Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

Neon Genesis Evangelion, a controversial anime since its inception. For some people, NGE is art at its purest form; the feelings and frustrations of its creator shaped appropriately to fit in a medium (in this case, animation). For others, it is just another anime struggling to draw the viewer's attention by presenting itself as "deep". In this review I will explain why I personally disagree with the latter and give reasons as to why I have given it a perfect score. Story: 8/10 In my opinion the weakest part of NGE is its story. For its first quarter, the series is pretty story-driven as it introducesyou to the post-apocalyptic modern world as well as the characters in it. For the majority of the show however, the story only acts as a vehicle for explaining the director's philosophies. That's not to say that the plot doesn't steadily move from point A towards point B, but that the main focus of the series lies within its characters, their flaws and their motivations. Is that a bad thing? No it isn't. It's just not linear.

Art: 10/10

The art is pretty solid for its time. You'll find attention to detail everywhere and constant beautiful shots of both landscapes and characters masterfully directed by Hideaki Anno. In addition, the animation doesn't hold back when there's a lot of action on screen, allowing you to experience the show as intended.

Towards the end, the production infamously ran out of budget after a controversy surrounding the direction the series was taking, forcing the animation to recycle frames and draw some scenes out more than usual. However, by that point, all of this works in favor of the series as I'm sure you'll see if you decide to watch it.

Sound: 10/10

Not much to explain here. The soundtrack and the opening perfectly fit the tone of the series and often set a great mood, while the calm ending (a cover of the famous Kaye Ballard song "Fly Me To The Moon") intends to give the viewer a moment's rest following the episode.

Characters: 10/10

The strongest trait of Evangelion. Unlike almost every anime series up to that point, the main characters in NGE are weak and broken. This offers the show a feeling of mortality; there are no heroes.

Shinji Ikari, the character we follow most throughout the show happens to be the weakest one. Neglected since childhood, he wishes he could make good friends, but his self-pity and somewhat annoying character prevents him from doing so. Extreme as it may seem, Shinji's feelings are things we have all experienced and attempted to hide at least once in our lives. Hideaki Anno takes these feelings and puts them in the spotlight, preventing us from looking away. This induces a very uncomfortable feeling, especially when watching Shinji isolate himself or run away from responsibility as a means to be noticed by his father. At the end of the day, Shinji is annoying to everyone because he is the embodiment of everything you've tried to hide and run away from. That's what Anno intended.

There's not just Shinji however. The way characters interact with each other, their developement and their struggles all give the viewer a glimpse of the kind of world they've had to live in. More often than not, their decisions seem wrong, but make us wonder if we would have actually done anything differently in their shoes.

Enjoyment: 10/10

This is very different for everyone. The anime's mostly phylosophical themes as well as its weak-willed characters make it hard for it to be an "enjoyable" experience in the literal sense of the word. It's not something you'd watch when you want to lift your spirits up. It is however a very significant work as it redefines the word "art" when it comes to anime. That being said, if you think this is a mecha anime similar to Gundam, you'll be dissapointed. NGE's very core is to make you feel uncomfortable and to criticize escapism, so it couldn't possibly be "mindless fun".

Overall: 10/10

Similarly to the works of established filmmakers, this anime exists to convey a message, not to present a story. The anime is based on a solid story nonetheless and even if it gets harder and harder to grasp as Anno stops narrating the story traditionally, there are still visual hints solving any questions you might have if you immerse yourself in the post-apocalyptic world of NGE.

NGE is a milestone in anime history and even though I definetely wouldn't recommend it to a newcomer, it's definetely worth watching as it presents you with more than just another anime. It exposes you to art.