Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

Watching Neon Genesis Evangelion ( henceforth called Eva ) reminded me of another popular anime I completed recently – Attack on Titan – in that both have intriguing premises and in-depth plots which are unfortunately brought down by the juvenile nature of its main cast and the disappointingly rushed ending. The plot of Eva can be summed up as – humanity fighting for its routine survival both physically and psychologically. This is a gross simplification and its only stated as a one-liner statement to understand what the series is about. Eva has much more to tell and it actually does so very convincingly using various religio-metaphysicalsymbolisms, philosophical themes and the inner thoughts of its characters. If one is able to connect the dots offered by the plot, you get a very ingenious series quite ahead of its times. The plot keeps one engaged and while I found the first half of the series to be a bit dull, the second half picks up and delivers greatly.

The plot however suffers from two flaws – excessive and obnoxious fanservice, either overt or covert, in almost every episode which actually makes me wonder whether the makers of the series were high all the time. It only reduces the quality and gravity of the series in my eyes. Secondly, the ending which was rushed due to budgetary constraints and resulted in simply dumping of info which had little coherency with the episodes just before it.

The characters are a mixed bag but one thing which stands out is that they all have substantial backstories and mostly realistic motivations which could have been one of the best points of the series, had not the makers ruined their execution and presentation. The kids are reduced to annoying tropes either meant for fanservice or not-so-comedic comedy relief. The adults are more bearable and interesting but they also suffer from said issues sometimes. Only when the series progresses and we get a glimpse of their inner psychologies do we get to like the characters more – I wish that they had done it earlier.

The sound, osts and the ops and eds are top-notch and add much flavour and depth to the series. The art and animation may seem ‘old’ from the current perspective but it has its own charm and the action scenes are very well done for its time.

So the main question remains – is Eva worth watching ? If you detest fanservice and gore of any kind and can’t bear 14 y/o, then please refrain from this. For others, it is worth watching even if you are not into psychological anime a lot because of the unique, mentally stimulating experience it offers.