After what seemed like an eternity, this week brought us the conclusion the Eureka Seven Astral Ocean. This sequel, which in being set in the past felt like a prequel, was not without it’s faults. Most of us that were Eureka Seven fans came in with high expectations. And rightly so. Eureka Seven was, over the course of 50 episodes, a balanced and beautiful show. Growth and conflict, aliens and mecha, love and loss, a hero rescuing the damsel; this show had it all.
AO was a chance to continue this legacy. A chance to invigorate the fan base once again, and bring a new audience into the fold. And with it’s first four episodes, it did that. Sure, it left us with some questions, and made us wonder what was going on. But the potential was there. But as we worked our way through the series, more things were, seemingly randomly, thrown our way. And all we could think was, “Bones won’t do that to us”. And with this last hiatus, my thoughts were, “here is a chance for Bones to finish this the right way”.
Quite frankly, it sucks to be disappointed this way.
Truth was always a wild card player. His existence represets the true world timeline, and the desire to restore it. But his insanity left you always wondering what his true objective was. And left him as the perceived villain. But like so many other things in this series, it represents another voice that Ao will choose to ignore. Truth speaks the truth, but no one chooses to listen. Ao wields the power to set things right, and refuses to use it. He feels as if he his rewriting history, not restoring it. And in an act of suicide by Truth, does Ao get one step closer to realization of what he must do.
Renton’s appearance is supposed to bring a sense of relief. I assumed, like many others, that his arrival, and subsequent reunion with Ao, would bring a dynamic team together to restore the timeline. And at first, it does seem that way. Renton takes the time to Explain to Ao what the Scub have done, why Eureka ends up in the past, and what his fight is all about. But his goals are in conflict with Ao’s. He is willing to sacrifice the past, the past that created Eureka, and everything he knows, to remove the Scub from the timeline. 
This goes against everything Ao stands for. His struggle with the Quartz Gun has been his unwillingness to sacrifice anyone, even Truth. Countless times, Ao was faced with the decision to shoot the gun before. But this is too much. He is unwilling to sacrifice Eureka, his mother, in the interest of saving the world. It really does represent the difference in nobility between the child and adult. Renton knows the only way to correct his mistake in saving the Scub Coral in the future, is to remove them from existence. Ao is resistant against any plan that puts Eureka at risk.
The solution to the future, always lies in the past. Ao gets the idea to use the pole light as a portal. Ao, followed shortly by Renton, travel to the past, to the fateful moment when is mother chose to sacrifice herself to stop the Scub Coral. And in a haphazard fashion, we find the solution to saving the world, and convenient answers to a series of timeline related mysteries. Honestly, I don’t buy into the thought that “I was born to save the world”. Ao decides that he must be the sacrifice that sets the world back on track. But in a story where the plot device is alternate timelines, why not. 
I find this ending all too convenient. Much in the way I gripe about how the ending to Madoka ruined how dark and despondent the story had been, this story wraps up all to easily. Note how I don’t say “well” or “good”. Because Bones decided to make this show about twisting time upon itself, they had no other way than to end things like this. It feels like they decided to take the original canon and emotion and throw it out the window. If you’re going to reset history, it should come with a price. It just feels cheap.
But there is no going back. This is what we are left with. The original series will always hold a special place for me. This series will always be an afterthought; the sequel I really didn’t need.
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I think if they at least extend the series they might explained well the ending. But I guess I felt the same thing. Kinda disappointed but I think its okay. Still, I love the original series.
This sequel didn’t really do much for me either. There was so much potential: an interesting geopolitical setting, fine looking character and mechanical designs and a mysterious series of events waiting to be developed and explained. But this sequel ended up lacking the warmth and feel of the original, specially when it came to its characters. With the exception of Ao, I never really cared too much for them, specially the strange and fickle Naru. It goes to show how little people cared about the characters in AO, that all anyone was asking before this episodes came out was ‘what are Renton and Eureka going to do?’ The soundtrack was not as good either, and as you pointed out in one of your posts at WRL, inserting a time-travel element in your stories is always a tricky business.
The ending itself reminded me a lot of Rahxephon (and I mean a lot) and it’s no surprise for me to find out that the director of E7AO actually worked on that series. I don’t want to go into details because I don’t want to spoil Rahxephon for those who haven’t seen it, but does who have will know what I’m talking about.
I don’t think this will be much of a moneymaker for Bones, so I don’t expect a sequel or film of E7 but you never know. Maybe they try to develop Ao’s story on his new Earth?
II haven’t seen Rahxephon, but maybe I’ll try to watch it in the new year. It’s funny that directors (and studios), no matter what they work on, have a telltale style. This ending left so many things unfinished, incomplete plot holes, unfinished business with characters. I felt like the original completed everything it needed to, while this series just bumbled it’s way to an ending. I think there is an OVA in the near future. I wonder if that will tie up loose ends.
There’s an OVA coming? I wonder what they’re going to accomplish with that one? Alternate timeline perhaps?
After a couple of days for the finale to sink in, I suppose that what annoys me the most is how they left so much unfinished business with the rest of the cast. Naru, Elena, Fleur, Ivica…It’s like the production team didn’t care about them enough. For some reason, only the Okinawa trio got any kind of closure besides Truth and the Thurston family. I just found it odd and disconcerting and quite different to the originals handling of main characters.
Supposedly, there’s one more OVA (or at least that was the rumor at one point). I have no idea what it could be. You’re exactly right on the remaining key cast members. We have no closure on any of it. They’ve built them up, and left us hanging on where they go from here.
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I couldn’t have said it better myself Joe! The ending was so damn confusing and Ao’s sacrifice was honestly a joke…seriously what? I don’t understand why he was like “yep I was born for this.” YEAAAH RIIGGGHTTT Sure buddy…sure…keep believing that LOL
The thing with Truth at the end becoming the AI for Ao’s Nirvosh was kind of interesting, but nothing mind blowing! I did enjoy how Truth at the end helped Ao; however even that felt weak…also no mention of what happened with Fleur or Elena or the remaining members of Pied Piper? I wanted something at the end! Ah well.
Agreed after the breaks and delays the final two episodes were huge let downs for me! I guess I wanted something else instead of all this dumb time travel >.<
Born to be a sacrifice is a joke. All made possible by ridiculous time paradoxes. There were so many loose ends that really didn’t tie together. Did you notice that the final form of the Nirvash that AO used looks a lot like the IFO that Truth used to rampage in? All very frustrating. But it will give us something to gripe about for a week or two 😉
Wait so did they stop making the eureka seven series?
“Brace yourself… this isn’t gonna be half assed”
I think you guys need to stop over analyzing everything and just enjoy the ride your ruining it for yourselves. Sure there were a lot of unanswered questions but it’s not like that will change. I would like nothing more than for the original Eureka seveN series to be continued but that’s not gonna happen. The real dissapointment was pocketful of rainbows.