Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

I'm sure anyone that's been into anime for some quite of time have heard of Neon Genesis Evangelion and how many people seem to praise it like it's the best thing ever invnted since sliced bread? Yeah, I finally decided to watch it aswell and if I may be honest; I'm not really a fan. Settle down, settle down, I know I can't please everyone. There's a lot things that are just plain wrong with this show, so put on your plugsuit and get inside the robot just because I told you so: Story: 2/10 (Horrible) The story as a whole is an abolute mess. It reallyis all over the place and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. The show want to be taken seriously, but on the other hand it doesn't want that iether. It wants to be an anime packed with action with a deep meaning, but it also wants to be a ridiculous drama harem show afterwards. Pick your side, please. The story pretty much boils down that a couple of 14 year olds that pretty much get forced into getting inside robots while saving the day of an alien invasion while half of all life forms got eradicated while somehow humanity manage to get around like nothing has happend. It's not realistic at al and it's one of the things that bothers me the most. In reality for instance we heavenly depend on the ecosystem yet we're raping and polluting the planet like there's no tommrow just for the sake of money. One of the other things that I kinda disliked is that the humans always are somehow by a miracle always one step ahead whatever problem they are getting into. Sure, I understand this story is just fiction, but I really hate that mindset and setting that humanity will concur anything that gets trown at us. People really need to learn we're not that special. Sure, we did as a species some impressieve things, but we're still so vulnerable as a species. I can go hours and hours about the subject if I want to. I know this anime also reffers about mental struggles and what not, but let's be honest; everyone has those. I'll pick on this later. Don't worry. So why not add some Sidmond Freud into the mix because we know that guy had a sick mommy fetish and had some huge mommy isseus aswell. Wonderfull! Yeah, I'm not a big fan of Sidmond Freud. Why not add some religous references just for the sake in appearing to be original? Brilliant! I'm not religious iether, sorry. Iether way; no, this anime is not "a masterpiece." Please don't start on the whole "But Hideaki Anno was depressed!" argument just for the sake in trying to defend this anime because honesty that's not really a good excuse. He should be taking care of himself instead of making bad decisions. I know from myself when I have my depressed moments I just withdraw from my work for a while because I know otherwise I will make mistakes or not be happy with the results afterwards. For example: I'm actully glad Hirohiko Araki, author of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure was depressed aswell when he was writing JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Golden Wind (the 5th part), but he understood he was having a dilemma with Pannacotta Fugo at the time. I'm thankfull he understood of himself he would get dissapointed afterwards if he really included that certain part he wanted to include while being in a depressed state. If you're depressed; your decision-making skills are not top notch. Trust me on this one. More on this later...

So what's Neon Genesis Evangelion all about if you might ask? It's just two aliens trying to have a rendez-vous while at the mean time some 14 year old kid screams a lot because it's afterall a smart idea to put the fate of the planet in the hands of young kids. But in reality is just about your average daily suffering like your average wage slave in this postmodernism world that trives on socialism and capitalism. That's about it. Nothing really big to over exaggerate about it like many do for this anime. There's nothing "philosophical" about it or there's no "deep meaning" behind it. Anyone that's thinks that iether a) didn't get it at all, b) tries to hype this anime for what it really is or c) watched this anime as high as a kite. We're really dealing with "a masterpiece" this time, boys & girls. Atleast uncle Timz0r senpai just tells the harsh truth for what it really is. So you're welcome. Now get me a beer so I also can produce chimpanzee like pleasing alcoholgasm sounds like Misato Katsuragi did.

Art: 5/10 (Average)
Animation wise for being made back in 1995 it is pretty OK for the time being. Atleast that statement is treu for the first half of the series, because after that it really begins to show they really probably had budget isseus which is a dissapointment. I agree; the first half was indeed very flashy animation wise for the time being and kept my interest in check, but around the second half is just a big mess with a lot of recycled animations and a freaking still image for almost atleast a minute long in episode 24 which is a huge turn-off. I don't even know at this point if it iether was done on purpose or they really suffered with a low budget, but that doesnt even matter at this point because the end-product became a mess afterall since Hideaki Anno wanted to remake the whole damn thing just to rob even more money from the people. Long live end stage capitalism, baby. Also it's a big shame the designs for the Angels are so ridiculous that it really doesn't feel they were a treat at all. At least make your Earth invading aliens more intimidating, so I can take this anime more seriously. Seriously, they really were THAT ridiculous in my opinion. I can't help it to mention that. Maybe they had that design for a far sought reason, who knows at this point, but in my point of vieuw they really were boring and ridiculous. They were in a way just monsters from a kids show and that's about it. C'mon, even a six year old can design even more intimidating monsters than the aliens we gotten in this anime.

Sound: 6/10 (Fine)
The thing that stands out the most in the iconic intro song. Yes, I admit I also like the intro. It's a catchy song, but if you start focus on it more, you already know how the entire anime will turn out. Yeah, it's one of those intro's that spoils pretty much everything already without even watching it and I don't really like these kind of intro's. Incase you didn't catched that, mind you. But indeed the fate of the planet is putted on the hands of one 14 year old boy named Shinji Ikari and that's about it. Asuka's attempt for speaking German at times was laughable, but I can see that through my fingers because my German isn't that great iether untill I'm influenced from alcohol. Yes, it's cute when Japanese people are trying to speak foreign languages. But in someway I still can admire it. In overall the voice acting was done decent enough. Pretty much the whole sound department was the best part for this anime. I mean; if you decide in using some Ludwig van Beethoven, you really need to know what you're doing right? I wish I could be this positieve atleast about the charathers.

Charathers: 5/10 (Average)
I mean, what charathers? Let's be honest, the characters are not that great, but aren't bad iether in overall. It's just a big shame the show focus the most on Shinji Ikari; where Hideaki Anno really wants to self-insert himself with. Design wise Shinji Ikari kept reminding me with Tenchi from Tenchi Muyou! Ryououki (1992), the treu harem master of the '90's that was somewhat unsure of himself, but eventually he got his act together aswell. In Shinji Ikari's case, well... He lacks individuality, charisma, presence, personality or a will and is not really a suitable main face of the entire show. While I totally can understand his situation he got himself into, but the overdramatic touch really is a big turn-off. Then we have Asuka Langley Sohryu that is your standard tsundere charather that I have seen in previous older shows aswell, but if I'm honest she's a mixed bag of annoyance and cute, but is also an understandable charather if we finally delve into her own mental struggles due her past. I sort of can relate with her aswell in some extent. I often struggle with impulsive emotions aswell, but I learned over the years just of not letting those go. Rei Ayanami on the otherhand, well, atleast Rei spawned a lot of knock-offs in other anime series. My personal favorite of the whole Evangelion anime is still Rei Ayanami. It's just a shame she gets treated as a disposible charather even she's the one with the most empathy towards Shinji Ikari. Atleast I can agree with a lot of fans that Rei is pretty much the best charather of the series. I pretty much fall into the whole kuudere archetype myself and I really like these charathers because I can relate to them the most nowadays. I also like Misato Katsuragi, a woman that also has a lot of things going and I kinda wished she was the main charather instead. She's bad ass, but she also has her own struggles with her own inner demons. The show has many other charathers, but most of them are just set as a certain role for the show and pretty much don't matter at all, which is kind of a bummer. Atleast the pinguin Pen Pen had some cute moments. I really wished the other charathers were more fleshed out which is not unfortunately the case.

Enjoyment: 3/10 (Poor)
So, we're finally here why I exactly didn't liked Neon Genesis Evangelion like your average watcher would and it's more like a personal reason really. This anime is not about robots, aliens and what not. It's about the struggles with the loss of a father figure. Atleast that's my own assumption. I only come up with this conclusion because I've been through that myself while growing up. To keep it short: I was 11 years old when my paranets divorced, my dad abandoned me and I lost my father figure at an age when I was close to puberty. Years did go by and my mom dies unfortunately and I'm forced back to live with my dad because I had no choice to keep it short. That's in my point of view the struggles of Shinji Ikari - something I wanted to avoid mentioning untill now. The real treu villain of this anime is Shinji Ikari's dad Gendo Ikari. He exploits his son in forcing him to get inside the robot, even when he probably understands he's a terrible father figure. It's one of the reasons why I can't really hate on Shinji Ikari because I've been there myself; loosing my own mother due death and loosing my entire father figure as a whole while growing up from a kid into adulthood and not knowing how to go further in life while being dissapointed in your dad because he doesn't really cares about you. The whole anime setting about aliens and what not is just there as a huge distraction. There's to much distraction going on to broadcast the real message this anime is trying to tell you and I honesty don't like it. Being raised by single parenthood really does damage your child more than you'll ever could imagne. The problem I have with this is that single parenthood is becoming way to common these days worldwide. People really don't think ahead about the future with their selfish actions anymore. Divorces are also skyrocketing worldwide. I know I'll never get married or never want to procreate with a woman because I know that child will have less of a future than I have. I don't want to force my own kid into wageslavery (aka. to get inside the robot even when you don't want to) and become nothing more but a replaceable puppet to keep the corrupt Capitalism x Socialism system going. You're a smart person when you can learn from your own mistakes, but you're genius when you also can learn from someone else their mistakes. I know the mistakes my parents did in the past and I'll try my best in not making those mistakes ever in my own life for the time I have left on this planet. Even I'm aware I'm just nothing but a bipedal primate, but atleast I know my own limits and possibillities if I keep on refusing to follow the herd like a blind sheep. We live in a society. Bottom text.

Overall: 4/10 (Bad)
In an overall conclusion; I honesty didn't liked this anime. The negatieves really outweigh the positieve aspects of this anime in my point of view. Am I going to watch it's movie "sequal" Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)? Absolutely! Especially since the whole story is not finished at all because of apparanetly budget isseus. But I do have already low expectations, because I know it's going to be a sequal from post-modernist crap. Who knows I might like that movie sequal a bit better as an entry now I finally have my own train of thought out of the way, but I highly doubt it. Am I going to to watch it's movie remakes that only were/are being made to milk out money without all the bad decicions Hideaki Anno made in the orginal series? I don't think I'm willing enough into getting into these entries to be honest. Why would I bother in watching a retelling of the same story just with apparantly less drama in it because of bad decisions? I've seen now the orgininal story. Atleast most of it for now. I understand the main purpose of existence of those remake movies. Do I rececommend this anime to others? Heh, that's up to you to decide. But I hope you can understand now why I give this anime an overall score of 4 out of 10 just because I can.