STORY:
Neon Genesis Evangelion... one of the most controvercial animes of all times, with legions of determined fans and legions of convinced haters this is one anime that hasn't gone by without leaving some feelings behind and so how can we not recognize it's value.
There are a lot of guys that say Evangelion was a great mecha/action anime for it's time but the confusing and boring ending and the fact that Sinji is a very weak character pulled down the anime... in my opinion they just didn't get the show at all... that is the beauty of NGE, the story is to deep for some to appreciate for a reason, I'll give you a hint... it doesn't have anything to do with robots, fighting, love, or heroes...
NGE is actually a story that uses action, mecha and pseudo-religious symbolism to advance philosophical and psychological depictions and theories about the concept of freedom, self determination, decision and responsability, about the final stage of human evolution and human nature of the dark side, anxiety, the relation between the individual and society, the relation between humans and divinity... all hidden in an seemingly insane but yet very logic story. It can be compared with a complex spider web, a labyrinth. What is interesting in my opinion is that the story doesn't threat you as a fool by throwing the clues in your face, it just shows you a glimpse of it without focusing, it lets you think and put pieces together, and you slowly start to discover new things and form new theories and you soon realize how really extraordinary the anime really is and how much thought, planning and calculation was put into it to make it so complex and mysterious.. and in the end the anime makes you form your own conclusion, your own ending using your own free will.
It incorporates many of Freud's ideas (the father of modern psychology) such as "hedgehog dilemma","oedipus complex","separation anxiety","thanatos","oral stage" which can be seen in the characters actions, especially Sinji, Asuka, Rei, Misato and Ritsuko.
From the philosophic point it deals with the question posed by many great minds over the centuries, what is the human, what is freedom and what is the final stage of evolution, confronting the SEELE's plans (which have clearly an idealist Friedrich Hegel philosophy) against the existentialist view os J.P. Sartre and Kierkegaard... for those who don't know Hegel, Sartre and Kierkegaard are all famous philosophers... the ideea of Human Instrumentality Project is also inspired from Arthur C. Clarke's novel "Childhood's End".
For more just check Evangelion of Wikipedia and you'll be amazed how interesting this anime really is if you have some culture and brains to actually see it's real meanings.
Animation:
The animation still is decent even after almost 10 years and the Eva fights can still impress you, and i really wouldn't imagine characters like Sinji, Asuka, Rei or Misato in any other form.
Sound:
Voice acting is one of it's strong points, the script has some very hard to play out lines and emotions, but as all the seyuus are some of the most experienced ones out there, we get as a result one of the best and most emotional voice acting ever, Oscar worthy for shure.. a great example of that are Sinji and Misato. The music containing mostly classic music also fits every scene and every emotion, and if you have the surround version you couldn't ask for more than this.
Charactes:
The characters are just great, none are perfect, none are good or bad, this isn't a black and white story, all characters have good points and bad points, complex feelings and personalities, most have a tragic past that still haunts them, that has a huge toll on their present, emotional wounds that would never heal. So much lonliness, so much despair, dissapointment, hate and passion. Some are like the storm some like a leaf in a storm but they are all going fast on the one way road to destruction... Trully memorable characters... And for all those who claim to hate Sinji cos he's a coward, and prefer an unrealistic Naruto like kid that has unmeasurable courage in impossible situations, I have to remind them that this is a SERIOUS ANIME where chars act like real humans.
Value:
This is a true classic that any anime fan has to have a real jewel among all SF and psycho animes. We can all accept it's contribution to the anime kind and we know about the copies that appeared after it. Nowbody can remain cold and without feelings after this anime, either you'll love it or hate it, you'll consider it a masterpiece of a genious or the dangerous work of an insane person, you'll still remember it and you'll have to respect it.
