Anime: Shinseiki Evangelion

Part 1: A loving embrace

“Just...hang in there...” -Misato Katsuragi

Neon Genesis Evangelion is the 1995 classic and brainchild directed by the legendary Hideaki Anno. It is a juggernaut that garnered fame and influence by challenging art that came before, directly spawning a cornucopia of successors, some of whom managed to become success stories themselves. Few pieces of animation hold such an honor, and monumental works such as this have a ginormous presence in their medium’s landscape, regardless of the fact that each of these select few titles are still around today with new, if less well-received instalments gracing our screens.

Apart from what it became, Neon Genesis Evangelion is first and foremost, a brutally somber, touching, and emotional mech series that challenges the conventions of the genre. It is a story of broken people being thrust into a dangerous situation and forced to confront and harness things they don’t understand, such as their new biomechanical technology and even their own feelings and psychological hang-ups, in a desperate attempt to survive with their sanity in tact. It is horrifying to witness, managing to eradicate one’s heartstrings with such sheer understanding of what demented, somber, and lonely states of mind are being depicted here. Not only does it exhibit how these broken, alone, depressed, and scared people came to be the way they are, but it does something even more important: it tells us that everything will be ok if we make it.

It understands people. It encourages. It wants you to understand too. So, it shows a fraction of the desolate state its characters are in with its main character, fixes him, builds things back up and shows people adapting to their new lives and overcoming hardships, whilst slowly revealing, meticulously peeling the layers of everything out from under us. Then, it tells it all down systematically, dragging everyone through the mud and truly showcasing just how insecure these people are. It calls for and demonstrates introspection, and tells us that no matter what, we must live our lives and accept ourselves. We cannot have our perfect world, but we can try to have our perfect selves, our selves that we, above anyone else, understand and care about. Needless to say, it accomplishes all of this resoundingly and passionately. It was a loving work created by a depressed, mentally stressed director, a loving work crafted by a visionary who understood our pain, and entire teams in Gainax and Tatsunoko Production who sought to make his vision, his message, a reality.

Even with reuse of animation, the show still manages to do incentive things with it, take hold of that reuse, and channel it as a weapon for introspection. With oppressive, moody colors, brutal tones are set that wildly enhance how we are to feel in many scenes. Shots highlighting desolation and especially isolation from beginning to end, even when lingering for far longer than t needs to. The battles roar with intensity, especially in its mind-peeling, emotion-shattering second half. This roar rivals the roar of the Eva Units, fantastically designed bio-mechanical gods of death man hopelessly tried to wield and understand. These specimen who wield the machines, are as fantastically and iconically designed. Everything works in tandem to craft a surprisingly well-produced product on a canvas where anything, even raw emotion and madness are both possible, and allowed. It may cut abruptly on an insanely frequent basis, but such is merely a minor hitch that does little to impede on the visual splendor, especially once the show reaches its climax.

Each episode is accompanied by fantastic pieces from beginning to end that convey so much emotion, from pieces like “Rei I” that show a more desolate and disturbed feeling, to “Angel Attack”, which shows the severity and intensity of it all. By the show understands people, so it knows that bleakness is far from all there is, unlike many shows that are claimed to be mature. The piece “Misato” is the shining example of such music that accompanies the deceptively constant hilarity that ensues on occasion, with episodes such as 7 and 11 being the most predominant examples of this show’s sense of humor. Another shining example of this show’s range would be the triumphant piece “Nerv” that really sells the tense and roar-inducing impact of success after a deadly struggle that can nearly bring the planet to extinction. There are a myriad of other fantastic music pieces crafted for the show, courtesy of Shiro Sagisu. The incorporation of famous pieces of classical music works gloriously as well. Outside those, the show is embraced by fantastic music at the beginning and end. With the opening, “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” by Yoko Takahashi, you see an iconic piece of incredibly catchy music tailored to inspiring the main character to rise up. Whilst not a personal favorite, such an iconic song is commendable. However, with the ending theme, “Fly Me to the Moon” by Claire, a personal favorite in both television and full versions, we get a truly majestic and heartfelt melody, from the vocals to the string instruments, to the piano, and the lyrics. It is a majestic song, with all alternate renditions in the show being unable to replicate its beauty, even if a few, more instrumental versions come somewhat close to playing those heart strings.

Heart strings...emotions… all get played with immensely, particularly with the oft misunderstood cast. From the desolate and fragile Shinji Ikari who picks himself up when he needs to even when he runs away, to the insufferably egotistical and fragile Asuka Langley, and more, we receive a truly colorful cast. Misato Katsuragi, an absolute bundle of joy and comedy despite her ties to her father that make her connection to Shinji all the more powerful. Rei Ayanami, a constantly shaping conscious who seeks to release herself and wonder about life and death. The rest of the surprisingly fleshed out and grounded supporting cast of adults and each with their twistedly brutal moments and fates, such as Kaji, as well as others who are fortunate enough to survive seemingly contently. We have a fantastic high-school friend duo that has yet to be topped in Toji and Kensuke, the hilarious penguin Pen Pen, on top of the fantastic adults who remain grounded as they are unraveled piece by piece with foreshadowing littered throughout. We get a sense for who they are, why they are what they are, and who they like in what sense. No one is a monster despite how lovable or hateable they are, even Asuka and Gendo; everyone is complex human. The more we get to know them, the more we get to witness, the more we get to understand, even if we may forget the names of some of them, and loathe at least a few of them as people. Everything culminates into the end, into the ultimate, tragically, nay, criminally detested two-part finale of sheer introspection.

Said introspection is majestic. Even outside of how accidentally prophetic it became of terribly cliched school anime, the two part finale is a work of genius. It shows everyone tearing themselves apart as they unravel who they truly are, what their desires are, and everything that made them who they are. By the end, Shinji realizes that there are many possibilities in the word, and that the perfect world cannot be one of them. So, instead of trying to make a perfect world where he can be loved by all in a peaceful environment free of real pain, he should love himself, interact, take the chance and truly live. He should better himself and understand himself just like anyone else. He must embrace himself if he wants to be embraced. Everyone should strive to do the same.

The presentation of this introspection is raw, raw and seemingly scattered. Interwoven with so many other moments of characters digging within themselves with the help of their perceived versions of others, and with impeccably inventive use of other moments, cut together with new dialogue to match the disputation for the characters’ state of mind, much like prior episodes such as 16 and 22. It uses crayon drawings, pencil drawings, marker drawings, 8-bit pixel renditions of scenes, all to illustrate a point that Shinji finally realizes and accepts. It isn't a disaster of production, it is an understanding reach to pull out a realization and tell a message, in which it goes where no series has in terms of visuals. It does so wonderfully, sometimes with immense fluidity and transitions, other times with purposely jarring static moments with incredible shots, often cutting to one another in quick succession. It is the culmination of everything Evangelion. It is more human than most pieces of art could ever hope to be, and it deserves all the respect it can get.

It may be raw; it may be gut wrenching, it may showcase people who you cannot stand, it may try to get you to infer more than you should, and it may leave you floored with everything it does, particularly in the second half. From beginning to end, it grabs you by the wrist and rushes away with you to explore. It may be a tiresome watch, or an enthralling watch. It may leave you with questions that like it or not, are meaningless for most part, minus insignificant details and loose things that require the most adamant of searching to understand and accept. It may move too fast and just ram you with far too much at once, or leave you with just enough to stew over, for too long or long enough. No matter what, it wants to tell you something important and showcase hell, depravity, grief, denial, and sorrow to illustrate its point. It does so lovingly, shouting it loud with sheer understanding. Remember that, even if you take nothing else from the show.

With everything being said, thank you. Thank you for being there as I reach 100 reviews on this site. Thank you to everyone who ever read any of my content, especially those who enjoyed it and/or wanted to see me improve. Lastly, thank you, Neon Genesis Evangelion, not just for the lession, but for being so profound, so human, more than most works of art can dream of. I accept it all, and if you haven't done so already, now it's your turn. Accept its embrace; you'll get your closure soon.

See you in part 2.

I'm sorry, I just don't get it. This series has been hyped up so much, and is praised as one of the greatest anime ever made. So when I went to watch it, I was very excited.

Very rarely have I ever been so disappointed in a series. It was so damn BORING. I mean, I guess the fights were ok, but seriously, I was trying to find things to like about the series, and coming up with nothing. Even the characters were all unlikeable (with the exception of one or two). Rei was ok, but Shinji was annoying, and I utterly despised Asuka. I literally cared nothing for these characters or their fates, except for the ones I hated (like Asuka and Shinji's dad), who I simply wanted to die just so I wouldn't have to see them anymore. I had to force myself to keep going, thinking and hoping it would get better at some point.

Despite my dislike of it, I forced myself to push on, just so I could say that I had see it since, as an anime fan, it's pretty much a requirement for this series to be seen. But geez did I want this series to end. Especially the episodes towards the end. They dragged for for freakin' ever, even just killing time by replaying the same scenes over and over again. I swear, if I had to hear Asuka say "This isn't the real me!" one more time, I was going to put my fist through the screen. I was beyond relief when I finally finished.

Of course, I was aware that maybe it would have a different impact on me later. So 5 years after my first viewing of it, I gave it a second chance and watched it again. It was even worse the second time through, and no less boring. Seriously, what was it that people liked about this crap? Yeah, yeah, I've read reviews about the meaning and symbolism, yadda-yadda, all that nonsense, and I got/saw all that when I was watching. It still didn't stop me from being bored out of my mind.

This was one of the worst series I have ever seen, and having watched over 1000 series, that's REALLY saying something. It's not that this series just wasn't my cup of tea, it was boring garbage. I know I'm in the minority here, and I'm sorry, but I just don't get what's so great about it. I give it a 2/10, and that's me being generous.

Aprovecho que Netflix sacó hace poco la serie original, hablaré acerca de ella. Es complicado hablar de Evangelion por lo polarizada que es la opinión. Aparte del inmenso impacto que tuvo en el anime a nivel narrativo y comercial. Para que se hagan una idea, hizo que los estereotipos de chicas tsunderes y kuuderes y los fetiches como el incesto o la pedofilia se popularizasen, y que miles de animes copiasen para sumarse a su enorme popularidad y éxito. Y ya que no me gusta todo lo que ello conlleva al tratarse de pura mierda sexualizada para que los otakus sin vida social se sintieran felices mientras que expertos en marketing se burlan de ellos, acumulando su dinero, la serie no va sobre eso, por el contrario, va contra todo lo antes mencionado.

Evangelion es una deconstrucción de las historias de mechas que en medio mete comentarios sociales relacionados al estado de Japón durante los años 90’s junto a una enorme cantidad de estudio sobre personaje. Ya que en dicha época el país estaba en una crisis económica que dejó al estudio Gainax al borde de la quiebra, uno de sus dueños, Hideaki Anno, intentó salvar su empresa produciendo esta experimental serie, la cual en parte fue un desahogo emocional para la depresión que estaba pasando en ese momento. Y quien lo diría,fue un éxito rotundo que los llevó al pináculo de la popularidad.

Redireccionándome a la serie, he de decir que algunos aspectos son insatisfactorios. El uso de simbología religiosa no era mas que estético, cosa rara si tomamos en cuenta que bebe mucho de las religiones abrahamicas como el judaismo o el cristianismo, y que produjo un montón de sobre-pensamiento que no venía al caso y que muchos aspectos en la serie no fuesen bien explicados, como el origen de los Angeles o que la humanidad resulte ser un angel en sí. No es como en Xenogears, titulo muy parecido a la serie que sí desarrolla al máximo su aspecto religioso. Y como ya dije que la serie se olvida de explorar aspectos de su mundo, lo mismo ocurre con algunos personajes, salvo el cast principal, dejándolos al aire. Aparte de tener un ritmo algo lento en sus momentos intermedios.

Pero fuera de esos detalles es fenomenal. En ella se trata de explorar la mentalidad de cada uno de los personajes principales, los cuales son muchas veces odiados por razones estúpidas, dado a lo complejo y lleno de falencias que son. Pero esto solo los hizo mas humanos hasta el punto de la tridimensionalidad. En serio, nunca he visto un show con tantos personajes tridimensionales. El cast es muy variado y poseen también sus propias dinámicas y objetivos. Las dinámicas en Evangelion son peculiares, muchos personajes si se les analizan poseen problemas similares, pero en contextos distintos, reflejo de sus maneras en las que confrontan los problemas, lo que da paso a discusiones los unos de los otros, recalcandose sus errores, muchas veces proyección de los propíos y deshonestidades parecidas. Algo que remarca su complejidad. En varias ocasiones, la serie presenta simples detalles que de alguna manera reflejan la forma de ser que cada uno. Algo tan simple como una reacción de enojo, refleja mas del cast de lo que uno en principio creería

El mejor personaje es Shinji, obviamente. Es la antítesis de los protagonistas idealizados del nekketsu (shonen de peleas) y los mechas. Es un joven afeminado y sumiso con personalidad dependiente, sin iniciativa y que hace lo que le digan para que le den afecto. Algo muy reminiscence a la situación que muchos jóvenes en Japón poseen hoy por hoy, ese es el mensaje que carga consigo, criticar el comportamiento de los jóvenes de las nuevas generaciones en sociedades altamente distantes. Lo interesante de todo es que no es un saco de boxeo pese a la enorme responsabilidad que posee en sus manos, la de salvar el mundo de la extinción. Es un chico que si bien es abusado constantemente por su padre, puede llegar a ser egoísta y desinteresado, aparte de no querer afrontar la realidad cuando las cosas se tornan muy crudas y tristes, huyendo de esos problemas. Y fácilmente es uno de los mejores personajes de la historia. Al punto que ha influido en la creación de miles de clones de mierda suyo, ninguno tan bueno como él. Y miren que no he dicho sus problemas en su totalidad. Podría hacer paginas y paginas de porque es un excelente personaje.

Asuka es casi tan buen personaje como Shinji, y dado que su personalidad no es sumisa, es por muchos el personaje favorito de la serie. Es una egocéntrica fastidiosa que desea la atención de todos, producto a varios problemas que sufrió en su niñez. Y que está constantemente queriendo demostrar que es la mejor, lo que la lleva a odiar a todos los que le quiten la oportunidad de destacar, siendo el foco principal de tal odio, su compañero Shinji. Así que a diferencia de las miles tsunderes de mierda, Asuka posee una autentica razón para amar/odiar a Shinji. Y su actitud a lo largo de la serie es un refuerzo de dicha personalidad, la cual va a peor conforme avanza la trama, siendo mas inestable emocionalmente.

Rei es el personaje que más disgusto y pasión ha causado al público. El primer grupo se debe mas a su personalidad callada y alienada parecida a la de Lain Iwakura de Serial Experiments Lain, difícil de identificar como si fuese un avatar en vez de un personaje. El segundo grupo la aman por su diseño tan extravagante. Yo por mi parte, soy parte de un reducido tercer grupo que la considero excelente mas por su arco de personaje, el cual es el mas existencialista del cast. Al ser una chica que no sabe como interactuar con los demás, que tampoco sabe como expresarse emocionalmente y que de paso es reemplazable, cosa que le trae un profundo miedo y tristeza. Claro, nunca expresa propiamente dichas emociones, pero ese es el chiste, es una chica muñeca que quiere ser humana, sin saber como es uno.

Misato es la peor tutora que he visto en mi vida. Pero en esta ocasión eso significa algo bueno. Ya que usa a Shinji como un soporte emocional al sentirse sola y al no ser criada por su padre. Lo que la lleva a tener un comportamiento altamente sexual y erótico para atraer a los hombres. Aparte, es la que tiene la personalidad más fuerte frente a los inestables que mencioné antes (que no la dejan de ser inestable). Y que pasa a ser una mujer decidida que quiere saber que carajos pasa dentro de donde trabaja.

Gendo es por su parte un gran antagonista, si es que se le puede llamar así. Es un hombre que posee los mismos miedos de su hijo, sobre el sentimiento del abandono, y que por ello lo deja. Aparte de ser un sujeto intimidante por su personalidad callada, utilitaria y maquiavelica. Un tipo que podría matar a quien sea para alcanzar su desesperado objetivo.

El resto de los personajes son muy destacables. Ritsuko, Kaji, Toji son geniales. Cada un representan cosas interesantes que contrastan con los principales. Como los pleitos entre Ritsuko y Misato, uno mas logico y otro emocional, que convierte su amistad en desprecio mutuo, la que Kaji tiene con Misato y Asuka, al ser un símbolo de masculinidad que es muchas veces usado para reconfortarlas. Y toji, con su forma de actuar ante Shinji, de odio a amistad, al comprender sus problemas. El mas complicado de hablar es Kaworu. Es un enigmático angel, que se enamora de Shinji en poco tiempo. Su función es mas la de catalizar la inestabilidad mental de Shinji, al ser uno de los poco que le dio un poco de afecto. No tiene utilidad fuera de ello, es solo una herramienta argumental. Nada malo con ello, pero mostrar un romance tan rapido es extraño. Igual, la idea termina funcionando.

Como acabo cubrir a los personajes, hora de hablar de la trama. Es muy engañosa. Al inicio todo parece tu típica serie de super robots a lo mazinger Z. Llega un monstruo y los protagonistas deben derrotarlo. Por fortuna, la introducción posee el tono adecuado como para no caer del todo en esa típica premisa y plantea un conflicto muy gordo en los personajes. Lo que por consiguiente hace que la transición a depresiva no sea disonante. En la segunda mitad, la comedia y momentos felices del inicio son casi inexistentes. Los personajes se vuelven mas depresivos y enloquecidos al son del apocalipsis. Uno podría críticar el poco enfasis que se da al conflicto principal. Quiero decir, a quien carajos le interesa si el piloto esté a salvo, lo que importa es salvar el mundo. Los que lo ven de tal perspectiva, sin embargo, ignoran que ese es el chiste, como alguien que salva el mundo se sentiría o por que lo haría para empezar. Parte del mensaje va de ello, por qué en una situación así, alguien querría salvar un mundo que no da un carajo por tí cuando el resultado del fín será una utopia sin dolor ni problemas? A eso apunta la serie, que las personas no deben acobardarse de sus problemas y buscar escapar de ellas. En otras palabras, la serie te enseña a afrontarlos a como de lugar, antiescapismo puro y duro. Y si tomamos en cuenta la actualidad de Japón, en especial con los otakus, demuestra lo impotante de dar lecciones como estas. Mas cuando parecen que solo ven la serie porque Rei y Asuka están desnudas.

Eso me recuerda, un elemento que me impresionó de la serie y que las demas copias de Evangelion no han hecho bien es el manejo del contenido erotico o Fanservice. Como dije, hay un montón de innuendos y eufemismos sobre fetiches muy nocivos, pero te los pintan como algo negativo en lugar de que te pajees. Siendo parte del desarrollo de los personajes al pasar por una etapa de tensión sexual enorme y mostrar su falta de estabilidad mental.

Uno de los debates principales que a desembocado, es sobre sus finales. Ya que deja mucha mierda al aire, pero el show se defiende a ponerse experimental en cuanto al análisis psicológico del cast. Así que no es un desastre y en cierta forma si logra concluir los eventos del show. Lo mas criticable del mismo es su limitada producción, al usar escenas estáticas y carecer de movimiento casí en su totalidad. Por suerte nada de eso es malo debido a la profesional dirección de Anno, con el uso de simbolismos que reflejen los problemas de los personajes, visuales extravagantes, uso de efecto para disimular su bajo presupuesto, etc. Y si aún no les convence, pueden ver The End of Evangelion, que es una conclusión mas cerrada en contraste a la serie, aparte de estar magistralmente dirigida y animada. Tampoco es una obra maestra, al cargar con los mismos inconvenientes de la serie, para que dejen de preguntar porque no le dí 10/10, pero me estoy desviando.

Profundizando mas en la mencionada dirección, puedo decir que es una de las mejores que haya podido ver. Excelentes coreografías de batallas, uso de planos, manejo de elementos audiovisuales como el silencio, aprovechamiento de escenas estáticas (aunque algunas veces si son criticables), ilustración, decorados, diseño de mechas y personajes, manejo del color, ilusiones ópticas hasta la implementación de metáforas visuales que aprovechan para expresar como se sienten los personajes. todo es digno de su propio análisis.

En resumidas cuentas el show es una maravilla. El trato psicológico y comentario social son tan enriquecedores que se le pueden dar relevancia incluso hoy por hoy. Y ese grado de trascendencia es demasiado difícil de alcanzar. Con facilidad una de las mejores animaciones de la historia.

The anime was very predictable, especially towards the end. The characters were quite mediocre, even the main character was boring. The only ones I remember liking were a few such as Asuka, Rei and the girl with the glasses. Hikari, Asuka’s friend is a pretty cloying character and there’s nothing memorable about her background. Misato is always crying whenever that stupid Shinji is in danger! Though, they did seem to change and grow a bit as the series continued, and I began liking them a bit more but they still weren’t very good.

The English music that they put in was a bad idea. Almost all of the music weren’t memorable except for the theme song and the song that plays through most of episode 10. Fly To The Moon was too jazzy.

So, the anime was quite silly when I was on the earlier episodes but then it got better after what, episode 9? I loved how serious it had gotten, too.

There were a lot of inappropriate things such as showing a young girl’s boobs, language, and dirty stuff and I didn’t like it very much. I was thinking that it would probably be okay to show a pre-teen but it got disgusting. I remember not watching the anime when I was younger due to the inappropriateness it had. I guess it depends on the maturity levels and the child’s parents, but I’m sure most parents wouldn’t decide for their kids to watch this under 16.

The animation and art was good for its time, but sometimes it’s sloppy and blurry and the anime hasn’t aged well. I also didn’t like how they got simple drawings for the art like with the watercolor and other things.

Disappointed that all of the characters had flaws and the last few episodes weren’t good. I hope that the movies will be better and am willing to check them out when I get the time.

The English Dub was okay, I liked Asuka’s voice but sometimes, it got very whiny. So, I think the Japanese Sub seems a bit better to watch. The characters weren’t distinct possibly because of the English Dub, (I haven’t seen much of Japanese.).

Asuka is a great character and I’m hoping she’ll be loved for generations.

7/10

13+

Talking about NGE in an anime-context feels slightly like talking about Bible in church. We've all heard some stuff, some even read a bit, and there will always be folks who've read it all, and are knee-deep into whatever it is. But let me lay out my pleb's opinion on the matter, for the show, NGE, did appeal to me, did, so to say, speak to me, and I even thought a bit about it! Would be a waste not to at least try and put them down on a virtual paper.

Art & Animation

NGE is borderline gorgeous. Especially the first few episodes set the mood and quality of the show in a spectacular manner. The grey pallet is something we've seen before and after, many times even, yet there are details, hand-drawn details, great animation, intricate and unusual designs of most things appearing in the show, and, well, beautiful and epic action, explosions, shooting, cutting, dodging, choking, plenty of that.
It's great in design and great in execution, impaired only by its own state of incompleteness and some inconsistency. 9/10

Sound & Music

Save for, perhaps, the EDs this show has a really great and, what's very important, fitting soundtrack. BGm is moody, often with some mythical/mystical undertones, and it does a great job of enhancing the show's atmosphere. Voicework is, I dare say, on the same level, really. Characters scream convincingly (and none of these are "I'm badass!" kind of screams), voices full of pain. Pain is one of the things, I think, they wanted to show with this show.
eh, why not, 10/10.

Story & Characters

This is the hard part. NGE has several plotlines, all intertwined into one big thread, quite masterfully, I might add, until we reach the final third or so of the show, where pacing/budget constraints/confusion throws the delicate combination of its themes into turbo mode, squashing all subtlety and forcing things into where they might have ended up in if the show had proceeded normally. So, pacing is erratic. Let's take a look at these themes.

first off, we got hell of a world, a great crisis, orchestrated or prevented from the shadows, who's to say, and fearsome mystical enemies. Fortunately, we also have our own mystical tools to set against these enemies, and this is the first theme of the show - the fight against Angels. It's fought out there, with guns and explosions, and some strategic variety. arguably, it is this theme, which is the structural backbone that drags the show forward. There are a number of angels, they appear with some regularity and each serve to put an end to whatever was happening in between and perhaps cause some changes. changes in what?

characters? people? minds? souls? what is the second theme? in reviews, more informed than mine, one can read that NGE is a highly personal work of its director. This I believe. There's a certain amount of thought that has gone into these broken characters and what their struggles could show. Indeed, this is how I would label this second theme - an exploration of being human. Of course, it can only be done in a limited amount in an anime, but it is, I think, undeniably this. Show focuses on the few of its characters, what they go through and why they do this, but this exploration of individuals try to point to wider qualities and structures, found in all men. Just like in psychoanalysis, from which this show seems to borrow very heavily, it is the borderline cases, the extreme thresholds at which the normal mechanisms of humanity (or whatever, really, in wider scientific context) reveal themselves. Analysis of a broken man reveals us how he is broken and what impairment does this cause.

this second theme - exploration of humanity - also explains a lot about the characters and why they are the way they are. if at first the show presents a wide array of personalities and aspects to these personalities, then as it goes on it all clashes down to the broken corners of the people in the show. this reveals the biggest fault of the show, too eagerly does the nearby ending, nearby finale force everyone into their ultimate broken forms to fully reveal the cases so fitting for studying human mind and reflecting about it. it's show's biggest fault - the crashing of personalities, yet it's also something that would have probably happened, given more time to fully crash and burn, however, I would've appreciated for this development or, rather, revelations to actually have been there. but it does a quick job of it, and, well, that's quite sad, really.

characters themselves, as broken as they are, are still quite excellent. save for a few fanservice episodes and personalities they are (at least, most of them) with multiple aspects to them, most of them non-trivial, even though often quite wtf. I can't agree with the results of the case studies made of these characters, but they definitely do have some depth. indeed, without that this show would not have worked at all.

8/10 for the broken, but ambitious plot.
9/10 for the broken, but interesting characters.

two different sense of broken, I think.

Value & Enjoyment

NGE's value, no, rather, influence is undeniable. Everybody knows or at least has heard of it. Those who have seen will find it quite hard to forget. I myself have seen it three times now, I think. It is definitely an ambitious and interesting piece, so it has value at least for that. For its historical influence, well, the value ramps up quite a bit. If you haven't seen it, then it's, well, like I said, bible of anime? that makes it sound unnecessary boring. 9/10 value (it's still broken).
8/10 enjoyment, I liked it a lot, but it could have been quite a bit better.

and now, onto the end of evangelion.

*Note: This is an archive from my Anime-Planet account*

Critic's Log: Earthdate - May 16, 2012. Review #3: Neon Genesis Evangelion

In the Year 2000, a disastrous event known as "The Second Impact" occurs. Antarctica has been destroyed and half of the human race has been annihilated. Gee! That is sure a way to start a new millennium. 15 years later (which is where the story begins) The Angels arrive. Shinji Ikari is summoned by his father who requests Shinji to pilot a giant mechanical humanoid known as the Evangelion...

I don't even think I need to say any more about the plot, because I think that most of the Otakus in the world know what the story is about. It is a very popular anime in Japan and America and maybe other countries. It is also a very controversial one at that.

With that said, I will give my case on this puzzling thriller. The show may have a following, but I hope what I say what is bad about the show may not piss everyone off. I like this anime, but I think the show has its strengths and weaknesses. So, without further ado... I will state my case about this classic anime known as Neon Genesis Evangelion.

CASE 1: The Story and it's themes

I will say that the direction of the story on its first few episodes is great. I like that the first episode gives the main character an introduction while not saying too much about him. I found the direction unique still at first. However the direction of the story isn't consistent at all. It jumps from giving out a unique start, then it turns into Robot vs. Monster episodes and when the show gets into its last third, it then jumps into a complex and Psychological direction mixed into action packed episodes. The direction is kind of a mess, the pacing is consistent, but it's still interesting to watch. if there is any themes that I think worked for the show was some of the religious symbolism and even some of the philosophical ideas such as The Hedgehog's dilemma and even existentialism themes such as Individuality, consciousness, freedom, choice, and responsibility, and hell... even some Freudian tropes are thrown in too. If there is anything that doesn't seem right is that it attempts to use these themes and play it along like it's trying to make Evangelion a smart anime. This anime will guarantee a high re-watch value, but it may still be confusing to understand. The use of the themes portrayed in the show however may not work for some.

CASE 2: The Animation, is it really a work of art?

This is a bit of a mixed bag to talk about. The animation for the show is what you would expect from a mid-90's anime. It is old but it still looks great... Actually, I may have to take that comment back at some point because there are some problems with the animation in the show. Gainax was under quite a budget during the making of Evangelion. This resulted in certain scenes being recycled, some scenes that are barely moving, and also led to the often criticized and mostly loathed final two episodes.

I don't think I even need to bring up these final episodes, but I will...

The final two episodes of this show confused and alienated the fans of the show. It kind of made no sense, the animation was poor and it feels like you are being slapped in the face. Is the animation good at this point? Hell no! Was it mostly good in the long run? hard to say, but its decline in quality really did hurt the show at the time. It should be noted that this ending takes place in Shinji's mind which I guess this theory would support the defense of this ending but is worth seeing but I won't guarantee you'll want to rewatch it unless you actually liked the ending.

CASE 3: The Voice Actors

The subtitled version is very well casted; the English dub is a bit off in some areas. You can't really go wrong with subs here. Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Yuko Miyamura, Kotono Mitsuishi, and other cast members of the show really nailed their roles perfectly well. The dub may vary your mileage here. Spike Spencer is very well known for voicing Shinji. I have heard better from him, I did not like his performance in the dub. Tiffany Grant is mostly "Wunderbar" as Asuka, Amanda Winn-Lee is hit and miss as Rei, and Tristan MacAvery as Gendo was pretty good. Most of the cast members of the dub are hit and miss. The English cast during the Director's Cut episodes does have some slight cast changes. I am in more favor of the subtitled version than the dub. I have seen the entire dub and I might as well point out that the dub does take a little getting to used to and I'll give Amanda Winn-Lee and Matt Greenfield some credit for improving the dub little by little. Also, There is a Easter egg on the 7th Platinum Edition Volume and it's pretty damn funny...

CASE 4: The Music

The music is composed by Shiro Sagisu; you may have heard his name in another popular anime known as Bleach. I love the soundtrack of Evangelion. It still sounds good today. I do like the use of classical music that was used for the show, even though the use of "Hallelujah" was used when Asuka was being mind-raped. But Episode 24 has the most epic use of Ode To Joy. It is still awesome. If only the show included Mahler's Eighth Symphony or Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra, then it will be ten times more awesome. Air is in The End of Evangelion, but that's not what I am reviewing yet. Air is another good classical song. Another strong point of the music is its opening theme. A Cruel Angel's Thesis has been regarded as one of the greatest anime openings ever made and it is extremely hard not to like, the lyrics may not fit the show but this one has a place with a lot of otakus. This is also the first anime opening I have seen in my life, so I have fond memories with this opening. It was great back then and it has aged well.

CASE 5: The Characters, (A.T. Field Full Power)

Another thing that may vary your mileage in this show may be the characters themselves, Shinji Ikari is a mixed bag, and you either sympathize with him because he is anxious about his current position or you loathe him because he doesn't want to pilot a giant robot in order to save mankind thus making him a pussy. Of all the things I have seen in that show. I have observed that he has problems. I do feel sorry for the position he is currently in but he really needs to grow a pair of balls, drop them, and fight like a man. Some people find Rei one-dimensional, I almost could say that, but I like her mysterious personality. Asuka really made the show entertaining. Misato is an interesting case, Gendo is sort of badass LIKE A BOSS! (he might be slightly one-dimensional, but he was kind of alright), Kaji was cool, and Kaworu deserved more screentime instead of only appearing in one episode. Speaking of Kaworu, we all know the gay overtones and speculation between Shinji and Kaworu, all thanks to this scene I have here.

Anyway, some characters are great, some just need to be developed a little bit more.

CASE 6: Hideaki Anno... What makes him a unique director?

Let me inform you of the anime director that made an interesting innovative move to the mecha genre. It seemed to be just a mecha anime but Hideaki Anno deconstructs the mecha genre into a character study rife with psychological analysis, religious references, social commentaries, and explorations of themes such as societal alienation, depression, and the repressive pain of human subjectivity. If what I said goes way over your head, then I apologize. Some otakus have seen this approach out of the ordinary, unprecedented, and revolutionary. After its success, many anime producers have created shows with a similar approach. This is the anime that has defined Anno-san's career. Back then he suffered through personal battles of depression at the time Evangelion was being created and that directly inspired the themes for this anime. This anime has also led quite an impact for animes to come.

CASE 7: Why Am I writing reviews?

I really have a knack for critiquing stuff and I have fun doing that. I have such a passion for the arts whether its literature, art, animation, music, you name it. the reason I chose to review anime is because not every single anime is perfect and I like to pinpoint what's good and bad about some animes with some constructive criticism. Critiquing anime has been a hobby of mine for a while and I still enjoy this hobby. With that said, this is kind of pointless to the review and you probably already noticed that I am sort of making fun of the crappy final 2 episodes of the show already, and I really don't want to say this but...

CONGRATULATIONS

This anime was available by ADV films and was out of print for sometime until Section23 Films rescued this anime. The two follow up movies, Death and Rebirth, which is a recap and teaser for the next movie, The End Of Evangelion (which either replaces the final two episodes or contemplates the final two episodes) were also available by Manga Entertainment. They are unfortunately out of print unless someone rescues it. The manga adaptation of the same name by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto is available from Viz Media, Spinoff mangas such as Angelic Days, Shinji Ikari Raising Project, and Campus Apocalypse are also available from Viz Media. A remake series which is notably called The Rebuild Of Evangelion is available from Funimation, at the time I am doing this review, Only 2 movies have been released.

With all that said, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a very unique series that has some interesting ideas but it is a difficult show to understand which gives Neon Genesis Evangelion a huge rewatch value. It does have animation problems, but has some great action scenes, This is definitely for Sci-fi buffs out there and this was my gateway to anime. I find this anime overrated to an extent but It is still a classic. It is a must see but I can't guarantee that it is a must-love.

I give Neon Genesis Evangelion a 8.5 out of 10. It is VERY GOOD!

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