Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

I realize that I'm likely painting a target on my face with this one, but here goes. Please read to the end, as my recommendation may surprise. The biggest sin of NGE, in my opinion, is wasted potential. Be warned, I'll be touching on spoilers here, though I'll try to avoid any actual plot developments. Story: 5 The story of NGE actually starts off rather strong. Eldritch abominations are attacking the world (primarily Japan), and only might mechs known as Eva-Units can defeat them. The only catch, only certain children can pilot these mechs, and doing so requires mental synchronization with the machines (in other words, if therobot's arm gets ripped off, the pilot gets to feel it). I love this premise, and it proves a great deconstruction of the genre. The problem is that eventually the story devolves into a pity party so full of skin-deep symbolism that there's no real... victory involved. There's bad ends, and then there's spiraling into a whirlpool of depression that aims to take the world with it.

Art: 5
The art direction is actually rather solid. Character designs are unique, for the time (really everyone else began copying this), and when the show does an action scene, they do a wonderful job of it. Sadly, the limited budget of the show leaves us with several scenes that consist of stills. Still, props for doing a great job with what they had.

Sound: 7
A true high point of the show, this is where a great chunk of effort came it. Even the dub is quality, and it's a 90's dub. I came in expecting a few laughs, but I was pleasantly surprised. The music is well-done, but not varied. I mean, I love fly me to the moon, but pick another song, Hideaki.

Characters: 3
Hoo-boy. This is the hardest part for me. It's not that the characters are bad, per se; it's that they had wonderful potential for growth, and then stagnate AT BEST. Shinji is a whiny wimp who looks like he'd fit in well in a coming of age story. Sadly, he stays in the whole "Somebody love me!" stage pretty much the whole way through, and the few times he does grow, some event comes along to destroy it. Rei is an... acceptable excuse, but that's going into spoiler territory. Clever naming though. I can approve. The other likable characters all have something come along to ruin the growth they've had (again, heading into spoilers, so I have to be a little vague). Gendo's a prick. I am accepting of this fact. Moving on. Asuka................ she could have been great. She could have been one of the best characters in the show. She starts off selfish, and abusive, and arrogant. It's shown later that she came from a damaged family. But rather than realizing that there are people who care about her, that she doesn't need to prove anything, she just spirals into depression worse than any other character.

Enjoyment: 1
I know this will vary heavily from person to person, but what I love most in a story is character growth. As detailed above, I didn't get that AT ALL, and it really hampered my enjoyment of the show.

Overall, should you watch this? Yes. At least once. The show has some virtues, but I felt those virtues were heavily overshadowed by the themes of depression that began to permeate the show. It can be done right, but I don't think NGE was the show for it. Just be sure you're in a stable frame of mind when you do watch it. I've met those who actually fell into bouts of depression after watching this show's conclusion. Oh, and thanks for reading to the end.