It’s the time of year when we look back at what we watched this year. Some shows wowed us, while others make us just shake our heads. The staff got together, and have each published their Top 10 list for this year. While there is no general consensus on what show was best, there are definitely some that rise to the top for all of us. What do you think of our picks?
Welcome Back! Aeroblip returns, but we brought a special guest to finish off the year: Mr. Flawfinder! We’re each handing out our end of year awards. This will be our last show before the new year. You can download the show, podcast it, or listen to it right here in the post. Enjoy! Continue reading
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.
[UPDATE: This is just a preview, you can find my thoughts on the finale here]
The fated time has arrived. At long last, the conclusion to Eureka Seven AO is set to air this coming week. The three weeks off for the Olympics forced a two month delay to end this series. And after leaving on a cliff hanger, we’ve had been left to wonder just what Bones has in store for us. What will the conclusion bring? Will the timeline be set right? Will Renton rescue both Eureka and Ao? But before we get to that, lets recap what we’ve seen so far.
![[AraAraUfufu~] Eureka Seven AO - 22 (720p x264 AAC)[8A83F46A].mkv-00_02_16-00001](http://ghostlightning.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/araaraufufu-eureka-seven-ao-22-720p-x264-aac8a83f46a-mkv-00_02_16-00001.jpg "[AraAraUfufu~] Eureka Seven AO - 22 (720p x264 AAC)[8A83F46A].mkv-00_02_16-00001")
As Otou at Sea Slugs laments, the “plot twists” are set up to try to drive you to feel surprised. They want you to go “holy cow, I didn’t expect that”. But honestly, I don’t think us as the audience are all that surprised any more. It would be more surprising if the show would finish one continuous thought, before randomly dropping something new on top of us. And with that, let’s dig into the last AO episode for the next two months.
Loyalty and Allegiance seem to be a very fluid concept in this show. In a short span, we have both Ao and Elena defecting to the other side. We have Big Blue World dropping Generation Bleu and declaring them rogue. And the remaining members of Team Harlequin joining up against Pied Piper. To me, it’s all contradictory to the guiding principles of the original series.
Yes, I know I’m a week late. Between family and work, life has gotten busy this Fall. But honestly, that’s no excuse. I guess the reason I’m really late is an indication of my growing frustration with this show. And this week’s episode, with it’s shotgun approach to unraveling mysteries and creating new ones, was almost a letdown. It was utterly anticlimactic. And why do I think that?
Everyone needs a little down time. Some R&R, a break from the fight, rest for the weary. And honestly, for this show, this applies for not only the characters, but us as the viewer as well. We have been on a whirlwind of time travel and time paradoxes with enough confusion to keep us guessing until the end. But this week is a reprieve from that. Which is definitely a good thing. This episode brings us back to the humanity of the situation. Emotions, friendships, and trust. As I know I’m going to be all over the place with this one, I’ll keep it short.
With every action, there is an equal, and opposite reaction. One of the fundamental laws of physics, it defines that no action happens without affecting something else. And is Ao finds out, his Scub Coral bazooka (or Quartz Gun as Gen Bleu calls it) not only destroys Secrets, but reaches through time to affect past events. With the inclusion of just this one element, this show has gone from being a sort of battle between Scub, Secret, and Human, to that of how can Ao restore the timeline. Wonderful.
Anime Audiolog 