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[Review is mine, but it is slightly edited from the original source of which I posted it: http://www.facebook.com/notes/alternate-reality-rei-ayanami-you-are-not-a-pantie-looking-jerk/neon-genesis-evangelion-review/590321317646542 ]


Synopsis:
So the year is 2015 A.D, and mankind is trying to survive and trying to pick-up the pieces from an apocalyptic event called Second Impact, which was caused by a meteor crashing into the south pole and knocking the earth off its axis as we are told near the beginning of the show. Now enter Shinji Ikari, the main character of the series, where he goes to Tokyo-3 to meet with his father, who he has not seen for a long time, and is greeted by an Alien lifeforms known as the Angels, who want to destroy humanity and start Third Impact, which is the annihilation of all life on earth. The only thing to combat this threat to humanity is an artificial lifeform created by humanity known as the Evangelion, and only certain people born after the second impact are the only ones that can pilot these machines of war to fight the angels with NERV, an Clandestine Organization made to stop Third Impact from happening and the destruction of human life as we know it...
but behind the scenes of this, there is a secert organization called SEELE, who controls the outcome of humanity and the human instrumentality project, or the next step of Humanity's evolution.

The characters:
Although Neon Genesis Evangelion the majority of the time focuses on five main characters, minor and side characters get a good amount of screen time, hell sometimes get an episode to themselves. If I was to do a rundown of all of them, then this would be one long-ass review, so I am going to really touch on four of the major cast members:

=Shinji Ikari:
He is considered one of the whiniest and weakest characters in the anime fandom and so on, and what kind of detracts people at times from watching the show, and/or hating it. I think it is slightly wrong to do that, and base your opinion on that. He is the pilot of Evangelion Unit 01 and the third child to be chosen. Granted he is a bit of a coward and a crybaby, I think everyone is a bit too harsh since they do not consider the fact he has went through a lot of trauma during his life before the first episode, and kind of makes him how he is in the show, and if you look a bit into it, you can feel a bit sorry for him and his situation later on in the series. If nothing, I think he is a bit of a representation of each of us to a certain degree and he is not the only one in the show that is slightly fethed in the head. Also, he has trouble getting close to people without being hurt or hurting them, which is the 'Hedgehog's dilemma' as mentioned in the show. As for Shinji in a whole thought, I think he is a decent, well-done character and kind of shows what happens if you make a kid into a child soldier at that age with a great amount of weight on his conscious although I wished he fully manned-up during the course of the show.

=Rei Ayanami:
Another character that is a pilot along with Shinji as well. She is the pilot of Evangelion Unit 00 and the first child to be chosen. Most of the character is shrouded in mystery without giving away major plot points from the series, and is represented as a creepy, doll-like character during the course of the show, who barely registers or shows any emotion or reaction at the beginning. Granted at first, she is shown to be a really bland character, but she has a subtle character arc and she becomes a changed person during the show if you pay attention and you get to learn more about her during the course (Hell, she is one of my Female characters in anime, if not my personal favorite). In fact is she invented her own character archetype that most anime now copy and imitate today, and sometimes emulated. Wether or not some may argue if characters that follow this archetype is better than Rei is up for debate, but you do have to give props to the character who made it.

=Asuka Langley Soryu:
A rather well know character as with Rei as well, and another Evangelion Pilot. She is mostly German, unlike the rest of the cast members who are Japanese, and the pilot of Evangelion Unit 02 and the second child to be chosen (Which is the only pilot that matches her Eva designation). Now she is like Shinji in the way she suffers the same type of personal issues, but she is the opposite, where Shinji is introverted and quiet, Asuka is Extroverted and loud, possibly to the point where she is annoying and quite possibly a bitch. She has an superiority complex and comes off as if others are inferior to her, but she needs constant praise and that after a certain point of the series that really affects her psyche. At first, I hated this character with a passion, seeing her as bitchy and annoying, but later now I started to appreciate her a bit more now as like Rei and the others, she is a well-done character as well.

=Misato Katsuragi:
She is not a pilot and that, but she is an integral part of the show, as she acts both leader and caretaker for the pilots,and also the survivor of Second Impact. Outside of NERV, she is carefree and easy-going, showing to be a drunkard and bad cook to the point Shinji has to cook for her stead. While being operations manager for NERV, she is shown to be a strong woman and leader and straight to the point, being to be able to lead with great efficiency and think outside the box.

I could go on as I said, but that would take all day to do so. Evangelion seems to have a great depth to the characters it has, and even the minor ones as I stated, and all of them seem to have a dark side or mark on them that they do not wish to show others.

The story and plot structre:
I have to say Neon Genesis Evangelion has one of the most original stories with a certain depth to it, but the fans of the series (or at least a camp of them) think of the show as deeper than it actually is. At first, it tends to follow the monster of the week kind of style where the pilots have to fight an new Angel every other episode or so, with letting some insight to the plot. At the end of the show, Misato would often joke about the promise of Fanservice as a way to keep the viewers interested, which became a running gag in the series. Later on in the show, it deconstructs more of those themes and focuses more on the characters and there problems. Now this show does have some religious symbolism thrown in, but it does not really add to the plot mostly and is mostly for show and face value. If you see it and do not get it or blows over your head, do not worry, you are not missing little to nothing if you do not know about religion or are not an religious person. The one major thing I would complain, even a good amount of fans, would have a problem with is the Original series ending. The Director, Hidekai Anno, and his team where slowly running out of money for the series when it first aired (and was still greatly depressed, hence why the show took its turn in the latter half as it did) and could not do the original ending he intended. For the last episodes, instead of an action packed finale everyone was looking forward too, we are conveniently told what has happened and the last two episodes are more on the characters thoughts and that. This, at the time it was being aired, infuriated a large majority of the fanbase and went as far to send Anno death-threats. Couple years later, Anno makes a movie called "The End of Evangelion" which is what the intended ending of the show was suppose to be. Was it better? Well...yes, but in a bittersweet way, but that is a entire new review. Some people hated it and said "You know what, I like talking about our feeling more" and stuck with that, but the original ending is not all that good and it kind of shows.

With the ending, and a few other things, I think this is what stopped Evangelion from being a true and perfect masterpiece.

Animation:
For the animation, a lot of it was well done for the time, especially the fights with the EVAs and all that. However, it was not picture perfect, as at some points in the series the studio took shortcuts to save some money. For some parts, there is often still shots that often nothing happens for a good minute or so but maybe audio, or few things moving with nothing else. Hell, at times, the characters "conveniently" have their mouths covered or so, and be still so nothing could be animated to save on the budget a bit. With that said, the Evangelions during the fight feel fresh and organic during the fights with the Angels and feels a bit like eye crack.

Soundtrack: Now with the soundtrack it is a double-edged sword a bit. The Opening to the show, Cruel Angel Thesis, is catchy with a J-Pop song that somehow talks about the Main character, Shinji, in the lyrics. Is it good, one might ask? Personally, I think it is alright, but I think it is a bit overrated and there are better opening songs from other anime. Other than that, the soundtrack does fit the atmosphere, with a few pieces sticking out the most from Shiro Sagisu. Although the music love to umm....lets say it this way... borrow from James Bond movies. Is this a bad thing, no not at all, as Imitation can be considered the highest form of flattery! All in all, the soundtrack to the series is decent and it gets the job done, with some tracks from it standing out.

Final Verdict:

With everything said and out of the way, I have to get my thoughts on it. It is one of the influential anime to ever be released and, hell one that is very damn good. Is it the masterpiece that everyone hypes it up to be? No, not exactly, and that is another reason some people are slightly disappointed when they see it. I say when you do watch it, watch it with a open mind and expect nothing. Also I would recommend watching it with a friend who has seen it, as you may or may not get it the first time around and it is a bit easier to watch with a friend who has.

Me, I recommend it, but this has to carry some weight to it, as it is a classic you need to see, but it is a flawed Classic (as one can argue how Deus Ex is for gaming) as it has its flaws and shortcomings. If you can get passed its flaws and that, I think you will greatly enjoy it, since it has a great, original story and the depth of the characters I have seen rarely in most forms of entertainment and even today.

My score for it with every that I have said and my personal enjoyment to the series:
It is a 8.5/10, and great anime if you are into Mechas and deconstruction anime, and if you are looking something out of the ordinary and what is different that what you usually see. Will everyone I recommend this to is going to like this, of course not, but you have to keep an open mind to it as some of the things about it might be off-putting to watching the first episode.

Sounds like room temperature puke to me.

 Frazzled wrote:
Sounds like room temperature puke to me.

I am taking it as you did not read the whole thing...

I did actually.

Well alright then. Then I will leave it at that then.

The plot seemed weak.

 Frazzled wrote:
The plot seemed weak.

Care to elaborate on that?

The kill a monster a day thing strikes me as particularly meh.

Maybe an awesome show, the preview just didn't do it for me.

 Frazzled wrote:
Sounds like room temperature puke to me.

As opposed to refrigerated puke?

 Frazzled wrote:
The kill a monster a day thing strikes me as particularly meh.

Maybe an awesome show, the preview just didn't do it for me.

Well I cannot really give it a preview like that since it is going to give away a good amount of the plot to the show. This does follow it for a good part of the show, but it slowly introduces more to the plot and it near the half-way point, it does take a darker turn and focuses more on the characters and their dark secrets and their psychological problems. Hell even one of the characters I cannot say with too detail much without giving a major plot point to the series. If you want a better review, watch this review by Arkada as it does it more justice but some of the views are not the same on some points. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yz_wG9hw1I

Evangelion came out in 1995. What's the point of another review?

Isn't there a statue of limitations on spoilers or something? It's been almost 20 years, I don't think anyone would begrudge you.

 Frazzled wrote:
The kill a monster a day thing strikes me as particularly meh.

Maybe an awesome show, the preview just didn't do it for me.

A friend suggested I watch it - I sat through a few episodes and it has a few "heh, that is cool" moments, but most of it is "meh" and/or "wft?!?!"

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Evangelion came out in 1995. What's the point of another review?

I guess for a point of view on it as I could say. Perhaps not as well thought out as an first review, but it is a popular one so it is hard to ignore and I wanted my thoughts on it as well.

Isn't there a statue of limitations on spoilers or something? It's been almost 20 years, I don't think anyone would begrudge you.

True, but it seems dickish and unprofessional if I did so. My thought on it I guess. :/

I sat down and saw the whole series back to back around 15 years ago..... It was beyond awesome. Although the drugs maybe helped

Should catch up on Rebuild of Evangelion. So far the films I think have been better than the original series.

 LordofHats wrote:
Should catch up on Rebuild of Evangelion. So far the films I think have been better than the original series.

Funny you should say that, I am watching 2.22 now! Although 3.0.....a lot of people who have seen the camrip seem to be in two camps with that I think. For me, it is a slight disappointment....

Chongara wrote:
Isn't there a statue of limitations on spoilers or something? It's been almost 20 years, I don't think anyone would begrudge you.

I sure hope no one spoils the ending to the New Testament for me

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:

Chongara wrote:
Isn't there a statue of limitations on spoilers or something? It's been almost 20 years, I don't think anyone would begrudge you.

I sure hope no one spoils the ending to the New Testament for me

I hate to do this but:

 Frazzled wrote:
I hate to do this but:

Spoiler:

Jesus is a badass with pistols and a mac-10. When the Romans came he blew those turkeys away, all the while shouting "AINT NO MORE SNAKES ON THE MUTHAFUCKIN PLANE!!!"

Here's a sample

Hmmmm......do I continue reading it, or do I wait for the Michael Bay version to hit cinemas?

 Frazzled wrote:

 Dreadclaw69 wrote:

Chongara wrote:
Isn't there a statue of limitations on spoilers or something? It's been almost 20 years, I don't think anyone would begrudge you.

I sure hope no one spoils the ending to the New Testament for me

I hate to do this but:

Spoiler:

Jesus is a badass with pistols and a mac-10. When the Romans came he blew those turkeys away, all the while shouting "AINT NO MORE SNAKES ON THE MUTHAFUCKIN PLANE!!!"

Here's a sample

Alright, I have to admit, that is pretty damn funny.

 Frazzled wrote:
The kill a monster a day thing strikes me as particularly meh.

Maybe an awesome show, the preview just didn't do it for me.

The monsters are ultimately macguffins. The story is about the characters, and how they work through their various neuroses. The monsters are just there to give them all a reason to be together.

It's a story about humanity and relationships, and what happens to messed up people when you put a bunch of them together and shake, that just happens to have monsters in it.

The reason i hate the show is because we are supposed to sympathize with his troubles.
Im sorry if the world in blowing apart, you dont get to complain if you have to save it with the only weapon that can. Your problems take a backseat to the world needing your help.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
The reason i hate the show is because we are supposed to sympathize with his troubles.

I'm not sure sure we are.

Shinji was always just a little too whiny to be a character that is easy to identify with. A big part of the story is focussing around his need to stop feeling sorry for himself and step up and take responsibility for his own life... and his reluctance to do so. So you're always caught between sympathising with the fact that he had a crappy childhood, and wanting to slap him and tell him to wake up to himself. And I think that's entirely deliberate... It's not supposed to be a Disney story where you can root for the underdog who's trying to do their best despite being hard done by in the past.

The best theory I ever heard about the show is that Anno Hideaki hated anime fans and used the characters to express this contempt. I hated the show when I first saw it. I have been loving the Rebuild movies, however. Perhaps Anno's heart has softened?

I did find that I enjoyed it a lot more watching the subtitled Japanese language version... The english voice actors are incredibly irritating. But then, that goes for an awful lot of anime.

The best theory I ever heard about the show is that Anno Hideaki hated anime fans and used the characters to express this contempt. I hated the show when I first saw it. I have been loving the Rebuild movies, however. Perhaps Anno's heart has softened?

It seems like most people are more fond of the Rebuilds, but then again he did write the original series with some depression and a tight budget near the end, which gave us the oh-so-loved ending to an anime ever. (No I am not referring to End of Evangelion ). But in truth, I can see it. I think that is one of the reasons he made Mari Illustrious Makinami in the Rebuilds as a way to mock the wave of Mary-sueish like characters in the anime market now. But hold that against me, I could be wrong.

I did find that I enjoyed it a lot more watching the subtitled Japanese language version... The english voice actors are incredibly irritating. But then, that goes for an awful lot of anime.

I can agree with that, but there are much worse dubs out there I think. *Cough* Higurashi *Cough* Bible Black *cough*
Although I have to say the dubs for Rebuild, in my opinion, are done much better than the original series.

Of course, nothing can never beat the dubs of Cowboy Bebop.

A large part of the problem is that the English voice actors so often try to put on a voice for it... And so it winds up sounding like someone putting on a silly voice, and unnatural. Which is grating. Just speak normally, dammit!

 insaniak wrote:
A large part of the problem is that the English voice actors so often try to put on a voice for it... And so it winds up sounding like someone putting on a silly voice, and unnatural. Which is grating. Just speak normally, dammit!

Surely you do not mean this as the prime suspect for your words?

I dunno, I think Tiffany Grant's performance really makes Asuka come alive. The Japanese actress's performance strikes me as really generic and babyish.