Neon Genesis Evangelion is hailed as one of the greatest animes ever. As a mix of monster vs. Mecha action, character-driven psychological drama and conspiracy thriller, there's certainly plenty to delve into. Too bad the different elements never truly match with each other, and the result is possibly the grandmother of all "mixed bags".
There are very many aspects of Evangelion to like, or at least to admire. The ambition of the series is unquestionable, telling a story which starts out as fairly simple mecha action, but then turning into something far more sinister and grand. The designs of the Angels and Evas are still very imaginative and original and each battle provides a different scenario. The Angels are among one of the most genuinely alien-feeling creatures I've seen in fiction overall. The boldness it takes to put the characters into such dark places as they are in the end is very admirable, as the second season provides disturbing imagery all the way through. The characters are fairly deep with complex relationships, and the scenario of humanity trying to survive, but possibly heading double-time towards extinction is interesting. And the effort it must have taken to put together a story with so many different elements deserves a clapping.
But where to begin with the problems, which sadly far outweigh the good elements?
-The tone is very inconsistent, starting out with a mysterious feel with some heavy drama and then settling into a comfortable, fairly light-hearted monster-action period. During the second season the series plunges all the way into thorough unpleasantness before finally crapping out altogether and being left wallowing in psychedelic imagery and dialogue.
-With such a grand story to tell, Evangelion should be a series with absolutely zero filler, yet there are at least three to five episodes out of 26 which have no relevance at all in terms of the main story
-Nearly all the characters are almost completely unlikable. Despite this probably being one of the main points, as the series turns into full- fledged tragedy during the last 10 or so episodes, they seem neither to feel genuine sympathy for each other nor really care much about anything other than themselves. Character traits which are introduced as quirks or comedic elements (like Misato's drinking) later become sources of self-loathing and disgust. One particular central character and their own subplot is squandered so badly in terms of dramatic potential it's almost insulting.
-The animation quality sees a steep drop after episode 19. This was later somewhat redeemed in the director's cut versions, but the lack of budget towards the end is still painfully obvious. Many scenes feature little more than static images with voiceovers, and at times feel more like a power point presentation instead of animation.
-Despite their heavy presence, the biblical imagery and names are pure surface, and nowadays feel pretentious rather than original. You could replace all the names with Godzilla, Mothra, King Kong and such and it'd still be the same story.
-A large amount of screen time is taken up by meaningless techno-babble, which serves next to no purpose. There are also some weird dialogues and monologues that pop out of nowhere and seem to have been written by someone tripping on acid. The infamous last 2 episodes are so full of esoteric philosophical mush that it feels like a completely different series. Whether this was the creator's intention or not I won't theorize on, it simply doesn't work.
-The very heavy presence of angst both teen and mature can be quite grating, even for a series about psychological problems and mental breakdown. Even the adult characters fall into the pit of constant self-loathing towards the end.
-Despite it being constantly referred to and being one of the central plot elements of the entire series, the Human Instrumentality Project never seems to be what's driving the story. Also the vast amount of lore involving the Second Impact, SEELE and NERV is almost all dumped into a single episode, instead of being slowly unearthed. It could have been used to create mystery, but as it stands it creates merely confusion and dissatisfaction.
To list more would be just nit-picking, but there are plenty more. The end result is a series that is at times excellent, but most of the time just irritating or dull to watch.
Recommendation: Evangelion is possibly one of the most divisive works of fiction ever created. Anyone who hasn't seen this series but has an interest in it should watch it just to form an opinion of their own.
There are very many aspects of Evangelion to like, or at least to admire. The ambition of the series is unquestionable, telling a story which starts out as fairly simple mecha action, but then turning into something far more sinister and grand. The designs of the Angels and Evas are still very imaginative and original and each battle provides a different scenario. The Angels are among one of the most genuinely alien-feeling creatures I've seen in fiction overall. The boldness it takes to put the characters into such dark places as they are in the end is very admirable, as the second season provides disturbing imagery all the way through. The characters are fairly deep with complex relationships, and the scenario of humanity trying to survive, but possibly heading double-time towards extinction is interesting. And the effort it must have taken to put together a story with so many different elements deserves a clapping.
But where to begin with the problems, which sadly far outweigh the good elements?
-The tone is very inconsistent, starting out with a mysterious feel with some heavy drama and then settling into a comfortable, fairly light-hearted monster-action period. During the second season the series plunges all the way into thorough unpleasantness before finally crapping out altogether and being left wallowing in psychedelic imagery and dialogue.
-With such a grand story to tell, Evangelion should be a series with absolutely zero filler, yet there are at least three to five episodes out of 26 which have no relevance at all in terms of the main story
-Nearly all the characters are almost completely unlikable. Despite this probably being one of the main points, as the series turns into full- fledged tragedy during the last 10 or so episodes, they seem neither to feel genuine sympathy for each other nor really care much about anything other than themselves. Character traits which are introduced as quirks or comedic elements (like Misato's drinking) later become sources of self-loathing and disgust. One particular central character and their own subplot is squandered so badly in terms of dramatic potential it's almost insulting.
-The animation quality sees a steep drop after episode 19. This was later somewhat redeemed in the director's cut versions, but the lack of budget towards the end is still painfully obvious. Many scenes feature little more than static images with voiceovers, and at times feel more like a power point presentation instead of animation.
- There are dozens of oddities and illogicalities that constantly have the viewer thinking "How did they do that?". For example, we never see how the various parts of NERV HQ are placed in relation to each other. For all we know, all the various rooms and halls could exist entirely in small pocket dimensions of their own.
-Despite their heavy presence, the biblical imagery and names are pure surface, and nowadays feel pretentious rather than original. You could replace all the names with Godzilla, Mothra, King Kong and such and it'd still be the same story.
-A large amount of screen time is taken up by meaningless techno-babble, which serves next to no purpose. There are also some weird dialogues and monologues that pop out of nowhere and seem to have been written by someone tripping on acid. The infamous last 2 episodes are so full of esoteric philosophical mush that it feels like a completely different series. Whether this was the creator's intention or not I won't theorize on, it simply doesn't work.
-The very heavy presence of angst both teen and mature can be quite grating, even for a series about psychological problems and mental breakdown. Even the adult characters fall into the pit of constant self-loathing towards the end.
-Despite it being constantly referred to and being one of the central plot elements of the entire series, the Human Instrumentality Project never seems to be what's driving the story. Also the vast amount of lore involving the Second Impact, SEELE and NERV is almost all dumped into a single episode, instead of being slowly unearthed. It could have been used to create mystery, but as it stands it creates merely confusion and dissatisfaction.
To list more would be just nit-picking, but there are plenty more. The end result is a series that is at times excellent, but most of the time just irritating or dull to watch.
Recommendation: Evangelion is possibly one of the most divisive works of fiction ever created. Anyone who hasn't seen this series but has an interest in it should watch it just to form an opinion of their own.