Review of Neon Genesis Evangelion

Overview: "Neon Genesis Evangelion" was easily one of, if not the, most influential anime of the 1990s, to the point that even if you haven't watched the series, then there's a good chance that you've seen at least a few anime that were inspired by it to some degree or another. Having watched the anime myself, I can definitely see why, as in spite of all the inspirations, it still stands out as a one-of-a-kind series even more than a quarter of a century after its initial run. While it does definitely have its problems, and some parts of the series have aged better than others,it is nevertheless a true classic that has more than withstood the test of time.

Story (9/10):
"Evangelion" is set in an alternate version of 2015 (which at the time was 20 years in the future), 15 years after the planet was ravaged by an inexplicable disaster known as Second Impact, which wiped out about half of the human population. In the futuristic city known as Tokyo-3, an paramilitary organization known as NERV has been set up to counter the threat of Angels, mysterious beings that appear out of seemingly nowhere and seek to wipe out what remains of humanity. The problem is that Angels are protected by force fields, that can only be penetrated by the titular Evangelions, giant mechs made of both organic and synthetic parts that can only be piloted by specific teenagers born a few months after Second Impact. One such teenager is our protagonist Shinji Ikari, a quiet, unassuming, pessimistic boy who is summoned to NERV by his father Gendo to be the pilot of EVA-01. While he is understandably hesitant at first, he ultimately agrees to be their pilot due to a complete lack of other options, and from then on is thrusted into one horror after another, all while accompanied by his fellow pilots Asuka Langley Soryu and Rei Ayanami, and his commanding officer and guardian Misato Katsuragi.

The themes of "Evangelion" are heavy and plentiful, ranging from religion to philosophy. At the time of development, director Hideaki Anno was going through a serious phase of depression, and that is evident by the fact that this series is much darker than a typical mech series. It's very well-known for being a deconstruction of the genre and it more than lives up to that reputation by providing solid and often very dark explanations for various mech anime tropes that typical examples of the genre tend to expect you to take their word for. For example, the reason why all the EVA pilots are young teenagers is because nobody older is able to pilot them, and the EVAs themselves have multiple impracticalities (short battery life, cause their pilots to feel pain when damaged etc.) that make it crystal clear that the only reason they're used at all is because they're the only weapons that can penetrate the Angels' shields. Furthermore, many common character types in the genre (the hero, the stoic, the tsundere etc.) are explored in far greater detail than normal and it's shown just how damaging such archetypes can be. While the Angels are superficially the villains of the story, ultimately every character is their own worst enemy, with many of their issues and problems being caused by their inability to connect or relate to other people, which is ironic given how easily the audience can relate to them. Just about every major character has experienced some kind of serious trauma and is driven by a desire to never be hurt again, and the series goes to no short lengths to show how damaging such an approach to life is. Sure, the consequences will likely never be as astronomical in real life as they are here, but the message is still very much there.

However, despite being famous as a deconstruction, the way it presents itself as such is surprisingly subtle, particularly when compared to the likes of "Puella Magi Madoka Magica", which got to the dark parts of the series within the first three episodes. While differences from other mech series are certainly evident from the beginning, most notably in how Shinji is the polar opposite of a typical protagonist of the genre, the truly dark stuff seeps in gradually overtime, and shit doesn't truly hit the fan until about two-thirds of the way into the series. Admittedly, this does result in some very slow-pacing in the beginning, but the payoff is more than worth it. And while the last few episodes are bound to screw with your mind and certain moments will confuse the hell out of you, the various points and powerful messages the show presents couldn't be any clearer, and it is these messages that I remember the story for above all else. One thing I would like to note, however, is that instead of watching the final two episodes, you should instead watch the movie "End of Evangelion", which is a retelling of those episodes and is largely considered to be the true finale.

Art & Animation (8/10):
"Evangelion"'s visuals are fairly dated, but they're still great overall. The characters and EVAs are very well-drawn and animated, and there are plenty of great special effects that have managed to hold up even over two decades down the line. When compared to especially dated visuals of the 90s such as those of "Trigun", "Evengelion"'s visuals are practically timeless, but when compared to the likes of "Cowboy Bebop"'s art, that's when they start to show their age. Overall, however, it is definitely one of the better-looking anime of its time, and still very pleasant to look at even to this day.

Sound & Dialogue (9/10):
"Evangelion"'s soundtrack is easily one of the best things about it. The series is chock full of memorable tracks that very much succeed in enhancing the emotions of whatever scenes they play in. Two especially notable examples are the opening "Cruel Angel's Thesis" and the ending theme "Fly to the Moon", which even to this day are two of the best songs to open and end an episode of a show with. There's an incredibly memorable scene late in the series that plays the "Hallelujah" chorus of all things, which fits the scene it plays in perfectly and is something that modern anime wouldn't even consider doing. The voice acting is very good as well, with Spike Spencer, Tiffany Grant, Amanda Winn-Lee and Allison Keith giving respectable performances as Shinji, Asuka, Rei and Misato respectively, even if it does take a while for them to really settle into their roles. The dub does have some rough edges, but it's still one of the better dubs of its time, and I'm glad that I chose it over the more modern Netflix dub. The script is fantastic too, being chock-full of memorable lines that I will not list in order to avoid spoilers.

Characters (9/10):
I've mentioned and described Shinji quite a bit already, but let's recap on his character; he's quiet, painfully shy, really self-loathing and highly pessimistic. He's hardly ever happy, mostly because he really doesn't have much to be happy about. Due to being abandoned by his father shortly after his mother's untimely death ten years before the story began, he believes that he has no value or worth as a person and so has adopted a life policy of keeping his nose down and doing as he is told. While wimpy protagonists aren't exactly rare, and in fact many of them are directly or indirectly inspired by Shinji himself, Shinji still stands out in that he doesn't really become any braver over the series, with it being more that he resigns himself to his duties and doesn't complain, especially since he knows all too well that it's either fight or die. But while he's always scared, he still manages to pull through most of the time, though there is a definite emphasis on "most" here. While he's a nice guy most of the time, he can also be very selfish, and often exacerbates situations due to his own overwhelming fear of being rejected. If anything, however, these moments only prove that, giant mech pilot or not, he's still only human, and practically a kid at that. Ultimately, though, he's far from being the show's best character, and is in fact very ordinary by the cast's standards, which was actually a deliberate choice made by Anno himself.

If I were to pick a favourite character, it would have to be Asuka Langley Soryu. While to this day, I still don't know why Anno chose to wait not one, not two, but seven episodes before introducing Asuka, the difference between those first seven episodes and those that come after it are pretty damn substantial, and very much in a good way. Not only is she a surprisingly fun character, with a lot of the show's comedy coming from her, but she is also the most badass member of the cast for much of the series. While Shinji was pretty much pulled into the EVA cockpit, Asuka has been piloting one since she was FOUR, and it shows. However, while she seems like the opposite of Shinji on the surface, deep down she's just as shy and insecure as he is- she's just much better at hiding it, which she does via a façade of narcissistic bravado. While she's definitely not nice, I hardly, if ever, found her insufferable, especially since pretty much none of the major cast are really what you would call "nice" (the closest would be Shinji, and as I mentioned above, even he has his moments). Additionally, when she's not just putting people down, she can occasionally make a valid point regarding someone's issues, whether it's Shinji's inability to stand up for himself or Rei's tendency to do whatever she's told without question. Don't get me wrong, there are definite moments when she acts like a real bitch, but the circumstances behind these moments go a long way to explain her behaviour, if not necessarily justify it. And when you learn exactly why she is the way she is, you'll probably want to give the poor girl a hug.

The third of the EVA pilots is Rei Ayanami, a highly mysterious girl whom Shinji meets when he first comes to NERV headquarters. While very little is known about her at first, it soon becomes clear that something is seriously wrong with her; not only does she barely feel any emotions, but she also seems to have no concept of modesty, to the point that her reaction to Shinji walking in on her naked, falling on top of her, and accidentally groping her is limited to politely asking him to get off her without a hint of embarrassment or annoyance, let alone asking him to leave the room while she dressed. She also has an astounding lack of regard for her own life, often putting herself at needless risk to get others out of danger on the grounds that she can easily be replaced if she dies. However, Shinji attempts to call her out on this, since he doesn't like her viewing herself as expendable, especially since he doesn't view himself as worth risking one's life in order to save. All of this stems from a lifetime of scientific experiments and pretty much being conditioned to accept whatever horror comes her way, to the point that she would do anything Gendo tells her do, making her an even bigger doormat than Shinji. Overtime, however, Rei starts to become more and more in touch with her emotions, with episodes 5 & 6 being standout moments of development for her. I can't really say anything else without spoiling something, but it is worth nothing that Anno wrote her with the intention for her to be creepy and unsettling, yet many wanted to give her a hug instead, a failure that ended up very much working in the show's favour.

The fourth and final member of the main cast is Misato Katsuragi, the captain of the NERV Operations Department who becomes the guardian to Shinji, and later Asuka too. Despite being more than twice their age, Misato often acts like someone closer to the ages of the Children as a way to cope with past trauma (keep in mind, she was around during Second Impact), which in turn makes it difficult to connect with her wards despite her best efforts. Nevertheless, she is very protective of them, and a very competent fighter despite not being an EVA pilot. There are quite a few other noteworthy characters, such as Misato's ex-boyfriend Ryoji Kaiji, who's introduced in the same episode as Asuka, and Shinji's father, Gendo, but it's hard to say anything about them without giving away some spoilers. All I can really say is that most characters are important and just about everyone is more than they seem. In fact, the way characters act matches up very well with real-life mental illnesses, with Asuka having narcissistic personality disorder, Rei having schizoid personality disorder and Shinji avoidant personality disorder. It's obvious that Hideaki Anno really did his research regarding mental health, and this serves to make the characters all the more psychologically complex and surprisingly believable.

Enjoyment (8/10):
I'll be honest here, "Evangelion" is not an anime you watch to be entertained. One big problem I have with the series (and was also a problem I had with "Madoka Magica") is that I feel it takes the whole deconstruction thing a little too far. At a certain point, you just feel that the world is going out of its way to torment its characters as much as possible, to the point that anything that can go wrong does. It's all to prove a point, sure, but it's nevertheless telling that even after everything I had heard about the series, I STILL wasn't mentally prepared for the last few episodes, let alone the movie. Bottom line: if you're going to watch the series, you had best make sure you know what you're getting yourself into.

Overall:
"Neon Genesis Evangelion" is a fantastic dark twist on the mecha genre that explores the importance of forming connections and bonds with others and how damaging the lack of such things can be in the long run, and as such has more than earned its reputation as one of the most influential anime ever conceived. It's definitely not for the faint-hearted and the visuals are fairly dated, but this is still a true 90s classic that is well worth watching even to this day, with brilliantly complex characters, amazing music and a fantastic story. Just don't blame yourself if you feel the series is screwing with your mind.

Score:
9+8+9+9+8=43/50=8.6/10