EUREKA SEVEN #39 -- Watch & Learn

OK, this episode probably swings far enough with the comic relief as to break the mood of the show. I’m sure there’s a sizeable segment of the fanbase that probably hates it. However, as a guy who’ll always have a soft spot for sports movies, it was irresistibly enjoyable to see the life 'n death drama of mecha, antibodies and assorted revolutions put aside for a little ball game. Much like the periodic issues of X-MEN that let the team play baseball, this episode offered the pleasing respite of seeing these familiar characters having some fun.

I’m feeling a lot of good vibes off of this one. I especially like how Norb doesn’t really have much of a conscious agenda for making All-Gekko play like this (or at least he doesn’t voice his plan.) Again, it seems like a lesson devised by an especially playful Buddhist monk. There’s no clear purpose other than putting these people into a new situation that’ll provoke some sort of reaction (either good or bad) that they wouldn’t have had during business as usual. It helped Moondoggie get out of his funk by putting him into something he excels at, for one. And it’s funny how Eureka goes from fawning over Renton’s skills to dogging on him for not keeping up. That's a character arc, there!

Also, this reminds me that I need to get back to watching GIANT KILLER one of these days. I enjoyed that series a lot, but it unfortunately didn’t attract the same of volume of fans that these shows about giant robots and demon fighters do. Hence, it wasn’t the best subject for this column. Then again, I recall it being a shorter series, so maybe I’ll just go ahead and watch it for myself whenever I reached the next interim between long-form shows here. Wait and see.

Watch this episode, "Join the Future" here and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.

Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE. Order them on Amazon here & here. Follow him on Twitter: @tompinchuk