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1st Film in Eureka Seven Trilogy Opens in 9 Countries Including U.S. This Fall (Updated)

At a talk show event at Anime Boston last weekend, BONES president and producer Masahiko Minami revealed that the first anime film in the new Eureka Seven trilogy will open this fall in Japan as well as in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. Minami added that BONES also plans to open the film in other countries "simultaneously." Minami confirmed that Funimation is in charge of the North American release.

The film trilogy is titled Kōkyōshihen Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution (Psalms of Planets Eureka Seven Hi-Evolution). The second film will open in 2018, and the third film will open in 2019.

The trilogy's official website also revealed the design for the Nirvash during The First Summer of Love.

Minami also revealed information on other characters and mechs that will appear in the films:

• Hammer Head: a new mech that appeared during The First Summer of Love, designed by Yutaka Izubuchi
• Devil Fish: Holland's unit that appeared in the TV series, but this time it also has a gold version
• Eureka: she will appear in a pilot suit
• Adrock: Renton's father, who appeared in a picture and only slightly in the TV series, but will fully appear in the films

Bandai Visual also describes the story of the trilogy:

Ten years ago, the major earth-shaking “First Summer of Love” event occurred. Renton, who lost his father during the event, now attends the army school of the United Federation of Predgio Towers located in the border town of Bellforest. Because his late father is still praised, Renton feels something is lacking as he continues with his ordinary, boring days. Then one day, Nirvash, the world's oldest LFO, appears in front of him and a girl named Eureka emerges from the cockpit. This was the beginning of the future of humans and Scub Coral, another intelligent lifeform.

Was this encounter all just a coincidence? Or was it fate? Where will Renton and Eureka's journey end?

The films will follow The First Summer of Love phenomenon that occurred a decade before the first Eureka Seven series. The anime franchise thus far has hinted at, but never depicted in full, "the beginning of it all." The films will then have the same basic story as the first Eureka Seven series, but will have an original ending. The trilogy will have completely re-recorded lines, redone footage, and new scenes.

Much of the original staff the series is returning for the project, including chief director Tomoki Kyoda, scriptwriter Dai Sato, character designer Kenichi Yoshida, mechanical designer Shōji Kawamori, conceptual designer Kazutaka Miyatake, and designers Shingo Takeba, Yutaka Izubuchi, and Shigeto Koyama.

Other returning staff members include character animation director Ayumi Kurashima, special effects director Yasushi Muraki; mechanical animation director Shingo Abe; main animators Hideki Kakita, Shuichi Kaneko, and Ken Ootsuka; background director Kazuo Nagai; color styling Nobuko Mizuta; director of photography Shunya Kimura; sound director Kazuhiro Wakabayashi; and composer Naoki Satō.

New staff members include designer Masatsugu Saitō; character animation director Shigeru Fujita; main animators Kenta Yokoya, Nobuaki Nagano, Shiori Kudo; background direction assistant Yūshi Honjō; and editor Kumiko Sakamoto. (Fujita, Yokoya, Nagano, and Kudo did work on the EUREKA SEVEN AO sequel.)

Hardfloor is composing an insert song for the films. The original series itself contained numerous references to Hardfloor (including four episodes named after the duo's "Acperience" tracks) as well as other electronic and house music artists.

Studio BONES' original anime series Eureka Seven debuted in 2005. The franchise also received a 2009 anime film titled Eureka Seven - good night, sleep tight, young lovers, which told a different story with the same characters. Bandai Entertainment released both the original Eureka Seven series and the 2009 anime film in North America. Funimation re-released the series and film on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in 2014.

The series received a sequel titled EUREKA SEVEN AO in 2012, which also featured the return of many of the original staff members. Funimation streamed the series as it aired, and released it on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in 2013. The series is a sequel to the 2005 Eureka Seven anime series. Pachinko game maker Sammy streamed an extra episode of EUREKA SEVEN AO in four parts in January and February.

Update: Added official story synopsis in English from Bandai Visual, information on several characters and mechs that will appear in the films, and added background information.

Update 2: Madman Entertainment has confirmed that it plans to open the film in both Australia and New Zealand.

Update 3: The Japanese version of Bandai Visual's press release lists "North America" instead of the "US." [Via Anime Now!]

Source: MoCa News