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 Random Mecha Guy
13th Jun 04

Ahh, Evangelion. The most debatable Anime classic is finally getting a review from me. Well, anyway, let's get a few facts straight quickly. Evangelion is NOT a show based around Mecha. Also, Evangelion is one of those Anime that you either love or hate. I personally love it, but as you can see from some of the other reviews, not everyone does.

Our story being in the year 2015, half the world's population has been wiped out in the year 2000 by an unknown event codenamed "Second Impact". Our hero, Shinji, is being picked up by someone who has links to his father, who abandoned him a few years ago. Suddenly, a giant being, codenamed as an "Angel" begins attacking the city he's in, Tokyo 3. Eventually, he is led by Misato Katsuragi to the headquarters of the secret organization NERV. After a while, he is convinced to pilot a giant robot known as the Evangelion, or Eva for short.

As mentioned above, Evangelion is NOT a Mecha anime, despite what you may think. Yes, the main focus in the first few episodes is the Mecha and the Angels, after a while you'll notice its heavy psychological themes. The psychology is what makes Eva so debatable, and why so many people either love it or hate it.

The character's are similar to the Nadesico cast in the sense that they are all screwed up, but the Eva characters aren't screwed up in a comical way. Shinji is your average angst fuelled Anime teenager who is depressed (although I believe he started that trend). Misato is a woman who covers her real self with a mask of being carefree and happy. Rei (who is voiced by the very talented Megumi Hayashibara) is quiet and mysterious and seems to live for the simple purpose of piloting the Eva and obeying commands. If you want a happy Anime, this is not the way to go.

My only gripe with this Anime is probably its Animation quality, which is not very good towards the later episodes. It is rumoured that by that point Gainax had money problems. The sound is decent although the theme song "Cruel Angel's Thesis" is great. However, the use of some classical music in the later episodes feels slightly out of place (the biggest example being episode 23). I haven't seen the DVDs (although I have the directors cut) yet, so I don't know what the extras are, although judging by the directors cut DVD, they are the average trailers, language and subtitles, clean opening and credits, with the slight addition of interviews.

The main gripe with most fans with this series is the last two episodes. They are mostly re-used cels and a lot of psychological analysis. Although most people dislike them, I would have to say it's a very well done job considering Gainax was almost broke here. However if you are unsatisfied with them, go watch End of Evangelion (which is the alternate ending).

All in all, although the animation may seem old, this series is too good to pass up. Watch it. Although you may dislike it, I would have to say this series was great, and should be (and is) considered one of the most influential Anime series. Ever.

My final score:

Animation:Varies from 4-7
Sound:8
Story:10
Characters:10
Extras:7
Overall:9

-- Random Mecha Guy 13th Jun 04

Neon Genesis Evangelion Images