Neon Genesis Evangelion

Directed by: Hideaki Anno
Studio: Gainax
Genres: Mecha, Shonen, Sci-Fi, Progressive
Format: 26 TV episodes
For fans of: Gundam Wing, Bubblegum Crisis, Ghost in the Shell



Live Action Anime Rating: ****



Of all the anime series that have been made until this day, very few (or probably none) have been as affected by hype as the enigmatic Neon Genesis Evangelion. This is a show that has been affected both positively and negatively because of its immense popularity.

By the end of the 90's, and the first few years of the 2000's, it was impossible to be an anime fan without having heard of Evangelion. During the earlier part of the decade, most anime followed the safe path of the "tried and worked" system. Very few studios were willing to experiment and things were beginning to get nasty for them after a few years, since audiences had been noticing the decrease in quality and originality. That's when the famous or perhaps infamous studio Gainax, decided to kick-it-up-a-notch and the legendary anime that I'm now reviewing came to life.

It took writer/director Hideaki Anno four years of depression, psychological therapy and self-finding to build-up the emotional inspiration to create Evangelion. Not to mention an entire youth of Living La Vida Otaku which gave him contact with classics such as Mobile Suit Gundam and Space Runaway Ideon; two shows that severely influenced his intellectual inspiration. Anno took aspects of the basic premise of these classic mecha shows and added his own little twist to it. A twist never before seen in a show of it's kind, and the result was the anti-thesis of any other mecha anime out there.

By this time, it's almost a sin for an anime fan to not have seen Evangelion, but for those almost-sinners, its story follows the external and internal (mostly internal) conflicts of a 14-year-old boy who goes by the name of Shinji Ikari. Now, Shinji Ikari is the first big example of how Evangelion differs from most mecha anime before its time. Shinji isn't the kind of hero that acts as if he was made of steel and takes on any life-threatening challenge with the attitude you'd take a one month vacation. No, Shinji wants to live life peacefully, without being bothered, because if someone bothers him, he won't know what to do other than feeling bothered by himself. As the story begins, we see Shinji Ikari arriving at the city of Neo Tokyo-3 to reunite with is cold-hearted father, Gendo Ikari. Gendo himself is another cause of Shinji's introverted personality, as his constant ability to act like a butt hole has ended up completely degrading Shinji's ego since he was just a child. It is actually Gendo that has summoned Shinji to reunite with him, but just like Shinji suspected, there's a reason behind that which, isn't fatherly love. Strange, gigantic and powerful creatures nicknamed Angels have begun to attack the city of Neo Tokyo- 3, and the only weapon able to counter the power of the Angels are the Evangelions; giant humanoid robots developed by Gendo Ikari. However, there's only one operational Evangelion when the Angel's start attacking, and no one to pilot it. NERV -the secret organization which Gendo is a leader of- has only two pilots for Evangelions, and one is severely wounded while the other is in Germany. And there you have the reason why Gendo was so eager to reunite with his son that he hadn't seen in years.

Shinji doesn't act all tough about his situation. He acts just like many real 14-year-olds abandoned by their father would. He questions why he now has to save everyone when he could barely find a reason to live himself. Not only does he have to deal with his father's rejection, but also with trying to adapt to a new lifestyle and try to connect with the people he has met at his new home. All while having to save Earth from the Angels, whose origin and purpose is unknown, at least when the series begins. Evangelion also uses enormous amounts of religious imagery simply for aesthetic purposes, but it uses it in such a subtle way that the show isn't carried away by it. It does however, succeed in adding an apocalyptic feeling to the show, and in helping part of the plot develop as a story of Biblical prophecy and mortal cataclysm, at least in the second half of the story, since most of the earlier episodes are meant to introduce the characters and their backgrounds.

I've probably said enough good things about Evangelion. That’s probably enough for many people to think that I see it as a perfect show. Well, let me tell you, Evangelion is not a perfect show. It has it's flaws but the only one I find with a strong need of being mentioned is its very poor animation. Evangelion isn't, by any means, a big budget anime. When looking at the show as a whole, that's no reason to take any credit away from its brilliance.

The worst, the really bad part about Evangelion is not the fault of the show itself. It's the fault of mere hype. It is possibly common sense that anything that is hyped to the point of massive success among audiences and critics will also cultivate a big amount of haters. Many have been trying to take credit away from Evangelion by comparing it to other anime shows (mostly recent ones). What they don't see is that those shows they are comparing it with have been strongly influenced by Evangelion. That's what makes Evangelion a landmark in anime history. Just as you can use Astroboy, Space Battleship Yamato, Akira, Miyazaki's films and Gundam to trace back to the story of anime, Evangelion also belongs on that time-line with big letters. Those who haven't seen it, should forget about all the hype, forget about my rating, forget about all recent shows that follow a similar premise, and watch the whole thing at least twice. You won't absorb it well enough just by watching it once

-rjxsapri®


Second Opinion: Neon Genesis Evangelion is an enigma. If you went to one group of animé fans they'd overrate it beyond all imagination. Turn to another and they'd give it subtle praise. And then there are the groups who haven't even heard of it. It's the sort of series where there is no average opinion of it. And sure, it is very preachy and dare i say it, up it's own arse, but it's one of the best of it's kind, and pulls off what it does in a way befitting of any high class animé series. The animation is superbly done, approaching film quality in places, and the dialogue is very well scripted. You could point out that the characters are whiney and not really true heroes in attitude, but their attitudes are unique in that respect, and it enhances the quality of this series as a whole. I can't bring myself to praise this as much as other mecha shows (although you could argue the fact that i grew up with Gundam Wing as reason for this), but i can say that if you ignore the hype and people who overrate this, you're guaranteed to enjoy this landmark in animé's history.

-FlipThePage


Emotionally unstable teenagers Rei Ayanami, Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley protect Earth from godly fury in Neon Genesis Evangelion.


Rating System:

Rating system:
*= Horrible
*½= Very Bad
**= Bad
**½= Good
***= Very Good
***½= Excellent
****= Masterpiece