Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

One series that needs no introduction in anime fandom is "Neon Genesis Evangelion" (or just " Evangelion" for short). Infamous, influential and controversial, it's probably the most well known anime equivalent of marmite, with opinions on it being extremely polarised - it's usually considered either as a brilliant masterpiece or a pretentious piece of crap. As for which side of the fence I'm on, the answer is neither. I'm straddling it, and I have to say it's quite uncomfortable having a piece of fence stuck up my arse, but I'm digressing... At the time of this writing, I've watched "Evangelion" twice. First time round, I likedit, but also thought it was overrated. Having watched it again 5 or 6 years later after hearing/reading so much about it, I've come to appreciate - to some extent - what made it such a big series, even if I don't think of it as God's gift to anime.

Right from the start, "Evangelion" showed intent to distinguish itself among other mechas. Even discounting the uncharismatic protagonist and the focus on his psychological problems (all of which I'll get to later), there are things that stuck out. For example, piloting a mecha in "Evangelion" is not shown as a nice experience. The Eva units have barely been tested in real battle when they get introduced at the beginning of the series, and as such, they're pretty unreliable and experimental. And to pilot the Evas, the pilots have to almost become a part of them, and this has some less than ideal consequences: the pilot experience painful feedback when their Eva is damaged, and also their mental condition can severely impact the performance of the Eva due to its synchronisation mechanism. The mecha battles themselves can be gruesome; there's a kind of animalistic brutality about them. The Evas are at least semi-biological in nature, as are some of their enemies, so instead of the usual clashing of cold, unfeeling lumps of giant metal, these battles often feel more akin to mighty beasts ferociously tearing into one another.

But most of this is just confetti, because the real meat of "Evangelion" is found in its collection of dysfunctional characters.

The first few episodes mostly centre on the protagonist Shinji , a character notorious for his incessant whining. He may not be my favourite character ever, but I do find him to be a believable character for the most part, especially his love-hate relationship with his dad, and his reluctance to pilot his Eva . After all, he's still a child, and as much as mecha piloting is generally seen as a glorious job in anime, mechas are just tools for destruction, and in a more sombre view it's not unreasonable to see adults not being able to stomach all the fighting and killing, let alone children. Factor in also the aforementioned hardships involved in being an Eva pilot and also Shinji's upbringing (or rather lack of), his actions are understandable - he may be a wuss in anime terms, but the way the anime explores his problems in the first few episodes makes it hard to blame him.

After getting off to a good start though, the series couldn't maintain its quality. One of the reasons is its descent into a lame monster-of-the-week format. While these episodes aren't terrible, they're kinda generic, and are often filled with rather convenient or contrived plot points (if, in one episode, an Eva isn't equipped to deal with a certain situation, you can be sure that situation will arise). This is especially disappointing considering how the series started off so ambitiously. Another problem is the other mecha pilots. I know the series deliberately hand-picked a cast of characters that are less than normal, but out of the show's famously abnormal central trio of Shinji, Asuka and Rei, only Shinji's characterisation can be considered good. And as the monster-of-the-week format kicked in with full force, the focus shifted from Shinji onto this harem of his, and a good change it is not. Asuka is too one-dimensionally loud and annoying, while Rei is too one-dimensionally lifeless and wooden, not to mention the latter's nauseatingly obedient personality smacks of pandering (it's no coincidence that her character is so popular). Yes, I know there are more to them, but their dominant personality traits feel artificial and overblown to the extent that they drown out all other aspects of their characters.

Asuka's appearance was particularly bad for the show, as not only was her own characterisation poor, she also induces Shinji to become strangely chirpy and full of indignant banter. Even in the earlier part of the series, the comedy (epitomised by the random penguin,) often seemed out of place, but I felt it especially keenly here during the exchanges between Asuka and Shinji. Thanks to Asuka and Rei, this part of the show produced some of the most memorably bad scenes in the series, including a contrived kissing scene and an atrocious "embarrassing accident" scene that could have been recycled from any number of lowly harems. This smattering of cliches and random humour feels detrimental and almost insulting to the darker, more serious portions of the show.

Thankfully, it doesn't last for too long, and "Evangelion" soon goes back to what it does best - the exploration of its fucked up characters. It's not just the main characters who have a few screws loose; hardly any of the supporting characters can be considered mentally healthy. Misato's psychological scars belies her often girlish behaviour (a bit like Asuka in that respect, but not quite as bad), and even the seemingly calm and rational Ritsuko has mental baggage stashed away in the proverbial closet of her mind. And that's not even mentioning Gendo who, with his unique brand of fatherly love, is probably the most screwed up of them all. Most of the important side characters are well fleshed out, with the show usually dedicating at least an episode or two to explore each of their problems.

As the show continued, it got darker; more importantly, it got better. But while the dubious mental state of the characters got a thorough examination, the same cannot be said for the underlying plot. Although there's a grand sense of complexity about it, so many important details are glazed over that the narrative bordered on incoherent at times. The show seems more interested in raising questions, cultivating them like watermelons, than actually harvesting them and giving out some answers. But given that the creator of the show himself, Anno Hideaki, apparently admittedly that they were making it up as they went along, this is perhaps not surprising.

With dangling loose ends multiplying at an unmanageable rate, suddenly there were just two episodes left to tie them up ... and boy did they divide opinions. The show's demise was pretty much sign-posted at the start of episode 25, in the form of a cop out statement about only having time to focus what's going on in Shinji's head - it's almost an admission from the makers that they've left themselves with far too much to do. And because the show ran out of budget, these final two episodes were strung together using repetitive, recycled footage, interlaced with repetitive, introspective monologues. Earlier in the series, repetition techniques were often used to great effect, coming off as an autistic, obsessive way of portraying mental problems, but although it still had its compelling moments in the last two episodes, it was over-used to the point where Hideaki was in danger of looking like a one-trick pony.

Still, the shittiness of those last two episodes didn't stop people from over analysing its every small detail. Inevitably, they were seen as a stroke of genius by some. Of course, the show encouraged this kind of over-analysis throughout its run with its almost fetishistic obsession with symbolisms. A lot of it wasn't even that effective or meaningful, and were only thrown in because the makers thought it would be cool to have them. A classic example of this is the cross-shaped explosions - it looked so odd and was so ludicrously unsubtle that I originally didn't realise it was meant to be symbolic ... I thought it was just some weird stylistic choice.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed my second viewing of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" more than the first. Then again, I did originally watch the show with very little prior knowledge about it, and as a result found it confusing. This being the case, how much of this extra enjoyment is due to understanding gained from sources outside of this series? How much of the merit of story can be credited to this incompletely package, and how much of it should go to all the extensive backfilling of details over the years through sequels and manga? The colossal influence of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" may be undeniable, but with all its issues - the inconsistent tones, the mess of a story, Shinji's crappy harem and the catastrophic ending - I don't think it deserves a higher score.