Neon Genesis Evangelion

Do you have a hard time getting into anime? Somewhat new to the medium? Hate the cringey anime tropes you keep seeing? Then this review is for you.

Let me start this review by saying: I am not a weeb. I have watched some anime, not a lot. I have read some Manga, not a lot. I am a big fan of the usual shows: Breaking bad, Game of Thrones, True Detective. And as I explained in my review of death note (which I did not enjoy nearly as much as this), I find picking anime out to be very difficult.

Every anime is a masterpiece to the members of the "fandom". It has no flaws, and is the pinnacle of excellence. So I usually do a lot of back end research before I commit to watching one.

One thing I am not a fan of is the 3-episode rule (which for most Anime turns out to be the 5-10+ episode rule). Its annoying to me to have to slog through episode after episode just for it to get interesting. And I admittedly felt this way with Neon Genesis to some extent.

There were a couple of things up front that had my "I won't like this" red flag waiving at full mast: The teenage cast, the coming of age story with episodic mech suit battles, and the common anime protagonist who gets flustered and border-line pees himself the second a woman walks in front of him.

However, there was just something about the vibe of the show that stopped me from turning it off. The aesthetic, the music, the cinematography (even coming from the mid 90s). It felt very nostalgic to me.

I did start getting bored of the lack of plot outside of the battles after the first 5 episodes however. I started to worry that the whole show was just a coming of age Gundam series, which really is not my cup of tea. So I did skip forward after episode 7. I saw through IMDb that Ep. 12 was a recap episode, so I moved to there and watched the rest.

I will start with the good here, and I am going to avoid spoilers because I am writing to hopefully get some people to watch it.

THE GOOD: So first off, this series starts out very simple. Mech suit battles and a weak protagonist who has to get stronger in order to save the world from "angels".

However the show goes absolutely insane by the end. Deep psychoanalysis of multiple characters. Incredible science fiction concepts with religious symbolism (or at least iconography).

If you are a fan of Interstellar, or 2001 a space odyssey, then you will love this anime. In fact during the last couple episodes I thought to myself how interstellar has nothing on this show, and I am a huge fan of that film.

By the end of watching this (and the film "End of Evangelion" that takes place during the last two episodes which is a must watch after the series), my brain was fried. I am still processing everything I saw. Toward the end of the series it is a non-stop onslaught of visuals, philosophy, plot and twists. Truly an incredible experience. There are times when I felt like the creator was holding a mirror up to me, and showing me exactly what is going on inside my head (and not for the first time, I have been in therapy for a long time and read a lot about psychology... it is rare, however, for a piece of media to do this so well and thoroughly. Especially when it started as a mecha battle show).

If this tells you anything i watched all of this show, then the movie, and then started the 4 movie rebuild series immediately after. The world is a hard one to leave, and I do think I will need a rewatch soon.

THE BAD: I do not mean to nitpick, but I am going to anyway. But note: I love this show, these are things that simply did not resonate with me and subtracted from the experience a bit. These are the only things that reduced the show to 8 stars instead of 10 for me.

1. Shinji.

The protagonist is beyond pitiful. I understand that he is depressed, and 14, and going through a lot. And all of that is a valid excuse to be a bit negative. But he was almost irredeemably whiny and awkward.

I know the awkward kid who can't talk to women is a common anime trope. Maybe that is a archetype that resonates better in Japan than America, or maybe I just don't relate, but I do get tired of seeing it over and over again in shows like this. But I cannot fault the show for not entirely appealing to me: this is actually where it shines. It appeals to so many people because of its varied and well thought out characters. You will relate to someone for sure.

But my main problem was how insufferably self loathing this kid was. It does become a huge plot point, and the shows ending helps redeem this a bit (though the movie very much does not, which is outside the scope of this review and would contain spoilers). So I can get past it here, but it did reduce a star for me. The amount of times the kid won't rise to the challenge simply because he hates himself becomes bothersome. The whining and flip flopping between different motivations just annoyed me. I think I may have just related to Asuka a bit more (go figure as an American).

2. The Ending Again I will avoid spoilers, but the ending does get a star deducted simply because it is quite abstract. You have to watch EoE (end of Evangelion) in order to understand what physically took place. Reviewing the show in a vacuum, the ending would have pissed me off. I only don't mind because there is another movie and entire rebuild series if you are not satisfied with EoE's ending.

3. Tone Shifts I think there are some conflicting tone's in this show that confused me. I do not remove a star for this because I think its partially just the medium, eastern entertainment, and I may just not "get it".

But the pet penguin, the cutesy music and nudity gags, and a couple other things really throw the vibe off when this show gets quite serious and dark later on. It got a bit jarring and did pull me out of the story momentarily. This was a big reason I had to skip some episodes in order to really stay on track.

Conclusion: If you like any of the shows or movies I mentioned, you will like this. It is extremely different than you think it is going in. Skip some episodes if you have to like I did, use IMDb ratings as your guide. But this was one of the most amazing shows I have ever seen, I cannot recommend it enough. Even if you do not love it, you will have to admit it was a one of a kind experience.

And take it from me: I am not an anime fan. Honestly Attack on Titan and this may be the only ones I would highly recommend to people. Give it a shot.

Whether you enjoy the world of anime or not this is an experience you must have before you die. Nothing else in the world is like it. For the sake of your personal experience I cannot tell you much about it and here's why. The first 20 some episodes you are immersed in the semi-futuristic world of Tokyo 3 and the characters are developed beautifully, some of the best character development I've ever witnessed. You get a very very good feel for the world and the situation they live in, only to have that blown away in the final episodes. Please for the sake of yourself watch this, from the start, you will not regret it.

Hideaki Anno has conceived of a story more important to my life than any other.

Hideaki Anno is pure genius.

The last two original episodes are art, perfectly Could be museum pieces.

This anime series is set fifteen years after a global disaster known as the Second Impact. It is centred on fourteen year old Shinji Ikari; he is summoned to the city of Tokyo-3 where he learns he has been chosen to pilot 'Evangelion Unit One'; to all intents and purposes a giant robot with biological components which can only be synchronised with pilots of a certain age. In Unit One Shinji will have to battle strange beings that have been dubbed 'Angels' whose arrival was foretold in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Shinji's job isn't helped by the fact that the Eva Project is run by his estranged father who seems more interested in Rei Ayanami, the slightly mysterious pilot of Eva Unit Zero. As the attacks continue a third pilot, Asuka Langley Soryu. Shinji always had issues but this work takes an emotional and psychological toll on him.

One might expect this to be an exciting 'fighting robot' series but it quickly descends into existential angst and depression... a very interesting twist that I'm sure viewers who watched this series when it was new would have been shocked by. The central story is full of religious symbolism but it isn't overtly religious in a way that might offend or irritate viewers. The characters aren't that likeable; many, especially Shinji, come across as whiny and others, notably his father, as unpleasant and bullying. Things gets distinctly strange towards the end with two final episodes that are likely to leave some viewers exasperated; others will find this only adds to the sense that this series is something different. Normally I watch anime in Japanese with subtitles but as the dub was available on Netflix I watched that and thought the English voice cast did a solid job. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anime fans; it may show its age at times but it is still solid and had effects on many later series.

Now I understand why people say this is the anime of animes. First don't watch this anime if you're not mature or 18+. There's also some epileptic and tripping parts that should be warned before watching. This is one of the darkest, most depressing and disturbing anime I've seen. After half episodes it becomes the real thing (hate,nudity,tools,betrayals for each character). The characters are likeable, the drawings are good and music is amazing, you can really see it's a 90's anime. But holy the Story is fkd up and disturbing. The last 2 episodes can be skipped if you don't want to see the perspective of Shinji. I agree that this is overrated but it's a great anime, that I don't recommend to children but adults.