Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

Unlike most I came into Neon Genesis Evangelion without getting caught up in lots of hype so certain aspects this anime were not ruined and therefore more shocking. Since then I've come to know that the anime fans are divided between praise and hatred of this anime due its nature. Anyway let’s gets this review underway. Story- 8.1 The story revolves around the trials and tribulations of 14 year old boy by the name of Shinji Ikari and his massive mech, known as EVA Unit-1,who fight for NERV, a human organisation, in order to prevent the end of the world occurring in an event known as the‘Third Impact’. For most of the episodes he and his "friends",piloting other EVAs, fight weird and wonderful creatures called, somewhat ironically, "Angles". However, there is more here than meets the eye initially. As you peel back the layers of Evangelion you see that there is a conspiracy of biblical proportions, unveiled slowly with the degeneration of Shinji's psyche, and a deconstruction of the mech genre. But with all these elements and ideas being converged the plot itself loses some of the brilliant substance it began with and begins to derail, culminating at the ending.

This is where many fans of the original anime were divided. Some saw it is a very good psycho-analysis of Shinji, whilst most saw it as a massive departure of tone from what the anime was originally built on and what made in their eye enthralling. I can respect the earlier view, but I find myself wishing that they had done it in less radical method. On the whole the story and plot was very good and highly enthralling at times but the story took blow due to the ending and the number of layers which were attempted to be implemented within it.

Art- 6.9

The animation for Eva was done by Studio Gainax. The animation quality does not really hold up with anything recently but for things made in the 1995 it is very good. However the throughout the anime we can see evidence of the tight animation budget that Gainax had. On occasions the level of detail dropped and the fluidity of the movements becomes fragmented. At other times all things in the anime stop moving for minutes at a time. But the worst offender is the last two episodes which we lose all sense of the word animation and turn into lines scribbled across a page. Even with all these flaws and idiosyncrasies the animation for the whole series was good with the battle scenes being executed very well.

Sound- 8.5(Soundtrack-9.1 and Voice Acting-7.9)

The OST for Eva is very good with each track more than adequately, in some cases exquisitely, fitting the mood and the setting which is on screen. The OP and ED are brilliant, even if the ED is cover, and are extremely memorable. If there is any qualms that I have with the OST it is the there is slight repetition in the usage of each track but on the whole it is a quite excellent OST.

The Dub, in the other hand, is a completely different matter altogether. Initially a lot of the lines feel very forced and the cast seem to struggle to fit into their characters roles. This uneasiness fades away the further that we go into the anime. Eventually the cast fit their roles very well and deliver their lines to great amounts of effect. However it is the initial harshness that detracts from the overall quality of the acting.

Character- 9.4

This is where Eva comes into its own. The characters are what set this anime apart from all of the “copycats” that have come out after its release. I have heard many people complain about the about this aspect of Eva but this is where the most of my enjoyment comes from. Each decision, each reaction, each emotion and each interaction reeks of reality which creates a cast of characters who are human to their very core. Yes, like most, I wish Shinji would grow a backbone every once in a while but does this mean I hate him, maybe, but, for me, it creates a very interesting character who can be looked into and analysed with great depth. And the thing is you could do this with every character in Eva as they all have their own psychological issues ranging from parental issues to isolation to love, or lack of it. It is this great depth and variety that interests me and makes me love watching Eva and greatly immerses me in this fictional world.

Enjoyment- 9.3

I loved watching nearly every minute of Eva, notice the “nearly”. The action sequences were entertaining and the plot was interesting, albeit a bit convoluted. However, as mentioned above, it is the characters that really sold Eva to me and made my enjoyment the level that it is. The only part of this anime that detracts from my enjoyment is the final two episodes, which greatly reduced my immersion. Nonetheless this is a series that I had no regrets in watching.

Overall- 8.44

Eva is a series of many layers and does require some heavy concentration at some points. But the satisfaction that one should get out of this series, in most cases, is diminished by the execution of the final two episodes. However if you are looking for an anime which has great psychoanalysis of characters I will tell you to look no further than Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Thank you for reading my review and I hope it was Helpful. Also any feedback would be greatly appreciated =D