Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

I have only seen this storyline regarding Neon Genesis Evangelion so far so my thoughts on the series as a whole may change over time but these are my thoughts for this version: Outstanding. Arguably one of the best shows I have ever seen. Does the story make sense? No, but I knew that going into it that I’d have some difficulty understanding it. The art is stunning. From landscape scenes to how the Evas move about to how characters exchange dialogue . . . everything is impressive. Not to mention, it’s opening is one of the most iconic openings ,, ever? Plus, since the storyrelied so much on suspense and the fact that there is a heavy “holy” theme, instrumentals were placed throughout the show in a way that furthered the thrill or anxiety or whatever emotional was being felt at that time. Usually something to push your nerves to the edge but I’m not complaining.

Something I heard people actually complain about before I started the show was Shinji’s role as a protagonist. Most of the time I disagree with this. He has a lot going on for a teenager so I will not blame him and it was more entertaining and relatable in a way for him to constantly question his own motives and his value as a person. Insecure and, dare I say, dull main characters are something I really love. And by dull I just mean he is somewhat outshined by the supporting cast. They are all incredible in their own way but they also all have big personalities even when, like Rei, they are reserved. With this comes my main problem with him being a protagonist is that I usually dislike male leads that are boring and have the female cast carry the show. Not to say I don’t love when women carry the show, but when this happens it just makes me question the presence of the main character if they’re useless. I feel like this is a trend that Shinji almost slips into but his inner turmoil (as bad as this may sound) pulls him out of this and makes him super interesting and entertaining as a main character. I love him.

I also love messages that center around “we are our own enemy” sentiment which I continuously picked up while watching this. Along with those two entire episodes where it made me rethink my entire existence as a person. Neon Genesis, you’re doing great with the symbolism and metaphors and philosophical stuff. Sadly, I am an idiot.

Overall, this show is amazing. I will have to watch everything ever put out with this series because.... wtf. I am writing this at 3am and I binged half the show which was not the best idea but I don’t think any amount of rewatching or preparedness will let me properly express my thoughts or let me truly understand the plot to this show. But yeah this is one of the most impressive shows I’ve watched, I don’t think I’ll ever recover.