do not in the anime.
 * The Coralians are totally different between each media
 * The endings are totally different
 * Alternate Universe: The Movie.
 * Also, the beginning of episode 33, where
 * Amazing Freaking Grace: As the fourth theme song, no less.
 * Only the beginning of the song, in the show, but the whole first verse of the hymn is used at the end of the full-length version of the song.
 * Ambiguous Robots: most of the flying vehicles.
 * An Aesop: While they aren't hammered upon, there are a ton of Aesops to be found, most prevalently War Is Hell and The Power of Love.
 * Animation Bump: Episode 49 when
 * Anime First
 * Another Centurys Episode: The TV series' plot features heavily in ACE 3; The Movie is set to appear in ACE Portable.
 * Anti-Villain: The movie's version of They aren't above risking   lives and possibly the whole world in the pursuit of their completely selfish goals, but considering they're all   it's hard not to feel like they've earned to be selfish.
 * as well. The latter barely even qualifies as a villain
 * Ditto for  They're hardly villainous either; punch-clock at worst, really.
 * Series-Dewey is also implied to be a pedophile. Let´s face it: he stuffs his most important positions with underage war orphans whom he simply picked up, he is called on "surrounding him with young children" at one point and after they had to bail ship and get found by Jurgens crew, one of them yells something along "we have such filthy bodies but the colonel(Dewey) said they are beautiful." Yeah...
 * Arc Words: This show is a breeding ground for arc words. "Coralians", "Great Wall", "Oratorio #8"...
 * Aristocrats Are Evil: Dewey, full stop.
 * Armies Are Evil
 * Ascend to A Higher Plane of Existence: What humans and Coralians should do . Eventually
 * Badass: Holland.
 * Renton has some very prominent moments of badassery in Nirvash. Any other time though... he's The Chew Toy.
 * Badass Grandpa: Axel Thurston proves to be a one of the highest order when he successfully rams an armored transport carrier with a forklift, blows his workshop up to slow down the military, then dashes for (and then,off) a cliff so he can send the customized LFO board for Renton's mecha to him without panicking once.
 * Soccer Episode: Episode 39.
 * Battle Couple: Renton and Eureka, obviously. The full potential of their Humongous Mecha is only unlocked by The Power of Love. Also, Charles and Ray Beams, Hilda and Mathieu qualify as well, if you do count them as a couple. There are also couples where one member takes part in combat while the other plays more of a supporting role in the battle: for example, Holland (the front-lines fighter) and Talho (the support).
 * Beam Spam: Used with homing lasers, typically resulting in High Speed Laser Dodging. Which makes no sense whatsoever, but is freaking awesome.
 * Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Subverted pretty hard. Eureka gets some nasty-looking scars that last for quite some time. She even gets reasonably self-conscious about them.
 * Beta Couple: there are two, really. Talho and Holland. And.
 * Berserk Button: Renton goes brutally psycho over his opponents at the end of episode 20 in a deadly combination of his love for Eureka, his hatred towards Holland and frustration with his own immaturity. It does not end well.
 * Beware the Nice Ones:
 * Charles and Ray are kind, loving people, but are also merciless mercenaries with a grudge against the Gekko and Eureka.
 * Don't underestimate Renton.
 * Big Bad: Dewey Novak.
 * Big No: In the movie Eureka screams this after while trying to defend her from Hap and Stoner when they attacked her out of paranoia.
 * In the Series, Holland does one after they lose contact with Dominic.
 * The Big Damn Kiss: Three of them.The first in episode 48 between  and the other two in the final episode between  . And did I mention two of these take place in mid-air?
 * Bittersweet Ending or Downer Ending: The manga.
 * The movie also end on a bitter note;
 * Bishoujo: Design aesthetic used for Eureka, Anemone, even Renton's three female classmates/neighbors, lots of minor female characters/extras.
 * BLAM Movie
 * Bland-Name Product: "Smickers" bars, "Bind Aid" bandages, "Rersi" cola and "Yuhoo", among others.
 * In episode 13, there's also a brief sighting of what looks like a Domino's Pizza sign (it's in the background a few moments after a little girl throws a flower pot at Dominic). Since it's so far away, the only noticeable difference is in the dots.
 * Body Horror :
 * Break the Cutie: Heartwarmingly Subverted: Renton and Eureka suffer time and time again, until finally, their love for each other surpasses this pain and erases it forever, complete with True Love's Kiss.
 * Anemone, however, isn't as lucky. She's already broken by the time Dominic gets to her.
 * Breather Episode: The soccer episode.
 * Broken Pedestal: Holland and the rest of the Gekkostate for Renton, who idolised them before joining. Holland particularly, when he beats Renton up and acts like a child. By the end of the series it's clear he respects them immensely, but his view of them is now grounded in reality.
 * But Your Wings Are Beautiful: Anyone who's watched this series from start to finish knows the iconic moment that embodies this trope.
 * Cain and Abel: Holland is Abel
 * Calling Your Attacks: Anemone does this occasionally, and Moondoggie calls out names for his shots in the soccer episode. Renton's guilty of this on more than one occasion.
 * Caramelldansen Vid: here
 * Catch Phrase: Renton's "Saiyaku da" ("This sucks") or just plain "Saiyaku" ("sucky").
 * Character Development: And how!
 * Chekhov's Gun: A lot of things from early, light-hearted episodes become either important later on, or serve as heart-breaking reminders of when things were happier and come back to bite everyone.
 * Chekhov's Gunman: Gulliver. He spends most of the series sleeping or lying around, but in
 * Also accounts for Jurgens, who is introduced very early on, but who becomes rather significant near the end.
 * The Chew Toy: Renton. He gets a break from it near the end, though.
 * Color Failure: Happens to Renton occasionally in some of the earlier episodes, mostly when other characters point out things that make it seem like he has no chance with Eureka.
 * Compilation Movie: The movie can be thought of as this, as it pretty much re-tells the entire story, only changing a few details. It's not a typical Compilation Movie, but close enough.
 * Conveniently Close Planet: The Moon at the very last shot.
 * Cool Ship: The Gekko-Go.
 * Coming of Age Story: For Renton.
 * Crazy Consumption: Anemone and jam. The way she eats it is horrifying.
 * And strangely fascinating.
 * Crystal Dragon Jesus: Actually, more like Crystal Dragon Buddha; the Vodarac are largely based on Buddhist beliefs and practices.
 * It's actually more along the lines of Crystal Dragon Ardhanarishvara. It seems Buddhist, it's actually more along the lines of Hindu.
 * Cute and Psycho: Anemone
 * Darker and Edgier: This trope is what most sets The Movie apart from the TV series. Somewhat justified as
 * The manga is also darker than the series. The in-depth approach to the war themes and elevated violence pretty much set that. As an example to show you how far the manga would go: . On the other hand, everyone's generally a lot nicer.
 * Dead-Man Switch: uses his suicide to attempt to force Anemone or Eureka to become an active nerve cluster and destroy the world.
 * Deface of the Moon: A normal couple would carve their names surrounded by a heart into a tree. Renton and Eureka decide to be a little more obvious about it and carve theirs onto the surface of the moon.
 * Despair Event Horizon:
 * Anemone reaches this after Dominic leaves.
 * Dies Wide Open: Charles
 * Dropped a Bridge On Him: William and Martha.
 * Dropped a Bridget On Him: It's also implied that the Nirvash is female, as much as a giant robot can have a gender at least.
 * Embarrassing Middle Name: William B. Baxter
 * Empathic Weapon: The Nirvash, though only Eureka can understand it, and TheEnd to some extent.
 * Emotionless Girl: Eureka, before taking the kids in as her own. She was still pretty emotionless until she and Renton became closer.
 * Empathy Pet: Subverted. Gulliver is stoic, unwieldy, and a general annoyance to everyone but Anemone.
 * He's not that adorable, either, and he appears to be made out of a hyper dense star meat that makes him weigh 300 lbs. in spite of being the size of a large Corgi.
 * Actually, he seems to be some sort of trapar-manipulating Mon - He becomes light enough that Anemone can lift him easily whenever she plays with him, but can also gravitationally weld his fat tookus to your bunk if that's where he wishes to nap.
 * The End of the World As We Know It: The Coralians threaten to negate reality itself by violating physical laws governing thought/space (similar to a black hole, which is a rupture in space/time) should the main node wake up from a self imposed sleep.
 * Enemy Mine: Occurs in Episode 13, in which Renton and Dominic are forced to work together in order to save Eureka and Anemone.
 * Epic Fail: During their final confrontation, Dewey goes after Holland with the sword he always keeps at his side. Holland parries with his gun at first, then just dodges, causing Dewey to snap the blade like a twig on the metal floor. He immediately complains about the sword being fake.
 * Episode Title Card
 * Everything's Better With Rainbows: The Series. One of the most memorable scenes from the first season takes place in a sea of rainbow clouds.
 * Also very prevalent in The Movie, almost to the point of What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic.
 * Evil Counterpart: Anemone, to Eureka.
 * Evil Plan: Dewey's plan to.
 * Exact Time to Failure: the antibody coralians can only remain alive for 1246 seconds (20 minutes 46 seconds).
 * Expy:
 * Whether it was intentional or not, Stoner bears a striking resemblance to Che Guevera, down to the facial hair and the red beret.
 * Apparently that is intentional.
 * Aside from their fashion sense, Jobs and Woz do match their inspirations pretty well.
 * Eyes Always Shut: Hap and Gonzy, the latter with good reason.
 * Fan Disservice: One of Hap's few prominent scenes in the series was done while Holland was washing his hands and he was sitting on the john. Naked. Which we saw. Also one of the bits of series material they saw fit to reuse in The Movie.
 * Fauxlosophic Narration
 * Fee Fi Faux Pas: In episode 16, Eureka is quiet because she's worried about Renton being a better pilot for Nirvash. Renton tries to get her to talk by bragging about being a better pilot for Nirvash.
 * Flight of Romance Pretty much anytime Eureka and Renton are piloting the Nirvash.
 * Foreshadowing: A notable example in episode 17.
 * Foreshadowing: A notable example in episode 17.


 * Also, in ep. 40, Renton, Eureka, the children, and . By the end of the series, you'll realize why.
 * Freak-Out: Episode 20. Enough said.
 * Free Fall Romance Happens more than once. These kids don't seem at all fazed to find themselves skydiving with no parachute. In fact, just falling isn't dangerous enough, so in the third show opening this happens in the middle of a Free-Fall Fight.
 * Freudian Excuse: ever wonder why Holland acts like a jerk and is emotionally immature?  Be very very thankful that he's as stable and well adjusted as he is. His childhood could not have been fun. It makes things all the more creepy when you realise that
 * Frickin' Laser Beams: Apparently, they have homing lasers as well as the more conventional goes-in-a-straight-line version. Yes, by "homing" they mean Roboteching, not just really good targeting computers.
 * Justified by the effects of the Coralian cloud.
 * Funbag Airbag: In the manga, Dominic accidentally walks face first in Ruri's breasts when he walks around a corner.
 * Future Music:
 * Gaia's Vengeance: And a particularly nasty case of it, as well. Somewhat subverted, at least in the series, in that the Skub really don't want to hurt humans at all, but the Antibody Coralians are an automated response.
 * Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: Talho to Holland. Multiple times. Also to Renton. And to Eureka... Okay, so Talho does this a lot.
 * God Was My Co-Pilot: The ending reveals that
 * Gratuitous English: Tons of LFO- and lifting-related jargon are in English.
 * Gratuitous Spanish: Ciudades del Cielo, Controlado, Pancha, Yucatan Iglesias...
 * Happy Ending:  For the movie version,
 * The series ending is tempered by the fact that Other than that, though, yes, a happy ending.
 * Heel Face Turn: Many characters, including
 * Heroic Sacrifice: TheEND saves Dominic and Anemone from a massive explosion, which disintegrates its entire back area, arms, and head. This pretty much redeems every evil deed which it did in the series.
 * High-Speed Missile Dodge: Absolutely every fight in the series. The KLF missiles are even worse than those seen in Macross. Well, actually the KLF are very much cannon fodder whatever weapon they employ.
 * Hotblooded Sideburns: Charles.
 * Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Most episodes take their titles from names of songs (usually in electronic music).
 * The series creator and head writer, Dai Sato, is a known electronic musician himself, together with his friend Kengo Watanabe, has once managed his own record label.
 * It also shares the same Theme Naming with Bubblegum Crisis 2040, a series written by Sato's long-time collaborator Chiaki J. Konaka, who also wrote a couple of episodes here. They used rock songs there, though.
 * Idiot Ball: While pounding your own arm with a rock to make it match to your loved ones is a pretty romantic thing to do, it is also very stupid and irresponsible to do it on a strange coast, with no immediate medical support at hand and short on supplies and shelter, Renton...
 * Important Haircut: Talho and Eureka, at different points.
 * Arguably,
 * It's Personal:  oppose Gekkostate not merely because of their affiliation with the military, but also because of resentment toward Eureka, whom they believe to be to blame for
 * Its Pronounced Tropay: Eureka and Anemone's names don't have any long vowels.
 * Strangely, the German dub averts this, going with the classical German "Eu-REH-Kah" pronounciation, but instead putting the emphasis on the first sylable, instead of the middle one. It sounds equally strange, yet somehow more familiar.
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold: Holland.
 * The only thing that separates Holland from being a straight up complete asshole is his desire to stop  and his kindness to Eureka. Other than that, he constantly abuses Renton for most of the series until he finally realizes how damaging his actions are to Renton and it takes a while for him to have a good relationship with Talho too.
 * He gets called out on it both in-series and in Super Robot Wars Z.
 * The whole crew could count as one to Renton, especially in the beginning.
 * Kamehame Hadoken: In episode
 * Kick the Dog: Holland, would you please stop beating Renton up as stress relief? It's probably not very healthy for him.
 * Kill All Humans:
 * In the manga,
 * Kill Sat: Oratorio #8
 * Line in The Sand
 * Locked Out of the Loop: The first season, where no one bothers to tell Renton about anything that's going on.
 * And sometimes they blame him for it.
 * Love Martyr: Dominic, for Anemone.
 * Macross Missile Massacre: By Shoji Kawamori himself, even.
 * In addition to conventional missile massacres, the show also uses this trope with "homing lasers", complete with High-Speed Missile Dodge.
 * Madness Mantra: Episode 28, after  spends most of an episode humming an eerie tune. Made even more creepy by the fact that the audience barely sees her, just hears the humming over scenery shots of the rooms she's trashed. It's horribly and heartbreakingly clear that she's completely lost it when we see that she's set the table for herself, Charles and Renton with their three mugs.
 * Magic Skirt: Talho's first outfit. Both Averted and Lampshaded in one manga episode, when, after Renton wins a fight for food in Gekkostate, Mattieu effortlessly lifts Eureka's skirt to show him what is inside and Renton drops his prize.
 * Matrix Raining Code: Compac Drives have it when activated, with concrete words showing occasionally such as Eureka.
 * Meaningful Name: The Skub Coral, which is, through no fault of its own, the cause of most of the conflict in the series.
 * Meaningful Echo: I CAN FLY!
 * Meganekko: Two of the three of Renton's classmates/neighbors.
 * Mind Screw: The Movie. Also, any of the Acperience episodes
 * Mind Rape: theEnd's Vascud Crisis attack seems to work like this when it was first used, though later uses portray it as more of a Wave Motion Gun.
 * Mismatched Eyes: The Nirvash, in its third form. When it lifts its head to finally show its right eye, which it had been covering by cocking it's head to the side, you see the eye color is purple. Its left eye is blue.
 * Morality Pet:
 * Dominic's kindness to Anemone makes him more sympathetic. Gulliver continues the chain more literally by being the subject of Anemone's kindness.
 * According to a flashback in one episode, the kids are sort of this for Eureka; before they came along, she was cold, mechanical, and emotionless, but when she finds three children huddled in the bodies of a surrendering group of people she had just slaughtered, she realizes what she's done and takes them in, becoming the quiet, motherly type we become familiar with.
 * Eureka, to Holland.
 * The Movie
 * My Death Is Only the Beginning: When Dewey, things go from bad to worse
 * My Hero Zero: The Nirvash typeZERO.
 * Myth Arc: The entire first half of the series is basically foreshadowing.
 * Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Sky Surfing Giant Mecha with organic cores that run on The Power of Love and can turn into vehicles.
 * No Biochemical Barriers: The crew briefly muses on the biological compatibility of Eureka (human-form Coralian) and Renton (human). The resident doctor confirms that there's nothing preventing it.
 * No Loves Intersect: You won't see any full fledged Love Triangles (or Dodecahedrons) in the whole show. It is subtly implied that one of the three of Renton's classmates/neighbors have a crush on Renton, but it never went further than that and he never sees them again after the first episode.
 * Holland/Talho/Eureka probably counts, actually. It's just that unlike most anime love triangles this one actually gets a conclusive resolution.
 * Renton can be added to that equation, too. It's implied that part of the reason Holland is so harsh with him is that both Eureka and Talho have taken a liking for him – he gets jealous when Talho mutters "You've gotta get it together, Renton" in her sleep, and is upset because Eureka chose Renton instead of him.
 * the three kids, especially Maurice, are counted as well since they are constantly obstructing Renton in his quest to get Eureka's love.
 * Let's just be clear here: Maurice points a rifle at Renton in one late episode because he's upset that Eureka isn't giving all her attention to him exclusively.
 * What makes this series different, is that Love Triangles do exist, but for once it's about the intersection of different types of love obstructing each other. For example, Holland acts as Eureka's protectorate and effectively maintains a sibling/parental relationship with her, but he's strongly romantically involved with Talho, who resents Eureka because Holland uses his devotion to her as a way to escape from his responsibilities and relationship with Talho because he has the emotional maturity of a teenager and has no idea how to face an adult relationship with the woman he loves. Then Renton comes into the picture, who makes things more complicated because suddenly Eureka is investing emotionally in him, making Holland resent Renton because he is undermining his role and ... Holland has the emotional maturity of a teenager. Basically, all Love Triangles surrounding Holland can be resolved by Holland growing up and acting like an adult. Which he does... eventually.
 * Nothing Exciting Ever Happens Here
 * Not Now, Kiddo: Dewey and the Ageha squad don't take the Gekko State very seriously. Dominic, who does, is shut down by the Ageha squad in his efforts to warn Dewey about this.
 * The Omniscient Council of Vagueness: The highly vague and laughably ineffectual Council of Sages, who don't get much done except hire Dewey.
 * This may be the closest thing to Truth in Television (although maybe not intentional) in the series, really (except the coral aesop). In WWII in Romania, king Carol the IInd, in desperation of his weakness, called on an ex military commander from jail to take the country out of trouble. Antonescu, the military guy, soon took all power in the country, and had the King give up his position and leave the country the same night. His purpose has been deemed by some as suicidal as Dewey's.
 * Off-Model: A few scenes in the series and movie, but unfortunately prominent in the 3rd opening, thanks to the position, perspective, and environment of the shots. In the 3rd opening, though, it might've been intentional, given that it was directed by an animator famous for his fluid movement style and weird deformations of the characters.
 * Official Couple: Several, actually. There's Renton and Eureka, Holland and Talho, Gidget and Moondoggie, and, among others.
 * Omnicidal Maniac:
 * "On the Next..."
 * Parental Substitute: Charles and Ray Beams serves as this for Renton.
 * Poor Communication Kills: In "Date of Birth", Renton discovers that Eureka knew his father. He's angry and frustrated that she never mentioned that fact. While Eureka discusses the situation with Holland and Talho, Holland concludes that Renton is trying to pressure Eureka into sex (or worse) and runs off to kick his ass.
 * Holland doesn't tell Renton anything, and it massively screws them both up. Which, at least, can be explained by him feeling jealous of attention Eureka and Talho show to Renton.
 * Dewey either chooses not to read or is not given Dominic's report on the Nirvash and its pilots. Therefore he assumes that Eureka doesn't have a partner and will never find one, even though it's actually Renton. He therefore lets his guard down at the worst possible time. Its a mistake that costs him dearly.
 * This specifically, Dewey and the Ageha squad don't take the Gekko state as a serious threat, only Dominic does.
 * Post Episode Trailer
 * The Power of Love: Arguably the only reason anything gets done in this series. It powers the robots, for God's sake.
 * The entire last episode is this.
 * Precision-Guided Boomerang
 * Product Placement: For Pizza-La, a Japanese pizza chain.
 * Rape As Drama: Averted.
 * Real Robot: Though it's inferred that they are at least partially organic, the LFOs other than the typeZERO and TheEnd never express emotions.
 * Also,
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Anemone and Eureka, along with purple oni Sakuya.
 * Red Shirt: Almost all Moon-Soono(KLF) pilots are sent to die. This actually comes back to bite Gekkostate later when some of the KLF pilots try to beat Holland up for killing so many of their comrades.
 * Ridiculously Cute Critter - Gulliver. Just Gulliver.
 * The Movie - Mukyuu~!!
 * Roboteching: Various Homing Laser attacks, but especially TheEnd's.
 * : Episode 48.
 * Schizo-Tech - It's supposedly 10,000 years into the future and humans developed advanced, humanoid mechas, hover boards, and turbo-charged military ships and yet we're still driving around in cars from the 1940's?!
 * Fridge Logic somewhat justifies it: the hoverboards only work on energy-flows in the same way a surfboard does with water, and are completely useless unless made from a certain material. The humanoid robots are partly organic (and not human-made organic parts either) and have only existed (or at least been used) for a little over a decade. The flying ships use the same mechanics of trapar-surfing that the hoverboards do, and trapar waves aren't always reliable in all areas (ships tend to stay on the ley-lines; i.e., trapar currents in the sky). Hell, all standard-issue LFOs and KLFs are able to transform into wheeled vehicle forms for fast transport where Trapar waves are weak/absent (goodness knows how this would help them if they lost lift while out at sea). So, cars with wheels. And as for aesthetics? Isn't it obvious these people have hard-ons for anything antiquated by now?
 * Scenery Porn: In every episode and Opening/Ending theme, expect to see beautifully detailed backdrops. Whether it's the sky, the grass, the cityscape or whatever.
 * Scenery Gorn: Just like the Scenery Porn, from city ruins to landscapes devastated by the Seven Swell Phenomenon
 * Also... Warsaw. Yes, we get it. Any place called Warsaw apparently always gets destroyed in the process of ethnic cleansing, you tactless animators!
 * Shout-Out: The mecha type names (LFO and KLF), as well as many other things, are musical references. There are also a fair amount of shouting out to surfer culture.
 * Two characters, Woz and Jobs, are named after Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, the creators of Apple.
 * Jobs even looks the part, having the sufficiently similar appearance to real Steve Jobs. Woz... well, if you squint really hard and discount his fashion sense.
 * Gidget and Moondoggie are named after characters from the Gidget book/TV/film series.
 * Mondoggie's real name, as stated on his pilot license, is James Darren Emerson -- a composite reference to the actor playing the original Mondoggie role, James Darren, and Darren Emerson, a noted electronic musician.
 * Moondoggie is Gidget's boyfriend there too.
 * Episode 20 features a prison called "Dabu Ghraib".
 * Not to mention that it's got shout outs to classic giant robot shows out the wazoo. A few choice examples:
 * The three annoying kids are designed after the three annoying kids from the original Mobile Suit Gundam.
 * Weird pink explosions are from Mobile Suit Gundam as well.
 * Nirvash Type Zero is nicknamed the "White Devil." That speaks for itself.
 * Ray & Charles' mechs are painted in Max & Miriya's colours from Super Dimension Fortress Macross. Also, there are some strong similarities to Gundam's Ramba & Hamon. Plus their names are Ray Charles.
 * Doubly referential names. In going along with the series' less prevalent architecture motifs, Ray and Charles EAMES were a married pair of famous modernist architects.
 * Said strong resemblances go as far as to dedicate entire episodes to similar interactions and showdowns between the Gecko State and the Beams.
 * Anemone is a violently insane genetically altered Tyke Bomb in a red & black version of the hero's mech, not unlike everyone ever to pilot one of Zeta Gundam's aptly named Psycho Gundams.
 * Nevermind that it's actually "Psyco" for Psycommu, not for psychopath.
 * Also, several elements of the plot & characters resemble elements from Gundam X, though this may be coincidence.
 * In The Movie, there's a spaceship called the Megaroad, and one event in the plot happens at co-ordinates 0080 0083.
 * Nivarsh's form is basicly the Eureka Seven form of the Gunbuster, pilot seat and all.
 * Not to mention that every single episode of the series shares the name of a real life song.
 * Renton's LFO toy is a Shout-Out to Popy's and Bandai's late 1970s and early 1980s Chogokin ("Super Alloy") diecast toys, including blocky Off-Model design and Rocket Punch spring-loaded fists.
 * Greg Egan, aka Doctor Bear, is a reference to two science fiction authors, Greg Egan and Greg Bear.
 * Renton is named after Mark Renton, of the movie Trainspotting. Similarly Diane Thurston, Renton's sister, is named after the character Dianne Coulston of the same film.
 * Warsaw is also known as "The Joy Division". Warsaw is the name the band Joy Division went by previously
 * For The Movie, Peter Pan is mentioned at least 3 times and Renton and Eureka are even called "Peter and Wendy".
 * Gekko-go's gunner and owner, Ken-Goh, is a reference to Kengo Watanabe, an old buddy of the series chief scriptwriter, Dai Sato, with whom he also manages an indie electronic label Frogman Records.
 * Various Humongous Mecha designations in the series are mostly taken from the synthesizers' (mostly Roland) model numbers.
 * Whenever members of the Gekko use codenames, they use characters and such from Alice in Wonderland.
 * Shoot the Dog: Holland, when Charles dies. And then again with Ray.
 * Sky Surfing: Yeah.
 * Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism: Most characters who are still alive at the end of the series grow up and/or change for the better, and the whole story is permeated with the idea that the The Power of Love can accomplish anything. In short: definitely on the idealistic side.
 * The Sociopath: Dewey., genocide, global mass-murder, inhumane human experimentation, political coups, and manipulation of mass media to paint himself as a hero. Possibly paedophilia as well (judging by the Agehda squad, among other things). He has absolutely no qualms about using, discarding and killing the majority of the population of the planet for his own needs, including his own brother. And he seems to enjoy it. Yeah, is the normal one in this family.
 * Soundtrack Dissonance: A scene of Holland beating Renton to wildly inappropriate swelling strings, though this was probably unintentional.
 * And in episode 43: There's a high-speed and violent LFO battle taking place. All the while, Dewey is in the process of flashing back to when he all the while an upbeat and fast-paced orchestra is playing in the background.
 * Stripperific: Talho's clothes.
 * Super Fun Happy Thing of Doom: The "Summer of Love" was in fact a worldwide catastrophe that was only stopped by the sacrificial efforts of Adroc Thurston. It is feared the "Second Summer of Love" could well mean The End of the World As We Know It if it is allowed to happen.
 * Not to mention the "Joy Division".
 * The use of the name Joy Division is rather recursively appropriate, as the band picked that name as a reference to the 1955 novel The House of Dolls, where.
 * And the Joy Division is in a devastated Warsaw... nice.
 * Super Robot: The Nirvash.
 * Super Robot Wars: Z, with The Movie appearing in the sequel.
 * Team Mom: Hilda.
 * Tempting Fate: One early episode had the staff of a military base saying how there was no way the Gekkostate would visit the area...
 * Theme Naming: Pretty much everyone and anything, there are characters named after characters from surfing lore, 60's beach films, and obscure Japanese novels.
 * Also, the two tech guys on the ship are named Jobs and Woz.
 * Ray and Charles Beams: Put their first names together and whose name do you get? Also, lose the "B" and you get Charles and Ray Eames.
 * Many of the LFOs and KLFs are named after Roland and Korg synthesizers.
 * The series' episodes are named after various electronic songs.
 * This Is Sparta: "I... CAAAAN... FLYYYYYYY!!!"
 * Those Two Guys: More like Those Three Girls who were Renton's classmates.
 * Title Drop and Visual Pun: In the soccer episode, Eureka wears number 7.
 * Transforming Mecha: Since the mechs in this series achieve flight by riding waves of energy in the sky they have no control over, almost all of them are capable of transforming into wheeled vehicle modes for land transportation where the waves are too weak to support them. A lucky few still have usable weapons in this state, most prominently Holland's Terminus R909. The Nirvash Spec2 can even step up the game by turning into a fighter jet! The only humanoid mechs which don't seem able to transform are the TheEND, the Devilfish and the Beams's Spearhead SH-101's.
 * True Companions: The crew of the Gekko.
 * Tsundere: Talho for Holland.
 * Holland is guilty of being a cross between Tsundere and Kuudere over Talho for a huge chunk of the series, to the point where she is horribly insecure of their relationship because she has no idea that he actually loves her. He gets better, though. After he learns to communicate like an adult.
 * Movie!Eureka frequently calls Renton a Baka, so she probably counts too.
 * Twenty Minutes Into the Future: That's what the show looks like, although it's set 10,000 years into the future.
 * Tyke Bomb: Anemone and the Ageha Squad.
 * Wave Motion Gun: The ultimate attack of It's not that it looked like the Buster Beam. That thing was the Buster Beam.
 * Also, theEnd's Vascud Crisis weapon.
 * Wave Motion Tuning Fork: Oratorio #8
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?: Transforming, Sky-Surfing Mecha. 'Nuff said.
 * Also, rainbow explosions.
 * What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic: The show has references to Buddhist mythology and The Golden Bough. The movie version had Noah's Ark and Little Mermaid reference.
 * The (double) rainbow at the end of The Movie.
 * Women in Refrigerators: The actual trope itself doesn't happen, but episode 12 does have a literal woman (specifically Anemone) inside a refrigerator at one point.
 * Word Salad Title : See the show's full Japanese title, noted above.
 * You Can Panic Now: Dewey uses fear of a Coralian attack and the Strawman News Media to gain public support and topple the government.
 * You Kill It, You Bought It: Eureka and.
 * Women in Refrigerators: The actual trope itself doesn't happen, but episode 12 does have a literal woman (specifically Anemone) inside a refrigerator at one point.
 * Word Salad Title : See the show's full Japanese title, noted above.
 * You Can Panic Now: Dewey uses fear of a Coralian attack and the Strawman News Media to gain public support and topple the government.
 * You Kill It, You Bought It: Eureka and.