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May 13, 2011 9:05 AM
#1
Spotlight Anime: Neon Genesis Evangelion MAL Anime Information Page: Neon Genesis Evangelion MAL Score – 8.32 (by 63429 users) Ranked - #173 Popularity - #12 Old Spotlight: Neon Genesis Evangelion For the next two weeks I would like to have a discussion about the anime that focuses on the key elements that we here on MAL use to critically rate an anime: Animation, Sound, Characters, Story, and Enjoyment. I would like everyone to approach this thread as if you were going to write a review and structure your initial post like this: Animation - insert rating Sound - insert rating Characters - insert rating Story - insert rating Enjoyment - insert rating Animation - discuss any pros and cons of the animation styling used in the series, try to include some specifics. Sound - describe any of the things you liked or didn't care for in regards to the music and sound effects used in the series etc... If you are having trouble writing up a review or coming up with specific pros and cons, please don't worry. Just do the best you can with it and if you can only write two or three sentences about any of the 5 elements then that's OK. Not everyone here is currently at a level which will allow them to articulate their thoughts and opinions. After your initial post is made you can feel free to civilly discuss issues of contention. I am sure there will be many opinions expressed here that some of us will disagree upon and criticise and it is for that reason that this entire club exists. So I hope everyone has fun and I am really looking forward to watching this discussion unfold. Due to rule changes in January 2014 this title is eligible for resurrection. RESULTS OF THE RESURRECTION POLL 05-16-14 - Yes: 46 - No: 27 - I haven't watched this anime: 14 ~ Abstained: 9 Congratulations on this anime not being inducted! Back to resurrections with you! - 63% RESULTS OF THE RESURRECTION POLL Neon Genesis Evangelion was PERMANENTLY barred from induction into the club Anime list: 42 Yes - 65.6% 22 No - 34.3% 11 Don't know this anime - 14.1% of the total number polled 3 Abstained - 4.0% of the total number polled Challenge You Decide results: Neon Genesis Evangelion (Anime) (30/05/21) - Yes: 44 - No: 12 - Haven't Watched: 1 ~ Abstained: 1 - 78.57% |
HiroM_Aug 6, 2021 10:05 AM
You do not beg the sun for mercy. |
May 13, 2011 12:23 PM
#2
I never really put that much thought into it, I guess I just don't like it THAT much... But I do know that it has some of the best writing in any medium, ever. And the last two episodes are among my all time favorites. |
May 13, 2011 2:25 PM
#3
I wish they spent at least just an episode talking about what really happened before the "explosion". I find the episodic fillers pretty fun to watch, I didn't regard it deeply as all the fans or haters did, I am actually not even sure how can you find it "deep". I enjoyed the series, but I am going to vote "no" I also checked that this is the series, and not the movie... |
Even when I was in crowd, I was always alone |
May 14, 2011 2:24 PM
#4
I applaud the show for deconstructing the super robot genre by throwing in elements from the real robot genre, Kabbalistic Gnosticism, and perhaps even a bit of Lovecraft. The Angels and the methods required to defeat them were unique, and the idea of fighting off alien entities with even more monstrous and terrifying living weapons was pretty refreshing. Basically, I loved the series for fucking around with conventions. Unfortunately, that's also one of my pet peeves. The Angels and EVAs are fascinating as concepts, but they're far too abusable as literary devices. I'm tempted to call the series "The Attack of the 500-Foot Plot Device". They're far too volatile, unpredictable, and convenient. Need a missing wife to turn a major character into a stoic extremist? Have her disappear in the EVA. Need to probe the mind of a pilot? Call an angel. Break the fragile ego of an emotional teenager? Call another angel. Need a quick victory? Berserker mode. End the world as we know it? Tang. If the writer simply wanted to stir things up, all they had to do was design another gigantic freak, slap it with the power necessary to advance the plot, and have it waltz into Tokyo 3. [aside:] It's interesting to note how spiritual successors in genre deconstruction seem to have learned from Evangelion's mistake. Narutaru, Bokurano, and Madoka have slowly been improving in toning down the unpredictability of the fantastic elements and tying them more closely to the development of their respective themes. As for the story and its characters... The Uncyclopedia article is surprisingly accurate. The drama felt too contrived with its dependence on Freudian excuses in attempting to give the characters some depth. |
YuunagiMay 15, 2011 7:21 AM
May 15, 2011 12:55 AM
#5
To be honest I didn't enjoy it a lot of the time. It was hard to because the characters were all unlikable and it was depressing and the fights were kind of boring to me. But I still think it's very very good and should of course be one of the club's recommendations. |
May 15, 2011 8:34 AM
#6
I am left with one of those annoying cases where JesuOtaku's review manages to say everything I want to, only better. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUqdYo-2iU8 But yeah, as much as I loved a lot of things about it, it's going to have to be a no. |
May 15, 2011 11:55 AM
#7
Lind_L_Tailor said: Blocked where I live. Fortunately, there are alternatives.I am left with one of those annoying cases where JesuOtaku's review manages to say everything I want to, only better. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUqdYo-2iU8 The second part of the review had me chuckling; it reminds me too much of the lively discussions we once had over a certain topic. JO said: Point is, Shinji, if you're lost, don't go looking for the answers inside yourself. You're the one who's confused. |
YuunagiMay 16, 2011 8:24 AM
May 16, 2011 8:20 AM
#8
Lind_L_Tailor said: I am left with one of those annoying cases where JesuOtaku's review manages to say everything I want to, only better. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUqdYo-2iU8 In the same boat as Lind, except I'm still undecided at the moment. |
Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone. |
May 16, 2011 12:55 PM
#9
ladyxzeus said: Long story... Once upon a time there were two little girls that worked at the Zoo. Blondie and Dumbie, these were their names, were given a very hard task for that day. They had to take care of the gorilas! They went, armed with rakes and and will-power, and stood in front of the gorilas that, by their side, stood in front of them. After an hour of staring at each other, both parties sit. The gorilas started looking at the sky, while Blondie and Dumbie continued looking at the gorilas. In this situation, Dumbie suddenly stated: "Dya'now... I finished Evangelion like you told me to! It was like... Omg!" Blondie, still looking at the primates, answered in awe: "Yes it was! Did you watch the last two episodes?" "Yeah, I did, found them at the Tube of You with Spanish subs, but it was fine either way. That last episode was totally awesome, but it's stupid that they say it's like that because of the low budget" "Looked like Don's animations, don't you think?" "Indeed, but I also felt it was a prototipe for the evolution of self as analogy with art, being the simplification an inner chase for the self." "Still, that Shinji was fucking stupid, why should he have an inner chase for the self?" Dumbie tought, just a little bit. It was not her habit to think too much. However, Blondie was faster and continued with her argument: "Unless, of course, you consider Shinji like a reflection of the personality of the author. I read somewhere that he was a bipolar schizophrenic necrophilic guy that got crazy after divorcing and that was dying of depression and cancer. Like Shinji." "I read at the Youtube comments that the author was mentally tormented by the lack of success of his acts and has considered suicide", answered Dumbie, that had actually read that at Wikipedia. "Actually," - she continued - "I think that the whole series is a masturbatory exercise that the author had to create in way to keep himself occupied. Or else he would kill himself. I really thought that the Angels, Adam and Lilith thing were too much. Mixing religion is never a good trick when you don't know enough of the Bible to support it." "Still, Rei being Lilith and therefore the only hope for the world was truly brilliant", answered Blondie. With tears on her eyes, Dumbie agreed: "It was kind of freaky Rei being everyone at the same time, but it also explains why Shinji-Father loved her so much... In the end it was an ode to the eternal love for the humanity and a string of light upon the soon-to-be destruction of the world by an egotist batshit-crazy father who could only raise a disturbed child. I understood that with the Fly me to the Moon!" "Wtf, I did not see that!" "It was the last episode, the lyrics came!" "Ah, I jumped through it. But Rei being the clone of the Angels and the other guy Kaoru being the angel were not the most disturbing parts anyway." "Haha, did you actually know that Kaoro and Shinji fucked each other?" "No way!" "Yes way!" "When?" "Iono, but they absolutely did it, omg it was so sexy, now YOU LOVE YAOI DON'T YOU?" "No way!" "YOU DO! C'mon, Shinji was kind of cute..." Blondie was caught with this one and had to give it a nice share of thought. More intelligent than her friend and that the gorilas (that were still gazing at the sky), she deeply considered every answer till she finally shot another question: "Would you do him?" ... Her friend was stunned. She did not expect this. Throwing a leaf at the biggest gorila, that did not notice it, she answered with a snarl: "If the other guy was there I would. Now... WOULD YOU?" "No way! He was a fucking dumbass that only whined and cried for his father. Misato's boyfriend was the hottest of them all. The tension between them, the relationship with the doctor girl, the whole concept of the city... That was my favourite part. Besides Asuka in the bathtub, of course. I'd do Asuka" "Ya, thermodynamics ftw! Anyway, I really loved the flashback to Misato's story and the inner heart of the controlling system was just lovely. I cried so much when the guy died... Can't remember his name, but he's so damn cool... But the saddest part was the poor penguin... Misato left him with a cat lady and the world was destroyed and he died!" "Wait, I don't remember that! I only cried with Asuka's story, that was totally freaky!" This was a surprising revelation. Blondie never cried, at any occasion. Blondie was blonde, and blondes do not have a heart. But she changed issues immediatly: "The only really stupid thing I found was the fact that the Evas had to be plugged to the city to work!" "But that was probably because they were powered by the complex artificial intelligence, and not only by their alien nature. Which remembers me... EVA EATING ANGEL OMG THAT WAS SO FUN!" "EW, I actually felt a bit hungry after that scene" Suddenly, the male silver coated gorila raised an apple and threw it to Kiki, the newly arrived female. It seems that Kooka, the ancient 60 year old male, was prone to domestic violence. Dumbie looked at Blondie, that looked at Dumbie, that looked at Blondie. They both put thermodynamics into action and jumped into their pink Evas. And the world was saved. tl;dr version: 10/10 Yes, it has my vote as many times as possible On a side note, 10/10 for any anime that makes me have this conversation with my best friend Andreia. |
May 16, 2011 3:50 PM
#10
Yuunagi said: Lind_L_Tailor said: Blocked where I live. Fortunately, there are alternatives.I am left with one of those annoying cases where JesuOtaku's review manages to say everything I want to, only better. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUqdYo-2iU8 The second part of the review had me chuckling; it reminds me too much of the lively discussions we once had over a certain topic. JO said: Point is, Shinji, if you're lost, don't go looking for the answers inside yourself. You're the one who's confused. Right, Right? Thanks for the working U.S. link Yuunagi. That review basically touched on all that needs to be said in the series. Jo did a better job at explaining why I had so many problems with the hype that Evangelion always received. Her focus on Shinji and why his character is basically a failure, and the inability to find an ending, highlights other less objective arguments I've made in the past. It appears Ano was perhaps so depressed at the time he couldn't actually see the ending. This argument reminds me of some of the other discussions from other people who love this fact. Freudian tropes were interesting but overused which made Shinji's internal pursuit for happiness, philosophically redundant, scene after scene. Plus Jo's mentioning about the idea of being told vs. shown is always a criticism that I tend to make. Basically, I agree with her review on most levels. I'm not sure where this leaves me voting wise though. |
Orion1May 16, 2011 3:56 PM
May 20, 2011 3:36 PM
#11
I wrote at length about it here: http://ghostlightning.wordpress.com/2010/06/09/neon-genesis-evangelion-tv-revisited-better-than-i-remember/ I rewatched the whole TV series last year just after Rebuild 2 came out. I expected to validate the complaints I've nurtured since I met the backlash against this show, but instead I found myself more profoundly impressed. |
We Remember Love! http://ghostlightning.wordpress.com |
May 22, 2011 4:11 PM
#12
In retrospect, I'm now wavering a bit closer to voting yes, since for all it's faults I consider Evangelion to be the absolute best (or close to the best) at no less than three things: Character study, Monster of the Week style, and Atmosphere. Yeah, I'm back on the wall with this. I think I may give it a rewatch. |
May 22, 2011 6:06 PM
#13
Character study, Monster of the Week style, and Atmosphere. Evangelion was good at these, but there's probably a handful of shows out there that could trump it in 2 or even 3 aspects (off the top of my head, Mushishi and Madoka). |
May 23, 2011 4:49 AM
#14
Yuunagi said: Madoka did well for monster of the week and atmosphere, but not as well as Evangelion, and it certainly wasn't nearly as good a character study. I've only read the Mushishi manga, so maybe you're right there.Character study, Monster of the Week style, and Atmosphere. Evangelion was good at these, but there's probably a handful of shows out there that could trump it in 2 or even 3 aspects (off the top of my head, Mushishi and Madoka). |
May 23, 2011 10:06 AM
#15
Debatable. I'll talk about Madoka when the spotlight eventually comes. Either way, I give credit to Evangelion for pioneering or popularizing certain tropes and conventions, but judging it on its own ... it's quite a mess. You've got an entire cast with a truckload of issues. Fine. Throw in conspiracies and abstract eldritch abominations. Okay, you've caught my attention. Now, slap one story on top of the other and you've got a terrible coincidence. SEELE doesn't give a fuck about Shinji. 16 or 17 out of 18 Angels don't give a shit about the little squirt. Hell, Gendo isn't overflowing with love either when it comes to his own son. Yet this guy has been chosen to be the main factor which will decide the fate of mankind. The reason? Absolutely none; he just happens to be the Commander's son and the only boy whom mommy would allow into her cockpit. Within the context of the story and from the writer's point of view: Why would anybody want to focus on Shinji? Why hand the biggest role to that one character with no purpose in life? |
YuunagiMay 23, 2011 10:11 AM
May 23, 2011 10:18 AM
#16
Monster of the Week. I would like to inquire what are the qualities you guys are seeking from this. |
May 23, 2011 11:00 AM
#17
May 23, 2011 11:37 AM
#18
Yuunagi said: I think you answered your own question as far as Shinji being given the fate of humankind goes.Debatable. I'll talk about Madoka when the spotlight eventually comes. Either way, I give credit to Evangelion for pioneering or popularizing certain tropes and conventions, but judging it on its own ... it's quite a mess. You've got an entire cast with a truckload of issues. Fine. Throw in conspiracies and abstract eldritch abominations. Okay, you've caught my attention. Now, slap one story on top of the other and you've got a terrible coincidence. SEELE doesn't give a fuck about Shinji. 16 or 17 out of 18 Angels don't give a shit about the little squirt. Hell, Gendo isn't overflowing with love either when it comes to his own son. Yet this guy has been chosen to be the main factor which will decide the fate of mankind. The reason? Absolutely none; he just happens to be the Commander's son and the only boy whom mommy would allow into her cockpit. Within the context of the story and from the writer's point of view: Why would anybody want to focus on Shinji? Why hand the biggest role to that one character with no purpose in life? He was chosen because nobody cared about him, thus making him more likely to initiate the instrumentality that the angels wanted so that everybody would be forced to care about him as he would be part of them. As for the first Angels not caring about Shinji, I don't have an argument for this, except they might have been psychologically weakening him to further increase the chances of instrumentality being initiated and I don't particularly care about having one either, since I'm not a huge fan of the series myself. The main question is why did the Angels want to initiate instrumentality in the first place? If the only Angels that existed were the ones seen in the series, why did they want mankind out of the way, bearing in mind they probably weren't going to populate the earth? I'm guessing it has something to do with Adam and the Angel's believing (rightly) that the humans wouldn't leave him alone once he was discovered. But then we could go even further back, to the Second Impact. If Adam caused the Second Impact, why did he do it the first place? And if he didn't and it was caused by a meteorite (assuming that the "First Impact" was the extinction of the dinosaurs), how was he only discoverable after the Second Impact? This series had some good moments, but not enough to justify a yes vote, so this is a no vote for me. |
Current FAL Ranking + Previous best:: [ |
May 25, 2011 1:38 PM
#19
After first 13 episodes I hated it – thought it`s pointless series of fights with “monsters of the week”, characters (especially Asuka) annoyed me, simply I wasn`t particularly interested in it. Fortunately, next episodes were much better, plot started to be more and more original, near the end there was an excellent psychoanalysis. Nevertheless, it was still to little to vote on it. Then why will I write yes in “you decide” topic? Due to the last scene which I consider as the best I `ve ever seen in anime. After watching this I realized the sense of those boring episodes, scenes, irritating characters. Alike many other Gainax series (FLCL, TTGL) it`s also about (IMO) adolescence and overcoming adversities, but there it is depicted in much more realistic, maybe even naturalistic way. There are no heroes, godlike humans or sth like that – only people with their flaws and limitations. That`s why some characters may be so irritating. Animation – 10/10 Even after 15 years it`s still very impressive. Sound – 7/10 Seiyuus did a great job, unfortunately some tracks have become quite obsolete Characters – 9/10 Realistic, with great development. The only ones which I consider as a real mistake was Gendo and Rey both (in NGE only) pillar-like and unconvincing Story – 9/10 Refined, ambiguous, with great, daring (in very positive meaning) scenes – like moments of silence lasting even a few minutes Enjoyment – 8/10 Unfortunately, it was quite often boring Overall – 9/10 and “yes” |
May 26, 2011 8:23 AM
#20
live2win said: Monster of the Week. I would like to inquire what are the qualities you guys are seeking from this. Well, the ideal monster of the week show would have unique (but not laughable) monsters that challenge the characters in new ways, forcing them to take a different approach with every single one. This is something Evangelion does very well. It also benefits from the fact that the technical staff supporting the Evangelions are actually given something to do, rather than sitting around and basically being cheerleaders for the pilots, like in many other mecha. So it is safe to say Evangelion is a top-notch monster of the week show. |
Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone. |
May 26, 2011 9:29 AM
#21
So the anime is certainly not without its fault, but I still think it's an exemplary title in the "mecha genre". Though I never regarded this show as a mecha one. Overrated ?...Maybe, but I'm still going for the yes. |
-Fixing- |
May 26, 2011 3:17 PM
#22
kubusk said: There are no heroes, godlike humans or sth like that – only people with their flaws and limitations. The monsters are called Angels, that's a straight forward god like allusion/metaphor. Shinji does have a typical shonen element of powering up, when he learns to control, or merge with his evangelion and is able to control unit 01 when it becomes an Angel. I'm thinking that's a cliche hero element. It took a lot of self hatred and whining about why his father being such an unloving parent, and he also has to over come his rebellion against his father's wish for him to pilot the evangelion, but eventually shinji does snap out of his self pity and decides to save the world. His father's lack of attention/love forced shinji's rebellion, but ultimately it's hard to watch so much self pity. I think I'm beginning to see why others liked this element though. Without holding on to the depression factor, the power up or emotional evolutionary moment would be less climactic. In shinji's case I don't think he ever really defeats his inner demons. He only responds to his inner instinct to survive and help his friends. All the inner dialogue about why he shouldn't save humanity because his daddy doesn't love him was hard to watch, but it was effective in making evangelion more than just another mech series. I really never liked the Angel character designs, but once again they were unique monsters. I suppose Rei could also be seen as a god like character, however in her case she never evolves into the cliche, so she was more like a seed. She never really gains any special powers but has potential that is never realized. Emotionally she is like the special child with emotional shortcomings, someone to pity, hence a reason why shinji is so attracted to her. Of course maybe it's just her blue hair and tight suit. I know I love me ladies with blue hair and shinji is as already mentioned, going through adolescents. In many ways, Rei's lack of ability to love shinji, shadows Gendo's lack of emotion towards his son. Shinji appears to be evolving into a masochist during this series. Why else would he fall in love with a character devoid of real emotion? But if anything I think I just made myself like the series a little more. I see your point about there not being any true hero's in this series. Shinji just never really completely evolves, Rei is static and the rest of the cast doesn't seem able to help Shinji. One hug from his father and some encouraging words would probably make all the difference in this aspect. Perhaps a kiss from Rei, or a little emotional evolution on her part for shinji might have also sufficed. But it never happens and shinji is left as the limp hero. |
Orion1May 27, 2011 4:23 PM
May 26, 2011 4:35 PM
#23
For me the selling point of Evangelion is the characters. I think the dynamics and development of the cast is amongst the best I’ve seen in anime. The main story is a convoluted mess and to make sense of most of the symbolism is pointless, still the merit of Evangelion is to make the best of its simple(dressed as complex and deep) plot and sometimes incomprehensible situations to evoke realistic emotions and behaviors from the characters. IMHO, Evangelion was at its best when the symbolism, the why of the Angels, the core of the plot was peripheral to the story. After all if you were to determine the reason d’etre of Evangelion then it would surely have to be the desire of Anno to create an anime that explored his mental state at that time. That being the case Evangelion triumphs spectacularly in what it sets out to do, it's an outstanding study of the interaction and behavior of people with this kind of mental, social, and/or emotional problems. So that’s why im voting yes the story is a 7 but the characters, soundtrack and animation are a 10. On a side note I think Madoka is the complete opposite of Evangelion in that it manages to create an engrossing plot along with meaningful symbolism and a stunning setting, but the characters(except Kyouko-no bias here, lol-) are uninspiring, unoriginal, and dull. Ill expand upon this when Madoka comes up for discussion. |
amdaryMay 26, 2011 4:40 PM
May 3, 2014 10:52 PM
#24
This is one of those noticeably absent shows on my list. Well, it's not completely absent, I have seen the first two episodes. Still, for being such a high-profile series for so many people, it seems like something I should have completed a long time ago. Perhaps now that it's in the spotlight, it's the perfect excuse for me to pick it up again. |
::End of Transmission:: What have I been watching? Click here and find out on my viewing blog, "Vigorous Viewing" |
May 9, 2014 12:24 PM
#25
I find this is an anime that really didn't age well. Seeing it when you're like 14 makes it seem real deep and amazing, but when I watched it again it was really average. For the most part of the series they employ a "monster of the week" strategy which isn't special and even though the plot is actually fairly interesting and intricate when you pull it out of the series and look at it by itself, I find the anime didn't express it super well. on a more personal note, i think shinji is just the worst. He is so boring and whiny. And the last 2 eps with all the introspective stuff that just taught him that he doesn't have to be a huge puss, and after figuring that out he gets a standing ovation. that was just nonsense imo. That shouldn't have had to be a huge revelation! |
https://combosmooth.itch.io/ - I make free-to-play browser games for PC and I sell pixel art animation here |
May 17, 2014 3:06 AM
#26
[this is not a review, get away if you didn’t watch the anime and you don’t like getting spoiled] A deconstruction of NGE (debate me harder! yeah!): The first point that anybody would notice is the setting of Eva. It’s a pretty standard intro of a mecha show with one slight exception… The protagonist is a pretty crap tier beta pussy. Just here we can notice one merit and one… debatable merit (?) of the anime: -It’s a pretty interesting deconstruction of the mecha genre right from the first episode. In the 90s and even these days, almost every protagonist of an action based anime is going to be a badass. This is a proven statistic. Beta protagonists are met not as often and Shinji tier protagonists are an extreme rarity. As all mecha shows of that time had a tendency to get on at least a world threatening events scale, we might be confronted with a question right here: Wtf is going to happen with the world if its fate depends on someone like THIS? *tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling dooooown* It’s somehow funny that even the opening is like all about a young guy coming and saving the world (Buhaha! Anyone buy him!) -Now straight to the most sensitive part - Shinji’s character. 1. The first question to answer would be: Is Shinji a good character? Answer: YES. Here is the funniest thing which people do not get… Most of people aren’t indifferent to Shinji! You can either hate or like him and usually depending on this, the watcher creates his impression about the anime (Oh, hell… the show revolves around him after all). The simple truth is that the fact you have a feeling towards Shinji, even if it’s negative, that makes him a good character. A bad character leaves a person simply indifferent. Just like we can be tired of a certain cliché, once we see a copy-pasted character with seemingly no different development, we just stop caring about it. Shinji is intended to be this way. This is what I consider scares off some people from Eva: the cast. Just like you can disagree with a human on a certain topic or you can hate the way that human lives, you can disagree with these characters. (But I’ll get here later) 2. Shinji’s role in the story and how it’s perceived. One of the most important impacts that this sole character has is the sense of uncertainty. It appears around the second half of the story, where the main action happens and is at its peak in The End of Eva. As most of you might know, Anno was in a depression while writing Eva. He was hostile towards the world itself and this resulted in Eva having a somehow hostile aura towards the viewer. It removes the sense of comfort and stability replacing it with that of uncertainty. Shinji is constantly in stress, close to despair which makes it pretty hard to foresee his actions… Will he grow up soon? Will he be lucky this time? Will he run away (again)? Or maybe he’s just going to die? And every time I hear people saying that he’s too pussy that it’s unrealistic, I got a question for you: Wtf would you do if your father kills your friend right in front of you? Ah… And don’t forget that you’re 14 year old. 3. Shinji’s character and the hedgehog dilemma. Well… Spiky… The most important thing to consider here is his background and more specific the fact that he’s got no parents. Normally, the parents are the ones that teach you love, they’re your #1 emotional support and the only people you can trust. When stripped down of this factor, I see two ways for a person to develop (in general lines): an extravert will most likely look for recognition and trust from others and an introvert will close up. Shinji is the extreme case of the second situation. Shinji will seek recognition from his father which is his only family, but because of their characters they’ll need a lot of time to build up this relation (which is not given of course). And as humans tend to do what they’re used to, Shinji got used to be alone. He locked his own mind as in order to keep it somehow stable (and yeah, his stable state=shit). This way he rejects people that try to get closer (#Misato). He’s crying like a bitch because his inner world is in chaos. He’s still a kid that is forced into the world of the adults. He doesn’t know what to do so he prefers to do nothing. For a closed up and immature person that he is, taking actions is hard. His desire becomes to get back into his childhood where he’s not forced to act. Yet despite his emotional shit tier state there are things that must be done. Any sane person can realize that sometimes you must do things, even if you don’t want to. Just as any other human, he still seeks that recognition from everybody. He simply wants to be praised (like any other kid, duh). Now we’re summing up the vectors to get a general idea of the chaos happening in his head. Depending on which force is going to win, his actions will be dictated by it. Will he get out saving Asuka or will he just stay there and cry? Well, WHO THEFUQ KNOWS? (exept for every person that watched the anime already) 4.* (side note, directed to a specific group of people) Why you don’t like Shinji It’s pretty damn simple. It’s the same reason why One Piece, Bleach and Naruto are top sellers. You, as a viewer, want to self insert yourself into the story or the protagonist! You want to feel the thrill and when you got a Shinji-tier protagonist you’re like (most likely on an unconscious level) “Ohh… I’m not like that… Wtf?”. You’re stripped down of any possible comfort because this character already HAS A CHARACTER (and a pretty annoying one on top of that). This is where Eva comes into its own. The characters are what set this anime apart from all of the “copycats” that have come out after its release. I have heard many people complain about the about this aspect of Eva but this is where the most of my enjoyment comes from. Each decision, each reaction, each emotion and each interaction reeks of reality which creates a cast of characters who are human to their very core. Yes, like most, I wish Shinji would grow a backbone every once in a while but does this mean I hate him, maybe, but, for me, it creates a very interesting character who can be looked into and analysed with great depth. And the thing is you could do this with every character in Eva as they all have their own psychological issues ranging from parental issues to isolation to love, or lack of it. It is this great depth and variety that interests me and makes me love watching Eva and greatly immerses me in this fictional world. (BallsOfShinji’s somehow cute review) The main character, Shinji is the one who gets the most flak. He is mentally weak and hardly has a backbone as a result of his crappy life (and he's very much aware of what he is). His mother died and his father neglected him, only to call him one day when he needed him to pilot a mech and save the world. This probably goes without saying, but people certainly have higher expectations from fictional characters than they do from real people and since the characters here don't meet those expectations, they receive hatred or ridicule. If Shinji were a real person, he would've been given a lot more credit for his bravery, but since he's fictional, it's much easier to just call him a loser and make fun of him. Even though calling him a coward or whiny is a context-less accusation and even when he runs away, it's for very good reasons. But I digress. (HATUL’s NGE review) Following up with the same first episode, we meet with the “hidden power/monster” trick that is pretty commonly used now in battle shounens. I think this is the best version of the trick that’s pulled off in the anime industry. Some might argue that this is a plot device to save Shinji’s ass in every situation and I’ll agree with the fact that it is one, but it’s not cheap in any case and isn’t a Deus Ex Machina either… so… what’s the problem then? In the end everything is a plot device. The plot is constructed well down to details. The mommy loves her son. Asuka makes Unit-02 enter the berserk state as well once she opens up. The reason why Unit-01 went crazy from start is obviously because Shinji felt some kind of comfort inside the Eva (a thing that is hinted in the anime, I’m not overthinking) from the very start. This “warmth” might also be one of the reasons why Shinji still got back in the Eva despite the fact that he was shtfk scared most of the time. I’d rather doubt it if the kiddo would kill the angel just like that with no experience and the explanation would be “he’s got natural talent!” tier. The first half of the anime is a buildup. We’re introduced to the whole cast and it’s being developed with a pretty high speed, while angels are taken down one by one in the process. Shinji is slowly developing in a positive direction, despite his *cough* running away. He builds up his relation with Asuka (which is pretty weird) and something of a relation with Rei (which kinda reminds him of someone I guess). On the other hand (one more thing I liked), Asuka is slowly going down. This is pretty interesting since it makes you compare the situation of the two and you might even realize that they’re pretty similar. This is exactly what I was talking about before about introverts and extraverts. Asuka is the perfect example of a person looking for attention which is shown in her “attraction” to Kaji. Just like Shinji, she tries to gain acceptance, but with different methods. Her downfall starts when Shinji starts to gather up what she’s looking for (too bad Shinji’s dumb enough not to notice that he’s actually getting what he needs, ha ha ha). The character interaction gets so complex around the second half that just one of those can make you feel weird: Hey, Gendo pity fks a b**ch to make her work, who is the daughter of another b**ch that he was pity fking to make her work and they were both ok with that. It’s just amazing how much character developing there is in this number of episodes. (I’m not going further into this as I’ll just repeat the words of a certain guy. I’m going to leave a link in the end) Next thing that’s worth mentioning is the symbolism. I want to say that this is where the community was slightly over thinking some stuff. Even Anno states that he initially called those things angels because he thought it was cool! (The End) Still, many of the points that the community brought up still apply. -The angels exploding into giant crosses as if saying that the religion is the result of people reproducing stuff they saw, as they could. A thing that makes you think about the uncertainty of things people believe in (no offense to Christians if there are any here. Do not forget that this is a work of fiction) -The names of the things: Adam (as the first being on the Earth) Lilith (the second seed which gave birth to humans, which is actually the name of a demon in jewish mythology. Demons… Sin… Humans… See where I’m going?) Evas (as being created from Adam /with one exception but w/e) Tree of Life, Fruit of Life, Seeds of Life… But this is mostly where it ends (tho maybe I failed to notice something). There’s not that much of symbolism and it’s not the main focus of the anime, just a small bonus. The next thing to look up is if there are any plot holes in the anime… aaaaand… [url= http://evangelion.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page]Read this[/url] and I dare anybody to find one. And this is indeed one negative aspect of the anime since we’re not given these answers WITHIN the anime itself. The NGE passes smoothly, but once The End of Eva happens… a wtf face might be written on your… face. There indeed are events that happen for unknown reasons if you don’t read the side materials and even after reading them, some stuff might seem pretty… strange. For example the part where the Eva series create the Tree of Life with Unit-01 in the center is pretty much reduced to “The guys have that instrumentality project. They know how the shit is done.”, which we should all agree is a pretty meh tier explanation… Now, the execution. I want to focus on the aura of the anime. I’m talking about that same feeling of uncertainty and powerlessness. There’s always something huge happening. It’s something way above every character in the series. The world of Evangelion is actually an interaction between beings far beyond the understanding of the characters in there. Things are not meant to be understood and who knows if an attempt to do so will result in a “There are gnomes in your TV that make it work and once you break it they disappear”. But even so you can take that TV and apply a hammer on it for example which means that even if you don’t understand how the things work, there are always consequences of your actions. Without a doubt, it’s the complex interactions between the characters that resulted in the events of The End of Eva. The next thing that creates the aura is how organic Evas (and other stuff too) are, despite being “mecha”. Every time an Eva is damaged, there are organs splashing out, there’s blood everywhere. The things in here are ALIVE. They’re screaming in pain when they’re damaged, they go crazy, they eat each other reminding everybody again that “this is not a fking joke”. The budget restraints were somehow problematic and it was divided… unequally, but it was a move to make the action scenes of higher quality. The elevator scene… Train scene (the worst one if you ask me)… Kaworu’s death… They’re indeed bad, there’s not much room to argue. But again… that’s 3 scenes. And who knows if the budget was spent like shit… You know, seeing Unit-01 eating up an angel in higher details had some impact (The Third Impact) on the public in that period… The last and the most considerable flaw of the series is obviously the last two episodes. They came out of nowhere and felt totally forced. They were meant to create something of a conclusion… which wasn’t one… I think it was supposed to be Shinji’s dream when he was in coma… <sigh> Still, despite that there can be created a small connection between those last two episodes and Shinji’s state in The Third Impact, which slightly… somehow… reduces the negative effect of those eps??? (nah… they’re still bad) In any case, I personally prefer to consider them nonexistent since they weren’t even meant to exist in the first place. Still… Lazy shit and an objective flaw (add the… plotholes(?) and you get the two real flaws) And finally… NGE and The End of Eva are not an easy series to digest. They weren’t meant to be simple. They weren’t meant to make the viewer love the protagonist. They are a reflection of Anno’s mental state in that period of his life, when he didn’t give a single flying fk about the opinion of others or about fanservice. He was saying through it constantly that the world is shit as it is, but we still need it… that we should look for issues not within the world but within ourselves and how we perceive things. No matter how much Shinji felt like screwing up the whole world, in the end he didn’t. No matter how broken he was, he still retuned the things to the way they were even though it was painful there. This is where the answer is hidden and what Anno’s answer was. This is also a work that doesn’t lack a soul and message. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfM3WjyCt8s (there are 3 parts)– a pretty damn well done video, especially for a guy that puts on bread on chameleons for no reasons. Contains interesting ideas about lots of aspects of Eva and compares NGE with Eva movies. I pretty much agree with him and I tried as much as I could, not to write stuff that he talks about in detail. [Overall score – 9, ignoring those last two episodes as I said, but even with those 8 would be a passable mark] |
Dec 12, 2015 7:18 AM
#27
Meh, I don't really care about Evangelion. When I started watching it, I thought it was pretty good, but then in the second half, I thought it got too far up its ass with melodrama and trying to look deep despite it being admitted that the Christian symbolism was just there to look cool and not much else. Even after the halfway point, I didn't hate it, it still had some cool, memorable moments here and there, but eh. I have no strong feelings towards this series; I don't dislike it as much as End of Evangelion, and there's worse shows out there, but I don't like it that much either. I gave it a 4/10. Mediocre. |
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