Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

My problem with Eva lies in the fact that it never actually explains any of its concepts. The show introduces mcguffins with vague logistics surrounding them, and proceeds to use them for plot developments, expecting the audience to know why and how they’re used, and how it affects the narrative. They’re contrivances that make it difficult for me, at least, to engage with what's going on. Within a fight, I’m intrinsically inclined to root for the main cast against the Angels—however, I am unable to assess or predict any action that they could follow that would guarantee them victory—purely because I don’t know what the requirementsare to win against an Angel. I just assume that when an Angel looks to be overwhelmed by the Eva, that means it's losing—although, I don’t know exactly why, or what's the cause of it. In Dragon Ball, generally having more Ki or an infallible ability, would guarantee a victory; in JoJo, understanding the opponent's ability, and then acting according to its weaknesses, guarantees victory; in Eva, fuck if I know. This problem generally surrounds Angels and the ambiguity around what exactly they do (ability wise), and why it’s necessary to use Evas against them.

"Attack its core", is the explanation provided by the show.
Ok, but why the Evas? The use of Evas leads to a plot line concerning financial imbalance—so if the task was just destroy its core—military equipment should be serviceable; however, it’s clearly not that simple. Evas have something that is necessary to defeat Angels—or rather, Angels have something that requires a counterbalance; my question is, "what exactly is that something?" Irrespective of that, the explanation provided does not factor in the struggle that the cast face when attempting to defeat Angels; Angels clearly vary in design and function—they cannot be defeated the same way as the previous—however, the show fails to display that search for a weakness to exploit; while the show establishes their core being their main weakness, it does not establish the loopholes or fineprints around their abilities or defences, as that would require an explanation of the properties behind the Angels and their abilities. When an Angel shoots a beam of energy—what is it shooting, and how do you get around that?

All of this could be remedied with a proper Power System:

1) What is it? What are its properties? What is it made out of? What state of matter is it?

2) Where can I find it? How does one gain access to it?

3) What are its strengths and weaknesses? What is it capable of and/or limited to? Why does it function the way it does?

4) How can it be used? How can I control it? How can I master it? Can it evolve?

These are the questions I ask whenever a fictional property is introduced within a narrative, that which guarantee my engagement with the concept. They are the exact same questions I asked when I saw 'LCL' or 'A.T Field'.

What is LCL? All the goons I’ve asked answered with the same thing. "It’s just Life Soup".
Giving it a name doesn’t do much. What is "life soup"; what is material the comprised of—what can it do—how does one gain access to it—how can one use it?

What are A.T fields; what material are they comprised of—why is it necessary to use them—what properties in existence do they harness—what are their limitations? The show goes on record to boast about the practicality of the property, however, it never once explains its actual method. They're often used as shields of sorts, although it’s never really questioned what exactly it’s shielding against—because we don’t know how Angels operate either—what operates them and their abilities—what concepts they are manipulating, etc. Furthermore, A.T Fields are notoriously ineffective at doing said task, so why even bother using them at all? Insanity.

I could go on about the 3rd Impact and how it isn’t explained why the unity of Adam and Lilith cause a multi-continental "impact" that only kills humans; sure, the show said that humans are angels and spawned from Lilith, but it doesn’t explain why Lilith's unification with Adam causes such an effect. Does it sever a "soul bond" between Lilith and mankind; if so, what exactly about their union is severing that bond—what properties does it have—what properties do the soul bonds have?

Essentially, these are just to name a few reasons for why I can’t engage with Eva's premise. Other than that, characters are at least, comparatively engaging—equipped with their own ambitions, struggles, and pessimism. The music is world class; I listen to it recreationally. The animation is stellar, or at least what I’d assume to be industry standard at the time.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend Evangelion to anyone who’s looking for something to engage with (My definition of engagement is: the logical synthesis between events, allowing the audience member to understand the concepts and developments in plot—allowing them to predict, anticipate, and surprise their curiosity, and be satisfied with the result). They'll find themselves heartily lost with the plot developments. If there's any take away, watch it for the characters, music, or animation.