After the special, one night event of the US screening of the new anime film, Eureka Seven: Good night, sleep tight, young lovers, (Pocketful of Rainbows in Japanese) the movie earned extremely mixed criticism amongst its fan community. The movie's followers have been, for the most part, split down the middle of either loving it or absolutely loathing it.
Following the film was a half hour special that covered how the movie was translated and dubbed into English with ADR director, Tony Oliver, whom is one of the more talented and understanding directors when it comes to Japanese animation, as well as snippets from an interview with Eureka Seven's director Tomoki Kyoda, who's most important message to his viewers was, "it is supposed to be different from the series."
The Graphics and Animation
In terms of the film's animation, the budget was well spent. The colors were vibrant and beautiful, movement fluid and seamless. Since Eureka Seven is a mech anime, the film did feature ships and robots, all of which were wonderfully drawn and animated. The opening battle featuring Nirvash and Renton was exceptional and while certain fans were upset that some of the choreographed battles were reused from the series, they were without a doubt, updated in terms of style and final product for the film. Eureka Seven is not the first movie to reuse old sequences, as seen in Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone.
The Story
As the director said in his interview, fans cannot come into this film expecting the story it continue from where the series ended. He specifically wanted to make Good night, sleep tight, young lovers be a film where a viewer did not need previous information in order to enjoy it. The concept and storyline are therefore, set in an alternate time where, despite changes made to many of the characters, Renton and Eureka are still the main protagonists.
The story fit well into a two hour time span. There was a bit of confusion near the movie's climax, but after watching it once more, concepts and motives seemed to make more sense. Unfortunately, the conclusion of so many anime films can often be confusing and unclear, but Eureka Seven did well avoiding most of that.
The Translation
Tony Oliver worked with a wonderful cast for the English dub and while most fans, if asked about dubbing, will simply say to watch the show in its original Japanese, the movie was so well directed that it can be enjoyed in either language. There were a few odd sentences that were translated a bit too literally and one that was, although not intended, translated like a joke that had the audience laughing at an otherwise very serious moment in the film. A character was quoted saying, "I'm not a real doctor, but..." which is awfully close to the phrase, "I'm not a real doctor, but I play one on TV," which is why chuckles could not be avoided.
Crispin Freeman, a veteran voice actor, played the role of Holland, famous also for his work on Slayers, Hellsing and Angel Sanctuary. The talents of Renton and Eureka were Johnny Yong Bosch and Stephanie Sheh, both who were also very impressive in their roles.
Conclusion
Eureka Seven: Good night, sleep tight, young lovers was by no means the best anime film recently released. There were drags in exposition and confusion in parts of the story, but as a stand-alone, alternate story to what could have happened to Renton and Eureka, the film did its job well enough. The movie was quite beautiful, aesthetically and had some very wonderful, human moments. Opinions should be made after seeing the film for one's self and viewers must remember, this is not a continuation of the series.
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