90’s Flashback: Neon Genesis Evangelion

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Today I’ve decided to go back in time and deliver unto the readers of Unreality something very near and dear to my heart; that rare work of animated fiction that deserves a spot on a list of favorite anything and only continues to get better with age. So journey with me back into the mid-90’s to a world where Japanese animation was just establishing its first vestiges of a foothold in American geek fandom a few years prior to blowing the doors off with three of the greatest works of science fiction of any medium. There, we will find one of my favorite shows of all time, animated or otherwise.

Even fans of the sci-fi genre who avoid anime altogether have likely heard of Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell, which were each landmarks of both style and substance. But arguably the greatest and certainly most thematically dense of the three 90’s sci-fi anime masterpieces is Neon Genesis Evangelion.

It’s been over a decade since I first saw Eva, and it has proven to be one of the few shows whose fans’ adoration only intensifies with time. That love has been rekindled once again in the past several years due to the theatrical remake films, but what inspired me to revisit it yet again is not the oft-delayed Rebuild of Evangelion series, but the upcoming American kaiju-versus-mecha film Pacific Rim.

How? Well, I spent a significant amount of the initial trailer believing I could possibly be looking at the long-rumored live action Evangelion film. Pacific Rim’s look and basic premise very much resemble and take inspiration from this most seminal of anime series and, in fact, all of the trailers have been redone by fans using footage from Eva. In anticipation of what is almost certain to be the highlight of my summer I’m going to discuss a few of the finer points of what makes up one of the most enduring worldwide cult franchises and passionate fanbases in all of geekdom.

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Well, for one thing there’s giant mecha. Everybody loves giant mecha.

 Eva is the brainchild of Hideaki Anno and takes place on a post-apocalyptic Earth where an organization called NERV resides in the city of Tokyo-3, which turns out to be humanity’s final line of defense against beings known as Angels, whose intent appears to be the true End of Days. The details are classified, but what is known is that the countries of the United Nations have pooled their resources to create the Evangelion units to battle the Angels, who typically take the form of bizarre giant monsters. Large-scale brutality ensues.

But that’s easy-mode storytelling. What separates the men from the boys in a series like this is the characters and the philosophical themes presented. Well, this is one series that delivers heavily on both counts with realistically nuanced and tragically damaged heroes and an incredible amount of theological and psychological symbolism throughout to go along with the numerous mysteries and conceptual science fiction technology of the setting.  Behold the most celebrated cast in anime.

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From top left to right: self-esteem vacuum, possible nympho, living marionette, hyper aggressive tsundere overachiever, mommy issues, megalomaniac/shit father, in love with her boss, recklessly cool.     

If I had to pick a single most important theme of Neon Genesis Evangelion, I would have to go with individualism. The diverse personalities of the cast all come together to form a vision of a world (not unlike our own) where every single person sees things differently from every other person for different reasons, but at their core they are all experiencing the same essential conflicts within themselves. The way they see things in the present is influenced by things in their past –some good, but mostly bad- and it is these experiences that form each individual’s personality traits and differentiates them from others. But every one of them desires to be understood and accepted for who they are at the end of the day; even those who refuse to understand and accept others. I’ve never seen this concept illustrated better than it is in Eva.

The poster boy/protagonist, Shinji, is one of the most nuanced, popular, and relatable characters in anime history. Interestingly, he’s also a punchable, sniveling little whiner. But you know what? We’ve all been there. We don’t like Shinji because of what he represents in ourselves: that part of us that is prone to giving up and abandoning personal responsibilities because life is unfair and we think we should just be able to rely on other people to make everything better for us while ignoring the fact that those other people have their own problems. But at the same time as we dislike Shinji and what he reminds us of, we understand him entirely.

His journey of self-actualization actually goes from one extreme to the other as ends up being one of the last individuals surrounded by an ocean of symbolic conformity. He was looking for help from others when the power was in him all along. Unfortunately, reality (and Eva) tends to dictate that there is no such thing as a real happy ending.

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If this isn’t the picture of mental stability, I don’t know what is.

While existential philosophizing may be the artistic end game, there is plenty more to chew on over the course of the anime.  The underexplored aspects of the show include interesting conceptual science fiction ideas such a government run by a trio of AI supercomputers. The Magi, as they are called, were designed by their creator to represent three different aspects of herself and rule by majority decision.

The three human aspects are Scientist, Mother, and Woman. You read that right. The government of post-apocalyptic Japan perfected feminism. While I normally have misgivings about AI, the introduction of a human aspect to their programming allows the best of both worlds, essentially allowing a great leader to be immortal in a sense while removing human flaws from the equation altogether.

I can’t help but think if a scientist, a parent, and an individual jointly made the decisions for any country, it would be less prone to the kind of selfish and foolish actions modern governments are known for. It’s an extremely elegant design and the fact that it’s so under-discussed as an aspect of Eva’s brilliance speaks volumes about the strength of the rest of the series.

There is also a nontraditional horror aspect to Evangelion on top of all the rest. More than a few shocking scenes are included in the narrative and they range from the violently gory to the psychologically disturbing and emotionally devastating, with everything in between being represented as well. These characters are put through absolute hell in ways I can’t even describe in the space allotted. But one example would be the trauma of being trapped in a gigantic out of control killing machine while experiencing its rampage in the first person. You don’t see that every day.

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Creepiest. Mecha. Ever.

Seminal anime: check. Giant robots fighting monsters: check. Post-apocalyptic: check.  God-tier cast: check. Deep philosophical concepts: check. Brilliant science fiction: check. Creative horror fix: check. Yup, definitely the perfect show. But what about the fan community?

Eva sports one of the most dedicated and passionate fanbases on the planet. It’s almost scary. Almost twenty years after the original television series aired, chances are a furious debate is happening somewhere right this second about some aspect of the story left ambiguous or unanswered.

Somebody once explained to me that the fans’ love for Evangelion is so strong it borders on hatred.  There is actually much evidence to back this up.  The original television finale eschewed the traditional showdowns and instead took place entirely inside of Shinji’s mind as he struggled to come to terms with his existence as an individual. Meanwhile, the fate of the world was decided by some text at the end. It was audaciously brilliant in its way and certainly unexpected, but it also resulted in death threats and vandalism of the studio’s offices by people who were less than thrilled at the lack of a traditional climax and resolution.

The result of the fan rage was the immensely epic and emotionally draining End of Evangelion film which was frankly more amazing than anything has ever had a right to be and is almost certainly the best thing to ever get done due to nerd temper tantrums. The death threats and vandalism actually ended up being featured in the movie as one of several live-action metafictional aspects, which also included the director filming the audience prior to the film’s premiere and then inserting the footage into the finished film before the screening. So the first audience to ever see End of Evangelion got the unique experience of seeing themselves up on the screen watching themselves watch themselves watching the movie.  Did I mention Anno is sort of a high concept kind of guy?

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This would make a great rock album cover. They should have started a band instead of piloting mechs.

So where to begin if you’re not yet a fan? The temptation would be to watch the Rebuild of Evangelion since it’s the new, CG enhanced, streamlined version, but given the character development and exposition lost by shortening the narrative, I’d say leave that for last.  The original 26 episode Neon Genesis Evangelion television series is the only place to start watching. Anything else may be a hard pill to swallow since the rest of the series operates assuming you’ve already seen the original show.

There is a DVD release known as Death and Rebirth that is almost entirely redundant as the first half is a slightly enhanced overview of the events of the television series (essentially, a clip show) and the second half is the first half of the cinematic finale. So after the TV show, you can skip right to End of Evangelion without really missing anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8w1bVAHZ60

Here, have a fan trailer. You’ve earned it

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone and Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance have both been released in America and make up the first half of the Rebuild films, with the third, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, having only seen Japanese release at this time. The films started out almost as a scene-for-scene remake with nearly identical character designs, music, dialogue, voice acting, and even action scenes. But after the initial underwhelming sameness, the narrative takes different turns in the second film, new characters are introduced, and it seems that Rebuild could turn out to be something amazing after all.

Funny thing: I actually wasn’t that impressed with Neon Genesis Evangelion during the first viewing. So much of it flew over my head that it wasn’t until I was thinking about the series as a whole after finishing  End of Evangelion that I began to piece together how sophisticated the narrative, themes, and metaphors were. And over ten years and several viewings and reviews later, I’m still finding more to appreciate. NERV’s ironic slogan “God’s in his Heaven. All’s right with the world” by itself could warrant hours of contemplation about its possible interpretations.

There is a very short list of animated shows that stand the test of time without the aid of nostalgia. I think it’s safe to say that Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of those shows. Considering a series that still seems like it could have been made yesterday retro or old-school seems crazy, but seeing that I was in high school when it first aired and Ace of Base, Guns n Roses, and Michael Jackson were all on the charts at the time, maybe it’s time to acknowledge that some time has passed.

Even though the remake is unnecessary, the fact is people really want more of this series, even if it means retreading a lot of the same ground, so the fandom marches on. There is even a spin-off alternate reality manga named Angelic Days that expands on a fantasy sequence from the show where the cast is shown in a typical romantic comedy anime (All aboard for Shinji’s “bologney pony” rides) with nary a threat to the world or mecha in sight. That is to say, people want more of Eva’s characters so much that they don’t even care if the stories are fluffy, cute high school comedy fare entirely without the darkness that the show is known for. They just want more. I can hardly disagree.

And back from 90’s nostalgia, here we are on the cusp of an America blockbuster from routine home-run hitting director Guillermo del Toro that appears to have taken inspiration from the anime under discussion.  Pacific Rim, you’ve put yourself into a hell of a hotseat by choosing Eva as an influence. That is a lot to live up to, but you definitely got my attention. I truly hope you’re up to the task.

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Fight! Fight! Fight!

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26 Comments

  1. This series is a mess. Yet no one wants to admit it, because it has achieved “classic” status.

    It is NOT safe to say that it stands the test of time. It is riddled with the worst of anime tropes, and has a mess of an ending, so bad that they had to redo it how many times?

    Ugh, just, no.

  2. Just because it’s complicated doesn’t mean it’s good.

    I watched this, and the ending movies, a few years ago to see what all the fuss was about. It was the most overrated thing I’ve ever seen. I liked the characters, loved the design of the world, and was totally on board with the initial premise. I hated what it turned into and how pretentious and boring it got.

    Cowboy Bepop and Ghost in the Shell are both leagues ahead of this, and if you want mecha, go Gundam.

  3. I’ve been going through a lot of old anime lately as I now have the time to watch them. I like to keep a running list of shows based on recommendations and I originally had this one based on suggestions from co-workers. Huge fan of the different Gundam series except Gundam Seed: Destiny. My major complaint was how the main character, Shinn Asuka, was a whiny kid that always complained and assumed he knew more than everyone else. Some of the worst teenager habits there are. Really made it tough after a while to finish. Is Shinji that bad? You say he’s a bit whiny, which I can deal with, but if he’s anything like Shinn then I’d probably have to take it off my list.

    Currently halfway through Cowboy Bebop(great series). Recently finished: Hellsing(both original and OVA), Rorouni Kenshin, and Full Metal Alchamist (original and Brotherhood)

  4. If u watch Eva for the mecha it’s like watching Walking Dead for the zombies.
    Watch for the characters, the world and the story and then u will get the masterpiece.

  5. This site is really unique. Normally Eva fans would be tearing me apart with some opposing interpretation and gushing like maniacs at the same time. One thing I’ve never seen is non-trolling opposition to the show itself.

    @danielrandkai: You do know achieving “classic” status is pretty much the definition of standing the test of time, right? I once heard there are two kinds of viewers. The ones who watch something, don’t understand it and get angry, and the ones who don’t understand it so they watch it again and pay closer attention. Not sure what these “worst anime tropes” are in this context since Eva kind of defies most of them, so some specifics there would be appreciated and helpful in getting your point across.

    @XenoIrish: I like complicated. Gundamn’s cool, but it’s pretty much just what it looks like. If all you are looking for is big-ass robots, that’ll give it to you. But if you want something a little more subtle and a lot more philosophical, Eva is on a whole different level.

    @Gil: You’re hitting some high marks with your picks. All great series. Yeah, Shinji is kind of a loser. But unlike most other losers in anime, he’s a loser with a vital narrative purpose, which I covered in the article. Eva isn’t so much a show you watch to love the characters right away. You watch it to first hate them, then relate to them, and finally understand them. The love usually comes later; kind of sneaks up on you.

    Like I said, one viewing wasn’t enough for me. I watched the show, walked away feeling a little like the first two commenters, watched the movie, was blown away by the wtf of it, watched it again the next day and thought I maybe missed the entire point of the series the first time through since I was expecting something more like Gundamn. Eva aired on Adult Swim some time later and I loved every second of it now that I had a clue what was going on, and then bought all the DVD’s later and watched it some more. In its way, Eva is even darker than Hellsing, and I think that’s what sends some people running from it. Hellsing is pure awesome fantasy violence and gore, but Evangelion gets inside of your head with psychological nastiness that has to be sorted out. It’s not for everyone. Thanks for the feedback, guys.

  6. @danielrandkai

    Couldn’t agree more. I’m completely baffled why this series got big, it’s shallow intellectual/philosophical underpinnings are about as weak as they could possibly be, but the reason people say it is so great. as just a mecha anime it is weak. so what does that leave? Hideaki Anno was clearly just firing blindly as things progressed, hence why we get all these reboots and retellings. All of the ‘themes’ explored in EVA make it seem like Anno pulled out a book of buzzwords on some subjects he had a passing interest in and then starting putting the words in there. I’ve never seen Freudian/Lacanian concepts so hamhandedly dealt with, at least in regards to it being taken so seriously.
    Basically exploring the ‘depth’ of eva and the themes it tries to touch upon will end up revealing how vapid eva is in regards to these themes.

    “If u watch Eva for the mecha it’s like watching Walking Dead for the zombies.
    Watch for the characters, the world and the story and then u will get the masterpiece.”

    Sorry, no. The characters are the weakest part of the show to me, for the aforementioned reasons.

  7. Nick I’m right there with you…I think the problem a lot of people who didn’t see it in the first run(waiting for those 2 episodes per tape…spending $25 a pop at Suncoast Motion Picture in the mall) is the hype machine got them…

    Evangelion was the first of it’s kind and it has really revolutionized pop-culture as a whole. How many Mech anime, have a kid sit down in a mech for the first time and just wreck shit? (Looking at you Amuro Ray…) Watching Shinji take that first step and faceplant was a game changer. Puella Magi Madoka Magica recently took a similar approach to the “Magical Girl” genre, showing that it isn’t all fun and games being a magic girl and that the bad guys WILL/CAN kill you. It also introduced the fallible main character to anime. We all hated Shinji for his shortcomings, for his cowardliness. But when you recognized his life(Genji being a dick, Yuri, his mom, dying in front him) you could see where he is coming from.

    Evangelion had serious stakes, be it Toji in Eva05, Rei 2, Kaworu, Kaji…that really weren’t prevalent in anything we had access to back then.

    There is also a lot of “hate” with the final episode. I sorta…liked it, looking back as an adult. It really helped shape my perspective in that you live inside everyone’s mind as a different person than how you see yourself.

    Also, Nick, have you watched the Rebuild yet? Evagelion 1.11, 2.22, 3.33. The first movie is more or less, a compressed copy of the series with a couple slight changes. Once 2.22 starts, you’ll notice IMMEDIATELY that it’s different. I just got a torrent fansub of 3.33…mixed feelings on the pacing, but so far so good.

    I think it’s tough for people to go back now and truly appreciate Eva for what it was at the time. Kind of like trying to explain to someone why Final Fantasy 7 was so fantastic if they hadn’t played in back in the day…

  8. @Draugron You rub off as the type of person that claims to want “Smart” movies and TV shows but whenever someone tries, you try your best to exert effort in tearing them down and minimize it with your own dime–store philosophy. Really? You’re gonna do the cliche Freudian/Lacanian name drop AND throw in word hamfisted? And then you want to bring up over used tropes when critiquing Eva? Heh.

    Hideaki Anno has stated before he didn’t have a set gameplan with the series when he started. Find me an instance where a creator in a “heady” show has a gameplan. Anno also stated, he was satisfied with the ending at episode 26 but the fans wanted more. This would be like JJ Abraham’s cracking and developing a LOST movie, which is what happen in Evangelion’s case. As for the latest reboot. It’s not like the Evangelion Series was left open for spinoffs. What are they gonna do? Prequel it ala Code Geass? Naw. The trendy thing now is alternate universes, which is essentially what they already did with the Evangelion Manga, Gakuen Datenroku.

  9. @Piratey

    “And then you want to bring up over used tropes when critiquing Eva? Heh.”

    I said nothing of the sort.

    “You rub off as the type of person that claims to want “Smart” movies and TV shows but whenever someone tries, you try your best to exert effort in tearing them down and minimize it with your own dime–store philosophy.”

    Well that’s great you decided all those things about me that based on the fact that I don’t like a show you like. Though I didn’t come in with philosophy of any sort, just my thoughts on EVA. Everything I’ve touched upon are themes that are front and center on the show, to pretend that bringing up Freud/lacan when discussing eva is somehow out of place seems strange to me, and would be as silly as accusing someone of reaching when discussing the christian symbolism present in the show.

    It’s not name dropping when these themes are so prominent. This isn’t some external analysis on eva through a psychoanalytic lense, this (psychoanalysis of the characters) is something that is touched upon and discussed throughout the entire series. I don’t know how you could have missed that, and that’s what I’m discussing.
    Name dropping is essentially what eva does the entire series when it comes to terms used in the show, I didn’t invoke these names in an effort to add some gravitas to what I was saying, the character exploration deals directly with these subjects, (albeit poorly.) you may disagree that these were poorly handled, but obviously I don’t see it that way.

    I don’t see these as overused when describing eva, as the author of the work is inviting this kind of discussion and comparison when he introduces these topic.

    “Hideaki Anno has stated before he didn’t have a set gameplan with the series when he started. Find me an instance where a creator in a “heady” show has a gameplan.”

    Sorry, I was speaking in regards to the themes he was trying to involve in the show, not concerning the story arc, which I would certainly not argue that generally speaking that’s not really fleshed out. I obviously did a poor job making that clear.

    “Evangelion was the first of it’s kind and it has really revolutionized pop-culture as a whole. ”

    First of it’s kind eh? That’s funny. I’d also be interested see some of the examples of how eva has “revolutionized pop-culture as a whole.”

    “How many Mech anime, have a kid sit down in a mech for the first time and just wreck shit?”

    Seriously?…You must be new to anime.
    — I know you’re not, but like, eva must have been like your ‘first ride’ with mecha anime or something. 😉

  10. I actually found neon genesis evangelion kind of over-hyped, but then again I watched it a bit too late in the game after it had achieved classic status. The ending was like, well, everyone knows. I haven’t tried watching the movies yet though, worth-while?

    Anyone watching Attack on Titan airing in Japan now, its pretty incredible so far.

  11. @Piratey: I bought the first two Rebuild films and was disappointed with the sameness of the first, but LOVED the second. I’m waiting for the American release of the third since they were pretty prompt in the release of the second one and watching Eva no my laptop just doesn’t do it justice for me.

    @Draugr: I think the problem is that when we explain why we like it, we are more effectively utilizing specific examples of what we enjoy about it. You and some of the other detractors are using a lot of blanket statements you could have gleaned from message boards having never even seen the show. Giving some actual examples of the hamfistedness of the Freudian themes (for the record, Freud’s theories were pretty goddamn hamfisted to begin with) and the like would do a lot more for your argument than generalized hate. I give zero shits whether or not Anno had a plan when he started. Plenty of great songs were written in mere minutes, and lots of classic books and poems were freestyled front-to-back as well, but that’s hardly a reason not to enjoy them. I appreciate the discussion, though.

    Oh, and for the love of God, guys, stop using the fact that they made an ending movie as a reason the ending sucked. A) He clearly did it for the fans, who wanted a traditional ending. B) It’s not a different ending. The series ended with brief text telling you in short what happened. The film SHOWED YOU what happened. That’s not changing the events of the show, it’s expanding on them. C) So to answer the question, they have changed the ending zero times thus far. When the fourth Rebuild airs, they will have changed it once if you count that, but in that case you can say the same for most films that have been remade.

  12. First ride threw Mecha? Uhh…Seeing as how back then it was Gundam 0079,0080,0083, Robotech/Macross, Patlabor…and that’s about it.
    NGE came out in 1995. Before that? Amuro Ray sat in a Gundam with a manual and wrecked Zeon’s day. Hikaru took the latest Valkyrie on a test flight on a visit to Macross, wrecks shit and rescues Minmay. How about the little boy in Gigantor? Go ahead and name me a mecha anime pre-95 where the main character, who almost always was untrained, fell on his face like I said.

    Evangelion revolutionized anime. You can’t find something now that doesn’t borrow from it. Unless you were a kid in the 90s who remembers anime BEFORE NGE, you must not understand the impact that it had…

  13. @Nick Verboon

    “I think the problem is that when we explain why we like it, we are more effectively utilizing specific examples of what we enjoy about it. You and some of the other detractors are using a lot of blanket statements”

    It’s almost as if people who don’t like it aren’t as invested in the show, and therefore won’t be able to cite things as readily. What your asking is for us to do is invest us much time not liking it as you do enjoying it, and only then could our opinion have meaning…

    “You could have gleaned from message boards having never even seen the show. ”

    It’s just easier to pretend we’re internet trolls who are set on giving you a hard time and not people who are sharing their opinion, I guess?

    “Giving some actual examples of the hamfistedness of the Freudian themes (for the record, Freud’s theories were pretty goddamn hamfisted to begin with) and the like would do a lot more for your argument than generalized hate.”

    Fair enough, but that doesn’t detract from my feelings on their implementation in the series. Having ultimately ended up not enjoying it, it’s not something I’ve really gone back to revisit so giving some specific examples of hand isn’t really something I’d be able to do, pouring over it to prove a point certainly isn’t something I’m interested in, heh.

    “I give zero shits whether or not Anno had a plan when he started. Plenty of great songs were written in mere minutes, and lots of classic books and poems were freestyled front-to-back as well, but that’s hardly a reason not to enjoy them.”

    Again Sorry! when I spoke about this, it was not in regards to the writing of the story arc or series itself, but the implementation of the themes in the series, which was poorly expressed on my part.

    @piratey
    “Go ahead and name me a mecha anime pre-95 where the main character, who almost always was untrained, fell on his face like I said.”

    That’s not what you said though, what you said was:
    “How many Mech anime, have a kid sit down in a mech for the first time and just wreck shit?”
    With
    “Evangelion revolutionized anime. You can’t find something now that doesn’t borrow from it.”

    Well, your first statement was that it change pop culture as a whole, not specifically anime, which I would agree that it did influence the genre of anime it was part of, but I would argue to the degree. Despite this you’ve yet to provide me with an example. It was certainly popular and many people like it (obviously) and while it does influence some anime, I just don’t see the influence there spanning anime as a whole as you do. 🙂

  14. Fair enough points, man. Let me just say that I actually had to invest in the series before I started really loving it. My initial reaction wasn’t particularly favorable either, but the more thought I put into it, the more I thought I should watch it again and it grew on me from there.

    But yeah, if you just don’t like something, there’s not much to be done about it. I’m with you in that I’m usually pretty quick to abandon ship when something doesn’t work for me so I can hardly blame you. It beats the people who rush out to see every single LOTR movie (for instance) and then bitch their little hearts out about how crappy they all are in spite of the fact that they keep going to see them.

  15. [SPOILER WARNING!]

    Lots of talk about Mechs…

    The Evas weren’t mechs, they were essentially genetically engineered clones of Angels mixed with human DNA. Shinji was basically piloting his mother.

    Their biological nature is evident in how they are prone to taking off their face plates and eating things. Mechs don’t eat.

    All the metal you see is nothing more than restraints, control mechanisms, and lifesupport.

  16. Sorry Adam, but I edited your post to put a spoiler warning in there. I actually originally touched on this point in my article, but I decided it was unnecessary since the piece was already kind of long and I wanted to avoid too many spoilers.

    You’re technically right, of course, but it’s natural that Eva gets lumped in with mecha series since at the end of the day it’s about kids piloting giant war machines. Eva just has an extra twist regarding the nature of the “mechs”.

  17. “We don’t like Shinji because of what he represents in ourselves: that part of us that is prone to giving up and abandoning personal responsibilities because life is unfair and we think we should just be able to rely on other people to make everything better for us while ignoring the fact that those other people have their own problems. But at the same time as we dislike Shinji and what he reminds us of, we understand him entirely.”

    Here is where I disagree. This characterization of Shinji is much too simplistic and eschewed. Yes, Shinji does have a desire to give up and run away from his problems. However, time and time again he forces himself to overcome his fears and risk his life to save humanity and with very little praise or concern by the people his saving. I agree that Shinji is the most nuanced and believable characters in anime. But what I disagree with and bothers me is how Shinji own courage is constantly ignored. As for Shinji desire to rely on others… you talk as if that is bad thing. If you’re an American I think that shows the cultural difference Western and Eastern country. Where in the states there is a heavy emphasize on individualism (ie relying on yourself) while in other countries it’s more okay to rely on others. Shinji isn’t wrong to want to rely on others it’s that by relying on others he is also leaving himself vulnerable on being hurt. Shinji wants to rely on others but also doesn’t want to hurt and as Shinji learns it doesn’t work that way. Shinji has revelation about himself and his relationship with other people. In order to co-exist with others you have to risk pain.

    1. I am even more of an individualist than most of my American brethren so you’ll never get me to see the virtues of willful helplessness, but I very much appreciate you sharing an alternate view. And yeah, a lot of people really don’t like Shinji over here. There’s a need for some peoples’ heroes to be 100% heroic and a lot of people base a character’s worth on how perfect they are. Personally, I feel like the best-written characters are as defined by their flaws a they are their virtues, and Shinji represents that to me.

      1. “I am even more of an individualist than most of my American brethren so you’ll never get me to see the virtues of willful helplessness” There is a difference between willful helplessness and allowing others to help you within a collective community. It’s also doesn’t seem consistent to praise personal responsibility while putting fate of the world on 14 year old boy’s shoulders. Does the world have right rely on Shinji but Shinji has no right to rely on others?

        “There’s a need for some peoples’ heroes to be 100% heroic and a lot of people base a character’s worth on how perfect they are. ”

        I never understood why people need heroes to be 100% heroic. Even if they were that way it would make them less believable and less interesting. But also think that the Shinji hate a lot to do with cultural differences and not just unrealistic expectations of heroism.

        1. It’s not consistent, but neither is the world we live in. Just like the characters are flawed, so are their circumstances and the very world they inhabit. Sure, we should all be able to rely on one another…in a perfect world. But reality tends to go along the lines that if you can’t rely on yourself, neither can anybody else. The goal of relying on other people is usually a matter of choosing to take from somebody else what you could get for yourself. And on top of that it’s the best possible way to get let down time and again, driving yourself even further into the downward spiral of social depression.

          Independence represents both empowerment and equality. That’s not to say you shouldn’t extend or accept a helping hand and/or work together to achieve a common goal when the need arises, but as a general rule I think one should strive to be able to hold their own when possible before presuming to have people do things for you that you could be doing yourself.

          1. “Sure, we should all be able to rely on one another…in a perfect world. But reality tends to go along the lines that if you can’t rely on yourself, neither can anybody else. The goal of relying on other people is usually a matter of choosing to take from somebody else what you could get for yourself. And on top of that it’s the best possible way to get let down time and again, driving yourself even further into the downward spiral of social depression. ” Well, it’s about helping people when they aren’t able to help themselves. I don’t think rugged individualism is a good alternative. If you against relying on other for something that you supposedly can get for yourself then how can you support social safety nets such as health care? If you support that then you should realize that people rely on others because their limits of what they can do on their own.

            “Independence represents both empowerment and equality. That’s not to say you shouldn’t extend or accept a helping hand and/or work together to achieve a common goal when the need arises, but as a general rule I think one should strive to be able to hold their own when possible before presuming to have people do things for you that you could be doing yourself.”
            But I think that kind of logic has been used to not help people at all. People have used to this logic to advocate the idea that you shouldn’t extend or accept help until you prove you don’t need it. It’s great to be independent but dependence doesn’t necessarily make someone a weaker person. A person can dependent on their community and as result become stronger person for it. As learn the value of teamwork and helping others.

          2. Well, that kind of logic is extreme to the point of inhumanity. I’m talking about people taking care of themselves to the best of their abilities. Only a neo-con sociopath (or perhaps a rogue AI) would espouse that survival of the fittest crap. Compassion is what separates our behavior from wild animals.

            In this case, Shinji is as capable (in fact, more capable in many ways) than his compatriots and often chooses to mope, so that was my point. Sorry if you thought I was going all Bill O’Reilly there.

          3. “Shinji is as capable (in fact, more capable in many ways) than his compatriots and often chooses to mope, so that was my point. ” How is he more capable? If anything his less capable as he abandon by his father, drafted into war, and put in a position to hurt and kill people closest to him? This would leave anyone emotionally cripple especially a 14 year old boy.

          4. The point of the series is that Shinji eventually rises to the occasion in spite of all that. Regardless of his situation, he outperforms the overachiever Asuka in the clutch, and at the end of the TV series he comes to terms with his situation with some good old-fashioned solipsistic philosophy by accepting that although two separate entities can never truly understand each other, they can accept themselves and each other as individuals.

            Everybody in that show is emotionally crippled (except maybe Kaji) and they are all going through their own struggles, but I’d argue that Shinji deals with his the best out of all of them when it comes down to it, hence my analysis that he may be the most capable character in the series.

            When I espouse individualism it’s from a philosophical standpoint, not a political one. You maybe thought when I used that word I was suggesting cutting social programs and taxing the poor and that crap that American politicians identify as being individualistic when it’s really just exploitative. But I was talking about gathering the strength to cope with the rigors of life’s circumstances while realizing that the people around you have their own circumstances and issues as well. Thanks for the discussion. I appreciate it.

          5. “The point of the series is that Shinji eventually rises to the occasion in spite of all that. Regardless of his situation, he outperforms the overachiever Asuka in the clutch, and at the end of the TV series he comes to terms with his situation with some good old-fashioned solipsistic philosophy by accepting that although two separate entities can never truly understand each other, they can accept themselves and each other as individuals. ” I always saw Shinji’s revelation as a form of philosophical realism. In which he acknowledge that there is a reality outside himself and in order to accept that reality he must also accept pain. Since pain is apart of life and people in his life is what made his life and his feelings REAL. It’s true that Shinji as a natural talent but it’s also something that he rather not be doing. Shinji has natural talent for killing but the act of killing doesn’t feel natural to Shinji.

            “Everybody in that show is emotionally crippled (except maybe Kaji) and they are all going through their own struggles, but I’d argue that Shinji deals with his the best out of all of them when it comes down to it, hence my analysis that he may be the most capable character in the series.” That is true most of the characters are screwed up (I would say even Kaji). And I agree that Shinji’s handle his angst the best out of all them. But at the same time that is only by comparison to other messed up characters. I think Shinji is as capable as any 14 year old would be in those circumstances.

            “But I was talking about gathering the strength to cope with the rigors of life’s circumstances while realizing that the people around you have their own circumstances and issues as well. Thanks for the discussion. I appreciate it.” I understand that but it’s conflicting to expect someone to consider your problems when you’re not able to consider theirs. Realistically speaking when you’re in an emotional psychosis you’re not thinking about the problems of others. That’s was my point, but I appreciate the conversation.

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