Alternative TitlesEnglish: Neon Genesis Evangelion Synonyms: Shinseiki Evangelion Japanese: 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 26
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 3, 1995 to Mar 27, 1996
Duration:
24 min. per episode Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 8.311 (scored by 37372 users)
Ranked: #1422
Popularity: #11
Members: 53,077
Favorites: 4,052 1 indicates a weighted score
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action drama mecha psychological sci-fi |
SynopsisIn the year 2015, the Angels, huge, tremendously powerful, alien war machines, appear in Tokyo for the second time. The only hope for Mankind`s survival lies in the Evangelion, a humanoid fighting machine developed by NERV, a special United Nations agency. Capable of withstanding anything the Angels can dish out, the Evangelion`s one drawback lies in the limited number of people able to pilot them. Only a handful of teenagers, all born fourteen years ago, nine months after the Angels first appeared, are able to interface with the Evangelion. One such teenager is Shinji Ikari, whose father heads the NERV team that developed and maintains the Evangelion. Thrust into a maelstrom of battle and events that he does not understand, Shinji is forced to plumb the depths of his own inner resources for the courage and strength to not only fight, but to survive, or risk losing everything. (Source: AniDB) |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Summary: Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth
Sequel: Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion
Alternative version: Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, Evangelion: 3.0 Q Quickening, Evangelion: 4.0,
Spin-off: Petit Eva ~ Evangelion@School ~
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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CitizenGeek
143 of 247 people found this review helpful
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26 of 26 episodes seen
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
8 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
Note: this review is spoiler free.
Hugely experimental and wonderfully unique, Evangelion is a roaring success.
The basic, initial, plot goes thus: a 14-year-old boy named Shinji is called to NERV (an organization charged with defending mankind from extinction, no less) by his estranged, seemingly cold and calculating father. There, his fathers' first words are an order to pilot an immense robotic machine, the titular Evangelion, and fight against the monster that's attacking Tokyo-3, the city under which NERV has it's headquarters. These illusory 'monsters' are called Angels and are seemingly invincible - traditional weaponry, even in the year 2015, has minimal effect upon them. Only the Eva 'biomechs', which can be piloted solely by certain selected 14-year-olds can stop them. This [i]is[/i] merely the basic, initial premise of the series. As it goes on, everything gets a lot more complicated; There's a metric ton of mystery, suspense, twists and turns in Evangelion's plot, all routinely thought-provoking and intensely interesting.
The characters are excellent. This is an important point as the series is more about them than about the Angels or NERV. Shinji Ikari is one the most believable and genuinely sympathetic character ever conceived in anime. Though some would complain that Shinji is overtly emotional and annoyingly so. But, really, no one wants Shinji to become the 'Hollywood hero' and save the day with a smile on his face - no such human could ever really exist, and studio Gainax understand this and apply it perfectly to the series. Shinji's mental struggle is dealt with effectively by Hideki Anno, through the use of complex monologues and largely successful experimental cinematic techniques. Asuka and Rei, the other chosen children, are both polar opposites and ingenious characters. Both develop a great deal in a very interesting way throughout the series, and this character exploration and growth is at the heart of Evangelion.
The design aspects are wonderfully unique - the Evas themselves are strikingly colourful and the Angels are attention grabbing and memorable with many towering over Tokyo-3's skyscraper. The Angels appear in many different forms (one Angel takes the form of a gargantuan, blue diamond while another is too small to be seen with the naked eye and acts as an organic virus, crippling NERV's computer system) which helps Eva avoid the repetitve "Monster of the Week" format and keeps the action aspect of the series consistently fresh and enjoyable. Judeo-Christian references are famous (or rather, infamous) in Evangelion and despite widespread condemnation, I am of the firm belief that the symbolism is never obnoxious, and always evocative and visually shocking. It must be noted these references are usually fairly shallow, but they make you sit up and take notice of the deeper meaning in the series as a whole. Animation is crisp and clear for the platinum re-mastering that I watched, and I hasten to add that this re-mastering is only version of Eva worth buying. Visuals are regularly stunning and scenes from this series will surely stay with you forever. The regular provocative imagery is often times shocking and sometimes awe-inspiring. The image of a crippled Rei, bleeding and covered in bandages in the first episode provides the first real shock of the series. Such imagery contrasts with the visual gags present throughout - a toothpick container obscuring Shinji's nether regions in episode 2 being one of the most memorable.
The music is, much like the rest of Eva, superbly memorable. It excels at setting the right mood and tone, using inspirational trumpets to highlight Asuka and Shinji's success in battle, and nuanced reflective tunes to convey the character of Rei. The OP is among my favourites of all time and you'll not tire of hearing it throughout the 26 episodes of the series.
The final two episodes are controversial (more controversial than the rest of the series at least!) because they are both the peak of experimental Eva. While I certainly wouldn't call them "bad", they are frustratingly unsatisfying as an ending. Thankfully, the subsequent movie release titled 'End of Evangelion' rectifies this with bombastic aplomb. EoE - which essentially tells the story of what happens in eps. 25 and 26, but this time outside of Shinji's mind - is truly magnificent, and definitely lives up to the sky high standards set in the series, and perhaps even exceeds them. As well as being one of the greatest anime movies ever made, EoE gives the series an extraordinary conclusion.
I haven't even mentioned the dub, the pacing or the sound effects, but rest assured that they are all of a fantastic standard. Overall, I think this series deserves it's iconic status - it's easily one of the absolute best TV series (anime or otherwise) that I've ever seen. Every single episode is nothing less than a masterpiece and an utter joy to watch. I whole heartedly recommend Neon Genesis Evangelion. It is imperative that you watch this anime!
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Hikari_Tajiri
16 of 28 people found this review helpful
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26 of 26 episodes seen
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
(I promise not to write any spoilers in this review.)
Back when I was eleven, I had heard about "an anime with a kinda cute blue-haired girl, angels and science fiction stuff" around the net, and thought it looked good. I looked it up on YouTube, and- not to sound cheesy- my life was changed forever. That did sound cheesy... nyoro~n...
The story, quite simply, is legendary. It's surprisingly deep, thought-provoking and, in bits of the later episodes and movies, oddly beautiful. I can quite honestly not say just how brilliant it is in words, or in anything else. It goes far beyond the basic idea of alien lifeforms invading the planet, causing the apocalypse and having to be defeated by a group of fourteen-year-olds who are being forced to pilot (what they think are) mechas. Far from being cheesy, pretentious or immature, as it could have been, it is, quite simply, perfect.
Next, the art. This can be summed up in five words. "This is a 1995 anime?!" The art in Evangelion is amazing, in my opinion, beating some modern anime. The style is strangely realistic for an anime style, weird as that might sound- no giant eyes, and no crazy hair color without some reason for it. Even in the non-remastered version, the visuals are mostly crisp and clean, providing you don't watch it on low-quality blurry Youtube videos.
Now, the sound. This is, again, incredible. The voice acting is perfect (providing that you ignore the dub), especially for Ayanami Rei, the introverted, slightly workaholic, mostly emotionless but still clearly human pilot of Eva Unit 00, and Nagisa Kaworu, who I can't explain about without spoiling a lot. The music is, if possible, even better. The mixture of original score, new versions of existing songs (examples; Ode to Joy in episode 24, Fly Me To The Moon as the ending theme to most episodes) and J-pop is just perfect. There's no balance problems or distortion, either.
The characters are among the best I've seen in any anime. They are surprisingly, almost painfully, realistic, and strangely relatable, odd as that might be. None of them come over as excessively emotional, ridiculously optimistic, out of place, or Mary-Sue-ish at all. I have a kind of attachment to all of them. You know you shouldn't like them so much; they're destructive, highly flawed, and, in the case of a few characters, sadistic, but you can't help but love them. I pretty much agree with other positive reviewers on the individual characters, so I'll skip over that.
Now for the enjoyment factor. This is not the anime to watch if you only enjoy cutesy happy fluff. This anime is pretty much tragic. By the end, almost all the characters have gotten themselves destroyed, emotionally, physically or both. However, it manages to be just so enjoyable to watch. For some reason, you find yourself totally addicted to it. In some parts, it's oddly beautiful without you quite knowing why.
Overall, this is one of the best anime out there. If you like drama, sci-fi, mecha, theotech, psychological stuff, or deep stories, you'll love Evangelion. Even if you hate all those things, watch it anyway. And if you hate the actual series, watch End of Evangelion before you consign it to the rubbish-heap. If you watched the series, you pretty much have to watch EoE; it answers almost all the unanswered questions and makes for a much more satisfying ending. read more
Recommendations
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I think this has been compared to Evangelion, Numerous amounts of times, mostly because of the Mechanical aspects, the characters and the fact that the Angels and Dolems kind of parallel each other.
Evangelion is the main source of inspiration for Rahxephon, many consider it a clone. Evangelion tends to be more complex and intelectual, concentrating on philosophy and psychology while Rahxephon tends to be easier and not so inteligent concentrating on a love story with harem like influences all covered up in an artsy smart wannabe story with big, complicated words used that don't have any real meanings behind them (perfect for the new generation of anime fans who love superficial stories who like to seem complex).
Similar premises, but RahXephon did a lot better job of it.
If You Watch It, You'll See Why. There Are Some Very Interesting Similarities, But The Show Is Still Unique.
Can't explain in one sentence. You just have to see it.
The mechas are similar,but they are made of "Clay",the story is kinda oriented into the same genre,but Evangelion's story is deeper moved into the religious sector,while RahXephon's is oriented about time.
NGE created the genre, Rahxephon and Eureka7 are two original creations inside that format, both are great but I prefer the original
Rahxephon is basically neon genesis done correctly!! Where Eva failed Rahxephon succeeded.
both have a very similar story lines and themes
They're both intriguing psychological dramas amongst countless of other similarities.
Both have giant mechas used by the main characters, and during various episodes like to play with your head some.
DUH? RahXephon is a direct copy of NGE but not as messed up. It is the NGE for amateurs and newbies to anime. But RahXephon has its own appeal b/c it is referenced in other shows such as Ouran High school host club. However, i have to say that i like RahXephon more b/c i can sleep at night after watching it and b/c of Quon and "Ra Ra what is it Ollin?" Who wouldn't fall in love with that?
Both are great mecha shows that deal with other underlying psychological/emotional themes, although NGE has a little more of the psychoanalytical "stuff". In the end, RahXephon is really more of a love story, but doesn't slack on the action or introspection. If you are an anime fan, you owe it to yourself to watch both of these shows, even if you don't like mecha.
You can almost call this a copy of NGE, aside from the fact that Rah Xephon tends not to mess with your mind, is not as depressing. The Story is just as epic though, the trials are just as challenging and the story is detailed enough that you do need to follow the story to know whats going on.
RahXephon - although good - is more or less a rip off of Evangelion (and so is the Bible lol). It has so many subtle similarities in characters and story, but none the less it is still a good anime. Evagelion is one of the GREATEST animes and is amazing to watch and even more complex the RahXephon. If you enjoy philosophical thinking - both are good, but Eva is better.
Both implement mecha robots as well as some form of religious belief to progress each respective plot. Also both have main characters with social problems. Need I say more???
They share a ridiculous number of specific and general similarities. Essentially, RahXephon is a much lighter and brighter version of Evangelion. Evangelion has significantly more psychological and philosophical elements than RahXephon, but RahXephon sounds and looks far better (also is less screwy, if you're not a fan of mind screw). Either way, if you like Evangelion, you'll definitely like RahXephon.
Using gamer terminology, these series have the same setting: huge anthropomorphic robots save the world (or try to destroy it, according to the point of view) with a little help of brave teenagers. The formula is completed by a mere alien per episode and a big boss in the end. As a set-off against Eva, RahXephon has a great love story. By all means, those who were excited about one series will enjoy watching the other.
Both series are mechas with dramatic, psychological themes. Both are really high quality for their times and have amazing plots and characters.
The similarities are endless and there is also definitely some major differences biggest one of which being that the main theme of RahXephon is music and its power to change the world (tune the world). I think of RahXephon as being very similar to NGE (at least there seems to be slightly more similarities than differences) with a much less emo male lead and a watchable ending (more than watchable actually, compared to NGE's completely unwatchable and horrific last two episodes).
RahXephon is what Evangelion should have been like. NGE has a lot more fans than RahXephon, although i can't possibly comprehend why aside from the fact that NGE came first.
Neon Genesis has a very complicated and detailed plot, and many consider RahXephon to be a rip-off of it. However, I found that I enjoyed RahXephon much more than Evangelion. Both deal with Mechas, politics, religion, a boy struggling to come to terms with his life and what everyone expects of him. I just felt RahXephon was executed better.
Both involve around a teenage boy trying to remember and forget the past at the same time. Everyone that the boy loves has either turned away or no longer able to be there for him. Full of action, A Mecha is what the boy uses in battle to combat with the organization he has joined. Which is use primarily for battle.
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Characters' style in the beginnig of the story.
Eureka7 was clearly influenced by NGE
Eureka Seven takes many MANY things from Evangelion, such as characters (i.e: Rei Ayanami = Eureka), use of mecha, some things from the plot, etc. Sometimes when I was watching Eureka 7 I felt i was wachting eva, altough Eureka is not as sad or phsicological as Evangelion.
The LFOs in Eureka are similar to the Evas in NGE.
The story is deep very envolving, really when I first started watching it, I thought it reminded me alot of evangelion.
Both main characters are boys. Both go through things that make them go through developement. Theres plenty of Mecha battles and drama in both of them and both can get psychological at times. Also, in both NGE and E7 the mechs make up a lot of the mysteries in the plots.
Eureka Seven is very similar to Eva. They both have mysterious mechs. The main male characters think alike and go through a lot of change, there is a lot of character development.
Few anime series can compare to the masterpiece that is Evangelion, but if you are looking for something similar then Eureka Seven is more than likely a series you'll enjoy. Both stories' central focus is around a young male and his search for belonging, as he's thrown into the midst of a giant conflict. Giant mechs, young love, and large casts to boot, these two series are both quite similar to each other in a number of ways. Spoilers and synopses aren't my type, so ultimately I'll leave it for you to decide. Eureka Seven certainly isn't as timeless as Eva, but it's one of the better series one could compare it to and it still does a great job of keeping its audience captivated up until the final curtain falls.
Giant robots. Strange creatures to fight against. Protagonists with f***'d up lives. What more could you ask for? It's all right here in these two great anime series. Check them out!
Both have strange, simillar mechas, some psychological problems and mystery. However NGE is more .. mature (?).
Both are sci-fi, both of them have a main character who follows his evolution, and a lot of good action and sci-fi scenes :-)
well they're both similar because of the whole child growing to an adult thing. if you like mecha then you'll love these
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Opening Theme"残酷な天使のテーゼ [Zankoku na Tenshi no Te-ze (Thesis of a Cruel Angel)]" by Yoko Takahashi
Ending Theme#01: "Fly Me to the Moon" by Claire
#02: "Fly Me to the Moon (Rei #5 Version)" by Megumi Hayashibara (ep 5)
#03: "Fly Me to the Moon (Rei #6 Version)" by Megumi Hayashibara (ep 6)
#04: "Fly Me to the Moon -4 Beat Version-" by Yoko Takahashi (eps 7,12)
#05: "Fly Me to the Moon (Aya Bossa Techno Version)" by Aya (eps 8,22)
#06: "Fly Me to the Moon (Yoko Takahashi Acid Bossa Version)" by Yoko Takahashi (eps 9,13)
#07: "Fly Me to the Moon (Yoko Takahashi Version)" by Yoko Takahashi (eps 10,14,21)
#08: "Fly Me to the Moon -4 Beat Version (Off-Vocal)-" by [Instrumental] (ep 15)
#09: "Fly Me to the Moon (Off-Vocal Version)" by [Instrumental] (eps 16,24)
#10: "Fly Me to the Moon (Aki Jungle Version)" by Aki (ep 17)
#11: "Fly Me to the Moon -B22 (A-Type)-" by [Instrumental] (ep 20)
#12: "Fly Me to the Moon (Rei #23 Version)" by Megumi Hayashibara (ep 23)
#13: "Fly Me to the Moon (Rei #25 Version)" by Megumi Hayashibara (ep 25)
#14: "Fly Me to the Moon (Rei #26 Version)" by Megumi Hayashibara (ep 26)
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