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

By Tim Polley
20th May 04

Neon Genesis Evangelion, whether you like it or not, has had the most impact on the anime world than any other single show in history. Hideaki Anno is a genious in my humble opinion for the simple reason that he created something truely amazing with plain old still images.(mainly in the last 2 episodes)

I know that some people think that this show is crap because of the "loose ends" that it leaves out of the plot without proper explanation. If you think this then that is your opinion and nothing else. I beleive that these loose ends were left unexplained so that the viewer could draw they're own conclusions from watching it, to make it a more enjoyable show to them. Buy apparently, this wasnt successful--to an extent.

If your reading this wanting an explanation of this show then here it is.

Evangelion is a mecha/drama anime that mainly focuses on deep characterization. Endless questions are asked throughout the 26 episodes and most truely are never explained in depth. The Evangelions themselves aren't even explained very much. All that is told about them is that they're an experimental defense to the impending attack of the angels. Ahh yes, that brings me to the Angels. They are the least explained thing in the whole show. Are they beings from another planet? Are they divine punishment from God? No one knows. Due to the amount of religious references in the show I myself would want to lean towards the second. But that is my own interpretation and again, draw your own conclusions.

Another main emphasis in Neon Genesis Evangelion is the concept of "self-evolution". 15 years before when the show takes place a devastating event called the Second Impact occured. This was blamed on a meteor crashing into the earth but later in the show it is revealed that it was the Angel named "Adam" that caused it. The only people capable of operating the Eva's are children born right after the Second Impact. Is this because the Second Impact somehow helped evolve the human race? This is one of those "unexplained" things.

And before you go bashing Evangelion for some iname reason like not explaining things, keep it to yourself.

10/10

-- Tim Polley 20th May 04

Neon Genesis Evangelion Images