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Neon Genesis Evangelion tv Review

Shinji Ikari's father is the head of a company called NERV. This company uses giant mecha (called EVAs) to fight against an opposing threat to Earth: Angels.

Throughout the 26 episodes and two movies, Shinji teams up with other 14-year-olds his age: Rei Ayanami, the quiet blue-haired girl who pilots Eva 00; Asuka Langley Soryu, the fiery red-headed girl who pilots Eva 02; Kaworu Nagisa, the boy who pilots Eva 03; and Toji Suzuhara, who pilots Eva 04. They all fight to save the world day after day in an epic story with twists and turns throughout the series.

Story & Characters

Neon Genesis Evangelion is hailed by many as the single most revolutionary anime series ever to come out of Japan. This is one of those once in a lifetime stories that comes along where you may either LOVE or HATE the series. There is no middle ground. Whether you love or hate Evangelion, one cannot deny the deep underpinnings of the story which take their roots in the religion of Kaballah. If you don't understand this religion, Evangelion will make little sense. It is most certainly a brave new attempt at making anime mature, and there is no doubt that its influence on all anime series thereafter was profound. Exactly how brave Evangelion wants to be is speculative, since there is actually such a thing as overambition. Let me explain.

Neon Genesis Evangelion covers the story of a young insecure boy, Shinji, an obnoxious co-pilot, Asuka, a coalescent biogenic clone of Shinji's mother and another sentient intelligence called Lillith (Adam's first wife in the Kaballah faith) in the form of a cynical young girl named Rei Ayanami, his estranged father, Gendo, and an emotionally beleaguered technical analyst, Misato. They, along with several other secondary cast members are employees of an elite organisation called NERV which is responsible for staving off attacks from 13 "angels". These angels are alien-like beings which materialize on an event horizon they call an AT field which terrorize Tokyo-3. The angels are giant monstrosities akin to the monsters of Godzilla notoriety. The machines used by the pilots, Shinji, Asuka and Rei, are of similar size, (skyscraper height) and duke it out with these angels in the midst of the city from episode to episode. These machines however, hold a particular secret that is cleverly hidden until the closing moments of the saga.

How the story is actually fleshed out follows the premise of the Kaballah faith succinctly. How it is actually done has got to be the most painful adaptation I have ever watched. The drama is excessive and some characters are a bit too annoying (Shinji whines too much!!! My God!) Additionally, boatloads of unnecessary self-inquisition is performed by the main characters, in lengthy half hour long periods of trance-like disembodiment - making the journey to the end of the series even more painful than it needs to be. If all they were trying to do was science fictionalize the Kaballah religion, the first 22 episodes would have been sufficient. The movie and the last 4 episodes could have been cut short to two episodes completing the saga at 24. It was a decent concept to use a religion as the basis for an anime series. However, the wanton and indiscriminate use of pointless philosophical self-introspective transitionary periods were highly unnecessary, and contributed absolutely nothing to the plot or the story. Furthermore, the fact that this is yet another giant mecha anime doesn't little to separate it from the flock. This significantly detracted from what could have been the greatest anime series ever conceived.

As I said before, Evangelion's braveness is speculative, since aimless overambition can ruin a perfectly good concept.

Rating: 6

Art

Evangelion is dated by today's standards, which in many cases use Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) to significantly enhance the scenery and main characters. However, looking back at it today, it is still a magnificently drawn anime. At the time of its release, it definately surperceeded virtually all anime series around at that time - with the exception of Cowboy Bebop, which is undoubtedly the best hand drawn anime series of all time.

Evangelion's artists spent a great deal of time ensuring that their characters were realistic in appearance (at least for the standard during 1997). They eased off the caricatures significantly, keeping the mood light where it needs to be, but not too light where you wouldn't take the anime seriously. The artwork on the evas is also quite decent - however, the colouring of the machines still lends itself only to a child's imagination. The animation is of an unnaturally higher standard. No wonder each episode took so long to be released.

Lots of shading, lens flares, digital colour grading and light refraction in and around the cityscape give an unnerving sense of realism and hollywood production value to the scenery. Frequent use of water effects around the city give a sense of the heat emissions in and around the machines. Special credit must be given to the "used universe" texture that is frequently employed in close up shots of machinery. It's not the typical shiny "brand-new" polished look and feel that many mecha anime's love to abuse so wantonly. You get the impression that these machines have been used in the past. That's realism right there.

However, the artwork is not flawless. Most of the "angels" which attack the Geofront don't really give me a good sense of believability. They seem more like an excuse to have something ugly to defeat. Some angels are no doubt well textured, but the majority require a greater suspension of belief.

There are painful moments in the series (with particular respect to the movie and the last two episodes) where the audience is bombarded with random hypnotic sequence of images, some drawn, some videotaped, some photographed. The ending of this series is no doubt what really ruins many of the things that was so great about it. These sequences do more to annoy the senses and put one to sleep than to accentuate the unnecessary philosophical underpinnings that the writers sought to bring to the fore. I have a very hard time forgiving the animators for this, because the series was doing so well right up until the movie's release.

The artwork is definitely top notch - not perfect, but top notch non the less. Even if it looks a bit dated by today's standards, it is definitely an anime that was drawn with a lot of love. Detailing on the cityscape and the wider environment really makes for a good visual experience.

Rating: 8

Sound

The musical accompaniment here is standard issue hollywood bowl type cinematic fodder. With that said, it does fit the precedings nicely. It's not hard to imagine Evangelion beoming a blockbuster Hollywood Sci Fi Trilogy. The only problem is that this giant robot thing has been done to death, and no matter how well constructed the musical score is (or even the story for that matter), the American audience is not as forgiving as those to the east.

What I will tell you however is that the sound effects are way up there. Very well articulated sound effects complement every battle and siege with Jerry-Brukenheimer blockbuster precision. What really impressed me was the fantastically recorded ambient sounds around the scenery being presented at any point in time. There is the humm of powerlines, the random chirps of birds and chikadees, the dull roar of the oceanscape, the random seagull here and there, the thundering of buildings being demolished by giant machines, all mixed up with shattering glass, snapping wood, buckling concrete and the roar of explosive shockwaves through the city. VERY well done. The sound presentation is top notch. Even by today's standards.

However, it's hard to beat out the sound editing featured in hot titles today such as Naruto. Evangelion doesn't employ the use of sorround sound in the truest sense (perhaps the remastered DVDs might). Furthermore, Evangelion doesn't manipulate sound to achieve a dramatic effect, as does FMA and Naruto. However, Evangelion's sound presentation immerses you in an environment, and gives you front row seats to Tokyo-3 as though you were actually there. That's what makes it so fantastic on the ears.

Rating: 8

Presentation

Evangelion's sequential science fiction adaptation of the Kaballah faith has its strengths and weaknesses. I will briefly highlight them here:

Strengths:
- The sound was definitely the best of its time, when this release came out in 1996/97
- The artwork has since been superceded by more modern titles, but still stands on its own as a labour of love
- The storyline is one of the most sophisticated (if not the most convoluted) ever crafted
- It is not all about giant robots. There is a significant dramatic ensemble here. Academy award worthy.
- The plot is not quite as simplistic as a first time viewer might think.
- The first japanimé to introduce true philosophical depth to a story

Weaknesses:
- Few anime titles have dared to tackle philosophy and get away with it. Eva is not one of them, unfortunately
- While the plot is wickedly thick, it may be a bit too thick for its own good. It is brutally hard to follow.
- The story is not readily understandable, and requires external religious understanding of the Kaballah faith.
- Most people do not appreciate brain rape. Eva is not an anime to watch for pure empty entertainment.
- The final moments of the saga try too hard to make a simplistic concept seem unnecessarily complex.
- The saga changes genre several times, at one point being an action sci-fi fare, another a philosophical drama
- Philosophy should never be tied to giant robots - unless there is a perfectly good reason for it.

In this case, the reason is not strong enough. Sure the presentation value is a standard that is difficult to beat on realistic terms. But script writers have to be careful that their scripts aren't too complicated or unnecessarily diverse, since all that will remain is a confused audience who will be certain of two things:

1. What they just saw was incredibly deep and intense, BUT...
2. They're not quite sure why.

Evangelion is a great Anime. No doubt about it. But titles like Rahxephon and Gundam Seed achieve similar depth and maturity without being unnecessarily convoluted and complex. Furthermore, these two titles, which are also about giant mecha, do not sacrifice entertainment value for story. They maintain a certain balance that even the ubiquitously overambitious Evangelion failed to achieve. Evangelion tried too hard to be the ultimate anime, while sacrificing a lot of its entertainment value in the process. No anime should sacrifice entertainment for any reason. That just defeats the purpose of watching anime in the first place.

Rating: 7

Final Verdict

7.0000 (above average)

Reviewed by Xenjin, Oct 21, 2004

Comments

DeltaSniperZ Nov 02, 2004

I thought this was a great series except for the few episodes towards the end. it was just plain weird and not to mention confusing.
Ilona Nov 05, 2004

Well I would say first that I've missed the first eps, so I had been thinking but some "mysteries" were explained at the beginning... I haven't found interesting the usual eps, and it was just the ending that make it for me so special... even if I don't like Evangelion... but I don't dislike it either.

A little like MKR that was supposed to be a well-known manga, and I was really puzzled by its success... and well I think I'll add you to my friendlist (well I should at least too learn how to use it).
keitaro-kun Nov 07, 2004

i would say that NGE is a revolutionary anime that cought my eye. i like it only cause it had good story and drama as well but just that i didnt really get the plot. there were many holes in it that couldnt be filled in cause i didnt know many things (which i am not going to post).
Icarus Nov 08, 2004

At the begenning fo the story this anime seems to be promising, the part i prefer starts at the 10 episode, but the end is too confused for me ^_^'
larcencielle Nov 15, 2004

For all those who give NGE a score less than 9 are always the ones who don't understand the series completely. It is meant for much older audiences, probably 18+ (the show doesn't have any hentai scenes, just 1 or 2 ecchi scenes. don't worry ^_^).

nge is the type of show that requires the audience to watch it over and over again to grasp the true theme and meaning of the show. On the surface, it's just another Gundam-type anime with cool robots and hot characters. But it's much more than that; as the story progresses, we find more about the character's past and emotions and they actually develop, unlike other robot genre animes.

I first watched this anime when it came out in 1995. I was about 10 years old back then and started renting the VHS from our local store. Of course it was dubbed and censored, but it still retained the core of the main story. The first impression? Awesome robots. That was the only reason I kept watching this series back then.

After almost 10 years, I watched it again and boy, what a difference it made on my impression of the series. The character depth and development is superb and flawless and the story, u no I don't even have to mention it (it's THAT good).

i think the main point lots of people are missing from this series is that they want to see how the series actually ends in the perspective of outer layer (that, being robots and the fighting scene...etc). Anno Hideaki, the director of the series, actually made this series in hopes of showing his psychological and emotional conflict that he had and slowly reveal how he came to solve his problem. To achieve the full understanding of the director's intentions, we have to concentrate on the development and emotions of the characters, not robots using huge guns to blast away angels. Only then, people will realize that this anime is different from others. Only then, people will understand the true potential of this series. Only then, people will realize that this anime has changed their lives, as it did for me.
leeca Nov 28, 2004

i love Evangelion ! The 9th manga is out for a week, i have jumped on other to have it !! lol

did you seen Evangelion movies ? i think it's disapointed because the anime is really great but it's not a shame eihter ^^
GaiJiN Dec 23, 2004

Wow, I think it's the first quite objective review of Eva that I see XD ! Great review, very well written !
I love this serie so much that I think you were really harsh, but I have to agree on most points ( and I'm not one of those hardcore fans who would kill you for this score :P).
Hum, about the "unnecessarily complexity", that's Hideaki Ano's way to do, you're right it sacrifices entertainment value, but not for everyone. And I don't think you should compare Rahxephon and Gundam Seed to Evangelion the way you do, in entertainment value sure ( actually Rahxephon is my all-time fav ), but for obvious reasons not in "depth and maturity" ( I don't say one is deeper than another, I just think you can't compare because the themes are completely different).
And about the:
1. What they just saw was incredibly deep and intense, but...
2. They're not quite sure why.
You're right, a few shows are like that, but I would add
3. There is no absolute answer, but if you found your own answer after watching the show many times, then the show was definitely great, at least for you ^^.
Yes, the script isn't meant to be liked by a large audience, but I think it's a good thing the Gainax script writers work not only to sell ( the weird thing is that actually a lot of people like this serie, but not for what it is, good for Gainax though ^^ ).
Thanks for the review, it was really interesting to read! ( and please excuse the crappy english >_< ).
Xenjin Dec 26, 2004

Thank you for your commentaries! :)

i have a few comments. First let me ask a simple question:

Why do we watch Anime? In fact, why do we watch movies or any other kind of entertainment?

It's all good to make a story that is profound. Nothing is wrong with that. So long as nothing is detracted from the quality of the series or the ideas that the film makers try to convey. All of that is great. The reason why I gave Evangelion a low score for the story, is not because of the story in itself, but for the following reasons:

1. Execution
2. Execution
3. Execution

It's great to have a fantastic story. Evangelion had a great story - what killed the rating is the EXECUTION. In other words, how the story was demonstrated to the audience. One of the biggest problems with entertainment pieces that have deep and mature themes is that the filmmaker doesn't quite know how to tell his story so that it is clearly understood. I won't give a story a poor rating because I don't understand it - that's immature and childish. If I didn't understand it, I would not have reviewed it, nor would I have mentioned the Kaballah religion (from which it is based - each 'Angel' that attacked the GeoFront is taken directly from the Kaballah faith) - for the risk of sounding like an idiot or worse, unprofessional.

Compare and contrast: Full Metal Alchemist

This was a truly deep and Profound story, both in the content and in the Execution. FMA was no more deep than Eva. But 99% of the people who watched FMA understood it right off the bat. That same number did not understand Eva right off the bat. Can you see the difference? In fact, I'd daresay that in addition to it's already deep plotline, the final two episodes of FMA offered a rather unexpected plot twist that I've never before seen in an Anime! (and I've been watching anime from 1983!) - but I wasn't confused, nor almost everyone else I knew who saw the series! Now THAT'S how you tell a story!

A good story is not one that is so deep that you don't know how to tell it clearly. What's the point of having a deep story if you can't tell it clearly? That defeats the very purpose of having a deep story in the first place! Evangelion had a great story, one of the very BEST in Anime history. But the film maker chose a route that required too much inference. I shouldn't want escapism from the very thing I use to achieve escapism!

Remember, entertainment is your first objective. You can illustrate a very DEEP and mature storyline without confusing too many people. It's not impossible! I don't believe that a piece of entertainment should sacrifice the very thing it was designed to do, so as to bring a deeper theme. That's called poor planning.

...the worst thing any story teller can do is to loose their audience...

- j.r.r. Tolkien, author, Lord of The Rings Trilogy

Again, I truly appreciate your comments, critiques and opinions! I respect each and every single one and I love reading them. So keep them coming!
aceman67 Feb 20, 2005

Very well written review.

I do have a few issues with it though.

You can't compare Anime that was made now-a-days with anime made in the past, that is compleately unfare. Evangelion is an anime that has left its mark in the anime world, and will continue on long after FMA and others have been put aside.

The art work in Evangelion is some of the best I have ever seen (and have yet too see).

Sure, Compluter Generated stuff is neat, and pretty to look at, but you have to think about the work that went behind Evangelion. All of it was hand drawn, inked, colored, then animated. It was alos one of the Last animes to use hand painted backgrounds, which in my opinion, are works of art that stand on their own. While computers streamline the process, it also takes the effort out of making good art.

And to say that the sound wasn't as good as today's anime because it wasn't in surround is unfare. Evangelion was made during a time when the tools were either not avliable, or to expensive to use. Today, those tools are avliable, and cheap. Concidering the good job they did with the tools they had, you have to get them more credit then you did.

One last thing. You can't compare Full Metal Alchemist to Evangelion. That would be like comparing Dogs and cats. They are two compleately different genre's and aimed at two different age groups.

Do I sound Biased, mabey, but I just though that I should voice my opinion.
gatts Feb 26, 2005

Just a few comments... please don't take it personally.

First, you have provided a thorough review of the anime, and for that you are to be congratulated. As you've mentioned before, apparently, you either love or hate the series, and that there is no middle ground. That said, with your review, you were apparently trying to hit some middle ground... eventhough it kinda seemed you were really more on the negative... and that you were trying your best not to cloud your objectivity.

Comparing Evangelion with newer animations in terms of technical aspects is a definite no-no. That's like saying Macross, LoGH, and other classics had a LOT of problems with their video rendering and sound quality (which obviously will not be in 5.1 surround).

Comparing Evangelion with newer anime in terms of story and theme is barely acceptable too. Take RahXephon (2002) for example... most reviews actually compare it back to NGE as being a "evangelion done right" or "evangelion with better ending" miniseries. But you'll never see NGE reviews being compared to RahXephon... simply because it was made after nge... which gave it the advantage of seeing Eva's downfall.

Personally, I think Eva's series ending was acceptable, but the End of Evangelion movie kinda ruined everything. The series ending MAY be confusing and MAY leave the viewers with a thousand burning questions, which D:R & EoE barely tried to answer... but I think sometimes a cliffhanger ending can be a positive thing. Take Cowboy Bebop for example... do we really know what happened to Spike? You can say the same thing for NGE (minus the movies). You can create your own fantastic ending if you want since you didn't see the alternate ending provided by EoE.

Some people really do think Eva's deep... but it's really not. The theme is simple... and the device employed to bring the theme to the viewers was elaborate... which probably confused the hell out of them. If you really take in everything that was said from the first episode... down to the last... you won't have to repeat it just to get the idea. And you don't need religious information too.

For the people who don't like using their brains while watching, then I suggest Shounen-type animes. But then again, you can still watch Eva, just don't think. Enjoy the few "mecha" fight scenes, and feel good about yourself knowing that Shinji probably knows less about Eva... and that he's such a wimp for using lines like "i mustn't run away!"... wait a minute... Ayato Kamina and Akito Tenkawa said those words too!!! Must have something to do with being pilots of giant robots.

At any rate, just my personal comments. No offense intended... if ever someone felt offended.
oujiro Apr 03, 2005

Really this serial is the best, because, the history is perfect I like very much...
I'm in love of Asuka (MY LOVE forever) I hate Gendo Ikary (shine maldito) I'm Touji jejeje Evangelion Renewall Is Better Than The Normal 'cause... is the best
KireiLee Apr 27, 2005

Out of all the anime that we own ( which is alot) I would have to say that NGE is one of the top anime's that I would watch or read. We managed to get our hands on the original ( all 27 episodes) and I tell you what it may have been a bit creepy at the end but it was great. The fact that Shinji picked Asuka was just.......................... well weird. If I had the chance to only pick one person to stay with forever ( out of the anime characters in NGE) I haven't the foggiest clue who I would have picked.
Well ya'll have a great day
Kurapikt Apr 30, 2005

the one of my favorite anime serie...
i love ikari shinji ^^
Wapy May 11, 2005

I've loved it! I've seen all episodes! :)
uchiha-saori May 28, 2005

Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the best! It truly is a work of art both in plot and art... I consider it as a wonderful masterpiece... I am one of evangelion's greatest fans! Oh, by the way, ayanami rei rocks!!!

ayanami_ami
Modi Jun 24, 2005

for all that simply do not understand please visit http://www.anime-archive.net/eva/index.php?load=analysis
theusedone Jun 25, 2005

evangelion is the best anime, i have every single one of them on dvd, im just that cool
amnion Jul 12, 2005

someone saw the films?unfotunately I didn't...in italy u can't find them!!!aaah!!
Ezekiel Aug 03, 2005

You know, I wasn't going to review Eva because almost everyone has seen it before... but then, it's really depressing to think that this review might convince someone that it depicts what is going on in the show. A quick glance through makes me feel as if you didn't like the show (which is okay) and then tried to explain why using inane logic. I just... I dunno, man. I know it's not okay to argue on the internets, but tearing this apart feels good. A quick burst of points:

(Shinji whines too much!!! My God!)
Wow, let's consider what you or I might do when put under unbeleiveable amounts of pressure. Let's see... Rei blocks her emotions out, Asuka gets angry, and Shinji... whines? Is that some kind of symbolism? Realism?

Evangelion tried too hard to be the ultimate anime, while sacrificing a lot of its entertainment value in the process. No anime should sacrifice entertainment for any reason.
No. This logic would imply that authors should stop writing books with a message or thematic elements because entertainment is more important than message.

How the story is actually fleshed out follows the premise of the Kaballah faith succinctly.
You then go on to explain how you felt that things were to drawn out, while in the same paragraph. Also, this sentence doesn't make sense.

Whether you love or hate Evangelion, one cannot deny the deep underpinnings of the story which take their roots in the religion of Kaballah.
Kaballah is not a religion. Judaism is a religion.

This is one of those once in a lifetime stories that comes along where you may either LOVE or HATE the series. There is no middle ground.
7/10 is a middle ground.

Furthermore, the fact that this is yet another giant mecha anime doesn't little to separate it from the flock.
If I have one black sheep in a flock of white ones- you're right, the fact that it is a sheep doesn't do much to seperate it from the flock. The fact that it's black, however, does. You then go on to hammer this point home for the rest of the article using overly grandoise language for no apparent reason.

Exactly how brave Evangelion wants to be is speculative/Evangelion tried too hard to be the ultimate anime
Self-contradiction and too much personification for me to handle. Oh, and are you going to back this up with historical context? Let's crib from Wikipedia for a moment.

Anno's next project was the anime TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion, (1995–1996), which has ultimately gone on to be one of the most influential anime works ever, championing a return to traditional anime drawing styles and themes and taking them to new heights of precision and depth. During the show's production, Anno rejected the hermetic otaku lifestyle he had been living, considering it a form of forced autism. For this and other reasons, Evangelion's plot became increasingly dark and psychological as the series progressed, despite being broadcast in children's television timeslot. Anno felt that people should be exposed to the realities of life at as young an age as possible, and by the end of the series all attempts at traditional narrative logic were abandoned, the final two episodes being a kind of bad trip taking place inside the head of the main character. The show did not garner high ratings at its initial timeslot, though it was soon moved to a later, more adult-oriented venue and became exceptionally popular throughout Japan.

I think this is less of an attempt to be 'brave' and more of an attempt to 'not to sink into terminal depression'

Evangelion's sequential science fiction adaptation of the Kaballah faith has its strengths and weaknesses. I will briefly highlight them here:
No. If we were trying to see a version of the Kaballah faith, we would have been closer with the Passion of the Christ.

There are other hilarious logical logjams in this article, but honestly a thorough explaination of all of the things I felt were wrong with this article would take kind of a long time. I'm just going to have to write another one. =/
Ezekiel Aug 03, 2005

You know, I wasn't going to review Eva because almost everyone has seen it before... but then, it's really depressing to think that this review might convince someone that it depicts what is going on in the show. A quick glance through makes me feel as if you didn't like the show (which is okay) and then tried to explain why using inane logic. I just... I dunno, man. I know it's not okay to argue on the internets, but tearing this apart feels good. A quick burst of points:

(Shinji whines too much!!! My God!)
Wow, let's consider what you or I might do when put under unbeleiveable amounts of pressure. Let's see... Rei blocks her emotions out, Asuka gets angry, and Shinji... whines? Is that some kind of symbolism? Realism?

Evangelion tried too hard to be the ultimate anime, while sacrificing a lot of its entertainment value in the process. No anime should sacrifice entertainment for any reason.
No. This logic would imply that authors should stop writing books with a message or thematic elements because entertainment is more important than message.

How the story is actually fleshed out follows the premise of the Kaballah faith succinctly.
You then go on to explain how you felt that things were to drawn out, while in the same paragraph. Also, this sentence doesn't make sense.

Whether you love or hate Evangelion, one cannot deny the deep underpinnings of the story which take their roots in the religion of Kaballah.
Kaballah is not a religion. Judaism is a religion.

This is one of those once in a lifetime stories that comes along where you may either LOVE or HATE the series. There is no middle ground.
7/10 is a middle ground.

Furthermore, the fact that this is yet another giant mecha anime doesn't little to separate it from the flock.
If I have one black sheep in a flock of white ones- you're right, the fact that it is a sheep doesn't do much to seperate it from the flock. The fact that it's black, however, does. You then go on to hammer this point home for the rest of the article using overly grandoise language for no apparent reason.

Exactly how brave Evangelion wants to be is speculative/Evangelion tried too hard to be the ultimate anime
Self-contradiction and too much personification for me to handle. Oh, and are you going to back this up with historical context? Let's crib from Wikipedia for a moment.

Anno's next project was the anime TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion, (1995–1996), which has ultimately gone on to be one of the most influential anime works ever, championing a return to traditional anime drawing styles and themes and taking them to new heights of precision and depth. During the show's production, Anno rejected the hermetic otaku lifestyle he had been living, considering it a form of forced autism. For this and other reasons, Evangelion's plot became increasingly dark and psychological as the series progressed, despite being broadcast in children's television timeslot. Anno felt that people should be exposed to the realities of life at as young an age as possible, and by the end of the series all attempts at traditional narrative logic were abandoned, the final two episodes being a kind of bad trip taking place inside the head of the main character. The show did not garner high ratings at its initial timeslot, though it was soon moved to a later, more adult-oriented venue and became exceptionally popular throughout Japan.

I think this is less of an attempt to be 'brave' and more of an attempt to 'not to sink into terminal depression'

Evangelion's sequential science fiction adaptation of the Kaballah faith has its strengths and weaknesses. I will briefly highlight them here:
No. If we were trying to see a version of the Kaballah faith, we would have been closer with the Passion of the Christ.

There are other hilarious logical logjams in this article, but honestly a thorough explaination of all of the things I felt were wrong with this article would take kind of a long time. I'm just going to have to write another one. =/
BorN2BurN Aug 31, 2005

Are for approximately three years a fan of Evangelion. And I find the Anime and Manga simply fascinating. I am nearly addicted. But evenly only nearly. I goeaube which I it still quite well under control has. But I am nevertheless fully inspired by EVA.
shoimi Jan 17, 2006

this is one of the best show/books/movies i have seen but the movie is confusing.
capz787 Feb 04, 2007

to gatts
Quote: Just a few comments... please don't take it personally.

First, you have provided a thorough review of the anime, and for that you are to be congratulated. As you've mentioned before, apparently, you either love or hate the series, and that there is no middle ground. That said, with your review, you were apparently trying to hit some middle ground... eventhough it kinda seemed you were really more on the negative... and that you were trying your best not to cloud your objectivity.

Comparing Evangelion with newer animations in terms of technical aspects is a definite no-no. That's like saying Macross, LoGH, and other classics had a LOT of problems with their video rendering and sound quality (which obviously will not be in 5.1 surround).

Comparing Evangelion with newer anime in terms of story and theme is barely acceptable too. Take RahXephon (2002) for example... most reviews actually compare it back to NGE as being a "evangelion done right" or "evangelion with better ending" miniseries. But you'll never see NGE reviews being compared to RahXephon... simply because it was made after nge... which gave it the advantage of seeing Eva's downfall.

Personally, I think Eva's series ending was acceptable, but the End of Evangelion movie kinda ruined everything. The series ending MAY be confusing and MAY leave the viewers with a thousand burning questions, which D:R & EoE barely tried to answer... but I think sometimes a cliffhanger ending can be a positive thing. Take Cowboy Bebop for example... do we really know what happened to Spike? You can say the same thing for NGE (minus the movies). You can create your own fantastic ending if you want since you didn't see the alternate ending provided by EoE.

Some people really do think Eva's deep... but it's really not. The theme is simple... and the device employed to bring the theme to the viewers was elaborate... which probably confused the hell out of them. If you really take in everything that was said from the first episode... down to the last... you won't have to repeat it just to get the idea. And you don't need religious information too.

For the people who don't like using their brains while watching, then I suggest Shounen-type animes. But then again, you can still watch Eva, just don't think. Enjoy the few "mecha" fight scenes, and feel good about yourself knowing that Shinji probably knows less about Eva... and that he's such a wimp for using lines like "i mustn't run away!"... wait a minute... Ayato Kamina and Akito Tenkawa said those words too! Must have something to do with being pilots of giant robots.

At any rate, just my personal comments. No offense intended... if ever someone felt offended.

Yeah...you have a point there...the series ending was kinda better than EoE's tragic and hanging ending...but at least it gives us a new twist to the Eva series...so we could choose which ending we like better...basically the same reasons why video games give different endings to the game...^^
Lusulpher Apr 19, 2007

When I saw the mediocre score you gave Evangelion and the high number of people who read your review, I understood why. I was simply curious as to why the best anime had a 7... Damn you curiosity.

A million Eva fans must repeat again and again: Eva is NOT about robots! It's about people.

If you don't think the working and interactions of the plot weren't deep or philosophical, you might never have interacted with a person. After dealing with real people you have to make philosophies on why people behave the way they do.

Hideaki Anno just did the most indepth review of Humanity(mostly Japanese culture) many of us have ever seen. Eva is more of a documentary than an anime.

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