Eureka Seven AO - Episode 3

Despite swearing never to pilot the IFO which defeated the G-Monster last week ever again (unsurprisingly given the number it did on the poor kid's hair), nothing is going to stop Ao from having to face up to the consequences of his actions in the eyes of Okinawa's residents.

Thus, it's no time at all before Ao is tracked down and kidnapped (alongside Noah the sloth, for some bizarre reason), before being locked away primarily to keep him hidden from any American or Japanese forces that might wish to use him for their own ends.  Meanwhile, Generation Bleu are now on the scene with an eye towards taking control of the area in light of the dangerous goings-on there, even if most of their party seem more interested in anything but the contract negotiations required to ensure that their presence is accepted.

Meanwhile, we finally get a solid feel for why Ao is treated like a curse by the island's residents, in a story which relates how his mother (Eureka, of course) fell from the sky, how she gave birth to Ao, and the events which they allege caused Eureka to summon the Scub Coral against them, the final act which saw both her and her son labelled as a force for evil.  Such petty, long-standing concerns may soon become moot however, with a massive G-Monster looming over the horizon.  Generation Bleu are on-hand to deal with the threat, but can they go it alone?  They may not need to, as Ao seems determined to go against his earlier decision and do whatever it takes to save the island and its residents.

Out of nowhere, a hefty chunk of the first half of this week's Eureka Seven AO turned to comedy - something it surprisingly proved to be hugely proficient at, whether it be impromptu Miku Hatsune cosplay or the never-decreasing brilliance of the show's resident sloth, Noah.  The downside of this humorous turn is that it proved to be entirely too proficient at lightening the mood, and as a result it was difficult to settle into the subsequent goings-on this week - a genuine shame, given that it's major talking point was a clear cipher for Japan's attitude towards foreigners while also providing a pivotal moral point within the series itself as it all but finished putting its building blocks in place to really get the story moving.  Still, although there was an obvious disconnect between its comedy turn and the "serious business" of the week, at least it provided an entertaining episode for the most part, even if that entertainment mostly came in an unexpected fashion.