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 0:2

By John Huxley
20th May 04

The four episodes of the first volume really centred around Shinji, the troubled teenage hero of the piece. This time around he is forced to share the limelight with his female co-pilots Rei Ayanami and newcomer Asuka Langley Sohryu, who is introduced towards the end of this volume.

Rei, who made some brief appearances during earlier episodes, is an unusually shy girl who prefers to avoid contact with others and only speaks out when she feels it is totally necessary. Despite her introverted nature, or perhaps because of, Shinji finds himself drawn to the girl who would prefer to have nothing to do with him. His fascination for the enigmatic Rei is fuelled by her close relationship with his own father, Gendo, who treats his only son with distain. Shinji's uneasy attempts to become closer to her only earn him a slap across the face after insulting his own father, seemingly the only friend Rei has ever known.

From the outset this relationship makes for entertainingly awkward viewing, with both protagonists far too timid and inexperienced to express their feelings clearly. However, things never really develop beyond the groundwork laid out over these episodes, partially because of their inability to accept their own feelings and partially because of intervention from rival female attractions. Namely Asuka Langley Sohryu.

From the moment we set eyes upon her, it's clear that a) Asuka will complicate Shinji's already fragile romantic life and b) she's polar opposite of Rei. Asuka is an outgoing, boastful and popular girl who obviously feels the need to compensate for some untold inadequacy by making herself the constant centre of attention. Outwardly proud of her crush on an older man (Ryoji Kaji, who also makes his first appearance during the same episode as Asuka), she secretly harbours feelings for Shinji which develop over the course of the series.

However, at this point in time Asuka is more concerned about impressing Shinji with her evangelion piloting skills (also possibly her first attempt to court Shinji). This action sequence, as with all those before and after it, is a brilliantly directed, stylistic and highly kinetic fight that beguiles its mecha heritage. As we suspect from the first episode and learn for fact later on, the evangelions are not robots, they are life forms that have been modified to accept human control. This gives them the kind of movement not usually afforded by your average mech; their motions are sharp, quick and full of stylish poses. The visual appeal of these sequences is no doubt helped enormously by the unique and, quite frankly, cool design of the evangelions. It's a shame that the same cannot be said of the Angels they fight. Then again, if the enemy looked cooler wouldn't that make the heroes look bad?

So far I've probably made Evangelion out to be a fairly serious anime with lots of drama, action and romance. While it's no full-blown comedy, it is partial to the occasional impromptu comic relief scene. Some characters, like Pen Pen (Misato's pet penguin) are even reserved for comic relief purposes. Most of these comedy scenes are fairly broad (but never crude) and really do help lighten the atmosphere when talk of the apocalypse becomes a little too much to bare.

It is this kind of accessibility, though not evident during the first few episodes, that makes Evangelion so pleasing to watch. Sure, there's plenty for the eagle-eyed viewer to analyse if they were so inclined (check out the heavy dose of religious symbolism), but that isn't a requirement to enjoy the story, the characters and the action. And that's exactly what Evangelion gives us - a good story with excellent characters and entertaining action.

Another fine outing for Evangelion.

R2 DVD Notes

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

Notes: This volume is almost identical to previous DVD, so I'll take this opportunity to talk about the presentation of the packaging. Evangelion is a curious show when it comes to presentation and the cover art reflects that perfectly. The last two volumes have been relatively simple designs with large, bold character artwork accompanied by the unassuming Evangelion logo on the front, and a lengthy plot synopsis and screen captures on the back. As ever, ADV have provided potential buyers with useful information about the series (such as how many episodes are on the disc) on the back cover. The interior reveals a simple but perfect black and white design printed on the disc itself, while the opposite side of the case holds a single sheet leaflet that echoes the design of the front cover. The reverse of this leaflet is a neat Evangelion Encyclopaedia explaining such cryptic terms as A.T. Field and Geofront that are used throughout the series. Sadly, this is the one and only appearance of the Encyclopaedia; all the other leaflets contain either disc information or ADV previews. Overall, it's an attractive package that looks neat resting on your shelf.

-- John Huxley 20th May 04

Neon Genesis Evangelion Images