Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion
Neon Genesis Evangelion. A new beginning. A retelling of Genesis, creation and the end. The series felt beyond divine. It’s themes of intense philosophy and use of Jewish traditional folklore all culminate into something, that by calling it anything less than revolutionary art, is a sign of disrespect. This review will be discussed I’m multiple parts. One being the show from a physical aspect. Two being the world, individuals, and beings in this universe and how that translates in a psychological manner. Lastly, three, the two true endings of Evangelion. I am leaving out the actual production and art of the show from the reviewbecause this review is already long enough.
One thing that is undeniable is that from the perspective of Evangelion being a show and a movie, it was extremely good. Aside from the first group of episodes the pacing is very good and the characters feel unique, driven, and meaningful. Additionally, the use of Jewish folklore with many religious and philosophical inspirations is applied in many creative and eerie ways. An example of these inspirations being used is with all of the angels being based on creatures in texts that make up essentially Judaism’s “extended universe,” with examples like some of the angels in Evangelion named Sachiel, Ramiel, Materael, etc. I also usually am very skeptical of when a show splits it’s endings in two while keeping both of them canon. Thankfully Evangelion pulls this duality of a conclusion off masterfully. It creates two individual tellings but of the same story woven seamlessly together.
On a very different, psychological note, I can describe this show and it’s own boundary’s very simply as, “Horrific Realism.” The morality this show has and the liberties it is willing to take is purely scary. The incomprehensible trauma these characters endure goes as far as to snap the structural integrity of their ego beyond existence. With the assistance of the sheer amount of character development we get from painfully looking inside their minds, the events that unfold and affect these characters gives the watcher an irrefutable, twisted feeling inside them. The feeling of realism when we realize and see the harsh fates some of these characters meet, all stemming back to humanity and the stain we create in our wake. At the same time witnessing the disgusting and prideful deeds that the nature of the human race has committed all makes you wonder the moral truth of wether there even is a wrong and a right. There are also more events that occur during the series that are so immensely complex that it comes across with an otherworldly scale of realism. For example, (very out of context spoilers) the creation of the Sefirot resembling the tree of life with the aid of the nine manufactured Evas in addition to the combining of the two progenitors of life to bring about the third impact with the use of the human instrumentality project, its goal shrouded in secrecy. It’s ok to not understand what any of that means, trust me. There is obviously a multitude of more things that can be discussed but I will not continue as to avoid blatant spoilers. At the very least I want to convey to you the magnitude of this show and it’s principles.
Lastly, the endings of Evangelion. (I will discuss these in a spoiler free manner. That being so, if you want absolutely no context going into this show I would skip to my final verdict) I will start with the ending of the anime. The final two episodes of the show are an internal physiological battle to acknowledge self worth. I’m not joking. The entire ending of the anime takes place inside the conscious of the cast an protagonist Shinji. Second is the movie “End of Evangelion” and it’s ending. The movies ending and how it relates to the anime can be a multitude of things. It could be the events happening in the physical world that takes place before and after the events of the end of the anime. It could also be a different telling of the events of the anime in more of a physical sense, while the anime serves to be an emotional and physiological rendition of the events of End of Evangelion. The most interesting thing is that when it comes to any of the endings, nothing is confirmed nor denied. It is completely up for interpretation. That is why in my opinion the ideal way to watch Eva is to watch the entire anime first and then the movie to piece the puzzle together the way I, or the watcher, desires it. While I do have my own ending of Eva which I believe to be ideal, the beauty of the ending is how it embraces individuality and lets you choose it according to your desires.
After all of this I just want to get one thing across. Watch this show. The show psychologically and emotionally affected me like nothing that came before. Using its many secret tactics, it transcends beyond a simple art form and becomes a message that deserves to be heard.