Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

As there is a lot of discussion about this issue, in my opinion Neon Genesis Evangelion deserves to be seen as one of the most important anime series. Why is that? For me, the answer would be: the characters and the overall experience that is NGE. In this review I will give the reasons why I really liked this series and give the reader an idea why he or she should watch it, too. While the story seems pretty simple and cliched at first it soon gains depth and scale and you realize it's about much more than you thought. Giving away anything would really spoil the experienceso let me just tell you that the writing is superb and it adresses very important themes in an impressive way. You might learn a lot about yourself and your feelings by watching NGE.
The great writing helps breathing live into the characters and making them very reliable. Also, the story spends a lot of time exploring their backgrounds, experiences and feelings, thereby giving reasons for their actions. Though it might not seem like it if you watch just one episode - the characters are as far away from being a one-dimensional chliché as one can image. That's something not many animes achieve. Sometimes you'll be happy, sometimes you'll be sad but you'll always feel strongly for the characters.
Also, the story always stays exciting and surprising which of course adds to the overall enjoyment. The ending left me slightly puzzled - while I sort of understood what was going on and liked the conclusion it still felt like some important parts were left out. I expect the follow-up movie, The End of Evangelion to sort this out.

While the art is obviously from the 90s it's still so much better than a lot of what you see today. It's hard to describe but everything feels organic, the characters feel like real people and the surroundings seem to be places that could actually exist. I would even go as far as to compare it with immersion you get when you read a great novel and create the world in your head. This is even more impressing as some art is very reduced working with only the outlines or shadows and there are many still pictures. As far as I know that was due to financial reasons. I didn't mind though and it feels like some of the money they saved there went into the animation of the fights which are exciting and vibrant. The art also does a great job of picturing the inside of a characters head when their feelings are explored, you'll know what I mean when watching it.

The sound completes the work of art that NGE is. The opening is great, catchy and fits the series well. The music by Sagisu Shirou is just perfect, sporting memorable themes and raising the tension in exciting moments while also setting the right mood during quieter moments.

I hope this helps understand why I enjoyed NGE so much and I hope you'll watch it and feel the same way!