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| This was recommended to me as a classic, and since I'm doing the Anime Watching Challenge and need a good anime that finished airing before 1999, NGE seemed like the perfect choice! Right off the bat, my first impression was that the opening theme was actually pretty decent! Of course, the artwork is a little outdated, but so far it doesn't really bother me at all. I suspect NGE's artwork and animation were pretty stellar at the time it aired. Overall, this first episode was rather slow. That was amazing how the Eva seemed to protect Shinji, though! How did it do that?? I'm interested most in finding out more about Rei, but of course, excited for this battle against the Angel that's about to happen. ★ 3/5 |
| I never noticed how slow paced it was. A good start to the series though and one of the best cliff hangers of all of anime. |
| added the fourth most popular anime onto this site |
Zadion said: Wow... this episode has so much more depth rewatching it after knowing how the plot unfolds and knowing (most of) the details of the Evangelion universe. I think I enjoyed it a lot more now than when I first watched the series. It's understandable why everyone sees this as a standard mecha opener; I felt that when I first watched it as well. It feels like much more than that now. existentialist-j said: I'm rewatching NGE to understand everything. Same story. I didn't intend to rewatch it now, but I randomly opened the first episode just to hear the OP again and was like, "Screw it, I'll keep watching." The never ending cycle of NGE sessions has begun. Nothing can stop the Human Instrumentality Project now :p. |
Prophetess of the Golden Era  |
| After listening to Cruel Angel's Thesis on a regular basis for a while now, I thought it was finally time to actually watch the show. Needless to say I love the OP song. The ED song is a rather calm contrast from the upbeat nature of the OP and enjoyable. Shinji has a rough and cold relationship with his father. I can imagine that being viewed as insignificant enough by a figure who himself is viewed as an asset to humanity to not warrant being seen in person for three years would be incredibly damaging to his self-esteem, particularly how Shinji is a young teenager and the figure in question is his own father. I'd surmise this relationship is partially the cause of his abysmal self-confidence. In addition, he finds out that he was only retrieved in order to be used as a tool and thrown into a situation that he doesn't yet understand. Seeing Rei's condition motivated him to pilot the Eva, so it appears his sense of pity and care for others is enough to force him into doing things reluctantly. He his initial whiny refusal is pretty much what I'd expect from a kid who is suddenly thrust into a situation like this, but the contrast between the nature of his refusal given the degree of the situation he was in vs his change of mind is rather notable to me. It's going to be very interesting to observe his development throughout the course of this show, particularly in regards to his self-esteem and just how far he can be coerced into taking certain actions even against his own will. What made it possible for him to control the Eva? Why are there only select people who are able to do so? Questions abound naturally given this is the first episode. Overall, a decent start. |
ZeroDragonOct 6, 2015 10:14 PM
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| That was an extremely revealing and odd next episode preview at the end there. The story is already very interesting, and Shinji doesn't seem as annoying as people make him out to be. He may have initially refused, but once he saw the condition of Rei, he immediately changed his mind and decided to do it, despite being scared out of his mind. It's completely understandable that he hesitated, he's 12 and he's being asked to fight a giant alien in a robot he's never even seen before, let alone knows how to pilot. Lots of questions have raised and overall, this was an interesting introduction to the world of NGE. What a great first episode! 5 out of 5: Loved it! |
lcieliaOct 10, 2015 4:27 PM
| Finally able to get to this, would have watched much sooner but decided to wait for the 1080p remaster before starting. I can definitely already tell why this is considered such a classic and pioneer. Looking forward to the rest! |
| what a cruel father,let's see what this guy can do. |
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| I always see so many people mentioning this anime and how good it is, so Ive finally decided it was time to watch it for myself. So far it's pretty good. I'm personally not a huge fan of Mecha anime, but there have been a few exceptions. Ive also heard that this anime is less about the giant robot fights and more about the characters themselves, so we'll see. |
Shape430Nov 21, 2015 2:20 AM
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| i've been wanting to watch this show for a long time. now is the time. it was pretty good. |
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| After 3 years of putting this off I can finally watch this now that the blurays of it are out!!! Expecting ALOT from this series considering how it's consider the most influential of the 90s and to some it's considered the greatest anime of all time. Would be lying if I said I wasn't worried I might hate this series,worried it might be 2deep4me or symbolic for my taste. Other comments mainly about this episode: Shinji ain't as annoying as I expected. "I only called you because I needed you!" Gendou is a dick head. I'm pretty sure I heard something "otoko" so they still had this "be a man" shit in 1990s anime as well huh,reminds me of Gundam. 4/5 |
VarendantDec 3, 2015 7:32 AM
| (rewatching) I've been meaning to rewatch this yet again... so let the fun begin! My gosh this is an amazing intro episode. And to think, the first time I watched it I wasn't all that impressed, but it's not like one can stop after that cliffhanger! I still think the monsters look stupid... but I don't care. So much destruction and it's only just started! The sound effects, music, visuals... are all outstanding! The attention to detail is very appreciated, which makes this so amazing to re-watch and notice all those little foreshadowed details. Characterization is off the charts. In just seconds, everybody knows about Shinji's relationship with his father. This anime is 10/10. Obvious 5/5 for this episode. |
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| I actually watched this anime... I usually shun older anime, but I was curious to see what all the fuss is about, and I have to say, I am impressed, and I have it all in 1080p ready to watch. Looking forward to it. 4/5 for the episode. Animation is actually a lot better than what I expected and the sound is glorious. Not sure on the characters as of yet. |
LivingANightmareJan 26, 2016 8:45 AM
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| Good start , So many mysteries presented . The ending song is one of the best . |
| Finally starting to watch the famous NGE. Pretty damn good first episode. |
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| the opening is really catchy |
| Here we go, i hope it gets good and much better. good start i guess. |
I love you for posting this. Best version of that song ever. Anyway, I've finally started Neon Genesis Evangelion. The first episode was okay, I know it takes some time before the series starts tackling the psychological issues full force so I'm not too surprised. I think my favorite thing about the first episode is the relationship set up between Shinji & Gendo. I saw it coming since I've seen Gendo placed on several "Worst fathers in media" lists but it's still interesting to see it play out firsthand, at least with the knowledge that the show will explore it in-depth. Surprised to read some people call Shinji annoying in the discussion thread already, lol. The stuff dealing with him deciding to pilot the Eva was pretty great. His reaction was natural & the way they made him decide to pilot was pretty poetic & made him more endearing in my mind. To elaborate, his decision was obviously spawned by his Rei's condition but I liked how they focused on her blood on Shinji's hand. That was a great piece of visual story-telling, informing him that if he lets her pilot when he has the means to, her death/blood is on his hands. What I could've done without was the like three minutes at the end of the episode showing them prep the Eva for launch. It was just boring padding, I hope that doesn't become the show's magical girl transformation scene for the earlier portions of the series. |
| The last time I have watched Neon Genesis Evangelion was many years ago and I almost forgot everything about it. Thats why I'm very excited to watch the whole series from the beginning again and I hope it will turn out to be a great experience. Great OP and ED btw. |
SilentSword114Jun 29, 2016 7:43 PM
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| The father is up there with Goku and Ging as father of the year. |
Mr_Shnb said: You aint seen nothing yetThe father is up there with Goku and Ging as father of the year. |
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| Lovely OP and ED. After doubting to start this for a long time, i decided to give this a shot. I have a feeling Shinji's dad chose him for a specific reason other then because he is his son, maybe he has some hidden "potential". 4/5 |
| Sending a kid with zero combat experience on his first sortie? Alright then. It's only the first episode and I already don't like this Gendo dude. As for Shinji? He doesn't annoy as I thought he would, so hopefully it stays like that. Not a bad start overall. |
KashKetchumOct 23, 2016 9:16 AM
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| Finally checking this out after all the great things I've heard about it over the last several years. Bought a bootleg DVD version of the show on eBay (also has the two movies) and after watching so many shows on Blu-Ray, seeing it in this format is a bit jarring. But.. the show is from the 90s, so its apropos for me to watch it in non HD :). Brings back old school VHS recordings/dubbing days for me. Episode was okay. I heard Shinji can be a bit annoying throughout the show.. and he was during this episode. I'll give him a chance considering, you know, he just had to go into combat with a giant robot with no previous experience what so ever. |
| @mshea1213 If you already had to "give him a chance"... I can already foresee the curb of your interest in the series. Anyway good luck, because it is worth the "effort". Especially the double episodes finale! PS: it is all about Shinji and co. rather than a robot-centric show. @FMmatron Won't happen. ;D Still, "welcome" and have a hell of a ride. |
Rei_IIISep 2, 2017 2:48 PM
| Finally getting round to watching this as a friend of mines favourite anime is Evangelion. Got to say, the first episode didn't disappoint. Wanted to see more of Rei as she has my favourite character design of the series. I also don't find Shini annoying either. He's more relatable than anything. |
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| I found it weird that they would jump into the action before introducing any characters. Unconventional, not bad though. My second thought was the possibility of nukes working against angels, and then I started thinking about radiation poisoning and when I noticed, the episode was over already. Ok for a first episode. |
FragOutFire said: Why am I a Berserk fan? All I ever experience is pain. We are in the eclipse and Miura has sacrificed us |
| give the robot to someone who hasnt used it once... seems like a good idea... |
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| @LouM There is a reason for it developed later. (unless you want it to be textually given to you) And a little warning: despite the many robots action sequences, it's not about the robots and monsters (but that's already visible in the first and second episodes direction). Have a good time. edit @LouM : it's nothing. ^^ (by textually, I meant that it isn't told in the dialogue. You will have to put the things you see together) ================== edit @Dawnflame The japanese voice actress gives a pretty good performance. Even when she has to shout as an horrified boy. |
Rei_IIIApr 26, 2017 7:37 AM
Rei366 said: no need will check it on my own,ty for informing@LouM There is a reason for it developed later. (unless you want it to be textually given to you) |
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| I haven't been watching a lot of anime recently(been gaming a whole bunch) and decided to start this year with this. I've been meaning to watch this in back in 2015(year it takes place in) but never started it! I wanted to wait for the last Eva movie to come out but apparently it's now being worked on so I guess it's a good time to start. People seem to either love this or hate it I think. I wonder where I'll fall into. Despite it be a hugely popular series I don't really know where this series will go or what will happen. I know of Asuka and she gets an eyepaych but don't know how she got it but that's about as far as my knowledge goes. So far I like it. It's very interesting so far. I know about the meme "Shinji get in the damn robot." but apparently he gets in the first episode? What? I wonder how this originated. Maybe later on I'll know why. That Eva Unit 01 is a really cool design and the Angel's are also have a really nice design. I'm excited to continue! Let's see where this goes. |
Nano1124Jan 1, 2017 5:56 PM
| @Nano1124 You are confusing Sôryû Asuka Langley (one of the main characters of this show) with her Shin Evangelion's counterpart, Mikami Asuka Langley (a secondary character in the 2nd and 3rd Shin Eva, the eye-patched one). "He gets in the first episode" in the robot: yes, but... you already saw how it went. This is absolutely not his will, despite being his choice. That can only lead to complications. The angels and evangelions designs are pretty diverse, I hope you'll like them all. |
| Good start since I've seen the manga ages ago |
| Took me quite some time to finally get to watching this. So far it's decent, but I may already hate Shinji. The english voice actor doesn't make it any better. |
| So it begins! It took me several years to pick this up from my PTW list.. Shinji reacted as a normal human being would, no surprise there. The OP is stunning! |
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| So I finally decided to pick this anime up and I can honestly say that I didn't find Shinji annoying at all. In fact all i could do was rage at all the terrible adults who let a kid fight in a battle that could get him killed and he had NO training or warning at all. Yet they have the nerve to be all pushy. Poor kid. I hate his dad. (of course if he decides he wants to fight and remains whiny then i can see why he'd get annoying, although to be fair he has every right to be.) |
| Huh? A thread for a really old anime? Eh whatever. I gave it a 3 out of 5. I remembered watching this series a long time ago. My memory is hazy but what I can recall from the first episode is this: Shinji meets his dad, wusses out and complains, Rei was injured... Shinji got in the freaking Eva...went berserk...ends. It started out pretty slow and it took me a while to get into the series. I should've dropped it because the finale was a big mindfuck. |
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| Finally got around to watch this classic series that impacted the anime industry. Really love the opening song! |
| What a great start I can't believe he put the weight of humanity on his own kid who is only 14 years old. the art is dope and the opening is really good. |
| I've heard many good things about Evangelion, so I am excited to continue watching it. First episode is good so far which is basically Shinji's first day on the job piloting a robot. I hope the series will be good later. |
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| This is my first time through the main Evangelion series. Shinji's having a rough day... "Hey kid, come check out where your dad you never speak to works!" "Okay pretty girl. Hi Dad!" "Okay now get in the giant robot" "?!?! Dad what is this do you even love me" "Alright you piece of shit we'll have the girl who's dying do it" |
| "No, son, you may not have your body pillow at the dinner table!" |
| Time to watch this 23 years old anime as of 2018. First off, the scene swap is too quick, but hey! It's 23 years old so it's fine. The way the characters are introduced is too sudden, but hey! It's 23 years old so it's fine. But the action and potential developments in both plots and characters are exciting. So basically it's all good! The opening is amazing, not so much for the ED though... I noticed that the VA for Shinji's father is the guy who voiced Madao! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A summary of Shinji's day today: I saw a girl with a weird blue hair appear and disappear! I saw an alien monster angel thing get blown up by some kind of nuke but still surviving! I saw a fucking robot and my father which I haven't met for 3 years (?) told me to pilot it JUST LIKE THAT! I don't really know about Shinji but damn the events he just experienced are already both weird and unexpected. |
ShadowkillZFeb 16, 2018 2:20 PM
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| The first episode of the so called Evangelion. It was a good start. 4/5 |
| BANZAI NIPPON. Nippon is the Land of freedom. Nippon is the Land of Peace. Nippon is the Land of Justice and Prosperity. In Nippon, we trust. We love Nippon, we love Anime. Anime love us, Nippon love us. 日本 I believe in freedom of expression. |
| The visual cycle during the robot's booting sequence was trippy as heck. Super cool. |
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| After 10 or more years of wanted to watch this, today I decided I will. And my heart started pouding really hard it was that important to me. I knew I remember some little parts of episodes 1 and maybe 2 or 3. I wanted to watched on youtube back then(but didn't because language barrier) And some parts looks better and some worse then I remember it and some parts I feel they were changed heavily. I know there is some recap of first episodes movie, maybe I watch that thing before. Or maybe english version is bit different cut? But I know this is Eva is cult and I have to watch it one day and I reall dont know what to expect. Ten years of trying to avoid all spoilers. And here I am. And I am going to watch it now. |
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