Neon Genesis Evangelion Highly recommended

Publisher
ADV
Director
Hideaki Anno
Production
GAINAX, NAS, TV Tokyo
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes
Year
1995

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Collection 0:1

By John Huxley
20th May 04

What is there to say about Neon Genesis Evangelion that hasn't already been said? It is (quite rightly) the most talked about, most analysed anime there has ever been. There's countless homages, parodies and wholesale rip-offs. It's been discussed on radio, television, in print and all over the world wide web. You can buy Evangelion toys, figures, trading cards, lunch boxes, keyrings, videogames, notepads and every other collectable item you can think of. Sometime in the future we'll even be able to watch the live action version on the big screen.

Although I don't think I can really add anything unique to this melange of all things Eva, I could do worse than offer my humble opinion.

If you haven't skipped to the score already (shame on you if you did), I'll give it to you straight. Evangelion isn't perfect, it isn't the be all and end all of anime, but it is an astonishing piece of animation that should belong in every anime collection - scratch that - every film collection the world over. The reason for this is twofold. First of all, it really is very good. Secondly, it's an important piece of cinematic history. I hate to recommend something based upon its popularity/importance, yet Evangelion is one of those series that will inevitably pop up in discussion time and time again. If you want to talk about it, even if you want to argue against it, you should at least be familiar with the series.

As Evangelion opens, we're introduced to a familiar post-apocalyptic scenario in which Tokyo has rebuilt itself as Tokyo-3, a technological haven to protect its inhabitants from the 'angels'; mysterious creatures that have begun to resurface years after the original attack (affectionately called the second impact) killed half the Earth's population. To combat the new threat of the Angels, a private organisation called NERV has developed fearsome, giant humanoid fighting machines known as evangelions. Unfortunately the only people who have the ability to pilot these behemoths are children born nine months after the second impact - 14 year olds like Rei Ayanami.

Rei is hospitalised and unable to pilot Unit 00 (the name given to her evangelion), so the commander of NERV, Gendo Ikari, calls for his estranged son Shinji to pilot the newly developed Unit 01. Nervous and shaken by the whole experience, Shinji is reluctant to fight the Angels when so much responsibility lies in his inexperienced hands...including his own life.

Shinji, the 'hero' of the piece, is a regular teenage boy who's afraid to take responsibility, has difficulty building relationships and is confused about his feelings towards girls (including his guardian Misato Katsuragi, who agreed to foster Shinji considering his frosty relationship with his father Gendo) - the very picture of teen angst.

He's not a gung-ho hero, he's not Mr. Nice guy; he's certainly not your typical mech pilot. But he is a very believable character that I think many of us will identify with in some shape or form. As more teenagers join the ranks (Rei Ayanami is little more than an object of affection during these early episodes) it becomes clear that as much as it's a show about mechs, Evangelion is a show about teen angst and all the trials and tribulations that period of our lives entails.

The four episodes on this disc are a great introduction to the series with a good amount of drama, action and comic relief. The show maintains this pace for the first half of the series, introducing new characters while slowly drip-feeding the plot to keep interest high. It's not the most immediately likeable series; it's far too subtle to be really accessible to everyone, though it is well worth persevering if you're not initially smitten.

Sorry to cut this review short, I know there's a lot more to talk about, but I think I'll leave all that for my review of the next volume of Neon Genesis Evangelion. In the mean time, why not start your Evangelion DVD collection and go buy this first volume?

R2 DVD Notes

Features: English, Spanish and Japanese audio, English subtitles, character bios, clean open/close, ADV previews

Notes: For such a landmark series the lack of stand-out features is disappointing. There's really very little to keep you entertained beyond the standard running time besides the character bios and clean opening and closing animations. The picture and sound quality isn't up to the high standards set by more recent shows, but it is worth noting that Evangelion dates back to the pre-digital age known as the mid-nineties.

-- John Huxley 20th May 04

Neon Genesis Evangelion Images