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tarheel91 on 02 May 2009
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Words Of Wisdom said:
tarheel91 said:

Sure, he starts out like that, but he sure as hell doesn't end like that.  He develops more than any other anime character I've seen.  He's clearly just a kid, and it shows (unlike most anime where you'll have 12 year olds with the maturity of people double their age).  Look at Hamlet.  That's one of if not the greatest piece of literature in English history, and the main charactor is indecisive and cowardly all the way up until the end.

Edit: I guess what I'm saying is that Renton feels real in a way many characters don't.  He's, what, fourteen years old when the show starts.  Honestly, how is an average fourteen going to handle being thrust into the situation he's forced into.  Not very well, to be honest.  However, he grows and proves more than capable, and that's what I like.  It's a great growing up story.

I know where you're coming from. If Eureka 7 was the only anime I had seen with development like that, I might agree.  However, it's not.  Elemental Grade, Betterman, Zoids, and quite a few others all do similar things.

The problem is that whole maturing over time aspect of Eureka 7 is completely overshadowed by Zoids: Chaotic Century/Guardian Force which I feel probably does one of the best jobs of it of all anime.  I find Van Flyheight to be a much more believable and much better character than Renton.  Renton feels like he's carrying a load of baggage that's weighing him and the viewer down.  Where Renton holds it all in and whines about it, Van deals with it.  Both characters are constantly thrown up against their own limitations, against the way they think the world should work, and more.  Both cry and both feel anger and sadness at the way things turn out over the series.  The difference is that Van acts on his emotions and turns those feelings into determination much faster than Renton.

Once again, my point is not that Renton is all that cool of a character, especially at first.  It's that that shouldn't matter.  I've seen Zoids: Chaotic Century and I agree that Van handles it better, but just having a stronger character doesn't somehow make the anime better.  Hamlet is far more angsty and does far less than Renton, yet the play is still incredible.  I think Van handles his situation better, too, but I find him less realistic.  Have you been around a 14 year old?  They're angsty and whiney and they break out in temper-tantrums 24/7 (My brother just turned 15).  Renton is exactly what a kid his age should be, but he matures throughout.