Furuichi seems to be the favorite topic of discussion currently, and rightfully so. All in all, people tend to forget that it actually was Akiyuki who let the dubious girl on their school bus and thus brought people in danger. I really am wondering why he is not receiving any repercussions for that. Furuichi, on the other hand, has not been actively doing anything at all in my eyes, and I think his position as the unlucky one in the love triangle makes it all too understandable that he went berserk and wanted to kill Akiyuki. What irks me the most about him is his “you are all monsters” opinion. Especially in episode 14, I felt that I find the characterization of Furuichi a little too one-sided - he barely has any redeeming qualities. As much as I loved Furuichi’s death in the end, I think it would have helped the series much more if he were shown as less evil. A love triangle is never ’stable’, two men who love the same women can never be ‘good friends’ if this woman doesn’t love either both of them or a third person; so personally I would have found it much more beautiful and tragic if they wouldn’t have given one of them an outstandingly positive personality (Akiyuki) and the other an outstandingly negative character (Furuichi).

I hope this made sense somehow…

@green: you’re absolutely right about understanding and trust being central themes in E7 - and Xam’d too - but what I was getting at in terms of the warfare theme is that in both shows there’s a military presence that’s portrayed in a very negative light. The said military force hovers in the background, harming the civilian population through pursuing its own agenda; there’s also the one individual using it for his own ends, but I’m still unsure if Kakisu is indeed under orders of his superiors, or has his own axe to grind as Dewey had.

@wildcard: despite everything I’ve said so far about the themes and ideas, the characters are still what makes the series shine for me. Furuichi’s end was grotesque and heart-rending - again reflecting how a situation turned a good friend into a monster. The art and music are excellent too, but that’s the icing on the cake really.

Episode 14 in particular was spectacular, marking the end of a build up with Furuichi’s character that started right from the first episode. I loved the way all those little quirks and thoughts from earlier are echoed later on. The way he seemed both monsterous and pathetic really got me - and his final scene in the episode provided a shocking conclusion.

If it can maintain this quality to the finale then I can see this becoming a firm favourite of mine.

I have to say I disagree. War is never a theme in E7. Dewy manipulating the mass through the means of fear and lies is also not a theme but only a literature device to make the story more realistic and more deep. There is one and only one theme in Eureka Seven, that is, communication leads to understanding, understanding leads to trust.

It uses its silences well doesn’t it? I hesitate to let Furuichi off the hook, but I don’t hate him and I never did. I don’t think he’s a bad or malicious man, his world is just that small: Haru, and Akiyuki that thwarts him at life without even trying. Akiyuki’s innocence of his suffering must really be awful. It makes Akiyuki harder to hate. And in the end it’s not Akiyuki he hates, he really hates himself and what he has allowed himself to become.

Come home Furuichi, wherever the thwarted can rest their heads and mend their spirits. I can offer no solace for your broken heart though. Perhaps this is why you and the broken-hearted remain beautiful in literature. Truly, truly nothing can be done for you.