Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

The first 24 episodes matter literally only in that they make episodes 25 & 26 the most meaningful pieces of animation I have ever watched. The Christian iconography and alchemical symbols ripped from Kabbalah are meaningless, simply used for aesthetics, because they do admittedly, look sick as hell. But the anime isn't about that. It's not even really about the mech fights. It's about depression and self loathing and the last two episodes have changed me and near instantly freed me from a depressive episode in a way I never thought animation could. There is nothing to do other than recommend this anime to depressedfolks, or those of us who have struggled with self loathing, with the express context of being a non-literal reading. The literal text means very little until last arc, everything prior to that arc serving as meticulous character development and set dressing to an impassioned and informed antithesis to the depressed state of mind.

Asuka, Rei, and Shinji serve as examples of the way depression manifests in different people, the primary adults in the series; Mitsako, Ritsuko, and Kaji; serve as their antithetical mirrors in how that depression matures, and affects us outside of adolescence. This is not an anime with (intentional) fan-service, nor one that you are meant to come away from with best girl or waifu; you are meant to come away with it with a realization fundamental to defeating self loathing. It actively criticizes escapism and chasing one thing that feels good to avoid the negatives in your life.

It is not truly about the plot, or characters, or sound design, though all of those are excellent (though the way Gainax saves on animation cells may be distracting to those of us accustomed to modern higher budget animations), every aspect of it serves its themes of struggling with depression and self loathing. Director Anno struggled with depression both prior to and during the making of Evangelion, and the anime is about that near exclusively. It is not an anime to watch if you want to engage with the literal text, it is assuredly set in its thematic meaning.

Evangelion is the anime to watch if you want to engage with an anime on a thematic and literary level, while enjoying cool visuals and mecha slapstick. It will invariably disappoint you if you want to engage with the literal lore of the Eva's and world it has created. They are simply secondary to the thematic meaning that director Anno has put into the piece.

I did watch, and do recommend, the netflix Dub, with the Japanese translation subtitles on to see the minor tonal differences throughout the work. The same conclusion can be reached through any method of viewing, as long as you are engaging with it in a non-literal context.