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I understand that Evangelion was a major phenomenon in 1990s but as a younger person I was too young to watch the original series when it came out. So when I watched the new “Rebuild” movies I had only no previous knowledge of the plotline or characters other than I heard that the story was weird, confusing, but apparently was famous for having deeply psychologically damaged characters. As a psychology major, I was practically salivating at the thought of being able to analyze some messed up characters because even though I love all the cuteness that inhabits the anime world, it’s rare to find a show that has deep characters. Let’s face it; mostly you get pretty archetypal characters (the grumpy girl, the shy girl, the hero, ect) without a lot of depth. So I watched Rebuild with pretty high expectations. And…I thought it was pretty good. It was very entertaining and I was on my seat the whole time (especially with the second movie, LOVED the giant alien/robot fights!) The animation was also eye-candy and you really feel like you’re entering a new world. This alone warrants the movie a 10-point rating. However, as I was expecting some wacked out people and it just didn’t deliver. I felt that the characters were pretty cookie cutter and were very similar to other characters I have seen. For example, when Asuka makes her appearance, all I could think of was that she could be the perfect twin for Taiga from Toradora! I kept waiting for the characters psychological problems to show—at one point the unemotional Rei takes out a knife and I thought—“oh noes, she’s a cutter! She gotten take her repressed emotions out on herself in attempt to feel something—even if its pain!” But no, apparently she wasn’t repressed—she just wanted to cook something. That is kind of a snore. Plus I thought the whole cooking plotline was pretty silly because I have tutored fourteen year-olds and they really aren’t that thoughtful in their relationships. If Asuka really wanted to show Shinji that she liked him, it would have been more believable if she would have given him a favorite C.D. or something (or more likely, just revved up the teasing. Girls do this more often than you think). But don’t get me wrong, I liked the movie and even showed to a friend. It is a fun and exciting watch but I didn’t find it very deep or thought provoking like I expected.
However…because I liked the action sequences in the movie so much I decided to give the original series and End of Eva a try. Wow. I could write an essay about how screwed up these kids are (maybe even several).
However, the original series has some the best (if not THE BEST) characterization I have ever watched in an anime, especially for Shinji and Asuka. The characters are troubled, painful sad, yet oddly likable at the same time. It’s such a shame that the director felt it necessary to simplify these complex characters in order to attract a wider audience. In all my media consumption (I actually don’t watch that much anime, but I read a ton of novels) I have never run across so beautifully flawed of characters as Shinji and Asuka. The only character that I liked better in Rebuild was Rei (but this is really only for the shameful reason that I found her to be cuter in the new movies :D I will admit that the Rebuild movies have a more streamlined storyline and WAY better animation but if you crave deep characters and complex (if painfully sad) character interactions than the original (plus End of Eva) wins hands down!
