But Evangelion also delved into the characters' intimate, psychological motivations, which is something which most anime does not do. Shinji felt worthless because he had no place in society and contributed nothing substantial to those around him. Asuka's childhood mental trauma caused her to constantly try to validate her reason for existence. Rei is the medium between the two who has dispassionately resolved herself to her existence and seemingly feels guilty over wanting more than is given to her.
She punishes herself, sacrifices herself, as a form of penance for wanting to have a relationship, a place in society, and feelings of happiness that she believes aren't right for her to have. Boys who pilot giant robots built by their fathers aren't uncommon in anime. These boys fight for the sake of justice, revenge, or out of a feeling of moral obligation. Shinji Ikari is unusual because his actions are motivated by a natural selfish desire to feel needed, respected, and valuable.
Shinji, Askua, and Rei are placeholders for their emotional conflicts and questions that viewers wrestle with. Unlike conventional anime that makes light of adolescent worries or employs typical adolescent awkwardness in order to give viewers something to empathize with and laugh at, Evangelion strives to provide a moral path for viewers.
Evangelion assures viewers that anxiety, frustration, loneliness, and doubt are natural feelings. More importantly, Evangelion emphasizes that these emotions are necessary to mold individuals into successful, self-confident human beings. Rarely do we come across such a series that remains critically acclaimed yet controversial even today. With its unique storytelling and unconventional characters, it is not surprising to find so many in awe of this flawed yet brilliant show.
Director Hideaki Anno was the visionary behind the creation of this show. His talents were splendid enough to impress Studio Ghibli's Hayao Miyazaki, landing him the opportunity to work on the film Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Later on, Anno went on to co-found the popular animation studio GAINAX, and through his works, obtained the position of a premier anime director.
However, all the hard grind took a toll on his mental health, resulting in him falling into depression. The culmination of all these unfortunate circumstances gave birth to Anno's magnum opus, Neon Genesis Evangelion. Anno's mental state had heavily influenced the lore of the world of Eva and the characters residing in it.
The concept of mecha was not new during the s when shows like Gundam were at their peak of popularity. Where Evangelion differs in its setup is through its use of religious symbolism in establishing the incidents and phenomenons occurring within the story. The symbolism itself may not seem to have deep connotations, but it hints at the human interpretation of vagueness while adding a new dimension to the reasoning of the events taking place.
The story has its brilliant moments, but the characters are the highlights of the show. Most of the main cast come off as self-centred and unlikable, but under their crude personalities lie the reflection of their broken psyche trying to adapt to the ruthless world they live in while grasping at straws to change their current reality.
The unappealing traits of the characters are prominently portrayed in the show. Shinji acting like a cowardly and whiny brat; Asuka being annoying and condescending; Shinji's father, Gendo, forcing his orders on his son while manipulating those who trust him to fulfil his ambition; and Misato seeking refuge in questionable activities for her mental satisfaction are some of the prominent ones.
This isn't even getting into the animation of the last two episodes, which had zero budget whatsoever. You might end up hating protagonist Shinji Ikari.
Many viewers do. He's whiny and uncomfortable. You might also find yourself relating to Shinji. Regardless of how you feel about him, Evangelion makes sure you that you understand Shinji. It delves deep into his depression, his familial trauma, his poor relationships with women, his whole psychology. The whole cast of Evangelion is like that. Asuka and Rei might appear to be anime girl stereotypes, but the show reveals reasons why Asuka is so tsundere and Rei so coldly inexpressive.
The adult characters have their own traumas to deal with, even a character like Misato who initially appears to be comic relief. Even Gendo, the world's worst father, has reasons he does the awful things he does. The alien enemies are "Angels. The Kabbalist Tree of Life appears in the opening credits. Surely all this religious symbolism must mean something , right? According to Hideaki Anno, it actually doesn't mean anything at all.
He just decided to use imagery from Abrahamic religions because it looked cool and "exotic" to Japanese audiences. Some of the symbolism moreso the Kabbalah parts than the Christian ones have been analyzed for more meaning, but in general it's wise not to get too hung up on what's generally a thematic red herring. It makes sense why so much discussion of Evangelion focuses on the darkness and pain, but those aspects wouldn't be nearly as effective if the show hadn't established itself as fun early on.
Before the second half of the series takes its turn into deconstruction, the first half is one of the most enjoyable "monster of the week" series ever made.
While dropping enough hints of a greater mystery to keep viewers on their feet, the early part of Evangelion is extremely effective at just being an enjoyable mecha anime. The Angels are all creatively weird, the characters are established well through the episodic storylines and at times the show is even downright funny.
Evangelion was meant for week-to-week viewing in Japan. American fans in the past would typically experience it in a similar gradual trickle. The VHS releases had two episodes per overpriced tape, and the DVDs typically had three-to-five episodes per slightly less overpriced disc. Taking one's time with Evangelion , soaking every detail in and developing all sorts of wild theories along the way, was part of the experience.
Soon, it will all be available to binge on Netflix. You can still pace it out, but so many viewers will just rush through the show and not really get the full experience. Anyone trying to understand the history of anime should watch it.
Not only did the series revitalize the mecha genre, but it provided a major boost to the entire industry during a time of creative stagnation. Evangelion inspired plenty of rip-offs, of course, but also inspired greater waves of original auteur-driven anime. It unintentionally boosted the otaku culture Anno was criticizing, while also reaching out beyond the typical anime audience into mainstream Japanese popular consciousness.
This is a show so widely beloved that Robin Williams was a fan an Evangelion toy is notably included in One Dollar Photo! The flipside of Evangelion being so influential is that it's no longer quite so distinctive and surprising to new viewers.
So many different anime creators have taken lessons from Evangelion 's successes and failures. Mecha anime since Evangelion have mostly either been directly inspired by EVA Rahxephon , pictured above, is one notable series or rebelling against it Gurren Lagann , from former EVA animators. Even beyond the mecha genre, younger anime fans who haven't seen Evangelion have almost certainly seen its progeny, and might wonder what the big deal is.
They might prefer other psychological anime such as Lain and Utena, or other dark genre twists like Madoka. Evangelion 's still worthwhile for them, but new fans should measure their expectations. Even in the early episodes of Evangelion , when the show is in its more traditional mecha anime phase, it's clear something's not quite right. The Angels are creepy enough, but even the EVA robots themselves have something off about them.
Without going into details, it's not really a spoiler to say that things get more and more Even if you don't normally find yourself frightened by cartoons, there are moments in Evangelion that will haunt you.
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