Neon Genesis Evangelion
Many years ago I watched Evangelion, I was young and unobservant. Even then I could tell there was a lot going on with the series, now I am older I decided that I and a few others needed to experience this legendary series once again( or for the first time in ones case). So with that in mind, here is my review of Neon Genisis Evangelion
Visuals:
Evangelion is an oddly well designed show, it’s character, “mecha” and monster designs manage to stay interesting throughout the series and throughout time.In particular the Evas are extremely well designed and are probably my favorite “mecha” to this day, of course with Unit 01 being my favorite. Beyond being cooling looking the Evas can be frightening, intimidating and even awe inspiring in their horrifying stature.
Beyond just pure character design the series does something that many shows current or previously do not do well and that is that it uses lighting very well. From the creepy crisp clenseliness of hospitals to the eerie darkness of the night in the Geosphere, no matter the situation Evangelion manages to use lighting to enhance the scene and make it more interesting and just more fun to watch in general.
Beyond pure aesthetics the visuals in Evangelion have a lot of hidden meaning behind them, much of the visuals are deeply based on religions from around the world, while some is seemingly thrown in to confuse you, a lot of it seems to have deeper meaning within the story, which is interesting and infuriating because in many peoples cases it leads to massive over analysis.
There of course are moments of the visuals being lacking, this is mostly due to the small budget the end of the series was gave. The main problem this caused was prolonged still shots, while they did do them in interesting ways it still seemed like a bit of a crutch and got annoying on certain shots where it just stayed for to long without any indication if the show had just paused or something.
An interesting thing to note about the shows art and design is the massive influence it had on anime as a whole, to this day we still see characters reminiscent of the main cast of Evangelion. That alone is a statement of the good design this show had.
Story:
Now for the important part of Evangelion, that of course being its story.
The story in Evangelion starts fast, there is no intro episode where the main story is set aside to bring you into the world. Instead you are thrown head first into the world and it is awesome. The story of Evangelion is pretty straight forward when watching it the first time, but if you ever watch it a second or third time you will realize the massive amount of planning the series had as you come to notice all the small hints and implications of peoples words and actions throughout the series.
The story in Evangelion is deep, out of all the series I have watched Evangelion has by far the most hidden meanings and themes through out its entirety. The mystery in the series is very well done and doesn’t feel like you are just being ripped off like many “mysteries” in other shows.
The show has a very interesting cast of characters, the main three are young but oddly enough it doesn’t feel cheap and out of place like most shows with teen mains. The three are all interesting and well wrote characters who have interesting reasons for the things they do. There of course are adults in the series as well, in particular Gendo and Misato . These two characters are both very interesting, with Gendo being a bit more mysterious and terrifying than Misato .
The story is by no means perfect though, toward the end things begin to get a bit odd due to the company cutting budget for the show and the creators were unable to do what they had intended for the series. This is later “fixed” by a movie sequel that redoes the end. While the ending of the series its self is a bit confusing and out of nowhere it still manages to remain interesting though confusing. Though you should expect it to leave you a little confused while you try to work out what just happened.
Aside from the intriguing story and world the series is well directed, has solid pacing throughout 90% of the show, it also has an interesting cast of characters whos emotional journeys are depressing and intriguing to watch. If you like deeply emotional an psychologically driven stories then this show is definitely for you.
Overall:
If you are a fan of anime, you really should just watch this. If you haven’t I am honestly surprised, this series is considered legendary for a reason. Even without the depth and the fun of looking back and re-watching it the series is still just top notch in terms of intrigue, action and just plain fun. If you have seen it, well maybe it’s time to check it out again, and if you haven’t you should probably start.
