Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

As we flutter through life, issues like insecurity, incompetence and depression mar the success we are trying to attain. Some of these faults are scars left by our past inaccuracies and some are merely circumstantial. Among peer pressure and burden of expectations, running away is easy fuel. But run away often, shelters will rumble and deprecate in numbers. As Shinji Ikari pilots the Eva, only his heart knows the reason of his constant battle. Only he seems to know that he's finding a way to save himself through saving the world. The character of Shinji is wonderfully explored, Anno poured his heart and soul intothe character. It's all good. But what about the other characters? How are they handled? As Anno goes on building the strongest base for our protagonist, he's simultaneously expecting us to show the same level of connection with all his other drawn characters. But the reality of it half resonates with the daydream.

The story has its mass composed of religious elements, sometimes told through dialogue and sometimes metaphor. Initially, the plot's strength is marked by lack of knowledge. As we did not hold any knowledge of the world, its building was in great hands. But then came terrible dialogue that was spoken oft in all the right places but with horrible precision. Sometimes the most powerful moments are ruined by cheap and terrible entries in the script, much of which made me wonder how such drafts passed the editing department. At times when such dialogue is spoken, I was of the pretense that the layer of cringe would gradually wear off but the stench in the unswept debris would ruin the whole episode for me.

For animation that was made in 95-96, NGE looks ordinary relative to what Miyazaki brought us with Totoro in 1988. The erotic shots are often inferior products of this dated animation, the sexiness that Anno aimed for doesn't quite work 20 years later (yes, I realize how that sounds like). The use of soundtrack too wasn't as great for me as the compiled dark silence that some episodes grasped firmly. Two exceptions to that would be Kaworu's sequence where I think the show reaches its apex and the wonderful opening music.

In the end, I did enjoy some aspects of Evangelion but I cannot say that I consider myself to be a fan. Mostly because of its excessive iterations of the same notions. The show makes me feel like I have a memory spurt of 5 minutes wherein every modicum of ideas that I accept tends to erase itself. That is how often the show repeats its themes, evident in large packets in the last two episodes. Anno wrote the show during his depression which greatly reflects itself in Shinji. As much as I love Shinji, the same love cannot be extended to other characters, particularly Asuka who deserves so much better. Call it a masterpiece or call it wasted potential, the amalgamation of science and spirit proves to be feeble. The greater part of its essential accessory is delivered in small fractions. Only in the last five minutes of the finale could I assemble an emotional connection. As for the rest, I can already feel it evanescing.