Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

When I think of my adolescence and which anime drastically shaped my way of viewing media, one series that inevitably comes to mind is Neon Genesis Evangelion. Even now having seen this show in it's entirety many times over the course of my life, it still manages to impress, compel and challenge me with it's intricately layered ideas and presentation. While it'd be easy to think that an iconic series of this magnitude would already be discussed to death by nearly everyone who has seen it (and I'm sure for some that limit was already reached a long time ago), I still feel like there'sfresh things to talk about with Evangelion. As a whole it can mean so much to so many different people that it practically warrants discussion. Some might see it as Hideaki Anno's tribute to his influences as an otaku, others see it as pure religious symbolism which enlightens the brain and makes you a smarter based evapilled anime connoisseur, and some just watch the show for a couple """"""funny"""""" memes, then go on the internet to post the zillionth """"""hilarious"""""" picture of Shinji's hand in End of Eva, etc. (if you fall into either of the last two groups, just know you are obnoxious and I don't wanna meet you in public). Ultimately though, Evangelion represents a lot, to the point where it wouldn't feel right to corner it into a box as just one thing. However I do think that it's pretty hard to dispute the fact that a key element of this series has always been it's deeply humanist themes about the yearn for intimate connection, as well as personal growth in the face of things like depression, isolation and trauma. It's a little funny to me when people, even some Eva fans specifically, will go on the internet and say things like "Watching this series caused me depression XD", when most of the time it is the literal opposite of what said media was trying to do. I know some people are just kinda media illiterate like that, but c'mon now. Anyways, I don't want to just rag on Eva fans (although I could probably write at length on that as well if I tried) because this is about something which I passionately like.

When I think of an anime that really lays it's self out there from the very beginning, and only keeps further building upon it's character relations, themes and narrative, Evangelion is that show. Establishing and elaborating is pretty much the key with, well, most media, and Evangelion in particular gets this shit down to a tee. Nearly every character, no matter how much screentime they get, feel prevalent. The series knows not to waste time, and instead opts to further carve out it's most prominent cast in both subtle and straightforward ways. I was originally going to write further analysis on these characters, however I stopped when I realized that I'd actually have to delve pretty deep into a good chunk of not just them but the show it self, and it's themes, intricacies etc. and currently I just ain't got the time. Plus I feel like a lot stuff that I would say has already been echoed many times over in either videos, reviews, analysis pieces etc. Although I'm also not completely opposed to the idea of writing my own lengthy ass essay on why all this is so masterful, but I'll hold off until next time.

That same praise goes out for this show's audiovisual language, which feels precise, gritty and even downright cinematic sometimes, which is not something I can say for every TV anime. To me, Evangelion is where Hideaki Anno's editing truly kicked into high gear. Everything from the cuts to the transitions flow so naturally and purposefully, to the point where I'd honestly feel content with saying Evangelion has my favorite editing from any anime ever (with the exception of maybe Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress, but whatever, we're talking about a TV series now). And it's along with the editing that the visually stimulating imagery of the show truly comes alive. Whether it be the grander shots of Tokyo-3, the scribbled internal psychosis of the characters manifested in bleak surrealism, the countless visual symbols and shot composition, the sick ass designs of both the mechs as well as the angels, and god knows I could probably ramble on forever about this as well. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto is one of my favorite character designers, and he really did a great job in giving dynamic looks to each of the cast. It's no wonder why characters like Shinji, Rei, Asuka and Misato still show up nearly everywhere to this day. They might seem like simple designs at face value, but little subtleties in each of them show off their traits and personality from the get go, as with any great character design work.

Man, all this talk about visual stuff and I didn't even mention the music nor the sound design. Shiro Sagisu's score honestly feels about as iconic to me as anything else in the show. It's personally some of my favorite cinematic classical music in anything ever. It ranges precisely from emotion to emotion in any given scene. Grand, playful, ominous, even unsettling when it really needs to hammer it in (complementary). And that very same precision is kept up for the sound design as well. There's honestly so many immersive and atmospheric moments here which get their effect largely thanks to the audio. Humming white noise, sounds of the outside world, the distorted and hellishly nerv racking soundscapes of discomfort present in so many of the show's most unsettling moments. I could rattle off example after example of when and how they're used correctly and affectively. As I could with practically any technical aspect in this show.

Alright I've sucked off Evangelion enough for now. It's no secret that this show is a fair bit divisive for some, and I'd be lying if I called it objectively perfect. As much as I find the mythos and lore around the show engaging and interesting, it doesn't exactly tell it in the most coherent way possible. On one hand I love that it doesn't rely too much on direct exposition, builds up mystery around things and let's the audience come to certain conclusions on their own terms, that stuff is great. However with all the intricacies going on over the course of Evangelion's runtime, it's not hard to see why some people may have felt a bit alienated by some of the further plot developments as well as the mystique of the show. Although I'm gonna say something which I know a lot of people will disagree with me on. I actually kind of really like how ominous and cryptic the events surrounding Evangelion can be. Not only does it create an eerie sense of dread around it in the way that a lot of cosmic horror will, as if it's something we as the audience are not meant to be discovering, but it actively makes me want to interpret and read on the details or smaller moments more which actually do present some info. I'm not trying to excuse some of these shortcomings as flawless, but it is the reason why I can personally look past them as an enjoyer of the show. There's also some stuff here in the middle which you could consider "filler", as the show kind of falls into the "monster of the week" trope. Personally I don't mind it due to the series not dragging it out too much, and at least offering more and more intrigue around it's plot and characters, but y'know I get it, that stuff might feel significantly weaker when contrasted with the first and last legs of the show. I've heard criticism thrown against the humor in this show as well, and yeah some of this stuff you just kinda get used to as an anime watcher. Doesn't make it any less bad, but I will defend Evangelion a bit by saying that at least the show isn't just reliant on the comedy. Instead it feels like most of the gags are reliant on the show's themes. Mostly. Although I'll admit that a joke I still really like is the one in episode 8 where Shinji has to "think" in German for Asuka's eva to function. So yeah the comedy isn't great overall, but hey, at least it's better than 99% of the memes Eva fans will make.

Lastly there are the final two controversial episodes "Do you love me?" and "Take care of yourself". I'm not gonna mention the supposed backlash these received at the time, as I feel like those points are more worth bringing up with the End of Evangelion review (which I'm gonna be seeing on the big screen soon today at the time of writing this review wohoo!!!!). Instead I'll say what I think. Personally, I like the last two episodes, but I don't think they're great. What works in them is that they do a great job of diving into the mindset of each individual character (especially Shinji), while offering a lot of visually unique and manically well edited sequences showcasing the mental fuckery going on inside their heads. However what doesn't work as well is the way these two episodes literally grab the viewer and scream the message as well as the themes of this show to their face. The common criticism of these two episodes is that they're confusing and make no sense, and I believe this is false. If anything they are wayyyy too on the nose about it. What happened to the more subtle and effective character building present throughout the series? Why are we getting all of what the show built in this roundabout way? I get that these are meant to be seen as "therapy sessions", but it honestly could've been handled significantly better if only Gainax would've had the proper leverage (as we will soon see in End of Evangelion). There's also other questions around the show's plot which just don't get properly adressed because the last two episodes reside almost solely within Shinji's mind. With all that being said though, I do ultimately really like the final message of the show and what it says, even if getting there in these last episodes can feel messy, conflicting and a little frustrating.

While Neon Genesis Evangelion is overall a fantastic yet flawed series, I'll still always personally hold it near and dear to my own heart for shaping me up as a person in my formative years. I won't mince words when I say that this show has truly helped me come to grips with a lot of draining and rough times in my life. While I can't say I relate to it in the same way now as I did when I was a teenager, aspects of it can still hit really, really deep with me personally. As much as I and many other fans would probably hate to admit, we see or have seen a lot of ourselves in characters like Shinji, Rei, Asuka or Misato. And why wouldn't we? After all the show came from the mind of a real person who dealt with these things. In fact most of the feelings present are practically universal to the human experience. However it is with connecting and understanding, that ultimately we can better ourselves. And in a lot of ways Evangelion holds more emotional weight to me now that I no longer relate to it in the same way. Because I was able to overcome those challenges and hardships in order to truly start living my life out ideally, and seeing that represented in a piece of media admittedly feels pretty cathartic if you ask me. All in all, Evangelion and Hideaki Anno 4ever ✌️