Note: This article is also available at Ideas Without End HERE

Episode 26 of Eureka Seven should have been the moment of catharsis that was needed after 13 episodes of mounting tension; the crew of the Gekko are reunited, Holland has realised his errors (if still reluctant to do anything about them) and the trap of Ray and Charles is escaped. But it is not; the episode does not end with the Seventh Swell resolving everything even though it wins the battle. With the Federation’s fleet incapacitated, all that remains are Holland and Charles, and their rivalry spills over into the opening of this next arc. It is worth noting how this is a parallel to the epilogue episode to the first major arc, where Renton and Dominic were forced into co-operation. It is a recurring theme in Eureka Seven – picking up on its influences from the Gundam franchise – that only the younger generation have the potential for circumspection and optimism to avoid repeating mistakes and so perhaps it is apt that when children from each faction meet they meet as peers, while when adults meet it is as enemies.

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