After looking at the review Tom Pinchuk put up of Evangelion 2.0 over at Screened.com. I decided to give Neon Genesis another chance. In one of my previous blogs, I gave my thoughts on the anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and let's just say that I sorta borderline hated it. I never understood the appeal beyond anything than just giant robots fighting giant monsters or "angels" as they are called in the show. Hearing that the anime is now being retold but in movie form, I decided to give that universe another chance and see how it turned out.
Evangelion 1.0
I'M SORRY, BUT WE NEEDED TO FILL OUR STEREOTYPICAL ANIME MOMENT QUOTA!!! Robots!So this first movie is supposed to contain the first 6 episodes of the anime. First off, I must say that the animation and just the visual aesthetics of the movie are quite nice. The fights with the angels are definitely the areas where you see the benefits of having a bigger budget. The story definitely moves at a faster pace because it's a movie now and I think this is a real benefit. I found the anime to be mostly boring at times and the drama parts just made my eyes roll. At least here in movie form, you don't have to deal with a bad part for too long. Speaking of which, the one dumb part I have to mention is the one that also occurred in the anime, that is, where Shinji accidentally falls onto a naked Ayanami and his hand lands on her tit. I really don't see why that had to carry over to the movie. I also should point out that I watched the dub version of this, and it was much better than the dubbing of the anime. Shinji sounds somewhat less bitchy and I find to be much more tolerable than before. Overall, I enjoyed the movie. It moved the story along at a decent pace and the action scenes were actually entertaining.
Evangelion 2.0
I almost got an erection picturing Asuka getting crushed in this thing. Nope, still hate you. Now this movie continues right after 1.0 and because the dubbed version hasn't been released yet, I obviously just watched the subbed version. So we are introduced to the other Eva pilot, which is the one character who I hated the most with a passion, Asuka. In the anime, she was absolutely fucking annoying and I just could not stand her. In the movie, well, she's still annoying but no where near as bad as in the anime. I think that's just because you see less of her. Now this brings me to one of the high points for me in this movie and that is the part where the third Eva essentially turns into an Angel. So, why would I like this part so much? Well, instead of having that one dude as the pilot of Eva 3, the movie changes this up by having Asuka as the pilot. So let's just say that watching that Eva get torn apart was one of the most happiest moments for me in that entire series.
Ok, beyond that sadistic pleasure, I ended up liking the movie. 2.0 did a great job of providing better information on how the city functioned and it actually gave the city life, unlike in the anime. Also, I appreciated them changing up the personality of one the characters, Ayanami. Instead of constantly being some lifeless doll, like in the anime, the movie did a better job of making her more human. Not having her being a blank slate is a huge plus. As for the story, well I still have a hard time grasping the finer details. Despite having seen the anime, I still find the plot hard to follow, but I'm just surprised that I'm enjoying the movie.
You would, Japan, you would. Now there are some flaws of course, besides the hard to follow plot. There is a noticeable increase in catering to people's inner pedophiles. There are a number of lingering panty shots that are stupid and for some reason they gave Asuka a redesigned suit that is more revealing. I don't get how I'm supposed to take this stuff seriously when stupid shit like this happens. Oh and I guess I forgot to mention the addition of the new girl......and.....wow...I completely forgot her name.....ya their is barely enough information given on her that I'm not going to bother forming an opinion of her.
So, in short, I'm pleasantly surprised. I think Evangelion benefits more from being told in a series of movies than as an anime series. I really didn't care for the anime, but I was definitely entertained by the movies. I may not have a great grasp on what the hell is happening but it's a big plus that in the end, I'm not pissed at what I just watched.
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" I got about 18 episodes in to the series before I got burned out on the repetitive nature of each episode feeling like the same thing. That and I never felt like a plot that I cared about was developing, and there was so little backstory to the cities and why things were the way they were. Everything just kind of ... IS. Maybe I'll give the movies a shot. My friend said they are much better. "
" it's like oh angel time, boringness......angel time.....and so on. "
That is quite literally exactly what I would say while I watched lol. Way too predictable.
" I got about 18 episodes in to the series before I got burned out on the repetitive nature of each episode feeling like the same thing. That and I never felt like a plot that I cared about was developing, and there was so little backstory to the cities and why things were the way they were. Everything just kind of ... IS. Maybe I'll give the movies a shot. My friend said they are much better. "
Yup, felt the same exact way. I kept going just to be able to say that I have watched it. It started to feel like a chore. The repetitiveness is also true because it's like oh angel time, boringness......angel time.....and so on. The movies are definitely an improvement. You actually get to see how the city works and it has life! The plot is still hard to follow but overall it wasn't boring.
I got about 18 episodes in to the series before I got burned out on the repetitive nature of each episode feeling like the same thing. That and I never felt like a plot that I cared about was developing, and there was so little backstory to the cities and why things were the way they were. Everything just kind of ... IS. Maybe I'll give the movies a shot. My friend said they are much better.
@turbomonkey138: No, and I expected the "Wizard" meme to drop in (because Eva's a situation where it's actually appropriate) before that did. Thanks for proving me wrong?
@MarkWahlberg: They are a good improvement over the series, the blank slate girl isn't much of a....well a blank slate girl.
@ryanwho: I was the same way. I thought it was pretty damn cool at the time....when I was 13. When I watched it again, it was just bad. It just didn't age well and I guess the thing that is weird are the people who still think it's really awesome. There are now better animes out there but I will admit that these new movies are a decent improvement.
I kind of feel like NGE only worked for me cus I was 12 and hadn't seen much of any other anime prior to that other than the occasional movie on the scifi channel. Going back now, when everything from the show has basically become a self parody because its been ripped off so much, I can't imagine getting a lot out of it. It'd be like going back and reading my high school thesis.
Watched the original show recently because I'd heard so much about it; I thought what they were trying to do was pretty interesting (taking the Giant Robot/Monster genre and making it intensely psychological) but yeah, the anime cliches kind of got in the way. Also, while I understand your hatred of red-haired chick, she wasn't even close to Blank Slate Grey-haired chick in terms of infuriating character traits. "Oh, I don't know what emotions are, I spend the entire series wallowing in self pity ooooh" JESUS CHRIST GIVE IT A FUCKING BREAK. The redhead might not have been likeable, but at least she made fucking sense as a person! And then they try to make the blank slate chick some sort of Robot controlling prodigy, which is the only reason she's even fucking relevant to anything. Uuuughhh....
Anyway, I might give these a try at some point.... maybe.
I saw the first movie last night for the second time and while the animation was sexy and all, it just made me want to watch the original series over again. Seems like the second movie is much better, so we'll see how that goes later tonight.
@spazmaster666: I agree about it being influential, overall the anime is very flawed. Now one anime where you can easily see Eva's influence is Rah-Xephon. Rah-Xephon has a similar storyline but I found it to be way more competent. The character development was pretty compelling, unlike Eva's.
@Akrid: The show really did feel all over the place. The movies do a better job with consistency, even though the plot is still hard as shit to follow. At least it's entertaining.
Evangelion is pretty much what I hate about Japan. Their wishy-washy business practices re-targeted the show for a different audience every other episode. As soon as I get interested in one direction it's heading, it turns around and goes the opposite way. The whole thing is just a complete mess, a series of polar-opposite tropes mashed together so violently until it's seen as original and not just infinitely misguided.
And it didn't help that Hideaki Anno was deeply depressed and decided to eviscerate the whole production in a spectacular fashion. He grew an active hate for his audience, the original ending is purely punishment.
It's kind of amazing that a show this confused, an animation no less, was ever produced to completion. I'd only recommend watching it for that very spectacle.
That's funny because people seem to prop up that show and like it just because of that stuff. Everything else in that anime was weak. The fights were OK, the character development was a joke, and ya I agree about the ending stuff being pretty bad too. I think that at the time, it may have been viewed as something great but that anime just hasn't aged well in any way. At least with these movies, I'm actually being entertained instead of constantly rolling my eyes.
Which didn't make sense since Anno himself said that people shouldn't take Eva too seriously. However, I would say that Evangelion was definitely highly influential, so whether or not it still holds up today seems like a moot point if you look at it from that perspective.
" For me, the pseudo-philosophical bullshit was the weakest part of Evangelion, especially End of Eva. I just hope that with Rebuild, we'll actually get a proper ending this time as neither the original series nor End of Eva felt like proper endings to me. "
That's funny because people seem to prop up that show and like it just because of that stuff. Everything else in that anime was weak. The fights were OK, the character development was a joke, and ya I agree about the ending stuff being pretty bad too. I think that at the time, it may have been viewed as something great but that anime just hasn't aged well in any way. At least with these movies, I'm actually being entertained instead of constantly rolling my eyes.
@EvilKatarn: I don't know, maybe I'll give it a try. At this point, I'm willing to just move on with these new movies. They may incorporate the new ending into the finale.
For me, the pseudo-philosophical bullshit was the weakest part of Evangelion, especially End of Eva. I just hope that with Rebuild, we'll actually get a proper ending this time as neither the original series nor End of Eva felt like proper endings to me.
@Afroman269: wait, you haven't seen End of Evangelion?
When I finished watching the main series I didn't care much for it all either, but EoE pretty much changed my whole perception on the series as it was simply a much more dramatic close. The main series didn't have much of an ending and it literally came off as if they had deliberately thrown a confusing bunch of crap in my face. I simply shrugged and forgot about it, when a few months later I watched End of Evangelion and was pretty much stunned. Now that was a fucking ending.
I've been meaning to watch the series and End of Evangelion again for the last couple of months, but have been putting it off. I want to see the series again before jumping into the Rebuild of Evangelion movies even though I know the show very well. I've seen bits and pieces of each Rebuild film but never the whole magilla front to end. I'm curious about Mari who wasn't a character in the show. It's probably been close to a decade since I've seen the originals and I'd like a refresher. It used to be one of my favorites and I saw it before there was an End of Evangelion OVA to close the original 26 episodes out. My tastes may have changed since then though so I'm being cautiously optimistic looking ahead. My anime viewing has a lot more variety today than it did when I was younger. Back then, all I wanted was robots and sci-fi. I'm much more open to other genres today. Still, I'd like to see if nostalgia plays any part in my refreshed opinion.
" @super2j The two movies that I'm talking about are retellings of the anime, you would be lost because a lot of it seems to expect you to already know the stuff. I suggest to just watch the anime. Even watching it the story is still hard to follow at least that's what I think.
@FancySoapsMan The only time that I liked the anime was when I first saw parts of it when I was 13. After rewatching I realized how bad it was. That thing is riddled with too many stereotypical anime moments that I hate it. That's just me though. "
Well, I agree about there being a lot of anime stereotypes (though I suppose NGE is where many of them originated).
@super2j The two movies that I'm talking about are retellings of the anime, you would be lost because a lot of it seems to expect you to already know the stuff. I suggest to just watch the anime. Even watching it the story is still hard to follow at least that's what I think.
@FancySoapsMan The only time that I liked the anime was when I first saw parts of it when I was 13. After rewatching I realized how bad it was. That thing is riddled with too many stereotypical anime moments that I hate it. That's just me though.
What the hell is evangelon. I apparently missed out on a phenomenon as big as dragonball z.. I know i can google it but i feel like its impenetrable due to all the confusing words and titles. Honestly. If someone can just tell me what it is, i would much prefer that. And on a side note. The new movie thats "finally" coming to N.A.. Can a new be like me watch that or is there another show, movie or general start point i should be going to. And the only other thing i remember hearing about this is the word confusion.
@EvilKatarn I just really didn't like that series because most of it was just boring and bland. It's true that Asuka was the only one with an actual personality but it was shitty one. I never checked out the movie they did because I was too turned off on it. They did a better job with these two new ones.
@Axxol it may be hard to get into. The story will be very hard to follow if you just jump into these two movies. I want suggest for you to watch the anime but it's just so bad, maybe you'll tolerate more than I did.
I just recently watched the whole series (26 episodes incl. the director's cut episodes) and the following End of Evangelion.
I thought it was cool. For me it came clear pretty suddenly that the appeal of the series is NOT watching giant things beat the living daylights out of each other. Initially I started watching because I wanted to know why people were into giant fighting robots, but obviously I didn't get to know that and frankly I don't give a shit.
But yeah, about the characters... I still think most of them were just anime-stereotypes so Asuka came off as the only living thing in the series. And because of that End of Evangelion had a pretty remarkable moment in there.
I will watch the movies sometime too. I just don't get why there's a new pilot involved and why Asuka gets a new plugsuit, but maybe I shouldn't concern myself with that.
After looking at the review Tom Pinchuk put up of Evangelion 2.0 over at Screened.com. I decided to give Neon Genesis another chance. In one of my previous blogs, I gave my thoughts on the anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and let's just say that I sorta borderline hated it. I never understood the appeal beyond anything than just giant robots fighting giant monsters or "angels" as they are called in the show. Hearing that the anime is now being retold but in movie form, I decided to give that universe another chance and see how it turned out.
Evangelion 1.0
I'M SORRY, BUT WE NEEDED TO FILL OUR STEREOTYPICAL ANIME MOMENT QUOTA!!! Robots!So this first movie is supposed to contain the first 6 episodes of the anime. First off, I must say that the animation and just the visual aesthetics of the movie are quite nice. The fights with the angels are definitely the areas where you see the benefits of having a bigger budget. The story definitely moves at a faster pace because it's a movie now and I think this is a real benefit. I found the anime to be mostly boring at times and the drama parts just made my eyes roll. At least here in movie form, you don't have to deal with a bad part for too long. Speaking of which, the one dumb part I have to mention is the one that also occurred in the anime, that is, where Shinji accidentally falls onto a naked Ayanami and his hand lands on her tit. I really don't see why that had to carry over to the movie. I also should point out that I watched the dub version of this, and it was much better than the dubbing of the anime. Shinji sounds somewhat less bitchy and I find to be much more tolerable than before. Overall, I enjoyed the movie. It moved the story along at a decent pace and the action scenes were actually entertaining.
Evangelion 2.0
I almost got an erection picturing Asuka getting crushed in this thing. Nope, still hate you. Now this movie continues right after 1.0 and because the dubbed version hasn't been released yet, I obviously just watched the subbed version. So we are introduced to the other Eva pilot, which is the one character who I hated the most with a passion, Asuka. In the anime, she was absolutely fucking annoying and I just could not stand her. In the movie, well, she's still annoying but no where near as bad as in the anime. I think that's just because you see less of her. Now this brings me to one of the high points for me in this movie and that is the part where the third Eva essentially turns into an Angel. So, why would I like this part so much? Well, instead of having that one dude as the pilot of Eva 3, the movie changes this up by having Asuka as the pilot. So let's just say that watching that Eva get torn apart was one of the most happiest moments for me in that entire series.
Ok, beyond that sadistic pleasure, I ended up liking the movie. 2.0 did a great job of providing better information on how the city functioned and it actually gave the city life, unlike in the anime. Also, I appreciated them changing up the personality of one the characters, Ayanami. Instead of constantly being some lifeless doll, like in the anime, the movie did a better job of making her more human. Not having her being a blank slate is a huge plus. As for the story, well I still have a hard time grasping the finer details. Despite having seen the anime, I still find the plot hard to follow, but I'm just surprised that I'm enjoying the movie.
You would, Japan, you would. Now there are some flaws of course, besides the hard to follow plot. There is a noticeable increase in catering to people's inner pedophiles. There are a number of lingering panty shots that are stupid and for some reason they gave Asuka a redesigned suit that is more revealing. I don't get how I'm supposed to take this stuff seriously when stupid shit like this happens. Oh and I guess I forgot to mention the addition of the new girl......and.....wow...I completely forgot her name.....ya their is barely enough information given on her that I'm not going to bother forming an opinion of her.
So, in short, I'm pleasantly surprised. I think Evangelion benefits more from being told in a series of movies than as an anime series. I really didn't care for the anime, but I was definitely entertained by the movies. I may not have a great grasp on what the hell is happening but it's a big plus that in the end, I'm not pissed at what I just watched.
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