Shinseiki Evangelion

(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.

Unlike most I came into Neon Genesis Evangelion without getting caught up in lots of hype so certain aspects this anime were not ruined and therefore more shocking. Since then I've come to know that the anime fans are divided between praise and hatred of this anime due its nature. Anyway let’s gets this review underway.

Story- 8.1

The story revolves around the trials and tribulations of 14 year old boy by the name of Shinji Ikari and his massive mech, known as EVA Unit-1,who fight for NERV, a human organisation, in order to prevent the end of the world occurring in an event known as the ... ‘Third Impact’. For most of the episodes he and his "friends",piloting other EVAs, fight weird and wonderful creatures called, somewhat ironically, "Angles". However, there is more here than meets the eye initially. As you peel back the layers of Evangelion you see that there is a conspiracy of biblical proportions, unveiled slowly with the degeneration of Shinji's psyche, and a deconstruction of the mech genre. But with all these elements and ideas being converged the plot itself loses some of the brilliant substance it began with and begins to derail, culminating at the ending.

This is where many fans of the original anime were divided. Some saw it is a very good psycho-analysis of Shinji, whilst most saw it as a massive departure of tone from what the anime was originally built on and what made in their eye enthralling. I can respect the earlier view, but I find myself wishing that they had done it in less radical method. On the whole the story and plot was very good and highly enthralling at times but the story took blow due to the ending and the number of layers which were attempted to be implemented within it.

Art- 6.9

The animation for Eva was done by Studio Gainax. The animation quality does not really hold up with anything recently but for things made in the 1995 it is very good. However the throughout the anime we can see evidence of the tight animation budget that Gainax had. On occasions the level of detail dropped and the fluidity of the movements becomes fragmented. At other times all things in the anime stop moving for minutes at a time. But the worst offender is the last two episodes which we lose all sense of the word animation and turn into lines scribbled across a page. Even with all these flaws and idiosyncrasies the animation for the whole series was good with the battle scenes being executed very well.

Sound- 8.5(Soundtrack-9.1 and Voice Acting-7.9)

The OST for Eva is very good with each track more than adequately, in some cases exquisitely, fitting the mood and the setting which is on screen. The OP and ED are brilliant, even if the ED is cover, and are extremely memorable. If there is any qualms that I have with the OST it is the there is slight repetition in the usage of each track but on the whole it is a quite excellent OST.

The Dub, in the other hand, is a completely different matter altogether. Initially a lot of the lines feel very forced and the cast seem to struggle to fit into their characters roles. This uneasiness fades away the further that we go into the anime. Eventually the cast fit their roles very well and deliver their lines to great amounts of effect. However it is the initial harshness that detracts from the overall quality of the acting.

Character- 9.4

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.

Enjoyment- 9.3

I loved watching nearly every minute of Eva, notice the “nearly”. The action sequences were entertaining and the plot was interesting, albeit a bit convoluted. However, as mentioned above, it is the characters that really sold Eva to me and made my enjoyment the level that it is. The only part of this anime that detracts from my enjoyment is the final two episodes, which greatly reduced my immersion. Nonetheless this is a series that I had no regrets in watching.

Overall- 8.44

Eva is a series of many layers and does require some heavy concentration at some points. But the satisfaction that one should get out of this series, in most cases, is diminished by the execution of the final two episodes. However if you are looking for an anime which has great psychoanalysis of characters I will tell you to look no further than Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Thank you for reading my review and I hope it was Helpful. Also any feedback would be greatly appreciated =D

This year, I finally re-watched all of Evangelion for the first time since 2006. After experiencing the series again and seeing it in a new light, I've decided to write an entirely new review. I'm going to touch on some of the ways my views have changed over the years and what opinions have remained constant. As a result, this review isn't going to follow a conventional format like I would use for a seasonal anime. I probably don't need to give a general plot overview of one of the most watched anime of all time, right? You guys already know this is a mecha ... series!


So how am I going to open a review talking about one of the greatest anime of all time? I'm going to cover the religious symbolism controversy and get it out of the way right now. It's traditionally been the elephant in the room when discussing Eva and I might as well get it over with. The religious symbolism in Eva is pretty shitty in my opinion. The art director added all of this Christian symbolism and references to Jewish Kabbalah and Gnostic Christianity solely because it looks cool. This wasn't even Anno's idea. The Freudian and Jungian references are actually backed up by Eva's psychological themes. They aren't just randomly inserted. The references to Schopenhauer and his "Hedgehog's Dilemma" are also fully justified because it's one of the main points of the entire series. The religious symbolism serves absolutely zero purpose besides window dressing, which is why early Western critics of Eva kept calling it "pretentious". Meanwhile, Japanese viewers also made the mistake of hugely overestimating the importance of the religious symbolism. Book sales on Gnostic Christianity and Kaballah exploded in Japan after Evangelion came out because Japanese otaku were convinced you needed to understand them in order to "get" Evangelion. This misguided obsession directly led to the creation of both Xenogears/Xenosaga and the Persona games!

Hilariously, these games inspired by Eva actually used religious symbolism far more effectively because they at least gained a Wikipedia surface understanding of Gnosticism and what they were referencing. It's easy to just dismiss the bad symbolism in Eva and say it's not important. So why am I talking about it? I would argue it's still an unfortunate blemish on an otherwise brilliant series. It's not just a single cross shaped explosion that we can close our eyes and ignore. It was so prevalent that it misled many Evangelion viewers on both sides of the Pacific into thinking it was important. I have a friend whose father worked for a Christian publishing house and watched Eva because he heard it was a Christian anime! Of course, he hated it SO much that he refused to try another anime for many years. I'm not going to harp on this much longer, but it's actually funny how shitty and pointless the Christian symbolism is. Even anime that are widely considered to be bad can use Christian symbolism WAY better than Eva. Compare the Virgin Eva with the Chad Elfen Lied. Correctly uses El Greco's famous hand gesture to show penance. Correctly uses the lily as a symbol of rebirth through its connection with Christ. Uses extreme, unrealistic forgiveness in keeping with East Orthodox values of Universal reconciliation. Uses a holy fool character who gets crucified (3 times) in keeping with East Orthodox portrayals of the naivete and foolishness of Christ!

The other thing I'll address before getting to the good parts has to deal with the animation budget in the second half. The story that was told for years and years was that it was simply a case of "Lol, ran of budget!". However, it was actually more complicated than that. While there were budget issues according to Anno that left Gainax with inadequate material and staff during the second half, another problem was that Anno couldn't decide on an ending and the series ran into a time crunch. It's an absolute miracle that Evangelion was finished at all considering the crunch they ended up facing and their lack of staff and resources in the last few episodes. One notable example that I still disliked my second viewing was the death of Kaworu. I think it would have been a lot more effective if we could see Shinji's face as his soul struggles over the decision and contrast that with Kaworu's calm, serene face as he fully accepts death. Instead, we just get that still frame of Unit 1 holding Kaworu for 3 fucking minutes straight! It's pretty frustrating but thank God Eva could fall back on classical music from the public domain they didn't have to pay for! Having said that, I actually adored the last 2 episodes this time around. Yes, the psychological power point presentation won me over this time and emotionally resonated with me in a powerful way. Almost teared up during that ending. Bravo Anno!

Evangelion may start out kind of silly with Pen-Pen and Misato's wild driving and some slapstick, but few shows have come close to Evangelion's insightful portrayal of depression, loneliness, self-loathing, and inferiority complexes. Forming relationships with other human beings is HARD and Eva is fully aware of this in a way most anime aren't. That's why few anime have been able to speak to otaku in the way that Evangelion has. Shinji's level of self-loathing and horrible relationship with his father remind me of something straight out of Kafka, which is about the highest compliment I can give to a show! Evangelion is powerful and moving for pretty much everyone who watches it. I've known some VERY cynical bastards who were stilled moved to tears by this show! Evangelion's overall message of self-acceptance that's independent of external approval is powerful and relatable for all that struggle with their own concept of self-worth. Shinji isn't worthy of love because he pilots a giant robot and fights aliens. He's worthy of love because he's a human being. Just because you don't make all the money in the world or aren't the coolest or the smartest or the most athletic doesn't mean that you aren't deserving and don't have value! Evangelion at its core is a deeply Humanistic and beautiful anime, which allows it to resonate so widely across the world.

Evangelion's characters are the absolute core of the show and what makes it work. Shinji, Asuka, Misato, Kaji, and even Gendo are layered, complex characters that wear different masks depending on who they're interacting with. The side of Misato that she shows to Shinji is very different than the side she shows as Major Katsuragi at work. They each have parts that they keep only to themselves and have parts of themselves that not even they are able to understand or accept. Rei is easily the least developed of the main cast, but even Rei has a clear character arc towards self-acceptance when she refuses to be a puppet and stands up to Gendo. I HATED Rei the first time I saw Eva, but even she has grown on me upon re-watch. I know I'm not covering new ground by saying that Evangelion has good character writing. I'm sure if you've spent any time on Youtube you've already seen hours of Eva character essays on what makes Ritsuko or Fuyutsuki tick. I'm just covering this to say how much more I appreciated the subtle character-building moments my second time around. Personally, I think the Japanese subs really help since the old ADV dub is kind of uneven in my opinion. For example, I really don't think Spike Spencer was a good Shinji at all. Megumi Ogata's Shinji is a fragile, traumatized youth who is forced to face otherworldly motricities against his will. Spike plays Shinji as this whiney brat who just really doesn't want to take out the garbage. It's less existential dread and more like he just doesn't feel like it. It really does an incredible disservice to the character, which is why Shinji was so much more hated in America than elsewhere.

This time around, I paid attention to Eva's plot as closely as I possibly could. I watched video essays. I looked stuff up on the Eva wikia....and sadly I still think the series' plot is overall kind of a mess. This time around, I appreciate that the themes and character psychology are far more important than the plot, so I don't have to be upset when things aren't adequately explained. However, it can still be a little frustrating at times just how unfocused the show can seem. For example, let's look at Evangelion episode 13. In this episode, an Angel somehow transforms itself into a computer virus and infects the heroes' base of operations. The entire point of this episode is to flesh out the background of the tertiary character Ritsuko and learn that her mother placed her brain into the base's super-computer. That's it, that's the whole episode. Since that episode exists, we never learn exactly who Kaji was working for and if he was a double or triple agent. We don't learn how Gendo's version of Human Instrumentality differs enough from Seele's that they are forced to attack NERV. We don't learn what an S2 Engine actually is. We don't learn what the Dead Sea Scrolls actually are in the world of Eva and how they're important to the plot. ALL of those things would actually be far more important to the plot than learning that the computer has the brain of Ritsuko's mom. Ritsuko didn't even get a chair in the last 2 episodes! She's not a main character! Who gives a shit about her mom? The issue with Eva's plot isn't just that it's needlessly confusing, it's that it feels incredibly unfocused. It's almost as if Anno kept changing it and had no idea where he was going.

Back on the positive side of things, Eva's visuals and direction are some of the best in anime history, hands down. Very few anime can claim to have half as many iconic shots as Evangelion. It's not just that Evangelion is popular and that's why we recognize these shots. Even if you've only seen it once, a lot of these images stick with you. Evangelion is visually an absolutely brilliant series! Even when the budget ran out and it ran against the deadline wall, we still get stuff like the iconic "Congratulations" scene. Anno is a spectacular director and deserves full credit for Eva having aged visually as gracefully as it has.

It's now been 27 years since Evangelion came out. Does it still hold up after all these years? Hell yes it does! If you've still not seen Eva or have only seen it once a long time ago, you definitely should check it out again. It's been re-released on Bluray for dirt cheap and it includes End of Evangelion, which was previously SUPER expensive! End of Evangelion is also very good BTW, but that's a different review. Not only is Evangelion still a great anime, but it's very fun to view as a historical series. This completely changed the landscape of anime and led to a new era of greater directorial freedom and creative expression. The decade that Eva birthed from 1995-2005 is in my own humble opinion the best 10 years in the history of anime. It's not even close in my mind. If you too love that period of anime history, you have Evangelion to thank for it! My old review was kind of amusing in its pettiness and nitpickiness, but I was happy to re-review this series and give it more of the praise it deserves.

**SPOILER FREE REVIEW INCLUDING THE "END OF EVANGELION" MOVIE**

"Neon Genesis Evangelion: The most influential anime of the 90's, and arguably of all time. This anime entirely changed the rules regarding what an animated series could convey and how it could convey it. Virtually every anime released after 1995 draws at least some inspiration from NGE, meaning that the anime industry itself would not be what it is today without the not-so-simple simple tale of a quiet boy named Shinji Ikari."
-A synopsis of what everybody says about Neon Genesis Evangelion

Wow. With a reputation like that, I really had no idea how to feel when I ... started watching NGE. I wanted to feel excited, but I didn't want to get my hopes up only to be disappointed; after all, there are many people who absolutely despise this anime and consider it to be vastly overrated. NGE is one of those shows that you either love or you hate, and I was unsure about what category I would fall into.

Well, after watching the series, watching the "End of Evangelion" movie that concludes the storyline, deeply contemplating it, rewatching several parts of several episodes to try to make sense of the complex plot, analyzing the behavior of the characters, and further researching several things I didn't understand , I think I finally have grasped the series well enough to write a review on it.

Basically, NGE is simply unlike any anime you have ever seen before, and you will never see another anime that parallels it. It is incredibly complex and very difficult to understand, but if you do understand it, you will view anime differently for the rest of your life and you might even learn something about yourself. It is certainly not without flaws, but NGE is a must watch for anime fans aged 17+ who are mature enough to handle its content.

Plot: 8/10
When watching the first few episodes of NGE, it's hard to understand what all the commotion is about. It comes across as a relatively generic installment to the already stereotype-heavy mecha genre. It isn't until the show starts hinting that there is some kind of conspiracy going on that things start to get weird. Then it gets weirder, and weirder, and weirder, until finally, all hell breaks loose. Actually, that is an understatement; things get absolutely INSANE by the end of NGE, and no matter how many times you hit the pause button to collect your thoughts and try to figure out what the hell is happening, you still probably won't get it. Understanding the plot of the show requires you to think very hard, rewatch episodes, and research certain aspects of it on the internet. This, of course, is the reason this is a love-it or hate-it anime: people who hate it despise the "wild goose chase" that the plot sends you on. I don't deny that NGE goes around its elbow to get to its thumb, but when you finally realize what is going on, you start to develop an appreciation for it's intricacy.

NGE does not tell its story in the traditional fashion because it is not a traditional anime; in fact, NGE draws more similarities to literature then it does to anime. This is because NGE is an allegory; just about everything in it stands for something much, much more significant then it's face value. The show explains very little and most of what we know about the plot comes from subtle hints and personal interpretations rather then proper explanations. If all of this sounds like way too much to think about, NGE is likely not for you, because this anime is more then just a piece of entertainment; it is a journey into the human phycology. NGE made me contemplate things that I've never contemplated before, and I legitimately think I learned a few things about myself by watching it. I also loved the ending and thought it was a perfect way to end the series, but that is just my own personal interpretation as I know that many people did not like it.

So why only 8/10? Because NGE simply does not provide explanations or meanings to EVERYTHING it throws at you. There are still several things about the plot that could have been handled better and there are still minor plot points that are so ambiguous that even trying to loosely interpret them is a shot in the dark. Ultimately, certain aspects of the show simply feel unfinished due to the well documented financial problems that NGE experienced towards the end. Despite this, NGE's story is a powerful and very enjoyable experience.

Art: 7/10
While the animation was outstanding for its time, it is beginning to show its age. However, that doesn't bother me much because some of the scenes that are being animated are so awe-inspiring and thought provoking that it doesn't have to be recent to be good. The animation style becomes more and more shocking as the show goes on

Sound: 8/10
An interesting and largely indescribable choice of music, in my opinion. I thought it fit well with the tone of the show though, and lets not forget that NGE's OP is arguably the most influential OP of all time; it set the new standard of what a show's opening theme should be and what it should accomplish, and that deserves tremendous amounts of credit.

Characters: 10/10
In an industry that is (and was) overpopulated by characters with no flaws who are based on the aspirations of the audience (such as being a lady's man or a total badass) like Kirito from Sword Art Online or Shirou from Fate/Stay Night, NGE opts instead to write it's characters based on the realizations of the audience.
All of the characters in Neon Genesis Evangelion are symbols for the insecurities that all of us have deep within us and for the methods we use to cope with those insecurities. Specifically, NGE's characters all have a deep rooted hatred for themselves; they all feel that they are unworthy of any sort of love or acceptance, but all of them cope with this insecurity in a different way. This is especially the case with the protagonist, Shinji, whose flaws we are able to recognize in ourselves so easily, allowing the meaning of the show to really get across. By basing the characters of the show on actual human emotions/flaws and executing the portrayal of those emotions/flaws to perfection, NGE has arguably the most realistic and relatable cast of characters in anime history.
The symbolism of the characters (which I won't discuss in great detail) flies over the head of a lot of people because Shinji is the only character that has his insecurities specifically stated. It is not clear until much later in the series that the other characters have very similar problems that Shinji does. For example, Asuka appears on the outside as the complete opposite of Shinji; she is extremely confident, outspoken, and self-assured to contrast with Shinji's shyness, quietness, and self-hatred. As the show goes on, however, it becomes increasingly apparent that Asuka isn't exactly as comfortable with herself as she acts (that is quite the understatement). I don't want to spoil anything, but watching all the characters slowly spiral downward until they hit their breaking point is very fascinating, incredibly thought provoking, and most notably: applicable to real life.
The characters in NGE aren't great for the reasons that characters in other anime are great; they are great because the viewer can relate to all of them in a way that makes him/her question their own life; there is a piece of Shinji in all of us, a piece of Rei in all of us, and a piece of Asuka in all of us. Their quest to obtain inner piece is portrayed so passionately and convincingly that it holds the audience's attention through thick and thin.
Coping with loneliness and self-hatred is something that we all have to go through, and NGE's characters provide the perfect vessels to raise the questions that NGE was intending to raise, and I give the show a tremendous amount of respect for that. Masterfully written characters.

Overall: 8.5/10
Neon Genesis Evangelion is NOT your average anime; it cannot be watched in the same way that you would watch other shows. If you not prepared to think extremely hard and put forth a significant amount of time into watching , rewatching, and analyzing the show, then I recommend you steer clear. This anime is an allegorical, symbolic journey more then it is a television show, and people who don't understand that are going to hate it. NGE stands as the pinnacle of psychological anime after completely destroying the previously perceived limitations of the industry. However, perhaps NGE's greatest accomplishment is that it made us think about our own lives and problems in ways we never had before, and that is outstandingly hard to do even for something that isn't so seemingly simple as anime.

Here goes nothing

A review of Eva and EOA

a bit of backstory
Around 5 years ago,I read the evangelion manga,since a lot of people told me it was the best anime and that it was complex
Silly me thought it was an adaptation,it wasn't,I didnt like it, i decided i should watch the end of evangelion,since the manga was unfinished
I didn't like the characters much,but I was in high school and in that time,
I always finished what i started watching.
It was a fucking mistake,I felt the story was too bogged down by symbolism and the characters were a joke.
...
After years of ranting every time I heard about evangelion on comment sections of the internet
I decided I should go back and watch the anime series,hopefully thinking that I was wrong and there was something worth of my time back then.

Let's start with the good:
The design and the sound
All of the characters visual design are iconic
the backgrounds work
it has a certain atmosphere that gets to you,
If there's something flawless in the franchise,its this point,the music,shiro sagisu's work is good mostly,certain moments are great and interesting,
Certain tracks get you a bit pumped even by themselves
The original voices,are fitting and not annoying for the most part.

Now,for me,characters and story are the important parts of any series,it's here where the series lack,see,the characters.while a little bit more developed than say,knights of the zodiac,are not relatable or sympathetic

See Shinji,starts as a coward character,who halfway through the series,seems to get some courage,but by the end of it reverses back on his old ways,in the manga i hated him,in the series,he's not that bad,at least not for the most part but for me,bringing him back to that cowardly position is a bad choice,why delve into someone's mind if you dont like him or find him interesting at all.

Asuka's even worse,I had to take her annoying voice as a child on the brink of murdering someone,she's not likeable,her backstory is very simple and boring,her motivations are very silly,proving herself to Kaji and later just to anyone.

Rei is as dull as they come,she's even worse than her manga counterpart,just a line here or there. At least there she had a hint of a relationship with Shinji.
The rest of the cast is hit or miss
Gendo's motivations are confusing,he's less likeable than his manga counterpart as well
Ritsuko tacked-on backstory feels silly
The kids,toji and the one with the glasses are ok,whoever decided to kill Toji in the manga deserves a punch to the face.
Kaji is still a womanizer but we dont see a lot of him really
Misato instead,comes off as a better character on the series,we delve more into her relationship both Shinji and Kaji,she has motivations,she cares,she's just a woman in a storm of crazy confusing plots

The story for the most part,is a generic mecha monster of the week show with a mystery ,while some questions are answered,most of them are not,at least not in a clear fashion self concluding way,
What do i mean by this,see,the creators made such a mess of a series that they sometimes answer questions of the series in conferences,which are then spewed out by fans,
To me,this isnt satisfactory at all,a series shouldnt have its questions answered outside of it,its like buying a ticket for a ride and instead someone's telling you what happens in the ride
Back to the series,its mostly episodic just right before the ending we get some good drama,but it gets undercut because of budget problems and the series shows it specially in one scene in episode 23 or 24
There's a scene where it tooks a whole minute to move out of a frame,I couldnt believe it,what a cheap way to fill time,there's another where it's a thirty second wait,there's half an episode of clips
The animation of the battles though,is another story,they're fluid and sometimes beautiful.

I could've accepted time filling if it wasn't for the bad part of the series,see,the author was depressed before making the series,this is his way of getting out of it and it shows
Tts filled with half ass references to Freudian and Jung psychology(One of them is outdated and ridiculous,The other one symbolistic) and philosophy,which also fill time by getting this repeating scenes,
See,im all for anime or movies dealing with those two subjects if done well,the execution of the series and movie is piss poor

The movie continues the series where the show after two episodes of filler and bad philosophy left off,Shinji's been broken down,all the angels have been defeated but for some unexplicable stupid reason Seele wants to cause the third impact and so does Gendo,which makes all the series rendered moot and stupid,hurray!
We get someone jacking off,good action scenes,misato being cool,gendo being an asshole,this is all fine and dandy until we get a trippy scene which then breaks down into some avant garde scene with video of an audience on a movie theater,images from japan, text and clips from the show,the movie then ends with the line that defines the whole franchise:how disgusting(whether its i feel sick or how disgusting is a problem for the subs)

See,most people who read this will probably assume that i came back with a bit of prejudice,i did somewhat,but i really wanted to like the series
I just couldnt,at best it's mediocre,if ignore the bad philosophy and psychology
At worst,it feels like a high school essay on both subjects,in the end,
I just didnt like it,i felt peace while rewatching the series though,my mind finally rested from the torture of the doubt if the series was any good,if you want a better series with self conclusion stories,that deals with heavy subjects,go watch ghost in the shell or lain

This is a cult anime show,only for the hardcore fans who get too much into it,if you're a newbie,i say take a pass and go do something better with your life

EDIT 2015:
In hindsight,with now new knowledge that was given to me by some internet posts. I still stand by me decision to give it a 5. Mind you I should post some old Locomotion channel trailers that promise God vs Humans. This was misleading. Also,I kind of expected Evangelion to be more like the original Mobile suit Gundam 0079. Yet to fault it because it is not similar. It's stupid. Without Gundam,there is no point to Eva. Eva is the watchmen of mecha anime as watchmen was to superhero comics. It is about deconstrucionism. I don't like deconstructions. To me they are very fucking boring
If and only IF I compare it to modern anime,I would give this a 7.
At least EVA tries and has ambition.

What can I say? People are calling this the greatest anime of all time. If you want to call yourself an anime fan, you should know it. The greatest thing about this series is that everybody has their own unique interpretation of it. The reason why I gave the animation a 9 is that, during the time the show was being made - especially near the end - Gainax wasn't really confident in the show's potential for success (at the time it was being aired on TV Tokyo, which had 5 affiliates, and only became successful after word of mouth had ... spread rumor of the show all over the place and a larger broadcast network decided to pick it up... or something like that) and so they cut both the budget and scheduling for the Eva project, so later in the series, the animators didn't have time to make as many frames as they would have liked, and eventually they ran out of time to complete all the frames they needed, so in the last 2 next episode previews and even the last episode, they had to use macro shots of storyboards and the like. You'll be so wrapped up in the show at this point that you'll probably think it was intentional. Original and intriguing characterization is one of the strongest points of the show. The story is compelling. There is some interesting use of music in some parts of the show. Most likely, Eva will either send you on a trip or throw you for a loop. It'll put your brain in a blender and kinda rearrange it a little bit. If you just finished watching something like FLCL, I suggest putting this one off for a while. Go watch Gundam or something. Come back after that.

"I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away..."

Neon Genesis Evangelion is arguably one of the best animes that came out in the 90's, along with Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal and Trigun. Hideaki Anno, the creator of the Eva series, might not have known this at the time when this show first aired, but he had created one of the most memorable animes in existence, which is also arguable depending on who you ask.

As far as story goes, it peeked my interest while watching the first episode. However, when watching the series, I was wondering if I had skipped a season, ... just due to the fact that all the characters seemed to know eachother already. Later I found that out to be the work of a top secret organization. I had never watched Gundam as a kid, nor did I like Transformers at the time. I was never into mecha shows or movies. I think when I first started watching this, the only thing mecha-related I had in my life was the few hours spent on MechQuest Online, and that was quit a while back. But, Neon Genesis Evangelion was the anime that changed the genre for me, mainly due to it's story, but also due to the action and suspense in it. I can't really say whether it's considered "unique" or not, due to the fact that I haven't seen many animes that air before the 90's, but I found it to be interesting and enjoyable every episode.

Judging from any of the other 90's animes I've seen, the Eva series had some of the best artwork for it's time. It's nothing like today's anime art, but considering this show is almost 20 years old, you gotta give them credit for making it look so extraordinary. I liked the battle scenes, the character art, even the scenery was something to gawk at. It's not often you get to see a freaking city sink into the ground and have it replaced by a battlefield designed for Evas and Aliens.

Sound is always something that I have trouble with when it comes to English Dub, and I preferred to watch this in English instead of having to read subtitles due to the important fact that I may miss something that is vital to the show and then have no idea what happened later. But there weren't too many issues with the dubbed cast, which is surprising, because I've seen a lot of bad voice acting in my days (Doki Doki School Hours? Anyone?), but the cast pretty much nailed it. I can't say that I thought the actors chosen to play some of the characters were perfect, there's always at least 1 character's voice I hate, but overall I didn't really have a problem.

I liked most of the characters. Occasionally there were a few moments where I'd just love to punch someone because of their idiocity, not really gonna give any names *Cough* Shinji *Cough* though. There seemed to be a lot of characters, and most of them had a past that you'd eventually need to learn about, and there are quite a few moments explaining more about the characters' lives and such, so getting to know them wasn't a problem. Liking most of the characters though isn't always easy... there were a few I had problems with, and again, not gonna give any names *Cough* Shinji *Cough*. I did however like Asuka, just because she brings that comedy feel to the show, and she's not as annoying once you start to like her.

I can say I enjoyed this show for the most part. Last 2 episodes seemed to go on forever, leaving an ending that'll make anyone scratch their head and wonder, "Wait, congratulations for what?". But that's why the series gets better and there are alternate endings! (Referring to Death & Rebirth then The End of Evangelion) Overall, it had tons of action, some good comical moments, plotline was good, not every character was hateable *Cough* Shinji *Cough*... for most of you fans of the mecha genre, this is definitely a series to get into.

Wow, I don't even know where to start with this review. I suppose I should begin by saying what an incredible sense of disappointment and disgust it filled me with. So much that I quite literally dropped the show halfway into the final episode.

Neon Genesis Evangelion starts out okay, with a very whiny main character who doesn't seem to ever pay attention (IE, DODGE SHINJI DODGE and then he just stands there and get's shot for the 6th time) but these flaws are easily overlooked due to the interesting world in which this anime takes place.

For about the first half of the show the world ... environment is strong enough to maintain ones interest, and keep them coming for the next episode. In fact for the first half of the show the only issue I would complain about is the weak and overly emotional lead character. For example his father issues are so extreme that even when his dad is giving him advice that will save his life, he gets angry at his father for the suggestion, then has a hissy-fit after he is rescued.

The latter half of the show though. Holy fuck. They literally begin to have 1-3 minutes of a single frame just to fill the time, all while very loud classical music blasts. If the lazy animation wasn't the only issue they start to have entire episodes of what looks like hallucinogenic pipe-dreams, where the characters float around in various form (like stick figures) while the character talks to himself and attempts to philosophize. Multiple consecutive episodes are spent like this, and it happens to be the reason I was able to drop it finally at episode 26.

They would also have entire episodes in the last segments of the show where they would reveal all sorts of information that one could tell is supposed to be shocking. However when they revealed 20 different things in one episode, and never provided any clues or hinting earlier in the season it just felt very forced and weak.

All in all Neon Genesis Evangelion is a show that started off mediocre, managed to turn halfway decent, then dramatically killed itself. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

5 WORDS OR LESS REVIEW: Confusing Ending

I always wondered why people made such a big deal out of Neon Genesis Evangelion. They always talk about how confusing it is and there was no real conclusion to it. When I first watched it, it didn’t really seem confusing – until the ending. Since I want to keep this review as spoiler-free as possible, I’ll just tell you to watch it yourself to witness the confusion on your own *wink*

I rarely watch mecha anime, and it’s even rarer for me to find mecha anime that I like. Guess what? I like NGE. It’s interesting, it’s weird, it’s ... unique, it’s mind boggling, maybe too mind boggling but I don’t really mind because I like series that require my attention. Another thing I like about it is that it’s not too serious – it has its funny parts too so I rarely got bored with it.

One important aspect of NGE is the characters. Each character is unique and has his or own story, but all of them are yearning for acceptance, I think. My favorite has to be Shinji. I know there are people who don’t like him but he really is my favorite. It’s because I love how he reacts to his circumstances – it’s exactly how I would expect a 14 year old boy to react if he were thrown into a similar situation. In fact, Shinji, Rei and Asuka were all very childlike and acted like their age, which is something you find rare in anime. I also like Rei and Misato, by the way.

A lot of well known VAs for this anime, but my favorite has to be Megumi Ogata. When I first heard Shinji’s voice, I immediately thought it was perfect for a boy like Shinji. I love it when female VAs play male roles, but most of the time you can tell that right away. In this case, I didn’t even notice it was a female VA at first, because he really did sound like a pre-teen boy. Megumi hayashibara was also perfect for Rei Ayanami (and Pen Pen I guess), but then again, everyone was perfectly suited to play their respective roles. I guess this is one of the series I’ve seen that has impeccable voice casting.

I would say storytelling and visuals were great if it weren’t for the last 2 episodes that made me dizzy. It was a splice of different images that seemingly had little connection. Character design was great. I appreciate the wonderful design of the female characters’ figures – unrealistic, but nicely drawn. The colors need some work though, since I thought they were kind of bland and clashed with each other. I don’t understand why Eva unit 01 had to be purple and neon green, but the Evas looked great, especially Asuka’s.

I absolutely love the opening theme. I liked it ever since I first saw a Tagalog dub version of NGE on local TV. All I did was watch the opening credits and when it was done, I wouldn’t stick around for the actual episode. Of course, I watched the whole thing this time around but I still like that song. As for the ending song, “Fly Me to the Moon” and it’s different versions were okay, but I don’t really see why they decided to use it as an ending theme. It’s one of my mother’s favorite songs, and it’s kind of weird for me to hear it each time I watch an episode of NGE.

It definitely was worth it to watch this anime. I guess I can say that Neon Genesis Evangelion changed my opinion on mecha anime. I’d probably watch more mecha after this.

What more can be said that hasn't already been discussed with regards to Neon Genesis Evangelion? How Gainax nearly went bankrupt in developing this series. How TV-Tokyo chopped the studio's budget. How impacting the final two episodes were, and how they still create a maelstrom of controversy to this day. How Hideaki Anno nearly lost his nerve (pardon the pun) just making NGE. You name it, and the lunatics at Gainax practically did it while working on NGE.

It's easy to attack NGE today - yes, you can strike at the characters and the somewhat loopholed story. But the truth ... is that everything done in NGE was intentional; you're not supposed to relate to the characters as easily as you would in a typical anime, nor are you supposed to interpret the story with a wink and a smile coming from every frame. Neon Genesis Evangelion is to be taken with a grain of salt, and it would be a good idea to throw away all preconceived notions of anime and take it for what it is, which remains to this day one of the finest pieces of animation in recent history.

The best part of NGE is how well it holds up to this day, even though we are now past the year 2000 AD and quickly approaching 2015 AD. Like a good movie, you can take NGE and watch it at any point in your life and find new things about it. The longer you stand away from NGE, the more you begin to truly appreciate the artwork, the soundtrack, and even the voice work. It is still a ton of fun to analyze it like a therapist getting into a patient's head and to try to make sense of NERV, SEELE, Second Impact, Human Instrumentality, etc. (if you don't know what those are by now, you need to educate yourself quickly.) ADV practically owes everything to NGE, and thankfully they have been so generous in treating us fans with a multitude of DVD releases and other products for us to keep appreciating NGE.

There's never such a thing as watching anything right or wrong, but there is such a thing as seeing something in a new perspective. NGE is one of those rare gems that always asks its audience to view it with different eyes each time, to try and understand its message better if you didn't get it the last time. When I first saw NGE, I hated just about all the characters in it, especially Shinji. Later, as I grew a little bit older, I have related myself to him, and now, older still, I feel as if I know him personally. I am nothing like Shinji, but there are times when I feel as if I could be. That is how well I feel like I know NGE.

This review is for both the series and two movies.

This overall is the worst anime series I've seen, and I've seen a lot of them. There are many things wrong with the series and movies.

First is the story. It begins in the year 2000 when a disaster nearly destroys Antarctica and kills billions of people. It's first thought to be a natural disaster, but was actually a experiment sponsored by a organization called SEELE and carried out by GEHIRN. Fast forward to the year 2010 GEHIRN has changed into NERV a military organization. NERV's primary mission is to locate creatures ... called Angles and destroy them. The primary story follows Shinji Ikari who decides to join NERV and his father is the head of NERV.

Now onto all the problems with this show.

First is the story: I'm not sure what the creators of this series/movies were trying to do, but they failed miserably. The story as it went on from episode to episode and movie to movie just got worse and worse as it went a long. The story was incoherent and didn't make any sense. I don't mind series that try to have a hight meaning, but at least make some kind of sense at the end, express something even if it's that everyone dies.

Second the characters: I think this might have been my biggest problem with the series. The characters brought nothing to the series. The main character Shinji has to be one of the worst if not the worst anime character ever. He had no depth, emotion, and didn't try me in. He was just annyoing, and I wanted him to die almost from the beginning, the same with most of the other ones. I can't think of on character I actually liked.

Third the animation: The animation done by GAINAX is terrible it looks like something done by in the 60s or 70s. Hell I think Speed Racer looks better than this series.

Overall this is the worst anime series ever and most overrated series I've seen. I really don't understand why people like it. If they want to see a great anime series with meaning then you should check out series like Saikano, RahXephon, and Now and Then, Here and There just for example. Just skip this series and movie, you'll life will be much better off.

Neon Genesis Evangelion (A+) – groundbreaking series, the entire show is classic with iconic images coming from everywhere. It is a smart, confusing, deep and polarizing series, with possibly the greatest ending in all of anime (for good or bad).

The characters are all distinct personalities, and have huge gaping flaws that they hide behind talent, duty and sealed lips. But many have the added of effect of being creepy (possibly because they hold onto so many secrets, personal or otherwise). Shinji is probably the original antihero in anime, not in the way Hellsing is antihero, but in being like a sad mirror ... image of most coming of age boy anime heroes.

Shinji Ikari is a coward, weak and wishy-washy, kind of like a screwed up Charlie Brown. He is someone who you have fun comparing to other characters in his role. He doesn’t seem to permanently develop and mature over time like Kamille in Zeta Gundam or Ayato in RahXephon. He is not a smooth talking, professional James Bond-esque adult like Roger Smith in Big O. And he’s definitely nothing like the super macho super robot heroes like Domon Kashu of G Gundam (hell, he piloted a robot called God Gundam). But you can see his effect on the genre after his appearance in Eva and you can see his origins in characters of the past. And when he did get a backbone… wow!

The plot is… well its hard to explain, which says a lot about the show. The first half reels you in to believe it’s a traditional robot of the week anime, except with the twist of fighting the Angels (or Apostles) of God. THE most memorable image for me in Eva and possibly in my time viewing anime is the first time I saw an Angel. Without knowing what to expect, it shakes you to the core.

And like the Angels, the plot is a shocker too, there are so many symbols and twists and red herrings that you start to fill in the blanks in your own way. And that is the beauty of Eva’s plot, it becomes a personal experience. Because so much is left to the imagination that you start build a story in your head that is completely different from what someone else might pull from it. Like the religion it uses so often to tell its story, Eva becomes open to interpretation. Which leads to the infamous ending.

Obviously a lot can be given away by talking about the ending, but I am only going to skim over the reactions to it… or them (I told you the plot was confusing). The last two episodes are shockers, more than likely downers and possibly a wall. Many people were confused by it, me included. But after a second viewing, the ending I originally thought was just confusing and sad became a happy ending. Like I said, a lot is left up to interpretation. And that is the beauty of Eva.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is in essence another boy becoming a man robot anime, but it is told in the most unique and engrossing way. Empathy, apathy, action, tension and terror come together to paint a chilling picture of a world on the brink and the people trying to live normal lives with that fact. With characters and a plot that have become legendary, iconic and almost mythic, it is no wonder that this show is my #1.

Note: I wrote this review long before I found MAL, so I apologize if I don't address all of the subjects pointed out for review. I hope the numeric scores will be enough.

This is a review of the show, and does not take the movies into account.

Evangelion is an anime I believe no two people will have the exact same opinion of. It has a different effect on each viewer, either good or bad. Personally I believe that fans tend to give this anime too much credit. Though I do not think Evangelion is a bad show it is certainly a show that has made mistakes and could have been better, as is true with any show ever made.

Firstly the story. Something most people can agree on is that the story for this show is unusual ... and something new, unorthodox; especially in the field of anime. This is certainly true, the show's heavy use of imagery, symbolism, and dream-like sequences that seem to have no context was definitely new and unusual, but in my opinion, overused. The beginning of the show followed a predictable format: angel shows up, they fight the angel, encounter a problem, solve problem, beat angel, end off with sexual humour. As the show progressed this gradually changed and there was more character development and use of the aforementioned dream sequences. The ending of the show, the last two episodes particularly, used these sequences to point where their relevance and impact waned. The first time I took time to try and understand them, but eventually they felt overused and unnecessary. Some say that these episodes are the highlight of the show, but I say they are a poor and inconclusive ending, flawed and haphazard. The story would also seem confusing to many, who do not devote time to understand it. The show went from being predictable to overly convoluted, the story was enjoyable but could have been done better.

The characters in the show are complex and intricate, the highlight of the show. Throughout the show Shinji is internally conflicted, and the way we see his character progress and change is one of the main focuses of the show. The epiphany at the end makes for a nice ending, but a nice ending for him specifically, the rest of the characters are left without an satisfying ending, their stories left untold. Shinji, in my opinion was not the most interesting character of the show, and focusing the last two episodes on him was a poor choice. The episodes were repetitive and somewhat boring, an injustice to the rest of the characters. Also the motivations of some of the other characters throughout the show are left unclear at times, forcing the viewer to make up his or her own reasons. This works in some cases but not in all, and causes some confusion.

Is Evangelion a bad show? Certainly not. But it is not a show that would work for everyone. Some may find the show to be thought provoking and evocative, while others convoluted and repetitive. I personally liked the show, but I do not think it deserves the recognition it gets from most fans. It is highly controversial and unique, but that alone should not be enough to put it on a pedestal, above shows that are actually better. Some say that certain aspects of the show should be excused because it is old; this is bullshit. There are anime that came out before that, such as Akira or Graves of the Fireflies, that still stand as some of the best anime of all time. Evangelion was one of the first anime to do what it did but should not be applauded for that reason alone, there are many shows that have come out afterwards and have achieved better results. I think it is an anime fan's responsibility to approach all shows unbiased and not to be influenced by the history of a show.

Evangelion was a unique experience and one cannot get a good feel of it from simply reading a review. I believe this is a show that all anime fans should watch even though it is not a show all anime fans will enjoy. So I encourage you to watch the show if you have not and develop your own opinion.

* Might have a few spoilers (even though I'm trying my best to keep them out). Also, english is not my first language, and I apologize for any mistakes. *

This anime starts pretty well. For a few episodes, you might think it will be an epic story about a teenager caught in the unlikely position where he is the only one who can pilot a certain gear (and all the drama that arises from that situation).

Well, if you thought that, you were wrong.

A few episodes down the road, you'll notice nothing is moving forward - you don't have a clue about what is going on. ... That would be OK if it were intended, a move to create anticipation for what is coming next. But no, the main character doesn't have a clue either, and he is too busy (doing nothing at all) to figure things out. He just keeps doing things because, well, that's what he's "supposed to be doing".

Do you know when anime characters desperately "need a hug"? You can identify them easily. They stare at the other characters with beady eyes, desperately needing to open their hearts, thinking about things they should say, starting sentences that never get finished... well, turns out ALL the characters in Evangelion are like that. They ALL need a hug. Badly.

"Need a hug" characters often don't communicate, either. They just keep all the important info and questions to themselves. And then you get to roll your eyes over and over again at the ridiculous situations the characters put themselves into. Yes, the "roll eyes" factor in Evangelion is high, very high.

I can't think of anything redeeming to say about this anime. It could have had good characters, but whoever wrote it was too busy making every single character behave like a lunatic. It could have had a good story, but whoever wrote it was too busy raving about metaphysical nonsense. To me, it just feels like whoever wrote this got really depressed halfway through and decided to... I don't know, "open up".

If you're a sensible kind of person - one who stops to think about what you're watching and one who gets "touched" by the characters, who tries to understand what they are thinking and feeling - you'll probably feel like cutting your wrists after watching this.

My advice is: stay away.

I do not consider myself fully qualified to review this series.
I do not consider ANYONE to be fully qualified to objectively review this series. Why?
Because even though Neon Genesis Evangelion may or may not be the most popular anime of all time, it may or may not be the most important anime of all time, and it most certainly isn't the best anime of all time, one thing's for sure; it is the most controversial anime to have ever been created up to this day.

No other anime has created as much controversy and sparked more debate than this one. No other anime has split the ... opinions of critics and fans alike like NGE has. Even at the time this reviews was written, 17 years since the original airing of the show, anime fans across the world argue, fight and throw shit at each other ( figuratively speaking, of course ) over whether Evangelion is a masterfully done work of art or a mediocre, pretentious piece of piss. There's also a small minority of people standing in the middle, not subscribing to either of the two extremes in opinion about the series, who mostly end up getting covered in shit that the others throw; either from the haters who complain that the moderates give the show too much credit, or from the rabid fans who explode on the mere mentioning of a possibility that Evangelion might, just might not be “the best anime EVARRRRRR!“. I happen to belong to this moderate minority, but I do confess to be leaning more towards the “hating“ side than the other way.

Why do I think that I'm not qualified to review Neon Genesis Evangelion? Well, whenever I review or at least think about a series or a film or a book, I manage to almost completely separate and differentiate between what is objectively good or bad in it, and what is my subjective preference or taste. I can tell the difference whether something is genuinely bad or if it's just me not liking it, because every person has a different and particular taste. Just because I don't personally like something about the story doesn't mean that it is objectively bad; just because a character is unlikable doesn't mean that they are badly written. A good critic manages to put his subjective opinions and preferences aside and judge a work on its own merits. And this is where a problem with reviewing NGE arises.

There is no consensus in the anime community about any of the elements of Evangelion. Some things are certainly more controversial than the others, and there is at least some agreement among the vast majority about some things being genuinely good, but there's nothing, nothing that is universally acclaimed or consistently good about this series. There are such huge discrepancies between different parts of the series as a whole as well as its individual elements, and such conflicting views and opinions on it that seeking a second opinion will only additionally confuse those who are already confused and confounded after watching it for the first time. Therefore, it is practically impossible for a reviewer to use the opinions of others as a reference or a guideline in forming and presenting their own thoughts. Where some see brilliant writing and ingenious story-telling, others will see the exact opposite. Where one person sees great philosophical underpinnings, another person will see pretentiousness and shallow symbolism.
And the biggest problem is that there's very little solid evidence to base your claims on and argue them, because the story itself is one giant ( and I dare say, contradictory ) mess no matter how you look at it ( some fans will claim that being a mess is the point of the story and that that's precisely where the genius lies, but a mess is still a mess ).

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Neon Genesis Evangelion is described by virtually everyone as a ( brilliant ) deconstruction of the mecha genre. I personally dislike this genre and have almost no interest in it, seeing as it largely revolves around giant robots smashing and blasting each other to bits; not that there's anything inherently wrong with this, and many mecha series are very entertaining to watch, but I'm not really the target audience for the vast majority of these shows. Naturally, hearing that Evangelion is a deconstruction and a subversion of the principle tropes and themes of the genre piqued my interest, and the first few episodes and the final third of the show are certainly different from what you might expect from a mecha show. I do, though, confess to be relatively ignorant about the genre, having only seen the Patlabor films and a few episodes of Gundam and Code Geass. Most of my knowledge is “second hand“, i.e. from the internet ( wikipedia and TV tropes were my principle sources of information ), so I won't talk too much about which particular tropes were deconstructed and how ( not to mention it would probably be impossible to avoid spoilers in doing so ).
The principle point of its deconstruction of the genre in the latter third of the series was in switching the focus towards character development and thorough examination of human psyche and the implications of what effect would violent fights against monsters have on the minds of teenagers. And herein lies one of the main problems.

Evangelion is largely lauded for its superb exploration of human psyche, and in particular the dissection and analysis of clinical depression and complete character breakdown. And I have to agree with this opinion, but only to an extent. Yes, Eva does a good job of exploring the psychology of its characters, but the way it does that and ( to a degree ) the content it handles are of questionable quality, to say the least. Why? Because it doesn’t do so through dialogue and by incorporating these examinations into a cohesive and meaningful story ( like Paranoia Agent does ). Instead, it opts for the “stream-of-thought” approach.
Stream of thought is not an easy method of narration to handle and is not well suited for a visual medium like anime, for it takes a great writer to execute it properly and incorporate it in the story that's being told. It should be pretty obvious to everyone why it is so: SHOW DON’T TELL! Anime is a visual medium, and the point of a visual medium is to show, not outright spell out for the audience what's going on inside someone's head. The "stream-of-thought" approach is not bad in itself, and while it works best in a written medium ( i.e. books ), there are numerous films and even anime that managed to pull it off brilliantly, but it completely destroys the flow of Eva’s story whenever it's inserted. There's basically two different ways to incorporate a monologuing "stream of thought" into a visual medium: a bad one and a worse one ( when it comes to weaving them in a story ), and Evangelion deploys both, much to its demise.

First way is having a character go around, narrating their thoughts. Needless to say, these thoughts are mostly chaotic, random and the character spends a lot of time pondering things that are either some mundane everyday occurrences, or plot-related stuff that has already been made clear to the audience by their previous actions, which in turn makes these introspections completely redundant and annoying for the audience to sit through. If you want a stream-of-thought anime, make it 100% stream of thought, with a minimalistic plot and as few characters as possible, and focus exclusively on exploring the psyche of a single character. Granted, the narration and the story being told will suffer a lot, and the end product will not exactly be a thrill-ride, but it will have integrity and actual quality. "The Tatami Galaxy" uses this approach and the end result is much better than Evangelion.

The second way of employing a stream of thought is the navel-gazing in a void. This method is much more difficult to pull off than the first one because it requires the writer to justify halting the plot completely and abruptly moving the story inside a character's head. Evangelion fails to adequately justify its sudden shifts to a world of nothingness inside which the characters talk with their own subconscious. There are several examples earlier in the series, but the last two episodes are the epitome of why this approach fails in Eva. These moments don't come across as natural, on the contrary; it's painfully obvious that the writer isn't interested in the story at all, and that he only wants to screw around his character's heads. Now, there's nothing wrong with picking the characters apart and exploring the depths of their mind, but endless navel-gazing is not the right approach - a good writer does this through dialogue; dynamic and exhaustive character interaction. Even if it’s awkward ( like in Ghost in the Shell ), it’s still infinitely better than having a character’s subconscious chat with him for half an episode.

But the greatest downside in Eva's approach to analysing its character's psyche isn't even what or how, bur the content itself, what it persents: these introspections and analyses are written TEXTBOOK-STYLE. Again: "Show don't tell!". The show doesn't know whether to treat the audience as mature and intelligent adults or as less mature and averagely intelligent kids/teens who have to be taught the basic workings of a human mind. We are repeatedly told things that are painfully clear to everyone older than 14 ( “I am formed through my interactions with others...” – well, fuck-a-doodle-do, thanks for telling me that show, I never would have known! ), we are told things about the characters that *we already know* because of what they said/did earlier, in the real world. We learn nothing new about the characters in this void, as the show keeps going in circles.

But maybe that's the point - maybe it's not about the audience learning anything new, maybe it's about the characters learning something about themselves? But once again, we hit a brick wall, because the characters keep going in circles for episodes and episodes and episodes.
They aren't 100% consistent, the changes in their personalities are sometimes too abrupt and sudden to be natural and they often react unnaturally to some situations. Case in point: when Shinji's navel-gazing during the last two episodes, he is apparently shown a scene of Misato having sex with Kaji. To this her spirit/Shinji’s mental projection/whatever reacts not by blushing and averting her eyes, not by trying to cover Shinji's eyes to prevent him from seeing it, not by trying to justify herself. She breaks down into tears and sobs violently. She feels deeply and completely ashamed of herself. Why?! Unless she was engaging in extremely perverted s&m activities or something similar, why would she be so deeply embarrassed? I get that she would feel very uncomfortable if someone were to see her in such intimate and delicate moments, but sex is a natural thing and doesn't cause people to feel like lowliest scum for doing it. If she were a promiscuous nymphomaniac trying to fill a void in her heart by sleeping with an army of men, then I would understand. But she herself says that she only ever slept with Kaji, so what the hell?!

No matter how good or exhaustive psychological analysis of characters in Evangelion is, they ultimately lead nowhere, because the characters ( and in particular, Shinji ) fail to learn a valid lesson out of it all, and never make a stand for anything. The conclusion/solution/whatever that Shinji finally comes to at the end of ep 26 is bollocks ( if you would pardon my French ). The "answer" he finds is that objective reality or external perspective is meaningless, and that all that matters is "how he feels about himself". This brings me back about my statement about characters running in circles, and it perfectly shows how ultimately pointless all that psychology is; without proper philosophy ( instead of post-modernist existentialist bullshit we get ) to justify it and give it a purpose, Eva's endless digging in the pit of psychology is meaningless.

The main problem with general characterisation in NGE is that is shifts so much and so often, and that it is executed so confusingly at times, that I honestly can't tell whether the characters were lazily written or perfectly formed. The shifts in personalities and sudden revelations of their mysterious pasts and present motivations are not completely natural, with almost zero foreshadowing that would make the transitions more natural and believable. Still, I am willing to give NGE the benefit of doubt, and credit where it’s due; the focus on Shinji and the decision to keep digging deeper and deeper into his and others’ mind is probably just how Anno honestly thought, and what he genuinely felt was worth exploring, and I can see that and appreciate it. Obviously many people must have found something true and worthwhile about it, or Eva would have never been such a milestone in both Japan and the rest of the world. However, while Anno is a smart man and knows quite a bit about psychology, he's just completely incapable of incorporating his characters and their deconstructions into a consistent and cohesive story. His depression and the chaos that was destroying Gainax from within only served to exacerbate the problems in the series, resulting in a mess that was the last third of the series ( and subsequently, the End of Evangelion movie ).

---

The problems of executing character development and exploring the psychological troubles of the cast also translate to the plot. There's the aforementioned halting of the plot for the sake of navel-gazing, but the circumstances leading to these monologues and the events causing the break-down of certain, if not all, characters, are incredibly contrived, and the “plot“ in the last third of the series is terribly rushed, convoluted and doesn't add up in any way.
The series starts as dark, edgy, and a lot of time was dedicated to flashing out different characters and showing just how stressful and dangerous piloting a mecha actually is, and the events do take strain on the main character. Shinji's angst and the occasional quasi-scientific babbling aside, they were good.
Starting with episode 5/6, NGE temporarily discards its dark tone and focus on the implications of having children pilot giant robots and fight huge monsters with a killer instinct, and instead transitions into a much more “generic“ and familiar mecha show of a monster-of-the-week-format, while introducing some new characters along the way. And to tell you the truth, this is actually the best executed part of the entire series.
As I said, with episode 5/6 Evangelion takes a turn for the monster-of-the-week style, and it definitely works to its advantage. Almost every new episode features a new Angel attacking the city and the Eva pilots and their NERV commanders having to find a way to repel the attack and destroy the Angel. Each of these alien monsters is very unique, both in their designs and their special abilities and attacks, and the human forces always have to come up with a new ingenious plan to defeat them. Angels can range from humanoid monsters similar to Evas themselves to a giant floating diamond to extremely abstract and unconventional forms like shadows or nanobots. The fights between Evas and Angels are very entertaining to watch, and are played out in many different and interesting ways; battles can range from synchronised dancing to fighting the Angels in cyber-space.
Character development is not forsaken during this period, though, on the contrary – many characters who were introduced over the course of the first few episodes, as well as some of the newcomers, get their chance to shine. Almost all of the battles are used to further develop the main cast of characters, several of them being “token episodes“ during which the focus on the story clearly shifts to a particular character rather than following Shinji, the protagonist. Development is executed either through long and revealing dialogue or the more tedious “let me tell you my life story“ moments ( okay, I'm exaggerating it a bit here, but the point still stays ), and occasionally we get a flash-back or two revealing their pasts and providing some more information ( and questions ) about the cataclysmic Second Impact and the character's involvement in the story.

The technical aspects of the show were also at their high point during this period. Aside from the recognisable and original designs of Evangelions ( even if they were very impractical and unrealistic ), the art was average, but the animation was of the highest quality at the time, and it still looks decent today. Intense and clever battles between the Evas and the Angels were a joy to watch, always dynamic and consistently good.
The soundtrack is not particularly special, but it sets the mood and tone for each scene perfectly, using a combination of eclectic and/or minimalistic pieces for more personal and mundane scenes, and employing epic ( and even a bit pretentious ) orchestral pieces and choirs for the awesome fight scenes.
And there's the.. greatest opening theme song of all time.

However, while it is technically the strongest part of the show, with some decent character development and beautifully choreographed fight scenes, this is also when Eva's ( potential ) problems start to become more apparent.
For starters, the repetitive and episodic monster-of-the-week format visibly slows down the plot. There is next to no sense of urgency or impending doom and the tone is never really dark. With each Angel that Evas defeat the feeling of threat or danger is further eroded and the fights, while entertaining, are not that suspenseful, as you know that they're going to defeat it in the end and that everything will be fine. It is possible that this was intentional seeing as the show takes a turn in the opposite direction in the latter episodes, but that's also debatable.
The second problem that arises is also plot-related. While the plot itself almost stops, the build-up does not. Every now and then a new mystery is introduced or hinted at, more cryptic clues and plot points are brought up, the secret background of the Eva Project and the existence of both NERV and their enemies, Angels, are slowly revealed, a micrometer at the time. This keeps the audience interested in the story as we expect the show to eventually deliver on its promises and expose the hidden truth behind everything. And this is where Evangelion's ultimate sin lies.
It doesn't deliver. In any way.

Reasons for the complete disintegration of the story and its characters in the last third of the series largely lie in the real world: by episode 16, which signaled a shift from a conventional action-oriented mecha series towards a psychological deconstruction of the genre, Studio Gainax was in disarray. They were way behind schedule, quickly running out of money and the tensions between the staff started to effect the series itself. In a way, the break-down of the characters and the story mirrors the break-down of the production crew, most importantly the writer, Anno.
Even after it starts its gradual downward spiral in episode 16, and even when it gets positively disturbing in episodes 18 and 19, the show never manages to build upon the shock factor and deliver in an even remotely satisfying and logical way. Questions keep piling up and virtually none of the old ones are answered, at least not fully or satisfyingly.
Plot twist and sudden revelations are so rushed and contrived they aren't believable or convincing at all; just cheap and convoluted cop-outs by the writer who at this point clearly has no idea how to conclude the story.
Episode 24 in particular was a spectacular mess, and even though ep 25 & 26 were horrible, I personally consider ep 24 to be the worst one in the entire series. It introduced a completely new character out of the blue, 2 episodes before the ending, tried to build up a deep and strong relationship between this new character and the protagonist in under 10 minuted, only to ditch him in the end of the same episode. "Mess" is the only word that can describe these last 10 episodes.
The visuals weren't spared either. Somewhere between ep 16 and 18, the previously high ( I dare say, impressive ) production values nosedived, resulting in (in)famous elevator and Eva scenes, although there were dozens of other long still shots as well.
It is pretty clear that the studio was in complete disarray, and when the production crew are fighting each other, being way behind schedule and broke, you can hardly expect even a half-decent story.
And if all of this weren't enough already, Anno decided to give the audience a middle finger in episodes 25 and 26, which at this point are so infamous they have probably created a rupture in space-time continuum, allowing Anno to recreate his pathetic mess of a story over and over.

---

It is time for me to sum up the review and pass my final judgement on Evangelion.
All in all, Eva is not a bad anime. But it's not a very good one either. There's some good parts and elements in it, but there's also plenty of crap in it as well, and due to the nature of the downsides, the series as a whole is less then a sum of its parts.
The first two thirds were quite enjoyable, and I'd take the action packed monster-of-the-week episodes over the philosophy and introspection of the last third of the series any day. After a strong start and a decent progression, Evangelion slowly spiraled into a incomprehensible mess after episode 16, culminating in the historical mind-fuck that was the series' “finale“ in episodes 25 and 26.
All that was good and had potential in Evangelion was pulverised and thrown in the gutter by that last third of the series. The plot was left almost completely unresolved, the characters disintegrated, animation followed the pattern, the soundtrack tried to compensate by becoming even more pretentious than before, half the time was spent navel-gazing and philosophising in the void... everything became a giant mess that largely undid the previous good parts. I won't even discuss the pointless and shallow religious symbolism that was prevalent throughout the series.
Again, I'm not saying that Eva is bad or that its psychological aspects are bad, for there is a lot of good stuff there that was just handled bad.. Which is why I'm so bitter with Eva - it had such a load of promise and potential for greatness, but it ended up shooting itself in the foot and screwing everything that was good about it. It could have been brilliant, and in the end turned out to be mediocre, and that's what bugs most people about it.
I’m not even giving it a final average score, for as I said, I don’t consider myself fully qualified to give it an objective mark.

What I will do is give you a recommendation, as the themes and gimmicks of Eva have been done before and after, and they've been done better.
- If you want an entertaining mecha show, watch "Rahxephon", which is basically a carbon copy of Eva, only with a protagonist that actually has a spine, angst replaced with a good romance and with an ending that doesn't have its head stuck up its own arse. You can also try "Code Geass".
- If you want a show about existential questions and unconventional answers to them, involving a move to a "higher plane of existence", try the 1995 movie "Ghost in the Shell" or the "Serial Experiments Lain", both of them being immensely smarter and more consistent than Eva
- If you want a thorough psychological examination of the human mind, watch “Paranoia Agent” by Satoshi Kon
- If you want a dark, psychological deconstruction of an existing genre, "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" is infinitely better than Eva could ever hope to be. To put it simple: everything that Eva does wrong, Madoka Magica does right, and then some. “Madoka” is everything that Evangelion should have been, but sadly, isn’t.

The english dub of NGE is superior to all subs forever. Haters will try to convince you otherwise, but tell them Spike Spencer has a message for them and punch them in sack, and then proceed to watch the dub.

The basic plot of NGE is something like this, setting aside SEELE, AT Fields, Instrumentality, and all that fun stuff. Shinji Ikari, the 14 year old son of NERV commander Gendo Ikari, is called to NERV (an organization whose task is defending the goddamn world, for starters) by his dad in order to pilot a big ass Gundam (called an EVA) and fight against a Cthulhu-esque ... monster (otherwise known as an Angel) that's wrecking the shit out of Tokyo-3, after trying out some weak ass shit (like n2 mines, which are non-nuclear but equivalent to a nuclear bomb in strength) with little avail. As the first episodes establishes, the Angels are some bad motherfuckers, and the only things that can go toe to toe with them are the EVAs, who can only be piloted by the specific 14 year olds that are able to sync with them. From there you're introduced to the NERV staff, the other Eva pilots, and their classmates as the big damn heroes fight off the Angels, one by one...sort of. That's when shit gets real.

If the ending leaves you mindscrewed, there's a pretty popular Eva fanfic called The Bible that presents some of God's theories as to what went down in those last few episodes. It's an alright read, if a bit bombastic.

The artwork as a whole is pretty impressive, especially for both its time and the budget Gainax was on. Let's just not talk about those last two episodes though. As for the character designs, your millage may vary, but I thought Sadamoto did a pretty bitchin job on them (I have forgiven him for the manga).

Sound is pretty good, if a bit inappropriate at times. I heard Anno originally approached Yoko Kanno to do the soundtrack until Beethoven told her to fuck off and then proceeded to record the first OST. I wouldn't be surprised.

As for the characters, whoa. For starters, one area NGE does not break any new ground in is civil rights, as I couldn't find a single black guy in the show. Shinji is the biggest woman ever, and you'll probably want to get her into an armbar after the second episode; it only gets worse from there. Asuka, pre-character development, is your typical tsundere redhead, Rei is the emotionless girl who's gotta have blue hair, Misato is your best friend's hot older sister with boobs and a drinking problem, Gendo is a cold, manipulative bastard, Toji is Anno's night alone with Fist of the North Star, Kaji is an inferior Japanese knock off of James Bond, Ritsuko is Gendo's dummy plug if you catch my drift, Kaworu is Shinji's gay lover, SEELE are some secret spooky douchebags behind monoliths, and so on and so forth. The character development is actually well done though, and the series does a pretty good job of deconstructing a few standard anime character tropes (as well as the mecha genre in general, although this is another your millage may vary thing). It's not as revolutionary as NGE fanboys make it out to be, but it accomplishes what it sets out to do. Even if that is a few comas and a lot of homoerotic subtext.

Overall, if you want to watch a guy mercilessly beat the shit out of his own characters physically and psychologically, complete with synchronized dancing, losers getting stomped by a group of 14 year old girls with big fucking mechas, cheesy religious symbolism, and the most infamous trainwreck ending in anime (although the entire second season of Code Geass gives it a run for its money), then this is the anime for you. Alternatively, you could watch Mars of Destruction, which is basically the same story except shorter and a lot more hilarious. The choice is yours.

I HATE NEON GENESIS EVANGELION.

I wish i could scream that at the makers of it, not to mention THE WHOLE FREAKING WORLD.

Okay. Let's get this over with.

I really don't want to think about this anime.

Crud.

... Lemme try again.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is, if you couldn't tell from the scores I gave, pathetic. At least to me. The goal of this review/rant is not to convince anyone to hate it, just to show why I hate it. Let's start with the beginning. In the beginning, NGE showed promise. It had a good story, good potential for character growth, and a believable situation, as far as fiction goes. And the main problem i had was the character growth, or lack of it, rather. Shinji Ikari was great raw material for a protagonist, he had his problems, his secrets, his weakness, and his strength, the ability to be an exceptional EVA pilot. And it seemed that he was well on his way to becoming my next favorite character. But do you know where that went? Downhill. The infamous episode 16. He goes into the angel, is trapped, his friends try to save him, he gets out, and immediately begins to go berserk on the very city he is supposed to protect. And I am proud to say that I remember very little of it. I skipped most of that episode, and every episode thereafter. From then on, every episode had a tedious session of him messing with his own head. From then on, angel fights were boring and/or overtly violent. They were obscene bouts of attempted action and they didn't work for me. From then on, Shinji's personality, which had actually seen some positive growth, became completely twisted. You don't get much more twisted than having fantasies about a comatose girl, jerking off to them, then killing her at the end of the alternate ending, which was just as confusing, just as irritating, and just as pointless as the original.

Speaking of Asuka, she was another good character that I loved. For a short time. Then she went in the same direction as Shinji, becoming a bathtub inhabiting girl who had "I hate the world" issues, just as Shinji had "The world hates me" problems. Her tomboyish attitude, her skill with an EVA, her possible love for Shinji- DOWN THE DRAIN. And you might be thinking, "Now wait, you can't hate the entire anime, as well as the makers of the anime, because the characters didn't develop the way you want, and the story didn't have the ending you wanted." I agree, it's not fair to hate an entire anime because of the characters or an unexpected plot. But this is beyond that. Hating a character is proof that the anime is good. It makes you realize that you feel the hate that the characters themselves have. The anime has successfully drawn you in. This is different. An example of an anime making me hate a character by drawing me in is Holland from Eureka Seven. This, on the other hand is me hating the makers of the anime and the anime itself because of what they did to everyone in the story. And an example of an unexpected, unwanted plot turn is the death of Lelouch in Code Geass, or the repeated death of Mayuri in Steins;Gate. This, however, is taking a good anime and killing all purpose, sense, and likability. Seeing Shinji and Asuka kill the angel in episode 9 was very satisfying; seeing Asuka tear apart the angels in The End of Evangelion was not satisfying at all. And it has come to my attention that according to some, Asuka didn't die at the end; these some are liars. Not only does Asuka receive extensive wounds from the fight, she was strangled by Shinji; even if he doesn't actually kill her all the way, he still tried.

Sigh. I really don't want to keep going. But I need to get this out of my system.

Then there is Rei. Possibly as disappointing a character as Shinji. Out of the three, she has the most potential. But not only do they kill her, they kill her, bring her back, kill her again, reveal that Shinji's dad loves her because she is a clone of his wife, kill all of her other selves, make her appear naked in every episode past 16, and basically spit on my hopes for her. The more I saw her in the beginning, the more screen time I wanted her to have so that she could become a person, a character that might be up there with Yuki Nagato, Kallen Kozuki, C.C., Lucy from Elfen Lied (not Nyuu, she doesn't really fit), and everyone else who was unapproachable at first but became greatly beloved by all. But, just like Shinji and Asuka, Rei's personality went down the drain. Completely.

As for the other characters, they didn't disappoint me nearly as much; Misato was one of my favorites. The only stains on her soul were the extensive sex scenes near the end. Same goes for Ryoji. Toji was a great character in and of himself; too bad he died. Gendo Ikari is one of the non-EVA pilots whom I hate; he is, among other things including a shameless, selfish lunatic, a pedophile. Ritsuko is not as bad as him, but she, as with her mother, are stained and imperfect, which wouldn't be so bad if nearly everyone else wasn't as bad as they were.

I could go on, but it is getting late, and I really don't feel like going on. Maybe I'll finish up later.

Peace out. May the blessing of Haruhi Suzumiya be with you always.

Everything you heard about Evangelion is true. It gets almost everything right. If you ever wondered what’s the big deal over anime, Evangelion sums it up pretty well. It’s an all-around great work of animation. It uses the strengths of the medium while not abandoning the old qualities that make for great storytelling. It also loses itself in the last two episodes.

It’s not the awful ending that Death Note has. It doesn’t make all the time spent seem fruitless. It’s an icarus kind of thing. The last two episodes are where the series gets truly experimental. It abandons traditional storytelling and tries using inner monologues. ... It’s a bold idea, especially in an anime that’s until then just upgrades the Mecha genre.

It doesn’t work, though. The monologues are not just about the characters but discuss the various themes that pop up in the anime. As the anime progresses, it makes it clearer and clearer that there’s more than well-constructed fights to this. Instead of using some creative method to wrap the themes, and maybe take advantage of all the symbolism they left lying around.

Sadly, they chose monologues. That’s just a way of beating the viewer over the head with your themes. We don’t need them. The 24 episodes that came after that make an excellent job of developing characters. The backstory of the Angels is barely revealed, and that’s great. The creators know that why things happen is less important than the reactions to the characters. We don’t always know why things happen but we always react. That’s the series’ greatest strength. Beneath the giant robots and the fighting, it’s an excellent chronicle of relationships and how they develop and change.

Not to say that it’s a pretentious thing that believes that great dialogue make up for anything else. Another reason why Evangelion is so brilliant and why it deserves its classic status is because it takes advantage of the format. There’s just as much effort put into the design. Developed characters aren’t an excuse to make bland looking characters. Rei, Misato, Suzuhara, Gendo, the Fifth Child each has a unique design that doesn’t try to be real but look cool. There is no excuse for bland character design. If looks aren’t important in your story, it should be a novel.

The Angels are where the design choices shine the most. They are unique at every aspect. Every single one has a distinctive look, and each one functions differently. The variety is so big that the idea that they’re of the same ‘race’ comes off as pretty far-fetched. Either way, they make for both cool-looking enemies and interesting ones. The unique attributes also means the fights aren’t just extended sequences of stuff exploding. There’s a problem-solving elements to it. Each battle is a puzzle the characters have to solve. It may be not as meaningful as the relationships between the characters, but it’s great that the series is also willing to have fun.

Evangelion is an anime that wants it all. The characters are both developed and good-looking. The battles are pure fun, but the drama is strong. Evangelion wants both the fun energy of Mecha and the qualities that make for any classic story. The last two episodes make for a very underwhelming finish, but they don’t undo the other 24 episodes. Evangelion is worth watching regardless of your opinions on anime. It’s a great piece of storytelling at all fronts.

XTC’s logo also makes a cameo appearance.

Okay, first of all, let me explain some simple facts about my relationship with this anime:

1) This is my favorite anime of all time. Ever.
2) This is the series that really got me into anime. Thank you, JP.
3) This is the anime that KILLED whatever tiny scrap of mental innocence I had left by the 2nd semester of my freshman year. I AM NOT KIDDING.
4) This anime drove me insane. If you let it, and you are that kind of person, it will do the same to you. Don't worry, it's for your own good.
5) ... No matter what anyone says, I LOVE the last two episodes. They are the greatest thing ever.

Now then, on with the review. This is truly a spectacular anime for quite a few reasons. First of all, what I consider to be the fundamentals of any story, plot and characters. The plot, while seemingly predictable at first, is far from it. It is really about as twisted and insane as you can get before being pointless, which is why it is so amazing.
The characters are also completely believable, both by themselves and in their interactions with each other. The great thing is that, unlike with a lot of anime characters *cough*like in Naruto*cough*, they are not merely stereotypes or stock characters, they are exquisitely multi-dimentional, and have feelings and compulsions like real people. I can relate to all of them at different points, although Rei, who is my personal favorite, I relate to more frequently than the others. Some of the characters are lovable, some pitiful, some loathsome (I have a love-hate relationship with Gendo), but they all suck you in.
In addition to having a wonderful story and characters, the art and sound in this anime is spectacular! The art blew me away at first sight-and when I first saw it, I had NO idea it was from the 90s, so I find it even more incredible now. It is of a caliber that I think is rarely seen now, let alone at that time period. It is rich and colorful, with exquisite, clean lines, beautiful land- and cityscapes, and great details. The designs of the Evas and the angels are some of the best I've ever seen. For me the one oddity (not that I'm really complaing, 'cause it is hot) was the fact that Asuka's breasts seem to randomly get bigger whenever she put on a swimsuit! My friend JP, who got me hooked on the series and was my supplier (he owns the DVDs), affirmed that for me, so I know I wasn't just seeing things.
The soundtrack is also beautiful, and really serves to emphasize the sheer insanity of the whole series. Especially in episode 24, with the bit with Shinji and Kaoru where they play Ode to Joy, although that title with that particular episode, and the series as a whole, makes me laugh because it is so very ironic.
I enjoyed watching this immensely. I can only rate up to 10, but my enjoyment of it was really about 50,000. I definitely recommend this series. However, I must caution you. THIS SERIES IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. It is not happy, fluffy kittens and pink clouds and sparkles and whatever else have you. It is violent, bloody, tragic, and deeply psychological. When I said that it destroyed my last scrap of innocence, I MEANT IT. If you are not used to this kind of thing, and are rather timid in that area, I suggest leaving it alone, or finding some clips first (of the traumatic parts) to test the waters, as it were. It is truly a horrifying anime. Which is why, in my opinion, it is one of the best things ever created.
So long, and thanks for taking the time to read this.

When watching anime, controversies can never be avoided. Simply liking certain shows can be considered controversial. If a person says that X anime is the best anime ever, there will always be a group of individual that will surely bat an eyebrow. No one is safe. Everything a person say can lead to a controversy. I was watching a show at Discovery Channel about simple controversies when I think about doing this; reviewing the most controversial anime of all time: Neon Genesis Evangelion. Some consider it a masterpiece; some consider it crap, while other considers it the most blasphemous creation in history. So today, on ... its 20th year anniversary, a little review of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Not End of Eva (yet), not the Rebuilds (yet), just the series.

Story:

Evangelion starts up really slooooooow. For about 20 episodes, they followed a formulaic monster of the week kind of thing. Sure it helps the characters develop throughout the series but they can definitely cut some of it out to save some money which they can use for the animation side of things (Not now. I’ll talk about it in the animation section). It isn’t that slow that you will feel bored the entire series because almost every episode, a new monster (or in this case Angels. IT’S AN ANGERU! IT’S A GUNDAM!) appears and wreck havoc while the pilots tries to kill it. Though the story is sidelined for the most part because of the action, there’s still this interesting thing brought up almost every episode: The Human Instrumentality Project (The Human Instrumentality Whatnow?). I watched Evangelion without having seen too much anime (I think I watched it after only watching 20 shows) so I didn’t actually get the HIP that much. Though I understand its purpose, I didn’t actually get why. And that is one of the things that EVA is excellent as: Not answering questions. Throughout the series (and the Rebuilds), questions tends to pile up without Hideaki Anno (The director of the series who if you didn’t know made an anime cameo in Shirobako as Mitsuaki Kanno. Yeah. You’re welcome) answering anything out of it. Viewers tend to have the same reaction every time they watch the series: “What the fuck is going on?”. Though most people don’t understand what’s going on, that is where the magic lies. You will want to watch it over and over again (I never did until now) just to understand it. Sometimes, having things not handed to you directly is a good thing; Death Billiards (Not Death Parade) is a very good example.

Characters:

Almost every character in the series, though they appear to be one-dimensional, has a hidden dark inner personality. Let’s give a little example; Misato Katsuragi appears to be a happy-go-lucky guardian to the pilots but she, herself, is a survival of the 2nd impact and hides behind a façade in an attempt to forget her past. Most character suffers from this similar trait and is one of the good reasons as to why I like this series. They appear to be one-dimensional in the beginning but throughout the series, you get to see their back stories on how they became the people that they are now. In my opinion, a good character building strategy not just for the main ones but for the supporting cast as well. Now, speaking of the main characters, let’s talk briefly about the 3 main pilots.

Starting out, we have Shinji Ikari, the story’s main protagonist. Many viewers who have seen the series considered Shinji as a (pussy) girl because of his lack of testosterone throughout the series. I, for one, beg to disagree. Shinji is a 14 year old kid who was thrown in to pilot the EVA not because he wanted to but because THEY (NERV. Dafuq does that stands for anyway? Nervous Erection Reaches Vagina?) wanted to. Even if he doesn’t want to, NERV wanted him to continue piloting the EVA. Though they succeeded in doing so, deep down, Shinji still doesn’t want to do it because of the pain and some other things. He clearly doesn’t care about the world because the world clearly doesn’t care about him so he lacks the resolve to save it in the first place. Being technically orphaned at a young age, he felt that the world was being unfair to a kid like him. So why not just let everyone suffer just like him? Well, that’s my conspiracy theory that Shinji is actually a God. Haha fuck me, right? Anyway, as far as I remember, never once has he willingly piloted the EVA because he wanted to (Then 3.0 happened) and he also never once said that he wants to stop the Angels in order to save the world (Which was evident in 2.0 where his actions clearly states that: “Fuck the world, all I want Rei”). Shinji is by far, the most human anime character that I have come across to. If you, or me were in his situation, we’d probably do the same things he did.

In character number 2, we have the pilot of EVA 2.0, the narcissistic bitch from Germany, Asuka Langley Soryuu: The grandmother of tsunderes worldwide. In all the anime I have seen, I have never met a tsundere that is older than her (Eva came out of 1995, right? If you know someone older than her at being a tsundere, please introduce her to me. I really want to meet her). In regards to his character, Asuka is praised by many (including me) because of her badassery. Considered to be the best pilot throughout the whole franchise (I think Mari’s greater but that’s just my personal taste. *cough* Bias because of Megane? *cough*) by the fans, she definitely shows this in every battle she has participated in. Her character is very fleshed out thanks to her back story which is probably one of the many reasons that she is many viewers’ favorite character in the series. She is a bitch but we get to see why. Which is in my honest opinion, makes a bitch a good tsundere.

Lastly, we have Zero. Not Lelouch, not that one from Megaman, but Rei Ayanami, which is like Asuka, the flagship and oldest (in my book) kuudere in anime. Thanks to her character, we get to see characters like Yuki Nagato, Kanade Tachibana, and Kaizuka Inaho (*grins* I know Inaho is much more of dan rather than than a kuu but fuck it. They are the same in my eyes) to name a few. In all of EVA, her character is probably the character that I hate the most (probably more than Gendo. It could be a tie). I don’t know, I think I just hate emotionless characters in general (Weird because I really like Yuki Nagato. She’s my PC, PS3 and CPs wallpaper. It must be my fetish coz she used to wear glasses. lol). Apart from being a key item in the Human Instrumentality Project, she never really did anything throughout the entire series. We see her injured at episode 1 in order to convince Shinji to pilot the EVA, but after that she almost did nothing throughout the entire series. She, like her character is supposed to be, is just like a doll in a doll-o’-rama. You’ll see her, but you wouldn’t care for her in general. A simple decoration. She can be considered a catalyst for Shinji’s character development but that’s about it. I don’t even know why Shinji has a thing for her. Mother complex perhaps? lol.

Animation:

The animation for Neon Genesis Evangelion was done by Gainax back in 1995. The animation in itself is really good if you consider that this came out in 1995. I think it looks better than Gundam Wing when it comes to animation but that’s just my personal taste. Yeah, when you look at the battle scenes in every episode, you might not have guessed that this came out in 1995. The details are amazing and the Angels and EVAs just look fantastic. If there’s one thing this section is bad at, that’s probably the obvious lack in budget. Throughout the series, we get to see obvious (and lame) budgeting strategies. A good example is (I forgot what episode it was) when Shinji was about to leave NERV for the first time and Misato tried to stop him in the station, there was about 5 minutes of frame silence. No movement was produced and the only thing that lets you know that you didn’t hit the pause button by mistake is the sounds in the train station. I want to talk about the animation in the last two episodes but I’m scared that this might turn into a rant about the ending rather than a review of the animation itself so I’ll just leave it at that. Now, if you look at the animation during action scenes, you can clearly say that they at least save the budget for that and that alone. This might be a bit controversial, but if they cut at least 5 episodes in the series, they might have pulled a good ending and the sequel films plus the rebuilds would have never seen the light of day. Well, from a business standpoint, that’s a bad thing, but if you’re doing it for the viewers, then it would have been an amazing ending a la End of Evangelion with a closed ending. If I can send a D-Mail to the past, I would have told Gainax to hire a good budget specialist.

Sound:

The soundtrack for Eva isn’t really bad, but I feel like because of the lack of budget, they recycled some famous music from some famous movies. There’s this one sound track that sounds like it was from a James Bond movie, I’m not kidding, it really is there. Having finished the show subbed for the first time, I really prefer the sub over the dub. The dub was a little weak in comparison to the Rebuild dubs (I know it’s almost the same voice actors/actresses but the dub for the series sounds a bit dated) but I think it’s still good if you consider it was dubbed yeaaaaarrrrssss ago (I don’t even know when).

Verdict:

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a different kind of anime. It is one of the few anime that you can’t just watch once for you to understand everything it presents. A friend watched it trice and he still don’t get it. Watching it the 2nd time, some information that I didn’t absorbed the first time suddenly wants to enter my mind. I still don’t know what Hideaki Anno wants to say in this ever popular franchise but I know I enjoyed the hell out of it. A bit of advice if this review somehow convinced you to watch the series; don’t just go into EVA on a whim. Have the right mindset unless you won’t get shit. Expect good action, mindfuck, lack of explanation, End of Eva, and Rebuilds, then maybe, another set of Rebuilds (Restarts?).

Now, after pulling a couple of numbers out of my ass, sending it to Japan to fuck Shinji while Holden says “IT’S AN ANGERU!”, I present Neon Genesis Evangelion with an overall score of 8.16. Evangelion is a bit of a formulaic mecha anime but once it starts to pick up, you will be scratching your head due to confusion. It also has fleshed out characters that some might not like but no one can deny that they are well written characters that surely carried the show through its bad times. It’s one of the all-time classics and is a good anime to add on your credentials. If you have not seen it yet, go forth, you have my full pledged recommendation.

Alternate Anime Recommendation:

For alternate anime recommendation, why don’t you try Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica? Both series starts out rather slow and formulaic but once they pick up, you will never realize when the sun came down. They are also classified as “deconstruction” of their respective genre with main characters with almost the same personality. Pussies.

There’s always Bokurano if you want to stick to mecha rather than shoujo. Both Evangelion and Bokurano revolves around battles with other mechas but there is a dark secret that both series posses; which I won’t talk about because of spoiler.

Well, that’s it for me! Bye!!!