Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

Today I review the winner of my first ever anime review poll, the infamous Neon Genesis Evangelion. Despite your personal feelings toward the series, there are few other anime that garner as much attention or critical debate as Evangelion. A series claimed by many to be one of the most influential in history, Eva touches on a multitude of themes including existentialism, depression, religion and the origin of mankind itself. I’ll do my best to explain my unedited thoughts about the series. And yes, there are spoilers to follow, along with some possibly unpopular opinions. You’ve been warned… To be honest, initially I didn’t know whetherI loved or hated the series when it first concluded. Eva invoked emotions of empathy and despair in me no other anime had even come close to doing in the past. The fact that it is possibly the most polarizing anime series of all time has already solidified its place in many viewer’s minds as nothing short of a masterpiece. The concept is intriguing: a deconstruction of the ever-popular mecha genre from the 80’s and 90’s. The mechs look strikingly different from any other series in its time, and the atmosphere is quite palpable throughout the entire anime. Many still scenes without words and carefully arranged animations make the symbolism and emotions of the characters literally come to life.

Anno really places you in the mind of the pilots, something unprecedented for its time period. Granted, many of the characters were mentally damaged beyond repair, Eva gave a very “real” approach on what a bunch of teenagers piloting giant robots to save humanity would look like. Both Shinji and Asuka are constantly grasping for the appraisal of others, using it as some twisted sense of gratification to offset their lack of relationships with those they want them with the most. Some of the scenes toward the end of the anime involving Asuka are down right depressing, and really hit home if you had any sort of parental issues growing up. Aspects of the series like this help Eva become relatable with its audience, or cause the characters to be so mentally damaged that their level of on relatability is refreshing.

The first eight episodes were difficult for me to get through because they seemed so… generic. An Angel would show up, the Evas would either destroy them or Katsuragi would pull off some .0001% chance miracle in the last moment in order to save the day. It seemed just like your standard mech series of old… with randomly interspersed moments of greatness involving elaborate scene construction (Shinji waiting for the train etc.). Around episode ten or so, the mood completely changed, and I felt like the anime was finally beginning. The battles became more intense, the atmosphere was generally less lighthearted and more somber and apathetic. The characters began their fair share of “trials”, and for once I wasn’t sure how each episode would turn out. The pacing was excellent and I found myself bingeing through the last few episodes up to 24.

Then the ending happened.

I’m referring to the original, unedited and untampered shitpile of hot-aired nonsense that proved completely unnecessary and out of place. Anno once said that the ending was to illustrate that “to live is to change”. Through the human instrumentality project, various characters in the series were able to synchronize with each other's minds. This allowed them to define their existence or self worth based on the perception of others. In theory this would've been a great way to expand the already intellectual aspects of the show, but the way it was so exclusively slapped on at the end (not to mention the abruptness of episodes 23 and 24) left a very bad taste in my mouth. I understand the studio ran out of money, but they could've come up with something a little more cohesive or relevant to the rest of the series. I've even heard rumors that the bits of dialogue throughout the series mentioning the human instrumentality project were added after the fact, in order to support the stunted ending. Could you find something inspirational or worthwhile in the ending? Probably. But so could my high school English teacher in literally every line of text Edgar Allen Poe ever wrote. Let the scenes speak for themselves, don't waste time dissecting something so faint it’s almost non-existent.

Edit: I have also watched End of Evangelion, so feel free to ask me about my thoughts on that movie.

Anno also mentions in one of his interviews that the characters in Evangelion represent the worst parts of himself. If this is true, he must be one delightful individual to be around (sarcasm intended). Shinji, despite always being down in the dumps, is a rather unique character. Any teenager who’s gone through life with the mentality of always feeling “useless” or “discarded”, is going to be emotionally unstable. But instead of just showing you this side of him, Anno writes Shinji based on his own battles with depression, actually letting you into his mind. It's frustrating and heartbreaking all at the same time. He ends up dodging any labeling as a trope and had me feeling sorry for him by the end of the series. As much as you want to rip through the screen and slap some sense into him, his actions are acceptable for his character.

Asuka, the possible inception of the anime tsundere, is actually far from it. She turns from an arrogant princess to a shattered soul, as her failures mount and usefulness declines. And although she doesn't quite warm up to Shinji, she lets her guard down and becomes vulnerable toward the end. Another miraculous piece of character development was Katsuragi. She initially started is my least favorite character, acting more bombastic and impulsive than any female I've ever encountered, often using unfounded intuition to counter logic on a supervisory level. I found her interest in warming up to Shinji puzzling, and her actions could be classified as bipolar. Then, once her flaws and past were slowly unraveled she became one of the most complex and fragile characters I can remember. Rei, the worst character in the series, essentially enhanced the stereotype she was created to break. Anno attempted to add developing emotions for her doll-like archetype, but ended up do more harm than good. She was uninteresting in all facets, drawing you in only to lead you into dead ends regarding her personality. Even the side characters were developed appropriately, each with their own goals, desires and fears, furthering my affinity for the writing of the characters.

As good as the writing was for the concepts and characters, Anno left a lot of unanswered questions on the table in Eva. Where did the angels come from? Who is Adam? What is Lillith? What “freak accident” killed Shinji’s mom? What makes children the ones who sync with the Evas? Why was Kaji obsessed with farming watermelons? All of these (sans the melons) were rather important pieces missing from the puzzle at the conclusion of the series. If Anno’s goal was to leave everything so open ended, he certainly succeeded in creating some lively debate amongst us in the anime community. Call me simple-minded, but I am an engineer by trade… I have a very logical brain. I just don't buy the cop-out reason Anno gave for Eva’s ambiguity: “the answers are whatever the viewer wants them to be.” That's gotta be the crunchiest excuse I've heard regarding loose ends in a plot.

The moments of religious symbolism also rubbed me in the wrong way as it ignorantly seemed to mock Christianity as a whole. I’m not a religious nut, but if you’re going to use links to it in symbolic ways, at least do your homework. A creative designer for Eva even said that the basis for many of the symbols used for religious intent were just kind of “put” there. None of the team were Christians or really understood the religion. It was sort of just sprinkled in there.

The art and animation in Evangelion is on a whole different level for a 90’s anime. It’s really obvious that Gainax went past their budget with this one. The Eva designs look life-like and visceral, and the angels themselves are all uniquely designed. Their organic, yet robotic composition was haunting and many of the designs were creative in both appearance and functionality. The environments were vividly constructed and the level of detail was uncanny at times, with many scenes incorporating copious amounts of symbolism or hidden messages. Sometimes they could be a stretch for me though, including the moments of awkward silence on the elevator with Rei and Asuka, or the one with Shinji in the Eva near the end of the series. Silence is great, and can help you emphasize certain emotions within the scene… but moderation is key here.

The music is also quite iconic for its time. “Cruel Angel’s Thesis” is possibly one of the most recognizable anime openings ever and “Fly Me to the Moon” is just as notable as an ED. The fanfare-ish music during battles is well orchestrated to set the mood, and the voice acting in both Japanese and English is among some of the best in the business. Shinji’s screams alone are powerful enough to stay with you long after the series concludes.

The best way I can sum up Eva in one sentence is “An intellectual and pondering deconstruction leaving no hope on the table and many unanswered questions and lively debates.” Watching Eva is an absolute must for ANY anime fan based on just having an opinion, if for nothing else. I enjoyed it but was frustrated at the same time due to the plethora of loose ends and unfulfilling ending. I can't call it a masterpiece but it was still highly entertaining. The best part of a series like Eva is the vast difference in opinion it spawns. There's no denying the importance the anime has in influence around the industry, and I laid my opinions out there and had a lot of fun with this anime review polling experience. Thanks for reading!