A striking aspect of watching Eureka Seven is that you come to expect the unexpected. As enjoyable as I find the aerial combat and edge-of-the-seat tension to be, it has a complexity of writing and confident direction that continues to amaze me, even after watching a number of apparently similar series. Every now and then I'm reminded of the classics with little details or background themes that echo everything from Kawamori's own Macross franchise to Anno's Gainax years of teen angst and organic mecha. What E7 continues to do is present those clichés and plot devices that fans are familiar with, but add fresh ideas to keep you guessing; and the fresh ideas keep on coming.

There are a few minor sticking points, such as Renton's continuing awkwardness with Eureka which seems to be needlessly reiterating a point that has been made already but where this particular facet of the characterisation is treading water there's plenty to keep us interested in other aspects: for instance there's an important development in the Holland/Talho relationship (we even meet the former's estranged brother into the bargain, with fascinating results) and a whole slew of background information regarding the Coralians.

It may seem obvious now given the trapar waves and strange landscapes, but the idea of the series not necessarily being set on Earth never really crossed my mind before now. My only defence I suppose is that the characters are so engaging and vibrant that this wasn't an issue until more attention was paid to the conflict with the Coralians. In any case, the picture that is emerging now suggests that the humans have decided to wage war on the life forms that were there first, which adds a whole new spin onto the stance of the Gekkostate and those who they are opposed to. Certain scenes are pretty hard-hitting as a result of all this, showing an (unprovoked?) attack from the humans, which seems to unleash a retaliation by strange creatures who annihilate entire cities of innocent civilians.

As always, no event in this story seems to be without its consequences. It's pretty obvious now that while Eureka is, as far as Renton and the others are concerned at least, human, she is also some sort of being of Coralian origins. The relationship between them is now less of a typical romance subplot and more symbolic of the far-reaching issues regarding human and Coralian co-existence. While Eureka feels somehow responsible for what is going on around her, there's a plan in motion that I doubt even those in authority are aware of, given Dewey's hard-nosed approach. There's a lot of symbolism and hidden meaning in this show, which is why I think it's a cut above most other similarly-themed fare and in time I can see myself placing it up there with the all-time greats (although I've been getting this feeling already).

Eureka's and Talho's respective changes of hairstyle for instance hint at how they are changing as people, while Holland is forced to do some soul-searching of his own; the fight against the Coralians is a less-than-subtle political or ecological message, along with the anti-war sentiment that is strong even by anime standards; and there are of course plenty more mood-lightening pop culture references that may or may not slip under your radar (my favourite bit of trivia this time around was that the title of episode #34, Inner Flight, is also that of a song from Primal Scream's Screamadelica album).

I'm willing to admit that certain pieces of the puzzle left me scratching my head; especially when new terms and ideas are being introduced fairly suddenly. Given its track record in the past, I'm sure the series will give them the explanations they deserve so I'm not overly concerned there. Besides, in the meantime we're treated to not only the Nirvash getting an ‘evolutionary’ upgrade (Kawamori couldn't resist slipping in a new take on the transforming mecha, could he?) but there's the introduction of a Voderac monk named Norb with some interesting views. This clashes well with a set of new characters whose childlike appearance but startling ability to carry out their duties, no matter how taxing or cold-blooded, is quite unsettling and furthers Dewey's own agenda.

In Summary
There's plenty to say about these episodes but the threat of spoilers makes me reluctant to go into too much detail. Suffice to say the human/Coralian issue has yet another seemingly important twist, the true nature of Eureka and Anemone (I'm hoping for more screen time from Anemone in future episodes) takes on greater significance and the likes of Holland, Talho and even Renton's grandfather have some more to offer to the story. It has a few minor hiccups and unexplained details but overall E7 is still wonderfully enthralling. The Nirvash's new look is also pretty spectacular!