×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
REVIEW: Eureka Seven - good night, sleep tight, young lovers -


Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 3:57 pm Reply with quote
I must say I'm intrigued by this. Since I'm daunted by the running time of the TV series, this may well be a more timely way to get my E7 fix.
Hitherto I have only encountered isolated morsels of fan reaction -of which much was quite negative- but in light of such praise I may well consider the film, provided the soundtrack is on a par to the emotional content.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
Nebs



Joined: 19 Jul 2003
Posts: 384
Location: University of Illinois
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 4:46 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Oh, and those who have seen the TV series will also see a key late plot twist coming a mile away, although the event in question has a much greater impact here than it did in the TV series.

Yeah, spoiler[Talho being pregnant] was totally obvious if you've seen the series, despite them saying it was something else at first.

I really enjoyed this movie, in some ways more than the TV series. I MUCH preferred this Eureka to her TV counterpart. I really wasn't fond of her in the series because of how silent, distant, weak, & ignorant she was (any character that has a Rei Ayanami personality or similar is an instant turn-off). The movie Eureka was nothing like that at all, & I greatly appreciated that change. She actually had personality, layers, warmth, & an overall human feel to her. She even had a little tsun tsun going on, though not so much as to be considered a tsundere. She does call Renton an idiot quite often though, which brought upon one of the best bloopers during the behind-the-scenes feature (Eureka: "Idiot." Renton: "Bitch.").

The change to Hap's personality was the most jarring in my opinion, spoiler[& what ultimately happened to him]. As a fan of Anemone & Dominick in the original series though, I really enjoyed the completely different roles they had here in the movie. That's the truest form of fan-service right there (having nothing to do with ecchi material). Overall, I really enjoyed the film (the dub at least), & highly recommend it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger ICQ Number
Keonyn
Subscriber



Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 5567
Location: Coon Rapids, MN
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 4:56 pm Reply with quote
I'm pretty sure the film likely pales in comparison to the series. There's no way you could get what the series provides in a 2 hour set.

I haven't seen this yet, and I have to admit I'm somewhat afraid to. I love the series, it's my favorite anime, and I fear this will be like what the Escaflowne movie did to that series. I understand it's a reimagining with a lot of liberties taken, so I wouldn't expect a repeat of the series. But still, it's E7, if they wanted to tell a different story they should have just made a new film. I love the series, and would hate to have the franchise soured by a mediocre film that took the name and the characters and threw away the rest that made the series so good.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
BenBrown



Joined: 30 Jan 2008
Posts: 46
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 5:10 pm Reply with quote
I can't believe the high scores this got. I went and saw it last night, and while the visuals were great, and the story was completely different, which was nice, there was one thing I couldn't get past. The script was AWFUL. I have to imagine that at least a quarter of the lines are a character repeating back to the person they were talking to exactly what was just said at them. Tack on another quarter of the lines of Eureka yelling "Renton!" or Renton yelling "Eureka!" and this movie was close to unwatchable.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Fronzel



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1906
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 5:21 pm Reply with quote
I grew seriously bored with the TV series and gave up a little after half-way, but I guess I'll give this one a try.

Quote:
...the book Holland was always reading...

The Golden Bough?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
MetatronM



Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 281
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 5:32 pm Reply with quote
BenBrown wrote:
I can't believe the high scores this got.

Seriously. It's just an awful film, and the things that are awful about it have basically absolutely nothing to do with the mere fact that it's "different" from the TV series. It's just a mindboggling trainwreck of aborted cinematic storytelling.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Captain Crotchspike



Joined: 23 Mar 2005
Posts: 355
Location: Phoenix, AZ
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 5:43 pm Reply with quote
A very generous review indeed - you make it sound like things actually happen in this movie.

It works like this: There's a beginning, then there's what feels like a full two hours explaining what's going to be happening in the end, and then there's the end. And when I say explaining, I mean talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk talk...there is quite a bit of telling, not so much on the showing. The action sequences, when they do happen, barely stand out, and the better ones are taken frame for frame straight out of the TV show (the film actually is composed partly of footage taken from the series). The new scenes are made to match the old ones they spliced in. There's your answer for the animation quality.

By the time the end rolled about, I didn't particularly give a crap anymore. I kind of sort of cared about Renton and Eureka's relationship, probably due to the dub cast doing such a good job despite the hammy script, but the movie as a whole was just such a dumb mess of trying to talk me into believing what was going on was incredibly important and interesting while what I was actually seeing felt like neither of those.

The outtakes were the best part.

"South Dakota~"


Last edited by Captain Crotchspike on Fri Sep 25, 2009 5:46 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address
sugoimikey



Joined: 04 Sep 2009
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 5:44 pm Reply with quote
I had been hearing online that fans of the series seemed to all be dissapointed by the movie, but it turned out to be pretty darn good.
Eureka is one of my favorite series, so i pretty much already decided going in that the movie would not live up to the show, and this movie does have some annoying flaws (the exposition leads to alot of talking) but it was definitely worth the ticket price.
Ultimately though, i seem to always like these cinematic "retellings" as i really enjoyed both the Utena and Escaflowne movies, despite whether they are as great as the shows they are adapted from (For the record though, I think the utena movie is in alot of ways better than the series...).
Also, i saw this with my sister who had never even seen one episode of Eureka and she thought it was good. Now she's even interested in watching the series, so the movie seems like it can stand on its own pretty well and serve as a starting point for anyone to get into the show.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
johnmora



Joined: 18 Dec 2006
Posts: 74
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 5:45 pm Reply with quote
This movie was absurd, even within the fictional world it took place in. Nothing made sense, meaning there was never any real surprise or tension, because you never knew when a new, unexplained McGuffin would render all drama moot. And while I really have no problem with changing people, places and things in movie retellings, there was a TON of reused storyboards/animation in this. The animation quality wasn't ever really above the quality of the series' animation and like an earlier poster said, the script was really amateurish. The structure of the story, having to interrupt the forward momentum to deliver clunky exposition every few minutes, was a huge mistake, too.

The movie's a total misfire and I feel sorry for the people who are gonna plunk good money down on the DVD based on this review.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18137
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 5:49 pm Reply with quote
Keonyn wrote:
I'm pretty sure the film likely pales in comparison to the series. There's no way you could get what the series provides in a 2 hour set.

I haven't seen this yet, and I have to admit I'm somewhat afraid to. I love the series, it's my favorite anime, and I fear this will be like what the Escaflowne movie did to that series. I understand it's a reimagining with a lot of liberties taken, so I wouldn't expect a repeat of the series. But still, it's E7, if they wanted to tell a different story they should have just made a new film. I love the series, and would hate to have the franchise soured by a mediocre film that took the name and the characters and threw away the rest that made the series so good.


And this is why I specifically threw in that Escaflowne comparison. Those who despised that movie for its radical reinterpretation of the source series - a reaction I've never understood, as the movie (which I saw first) is an awesome stand-alone effort - will probably also be miffed at this one and for pretty much the same reasons.

A lot of it comes down to how sacred you hold the source material, an issue which is also at the heart of the insistence by many that anime adaptations rarely or never live up to their source manga and perhaps even the most stubborn complaints of purists about how English dubs never match up to the originals. I usually love radical reinterpretations because I delight in seeing how characters and circumstances might turn out differently with a different approach, so people like me will love this. People more inclined to think that the original way is the only right way won't.

And really, it's been my experience that the series-based movies which flop are ones which specifically try to condense the same story the series told (although E7 could stand to be condensed some!) or merely just be the same kind of thing you see in the episodes. The better ones are the ones which use the same characters but follow their own path.

EDIT: And to address those who commented on the "amateurish writing" while I was writing the previous post: boy, did you guys see the same movie I did?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
Zin5ki



Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 6680
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 6:36 pm Reply with quote
Keonyn wrote:
...and would hate to have the franchise soured by a mediocre film that took the name and the characters and threw away the rest that made the series so good.

If you don't mind me saying this, I'd presume such fears spur a good deal of the hostility towards retelling existing pieces of fiction in general. Admittedly I have felt quite the same way about other titles though.

johnmora wrote:
This movie was absurd, even within the fictional world it took place in.

To those who've seen this, is this a particularly accurate criticism? I should hope that the storyline coheres in the eyes of attentive viewers.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
BenBrown



Joined: 30 Jan 2008
Posts: 46
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 6:45 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:

EDIT: And to address those who commented on the "amateurish writing" while I was writing the previous post: boy, did you guys see the same movie I did?


Evidently not? What was good about the writing? And for the love of all that is holy if you say the dozen times Eureka says, "Oh Renton! You idiot!" I'll probably lose all faith in humanity.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
~~EpiC~~



Joined: 29 Dec 2007
Posts: 243
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 6:49 pm Reply with quote
Ahh Eureka Seven. I definitely remember enjoying the series, that's for sure.

So of course, I went ahead and watched the movie. I didn't actually want to go see it at first, but I was bored and decided to painstakingly convince some friends to see it, the trailer looked promising. So we all went and payed our 12.50 for the tickets. Now on to the movie.

So I did like the new story that they threw in for the movie. It was a different unexpected take on everything. Some of the fight scenes were pretty cool as well. However, the writing was pretty bad. Bad enough to have my friends laugh at the movie, while I tried to defend it and the show (which they had never seen), but I couldn't defend it with a straight face so I only wound up doing it for comical purposes. I'm really disappointed by the review, to be honest. I think it deserves a C at best, and a C only because of story and fights (even though much of it was rehashed). Actually, a C is kind of pushing it.

The main problem with it is a lot of the dialogue was not done well. The dialogue between Eureka and Renton were so forced at times that some of it was cringe worthy. The dialogue between them was often so cliche ridden it was amazingly predictable, to the point where you could guess the next set of lines. A lot of the lines between the members of the Gekko State in general were like that and some of their behavior was unbelievable too. Like someone said about, a lot of the dialogue was like an exact repeat of what the other said, it was bad. Basically it was way too melodramatic, overdone, and unoriginal.

It was bad enough to the point that we all were wondering if just maybe it was that the studio just dubbed it horrendously and that the actual Japanese version was better (we all study Japanese), that it just HAD to be better.

In any case, did you just see the Sub of it Key or something? If you didn't, what do you have to say about the dialogue did you kind of overlook it? I usually agree with your reviews so this one really as me confused a bit.

Zin5ki wrote:

To those who've seen this, is this a particularly accurate criticism? I should hope that the storyline coheres in the eyes of attentive viewers.


The story was fine. I had no problem at all with the story being different. Actually, I was very pleased it was different, because then it could be used to get others who haven't seen it into it. I did not have any problems with the new roles the characters took, I thought it was interesting. But the dialogue was undeniably bad to the point that it ruined the movie.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
jr240483



Joined: 24 Dec 2005
Posts: 4369
Location: New York City,New York,USA
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 7:00 pm Reply with quote
This is one review i completely agree cause i watched it as well.Except with the animation. I thinks it's preety decent and it's probably as expected by bones so it should've gotten a higher grade.

Also it's great that the original VA for the dub return. and from what i've heard it's seems that JYB has gotten better as renton.

when it comes to the US VA both JYB as well Greg Ayres (Negi) & Yuri (Simoun) are probably the only VA that can do characters that's in Renton's age demography really well,

though from what i've read in the forum on how this movie is a total misfire,there's still some anti dubbers that disagree with the review.

I never saw those extras and bloopers though i really hope it's included for the DVD.Would really love to see that as well as the 30 min intake by JYB.

Overall this movie and it's story seperation of the TV series is a really good movie along with the Escaflowne and Utena movies. I'm definately getting this one on DVD and it's a must have for dub junkies like myself and those anti dubbers might have a change of heart after watching it on DVD. Hopefully if it's successful they might include a short sequel.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger
Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18137
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Fri Sep 25, 2009 7:13 pm Reply with quote
~~EpiC~~ wrote:
In any case, did you just see the Sub of it Key or something? If you didn't, what do you have to say about the dialogue did you kind of overlook it? I usually agree with your reviews so this one really as me confused a bit.


No, the review is based on the same dubbed theatrical version that everyone else supposedly saw. (Note that there's no "sub" rating listed.) I am honestly dumbfounded by how much people are ragging on the dialog, so I guess I'll have to rent this and watch it again when it comes out on DVD. I actually thought the dialog was an improvement over the series, which I did at times think suffered from the exact complaints people are leveling against the movie's dialog. At least the movie didn't have the incessant platitudes about growing up and achieving what you want by your own hand.

Now, I suppose I can see where people might make minor complaints about some of the lines in it, but outright saying it's laughably awful dialog? Really? I could name dozens of anime titles I've seen that are much, much worse than this one on that point.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5  Next
Page 1 of 5

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group