Holland Novak

Holland Novak ホランド・ノヴァク (Horando Novaku)
Appearances:
First Appearance	Manga Chapter 1 Anime Episode 1
Last Appearance	Manga Chapter Unknown Anime Episode 50
Voiced by:
Japanese	Keiji Fujiwara (Adult) Yuko Sato (Teenager)
English	Crispin Freeman (Adult) Sebastian Arcelus (Teenager) Patrick Seitz (Eureka Seven vol.1: The New Wave & Eureka Seven vol.2: The New Vision)
Biological Information
Age	29
Race	Human
Physical description
Gender	Male
Hair color	Gray
Eye color	Bluish gray
Personal Information
Family	Azmodeus Novak (father) Cicily Kane (mother) Dewey Novak (brother) Talho Yūki (wife) nameune children (son)
Allies	Gekkostate (crew members)
Enemies	Dewey Novak

Holland Novak (ホランド・ノヴァク, Horando Novaku) is the leader of Gekkostate, captain of the Gekko, and pilot of the LFO Terminus typeR909 (and later the Terminus B303 after the destruction of the 909). He is the younger brother of Dewey.

Appearance

Holland Novak is a tall, fairly fit male, with gray-taupe hair, and bluish-gray colored eyes. Holland wears a black jacket, with red and white details. He also wears a pale yellow scarf, with long capri-like pants that are military green, with blue and white high-tops. Occasionally, while lounging around on the Gekko, he can be seen in his undergarments: a yellow pair of shorts.

Character

Holland as a baby.

Holland grew up with his father and older brother, and his mother died right after he was born, due to complications during child delivery. His family was involved in a ritual of patricide to "calm the planet". The male who succeeded the last one must kill his father "The Sacrificial King" and then becomes the new king thus supposedly sating the desire of blood from the world. Despite being the second son, Holland was selected to be his father's successor after his birth caused his mother to die because his father took this as a sign that he was destined to be the next king. As a result, his father lavished attention towards Holland, which angered Dewey, who grew to resent his younger brother for depriving him of what he thought what his birthright. This ritual was ended when Dewey illegitimately slew his father out of jealousy and they were stripped of their family's rank. This mirrors the real life ritual of the Forest of Nemi (the name of which is used in the series) which seems to be a continuation of this ritual for new purposes. This seems to be confirmed by the book "The Golden Bough" by Sir James George Frazer, which both Holland and Dewey are seen reading. Near the end of the series, his typeR909 is destroyed by Anemone and he transfers over to the top secret and deadly (to its pilot as much as the enemy) typeB303 "Devilfish" which was previously locked away. This LFO is also soon destroyed, this time in a kamikaze attack to get Holland into Dewey's command ship, the Ginga.

He was said to have idolized Dewey and never realized the deep hatred his older brother harbored towards him. His affection for Dewey was such that Holland even joined the military with him, and was made a unit leader. Until three years prior to the series' debut, he and his companions were part of the S.O.F., an elite military unit of the United Federation, and were ordered by Dewey to eliminate all the residents of Ciudades del Cielo, which was considered as a safe haven for Vodarac worshippers(or terrorists, as they are referred to by the military). Trusting his brother's words, Holland led the SOF into the assault but he was also given another mission: to capture Norb, a powerful Vodarac priest. Norb was able to convince Holland about Dewey's plan to destroy the planet by initiating another Summer of Love, and asked him to protect Eureka until her partner made himself known, which Holland believes will be himself. These events led to Holland's (and his squad's) desertion from the military and later to the incarceration of Dewey. Because of their opposing goals, they share a deep hatred for each other, in Holland's case beginning from his encounter with Norb. Holland is known as one of the greatest ref boarders alive, and is an idol to many young people, including Renton. During the time he was in the military, he fell in love with and dated Diane, Renton's older sister. However, her obsession with her father's research on the Scub Coral became the cause of their breakup; he called her efforts to study the Scubs hopeless and told her to join her "dead" father if she wanted to meet with him again. After that conversation, she disappeared, and he was obsessed with her during seasons one and two over how their relationship ended so abruptly.

A recurring theme in the middle portion of the series with Holland is his instinct to run away from his past and responsibility, using Eureka, Renton (in this case, physically and emotionally abusing him), and lifting as a way to escape, much to Talho's chagrin.

During the latter stages of his SOF days, Holland briefly meets Sumner Sturgeon on a mission to Digder, a military mining site. He commended the latter's skills and told him to look out for himself. Later on, after Holland's mutiny, they would cross paths again, this time during Holland's attempt to steal the Nirvash typeZERO from Senan Tower. After the Nirvash was safely delivered to the Gekko, he offered Sumner a position in Gekkostate (which he declined), before going off on his way.

During the previews at the end of each episode, Holland is referred to as 'the man.' Holland sports a tattoo on his left arm that bears a resemblance to a Germanic rune tattoo that stands for, among other things, "man."

Personality

Initially presented as laid-back and logical, in person, however, Holland is not always as cool and composed as the photos in the ray=out magazine might suggest - he frequently loses his temper when a situation turns for the worse, or when faced with insubordination. He has once thrown Renton in the brig for using the Nirvash without permission, and has beaten Renton for minor transgressions. Due to his memories of his bloody past and desire to become the new savior of the planet, he tended to lash out in anger and jealousy towards anyone who provoked him (most often Renton). Because of this, he lacked compassion towards others besides Talho and Eureka, was unable to recognize his mistakes, and rejected to face responsibility for any of his actions. According to Talho, the only way he knew how to confront reality was to physically hurt those who angered or hurt him. When he's not angry, he's an effective leader willing to do anything for the crew.

In seasons 1 and 2, he was overly determined to become Eureka's partner in order to save the planet that he was willing to do anything to achieve it, including risking his relationship with Talho and the Gekkostate. He was often berated by Talho for his selfishness and correctly accused him of not considering Eureka's feelings and denying her the chance to be happy with Renton after he said he was protecting her by isolating her from Renton. By seasons 3 and 4, he becomes more mature and caring, due to him learning that he needs to face his problems rather than run away from them if he wants to help save the world and gain the trust and respect of others. He becomes very protective of the crew, particularly Renton and Eureka, to the point where he seems to favor them for important activities. When Talho tells him that she is pregnant with his child, he starts to take on a surrogate father role to the crew and he becomes more open and friendly with them.

History

When Holland was born, his mother died giving birth to him and it was decided by his father that he would become the next Sacrificial King. As the first son, Dewey expected to become the next king but after he was pushed aside in favor of his younger brother and their father showered Holland with more attention and affection, Dewey deeply resented Holland, who was unaware of this. After Dewey murdered their father in cold blood and the planet rejected his sacrifice, he and Holland were kicked out and left homeless. Both went on to join the military, but Holland spent much his childhood and teenage years reffing, which becomes his passion. When he was fourteen, Holland was reffing one day and encountered Diane, and although he instantly liked her, his reaction towards her made him think she hated him. Soon after, Holland joined the military to follow his brother. Four years after they first met, Holland and Diane met again, shortly after her father, Adroc sacrificed himself to stop the First Summer of Love from destroying the planet. They began to date and he fell in love with her to the point of obsession. The relationship didn't last due to Diane's obsession to prove that her father's theory about the Scub Coral being a sentiment being is accurate. Holland didn't believe it was true and told Diane to join her dead father if she wanted to, and soon after, she disappeared. Due to her breaking up with him and disappearing so suddenly, Holland became more obsessed with her.

Three years prior to the series' debut, Eureka was transferred to the military after Adroc's disappearance and Dewey placed her in Holland's care. All that mattered to him was that she was the true pilot of the Nirvash and her piloting skills were necessary. They were then transferred to the SOF, and were given a mission to eliminate all the residents of Ciudades del Cielo because the military believed that the residents, as Vodarac believers, were protectors of the Coralians, whom the military considered as an enemy to the humans. Believing Dewey, Holland led Eureka and the SOF into the massacre, but he was given another mission by Dewey: capture the powerful Vodarac monk, Norb. He attempted to apprehend Norb, who easily took him over and talked to him about the Scub Coral about truly being a living being. The conversation shifted to the true nature of Eureka: she is a Coralian created by the Scubs to learn about humankind so the Scubs can co-exists with the humans. But in order to achieve that co-existence, she needs to find a human partner, who will never be Holland or Dewey because they only use her to destroy things, and her partner will be the boy who can truly make her smile. Horrified by the revelations, Holland decides to take Eureka and the Nirvash, and escape from the military to stop his brother from his evil plans. Despite being told he will never become Eureka's partner, Holland believed that he will because he seemed to be the only person who understood her the most and was the first person to find out about what she was. As a result, he puts her safety above everything else and becomes over-protective over her.

After forming the Gekkostate, he sends Eureka to Bellforest retrieve the Amita Drive in order to awaken Nirvash. Holland refused to go because he didn't want to see Renton, Diane's younger brother, and be reminded of her. However, after Renton delivers the Amita Drive and releases the Seven Swell, he praises the boy for believing in himself. However, Axel says that Holland can't have the Amita Drive for himself and only Renton should be protecting it, so Holland decides to bring Renton aboard the Gekko and is taken aback to see Eureka holding hands with the boy and smiling only at him. This leads him to suspect that Renton may become Eureka's partner, and although secretly furious, he dismissed his suspicion. During Renton's earliest time on the Gekko, Holland was casual towards him by assigning him maid-like chores and letting him fly the Nirvash with Eureka, but never included him in their jobs. However, during a brief visit to Ciudades del Cielo, Holland was anxious to leave but finding out that Renton and Moondoggie wanted to lift caused him to lose his temper and assault Renton. However, this seemed to be a moment of anger because he appeared remorseful after Renton ran away and he apologized to Eureka when she asked him why Renton ran away. He later made it up to Renton by giving him the Gekkostate ref board wheel and declared him an official member of the crew. Despite this, his treatment towards Renton worsened. Talho demands for him to not go back on his responsibilities and be himself if he wants to be an effective leader. As Eureka's mental state begins to decline, Holland shows his intense concern for her well-being and starts to become hostile towards Renton, thinking the boy is somehow responsible for her problems. As a result, he starts to ignore Renton and gets angry at him for seemingly minor factors. His anger grows when he notices that Eureka is troubled by the fact that she can't pilot the Nirvash as well as Renton. While everyone is troubled by his treatment towards the boy, they feel they can't do anything that goes against Holland's orders (as revealed by Matthieu and Moondoggie that they, too, had endured similar treatment from Holland in the past).

During a visit to the trapar mines for repairs on the Gekko, Talho almost begs for him to face his responsibilities if he wants everyone to trust and respect him. Despite this, when Renton is forced to pilot the Nirvash at gunpoint by a desperate digger, Holland takes his frustration out at Renton by brutally beating him and accusing him of taking the Nirvash out on his own free will. Talho slaps him to stop the abuse and confronts him for his hypocrisy that he beating Renton for something he didn't do while Holland is the one running away from his problems. He responds with anger and resentment, thinking he's done nothing wrong. When they are about to leave, they are ambushed by the military and learn that the Nirvash is gone. Holland thinks Renton took it (unaware it was actually Eureka and Renton is chasing after her) and orders that they flee as soon as possible, over Talho's protests of what will happen to Renton. Holland said that Eureka is more important that Renton and the Nirvash, but when he learned what really happened, he ordered the Gekko to stay until she, Renton, and the Nirvash returned. When Eureka is nearly absorbed by the Scub Coral and is saved by Renton, who unintentionally releases a Seven Swell in desperation to protect her, Holland is shocked to see her covered in scubs. He blames Renton for her condition, bans him from piloting the Nirvash ever again, and threatens to beat him again if he lets slip to the others of what happened to her. He decides to rescue a Vodarac priest to heal Eureka, but he doesn't tell Renton this, so Renton thinks he's doing the mission for money and accuses him of not caring for Eureka at all. This and hearing that Eureka wanted to let Renton be Nirvash's new pilot, Holland proceeded to beat Renton again, to the point of unconsciousness. But when he is ambushed during the mission, he is pleased to see Renton arrive to help but is shocked to realize the boy is in a high rider's stage due to his overwhelming hatred towards Holland and that he doesn't know anything, and kills many KLF pilots before realizing what he had done. After the priest heals Eureka, he advises Holland to keep the cause of Eureka's problems away from her, and concluding that all this didn't happen until Renton arrived, Holland decides that Renton is responsible for Eureka's problems and starts considering kicking him off the Gekko. This bothers the crew, especially Talho, who knows that Holland is saying this to keep Renton and Eureka apart, and she boldly points out that it was Holland who brought the two together, and therefore, its his responsibility, which he denies. However, Renton leaves without anyone knowing, and Holland seemed indifferent towards his departure, but was confronted with the task of telling Eureka. Initially, he refused to tell her and denied that he was jumping to conclusions about blaming Renton, and responded with anger when Talho said it was easy for him to blame Renton because he is Diane's brother. He also rejected the possibility that Eureka was falling in love with Renton and was even capable of having such feelings. Finally, hearing the crew talk about their lack of faith in Holland, he lashed out at them in anger, even hurting Moondoggie, and said that Renton's abandonment was not his doing but Renton's alone. He finally tells Eureka, who immediately falls into a deep depression as she misses Renton, but this only upsets Holland that she is reacting that way. It is clear that Holland is displeased with Eureka being distraught over Renton's absence because he never expected her to grow attached to Renton. Even when he is told that the Nirvash needs Renton and Eureka as pilots to function, he still rejected the importance of Renton. When Talho confronts Holland about his obsession with becoming Eureka's partner, he says he is protecting Eureka from Renton because if the two were together, the risks of the Seven Swell would bring catastrophe. Talho knows he is lying still and knows he is really jealous that Eureka prefers Renton, and if the chosen one had been Holland, there would be no way to prevent the risks. Voicing her disapproval of the kind of person he is becoming, she tells him that if he wants to help save the world, he needs to accept Renton and that Eureka chose him. Coming to terms that he has been denying Eureka the chance to be happy with Renton, he decides to bring Renton back for Eureka's sake, but changes his mind after learning that Charles and Ray are coming after the Gekko. This leads to a major fight between Holland and Eureka, who knew that he hated Renton and is furious at him for breaking his promise. Holland finally confesses his feelings to Eureka: everything he has done for her, including how much he's hurt Renton, are out of pure concern and affection for her, and to him, she is more important than Renton. This angers Eureka and she loses her trust in him, leaving Holland disappointed and frustrated by her rejection. He reacts to Renton's return with disdain, ignored his warnings about falling into a trap, and orders him to leave for good. He finds out about that Renton's warning about the trap were right and becomes angry at Eureka when he finds out that she secretly left the ship to look for Renton herself. He leads a battle against the military as Renton saves Eureka, and reacts angrily when he sees the waves the couple created to disable the KLFs. Upon hearing the two confess their feelings to each other, Holland finally accepts what he's been avoiding: Eureka has chosen Renton, and it is his duty to protect them.

When Charles and Ray invade the Gekko, Holland, decked in war paint, engages in a gun fight with Charles and kills him, but not before getting shot in the leg. While they waiting for Ray to come back for another attack, Holland talked with Renton about why he had to kill Charles and now that he knows what he needs to do, he has decided to protect him and Eureka with his life. For the first time, he acknowledges Renton as the chosen one, and asks him to take care of Eureka in case something happens to him, but Renton was still doubtful and resentful towards him that he seemed reluctant to accept his request. Soon after, he killed Ray but this left him bleeding profusely as his gunshot wound opened up and Renton needed to give a blood transfusion in order to save his life, which he initially refused out of hate towards Holland but changed his mind after Talho begged him to help Holland. After this, he drops his abusive and jealous attitude towards Renton, and becomes a true effective leader. Inspired by Renton's ability to keep his word and desire to fight without violence, Holland suggests that they peacefully negotiate with the Tressor scientists to repair and upgrade the Nirvash due to that Tressor works for the military. Although he doesn't get along with the head technician, Morita, Holland is able to convince him to agree to the repairs in peaceful terms. No longer obsessed with Eureka, Holland is able to focus on reconciling with Talho after he entrusts Renton with Eureka. Due to his gunshot wound to his leg, Holland can no longer lift and not being able to do the one thing he loves, coupled with the frustration at trying to stop Dewey, sends him into a depression. When the Gekko stops at a sight with high trapar waves to have fun, Talho persuades him to try to lift to cheer him up, but he repeatedly fails. Then, he starts to cry about this to Talho, but tells her that he loves lifting on the planet because it is the same planet he met her on, confirming his love for her and allowing them to truly reconcile and resume their relationship. He spots her necklace that was destroyed in episode 5 and asks her if he can borrow it. He turns it into matching rings for them to wear. After this, they begin wearing the matching rings on their left ring fingers, hinting that they are engaged.

After finding about that Norb has been captured by the military, Holland gathers the crew together and starts off by apologizing for how badly he treated them, especially Renton and Eureka. He acknowledges that all along, he had used many excuses to run away from his problems and he didn't realize that he was hurting those dear to him when he said he was protecting them through his own selfish ways. Then, he announces to the crew that he intends to disband the Gekkostate and will be going to the Capital on a suicide mission to rescue Norb, and he won't force anyone to come along with him. Despite this, the entire crew decides to go along. As they prepare for the ambush on the Capital, Holland takes Renton and Eureka aside to talk to them about how he first met Eureka and learned the truth about Dewey and the Scub Coral from Norb. He ends the conversation by saying that he always believed that he was destined to become Eureka's partner and had trouble trusting that role to Renton after she had already chosen him, but now that he has accepted it, he asks Renton to believe in himself. Talho then tells him that she is pregnant with his child, leaving him shocked and happy. He is worried about putting herself in danger but is more happy at the prospect of having a family. The Gekkostate arrives at the Capital and Holland confronts Dewey for the first time in three years. Dewey is shocked to see that Holland is moving closer to defeating him when he sees Renton and Eureka piloting the Nirvash together to take Norb. Back on the Gekko, in a true form of reconciliation, Holland talks to Renton about how he met and fell in love with Diane, and how he became obsessed with her after her disappearance. He further tells Renton that he can never change how he fights but Renton can and only he can protect Eureka. However, he still remains protective of Eureka in a manner that is similar to a protective father. He demands for Renton tell him about the progress between him and Eureka and sets a limit to how close they get and while he doesn't mind if they kiss, he forbids them from being intimate. When a misunderstanding between Renton and Eureka caused the crew to think the issue was about sex, Holland became very angry and roughed up Renton when he erroneously thought the boy was pushing her for sex. He is told by Norb to get Renton and Eureka to the Great Wall in order to unite the humans and Scub Coral. They secretly sneak into the Vodarac Shrine and he leads the Gekkostate against the military as Renton, Eureka, and the children traveled to the Earth. He pilots the Devilfish after his LFO is destroyed by Anemone, but the new LFO requires him to take special drugs that make his mental state capable of piloting it but drains his lifespan. He helps spread the word about Dewey's intentions after gaining the aid of the Captain Jurgens and the Izumo crew, but he tells Talho that he is actually afraid of surviving the battle because all he's lived through is fighting and questions if he has the right to have a family after killing Charles and ray, who were unable to have children. The Gekkostate learns of Renton and Eureka's position and that the Scub Command Cluster was destroyed by Dewey, and Holland engages in the final battle against Dewey. He pleads with Dewey to see that his actions are destroying the Earth, but is shocked when Dewey admits he knows that and he believes that he is restoring the planet's dignity by destroying everything on it. Dewey further confesses that he knew there was no way to save the planet from the Scub Coral and it was beyond redemption, and in a desperate but calculated move, he implanted a Compac Drive into himself so that if he died, so would the planet. Holland tried to stop Dewey, but he committed suicide, and in a rare moment, Holland showed sympathy towards his brother.

He later talked with Captain Jurgens about why Dewey did what he did. For his atonement, Holland says he will carry the burden of Dewey's crimes over his shoulders for the rest of his life. As Eureka was about to become the next Command Cluster, Holland helped Renton gear up to rescue her and help the humans and Scubs reach a resolution. He told Renton that only he could save her while the others will take him to her, and for the first time, he admitted how proud he is of how much Renton has grown up, or in his words "It's like him to graduate without consent". He offered to take care of the couple's adopted children until they returned. As the Second Summer of Love occurs, Holland declares that Renton has become a true hero more so than his father.

Holland is never seen or mentioned in Eureka Seven: AO. It is speculated that he is married to Talho, they had their child, and operate their own ref board repair shop.

Film

In the theatrical version of the movie, an entire new background was given to the characters. Holland is actually an impersonator of the original Holland. As kids, Dewey (not as his brother in the story) took war orphans for experimentation. The process lead to an incident that caused their bodies to rapidly age nearly three times the normal rate. It was during their journey of oblivion that they saw a place they think is called Neverland, a place where time will not age them and thus live a full or eternal life span. The survivors took false identities and one of them took the identity of Holland Novak. Eventually staging as leader of the Gekko, Holland believes he'll find a means to repeat the incident to enter Neverland.

In order to do so, he recruited Renton Thurston and continued his search for Eureka. Holland believes that these two are part of a legend that will allow them to enter Neverland. However, things don't go their way when they defect from the military to start their true mission. Renton was surprised that Holland went rogue and demanded an explanation. Holland would later explain their origins and hoped that Renton would support their cause, but without luck. To prevent Renton from escaping, he was confined in the brig. Holland would later relent to the suggestion of using drugs to brainwash Renton to make him obedient to their cause; however, this never happened as Renton was rescued by Eureka. Holland appealed to Renton's senses through Eureka's future. He convinced Renton to stay and headed to the abandoned Vodarac city to pursue Neverland. Once there, they found Anemone anticipating them.

The Image had come to attack and Renton surprises everyone when he charges through to rescue Eureka and they escape. Renton and Eureka leaving would mean the death of his dreams and he wouldn't give up. Holland then boarded the Devilfish with mobile armor equipment to boost his firepower and speed. He tried to hunt down Renton and Eureka; during the battle, he sensed the life of his unborn baby within Talho. The rest of the Gekko-Go crew realized that the new life would be giving up their dreams. Holland gave up the chase and returned to the Gekko-Go. Their ship later suffered mechanical failure and abandoned ship, and ended up stranded with some refugees.

Their fate is unknown as there is no epilogue. It can be presumed that Holland will help Talho give birth to their child and eventually die in a few years from rapid aging.

Relationships

Talho Yūki

Holland met Talho during their days in the military, but the circumstances of their first meeting and interaction is unknown; it is implied that Talho had been in a secret relationship with his brother, Dewey, who ended up rejecting her. Soon afterwards, when Holland's relationship with Diane ended, the two fell in love and became a couple. Three years prior to the series beginning, they quit the military together, taking the Gekko and Eureka to stop Dewey and the military. During seasons 1 and 2, their relationship is rocky due to Holland's anger and sometimes violent streak, and Talho's insecurity over Holland's dedication to protect Eureka and his past relationship with Diane. She often lashed out in anger towards him over his immaturity and inability to confront his problems. In season 3, after Holland entrusts Eureka in Renton's care, he is able to acknowledge his true feelings towards her, and they rekindle their relationship. In episode 34, they are hinted to be engaged due to them wearing rings on their left ring fingers, and in the following episode, they learn they are expecting a child together. What happens to them in Eureka Seven: AO is never revealed. It can be presumed that they did get married and had their child.

Eureka

Ever since Eureka was placed in his care when they were assigned to the SOF, he has been dedicated to protecting her, especially after learning her Coralian origins and she needs to find her destined partner in order to bring the Scub Coral and humans together. Holland always believed he would become Eureka's partner, and as a result, he puts her safety above everything. In seasons 1 and 2, his overprotection of her caused him to show intense jealousy and hatred towards Renton, whom Eureka was beginning to show an interest in. Even when Eureka lost her trust in Holland over how he treated Renton and forced him away to get her attention, he still didn't care because he truly believed he was doing what was best for her. However, he patches things up with her when he finally recognizes her true feelings for Renton and fully accepts their relationship. Despite this, he is still protective of her.

Renton Thurston

When he first recruited Renton into the Gekkostate, he intended to make the boy the Nirvash's co-pilot. However, his once casual attitude towards the boy became abusive when he saw Eureka preferring Renton over him. This caused him to become emotionally and physically abusive towards Renton, and he even considered kicking him off from the Gekkostate. This confused Renton over why Holland hates him, not understanding he sees the boy as a rival for the role as Eureka's partner. When Renton deflected from the Gekkostate, Holland didn't care and accused the boy of ruining Eureka's well-being. He was further aggravated when Eureka began missing him after he left. However, once he heard the two of them confess their feelings and after Renton returned and stood up to him, he is finally able to accept Renton as Eureka's partner, and now goes at great lengths to protect the two. In seasons 3 and 4, Holland adopts a somewhat secondary father figure to Renton and now treats him like a son.

Dewey Novak

As children, Holland looked up to his older brother, Dewey, who, on the other hand, has always hated him. Dewey's hatred stems from his belief that Holland had stolen his birthright by becoming the next Sacrificial King. When they joined the military, Dewey assigned Holland to the SOF and placed Eureka in his care. He then sent the SOF, including Holland, to Ciudades del Cielo to massacre the citizens, only for Holland to realize his brother's true intention to destroy the Scub Coral, which makes him recruit the Gekkostate to stop him. That hatred between the two continues throughout the series, however, after Dewey kills himself, Holland expresses a rare moment of sympathy towards his brother over his failure to save Dewey from his own madness.

Diane Thurston

Prior to meeting Talho, Holland was in a relationship with Diane, Renton's older sister. They meet several years prior to the series beginning, while he was reffing. Although they instantly liked each other, they didn't meet again until her father's disappearance and began to date. However, their relationship didn't last long, as Diane became obsessed with proving her that father's research was right and broke up with Holland to continue her father's research. In seasons 1 and 2, Holland remained obsessed with her, and was still angry at her for breaking up with him. As a result, he often took out his anger for Diane at Renton.

Gekkostate

Holland is the leader of the Gekkostate in the series. In seasons 1 and 2, his leadership over the crew is often rocky due to his immaturity, anger problems, and instinct to run away from his problems. Most of the Gekko crew shows loyalty, mixed with fear over his temper, towards him, and as a result, they feel they can't do anything that goes against his commands. During his rift with Renton and Eureka in season 2, the Gekkostate was on the verge of disbanding until he was able to confront his wrongdoings. He almost attempted to disband the Gekkostate in season 3, when the crew was about to go on a suicide mission to rescue Norb, but the crew decided to stay with him. By seasons 3 and 4, he becomes a worthier leader and highly respected by the crew, until he officially disbands the Gekkostate following their mission to help Renton rescue Eureka from becoming the Scub Command Cluster.

Trivia

• Holland considered his father as his best friend.
• In the manga and novels, he is a smoker, unlike his anime counterpart.
• Prior to joining the military when he was a teenager, he was part of a ref board traveling group with Dewey, Charles, and Ray, and won several awards.
• There has been debate among fans on the extent of Holland's feelings for Eureka as to whether or not they were romantic. Despite being in a relationship with Talho, his initial reluctance to commit to her after learning that Eureka needed a partner indicated that he developed a deep interest in Eureka, and as he thought he was going to be her partner, he wanted to see how his relationship with her would end up. Him ignoring Talho in the first half of the series, showing deep concern for Eureka, and Talho's own statement that he cared about Eureka more than anyone is evident of a deeper attachment to Eureka. However, there is no evidence of him having anything other than that overly paternal.
• In the manga, he is more kind and comical, and considers Renton as one of his favorites (next to Eureka) due to his belief that the boy is the true heir to Adroc's legacy in becoming the world's savior. Also unlike the anime, he kills Dewey in a gun fight rather than Dewey committing suicide.
• In the manga, Adroc was his mentor, and his purpose for forming the Gekkostate is to avenge Adroc's murder and fulfill his will in proving that the Ageha Plan is accurate.
• Holland's abusive attitude towards Renton in the first two seasons may also be due to the fact that Holland is similar to Renton. They both had idols (Holland idolizing Dewey like how Renton idolized him) who were later revealed to be nothing like they were perceived to be and they both struggled with their own personal identities. Unlike how Holland chose to run away from his problems, Renton chose to confront them. This caused the crew to respect him while they were disappointed at Holland. However, Holland's treatment towards Renton mainly stems from the fact that Eureka prefers Renton over him as her partner, and Renton being a constant reminder of his older sister, Diane, whom Holland loved and was dumped by. Holland's obsessive belief that he was Eureka's partner (despite being reminded of the evidence to the contrary) and resenting that the change in Eureka started when Renton came along caused him to beat the boy, which caused him to risk his relationship with Talho and the crew. Eureka's depression and later defiance following Renton's departure caused him to feel a mix of guilt and anger at Eureka (guilt for not thinking about Eureka's feelings and anger for her still paying attention to Renton). Once Renton returned, Holland finally stared to follow Renton's example.
• Ironically, despite creating the Gekkostate to stop Dewey's plans to bring about the destruction of the Scub Corals (and by extension the world), during season 2, Holland started to acted more like Dewey, controlling, manipulative, and unsympathetic as shown as his mistreatment towards Renton and Eureka, and almost causing the crew to disband, which thanks to his obsession, he became indifferent, including to some extent, the Nirvash.
• In an Japanese interview after the film aired in 2009, it was stated that Holland and Talho's child was intended to be a girl. But the gender and name of the child is never revealed in the anime and manga versions.
• Holland's appearance is based on that of Billy Bob Thornton.