Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

When I am exposed to art in any medium (music, paintings, movies, etc), I always ask the question: does this make me feel something? Whether that feeling is happiness or sadness, anger or disgust, or even boredom, the feeling I get from it is the most important quality for me. The reason Neon Genesis Evangelion is a 10/10 for me, is highly based on the wide range of emotions that I feel while watching, and how those emotions affected me long after I finished watching the series. Shounen anime like Boku No Hero Academia and Naruto instill in the viewer this sense of motivation. Afeeling that makes you want to work really hard at something in order to achieve your goals in life. Neon Genesis Evangelion differs from this idea, but presents a very similar one in a unique way. Evangelion walks the viewer through the many stages of mental blockades (such as depression, grief, and other psychological issues) that keep many people from achieving that same level of motivation found in those shounen titles, and guides the viewer through how those emotions can manifest in ugly ways, but at the end of the day you are able to overcome them. A good show makes you feel something, but a great show takes those feelings and uses them to impact the viewer in such a way that allows them to grow and change. The motivation that one gets from Neon Genesis Evangelion is not the same as the "achieve your goals and work hard" motivation that one gets from watching Naruto. The type of motivation that Neon Genesis Evangelion instills in the viewer is the motivation to be a better person; to not be pessimistic, to open up to others, to be kind to yourself, and to allow yourself to be happy sometimes.