Prologue: In the year 2000 a giant being explodes, destroying nearly the entire continent of Antarctica, consequent global flooding and causing the deaths of half the human population. The impact also caused a change in the earth's axial tilt and subsequent unrest.
Basic Plot:
Shinji Ikari is called to pilot a giant mecha by his father, head of the secret government organization, NERV. Shinji is picked up by Misato Katsuragi, who soon becomes his guardian. When Shinji gets to NERV, he is asked to pilot a mecha known as an Evangelion. After some hesitation, Shinji reluctantly agrees to pilot the Evangelion unit 01. With the Evangelions, Shinji and the other pilots fight the giant creatures known as the Angels, to stop them from causing the third impact and the end of the world.
Story: 10
Evangelion's story may seem to be that of any other mecha anime at first, but soon shows it's true genius and originality. Evangelion is much, much more than just an entertaining mecha anime. The overall plot is layered with many levels of depth and meanings intertwining to produce Hideaki Anno's message. It should also be noted that many of the plot details are subtle some seem to be left unexplained but fear not, they can be found out with analysis and research. Before director Anno started work on Evangelion, he was going through a time of deep depression and Anno once said that through Evangelion he sought to express his innermost thoughts and that he was trying to "burn his feelings into film" in making Evangelion.
Art: 10
The art in Evangelion is used to it's fullest. Anno uses rich visual craft to express his ideas and reinforce the narative. Whether it be Shinji's headphones, Gendos glasses the AT field, etc. being used to demonstrate the hedgehog's dilemma or a medium shot of Gendo and Shinji/Misato standing at opposite ends of the frame, at a completely inverted angle, Evangelion is rich in visual genius.
Sound: 10
The music in Evangelion is appropriately used to reinforce the narrative as well. With a mix of classical music and synthesized rythmic tracks, Eva's sound distinguishes itself quite well.
Characters: 10
The characters conditions and how they interact with others play a huge role in Neon Genesis Evangelion. Each character is in some way, psychologically troubled an their individual situations are revealed and analyzed throughout the series. Shinji, for example, lacks self worth and suffers from chronic depression throughout the series. It should also be noted that the characters draw many parallels to Anno's own personality and characteristics.
Enjoyment: 10
One of the things that makes Evangelion so great is that it can be enjoyed on many levels. It can be enjoyed at face value, as an expertly done apocalyptic mecha series and a satire of the mecha genre and at the same time viewers can enjoy it on its deeper levels, as a story of depression and psychological rejuvenation. Understanding as close to 100% of NGE as possible requires a great amount of analysis and research, so much so that I doubt if any human being will ever understand it fully. Knowing this, Evangelion provides for countless re viewings. Evangelion was extremely enjoyable for me.
Overall: 10
Whether it be the expert entertaining qualities, the genius use of visual craft to express the narrative, the realism and complexity of the characters, or the relate-ability to it's audince, everything about Evangelion makes it a masterpiece in so many ways. Hideaki Anno, in expressing his feelings in Evangelion, has given a resounding sense of understanding to all vievers who have ever felt the same. Not to mention push the limits of what an anime can do. That is what makes Evangelion stand out from almost every other anime as a truly profound, influential and meaningful work.
