So, did Neon Genesis Evangelion confuse anyone else?

Shadowfox_900 · newbie! Joined: Jun 07, 2006 Posts: 19

This anime was the weirdest one o've ever watched. I mean it was like a random sequence of events thrown together. I was so confused at what happened at the end. can someone please explain ti to me.!
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xenocrisis0153 · Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2006 3:20 am Post subject: Re: Neo Confusion

orichalcos · Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 7:13 pm Post subject: Evangelion

it was quite confusing because of the not really a specific storyline. It went from fighting angels to personal problems, etc. Overal the movie was better, yet still confusing.

RolePlayingOtaku · newbie! Joined: Mar 13, 2005 Posts: 34

took a couple of reviewing to fully understand everything in this entire anime. You really have to look out for things if you want to wrap your head around it. If not, consult wikipedia.

Happy_Dojo · Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 9:09 am Post subject:

neon genesis is one of the most confusing animes of all time. it takes a few watches and some research to understand it, but when you do it elevates it to a whole new level.
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umazak · newbie! Joined: Jul 22, 2005 Posts: 9

Evangelion was hard for me to understand at first too but then I watched it a second time. To me it was just another way of seeing how humans came to being and they were considered traitors to the Angels for giving up their powers and forms.

Melancoholic · Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2006 10:49 am Post subject:

I don't think anyone could really say that Evangelion didn't confuse them. Anyone who says they understood everything in it are missing the point of the anime; it's deliberately written to be open to personal interpretation. Sure, the director probably has his own ideas about what it all means, but that doesn't mean we have to subscribe to his ideas. Besides, Anno went a bit nuts if I remember rightly, so any interpretation of his would be difficult to apply to your average everyman...

xenocrisis0153 · Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2006 3:51 am Post subject:

Melancoholic · Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 10:28 pm Post subject:

xenocrisis0153 · Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 4:34 am Post subject:

Cruton · newbie! Joined: May 17, 2005 Posts: 47

What I think is one of the keys to "understanding" NGE is considering that not everything said in the series, directly or indirectly, is supposed to be true. One of the underlining themes of NGE is confusion and frustration and the anger that results from both. Just because of group of scientists named something "angels" or "lilith" doesn't make them so. There's never any proof offered that anything in the series is actually supernatural. It's more about human reaction to what seems supernatural.

At least, that's one possible take. As noted above, Eva can be taken all sorts of ways.

I remember reading one review, a long time ago, that said NGE was worth watching because you were always guaranteed to have a reaction to it, even if it wasn't a positive reaction. Even if we hate something, it's always helpful to realize why we hate it. It's probably why I prefer NGE to later shows in same vein, like RahXephon and Fafner. NGE was never afraid to make its characters pathetic and despictable. That always made them more believable to me.

Melancoholic · Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2006 7:13 pm Post subject:

I haven't seen Fafner, but I'd rate NGE and RahXephon as being on a par with each other. They're obviously very similar, but while NGE has a very negative view of humanity with very introspective musings about how we are destined to hurt each other and ourselves in our pursuit of happiness, RahXephon is far more optimistic, showing that, even through trial and tribulation, basic goodness and decency can be maintained, and that happiness and truth aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. Really, from a philosophical standpoint, they're not the same at all, and I'd contend that one series is the antithesis of the other.

Unless of course you're just watching for the robot battles... Razz

legend718 · newbie! Joined: Dec 10, 2004 Posts: 34

thats the thing Melancoholic, NGE was never meant to be a happy story so to speak. this anime includes characterisitics and personalities that is common in humanity but are too dark to show. someone even analyzed the main characters each represented one of the '7 deadly Sins' because they all seem so one dimensional.

one things for certain, NGE is definitely not for the feint of heart and can only be truly appreciated by few.

also, if anyone who watches this series/movie have the DVD, watch it with the commentary after youre done. I HIGHLY recommend it if you really want to know the back story and religious and historical references that this anime was based on. It blew my mind and saved alot of research time for me. LOL

Melancoholic · Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2006 5:55 pm Post subject:

Lol, the definition of a great anime: one you can base a PhD thesis on! Razz

Dr_Tom · newbie! Joined: Aug 06, 2006 Posts: 23

Some really interesting takes on what the series ending means from some people here, but none really come close to what I got out of it. At the end of the series we see Shinji trying to decide what to do with the world. Since Eva unit 01 has become god(as seen in the End of Eva movie as well) and Shinji is it's pilot, Shinji basically gets control over what will happen to the human race. The whole last episode is a mental battle with himself to keep the world he knows or go through with third impact and bring all souls together to "fill each others holes." In the end he goes through with third impact and his A.T. field shatters(symbolized by the walls of the room he's in) and is accepted into lilum(symbolized by everyone congratulating him, even people had previously died).

The movie ending on the other hand he denies third impact because even though he might still get hurt, he wants to see their faces(as he puts it). There really isn't much symbolisim to be thought trough at the end of the movie, which by the way was only made because of all the death threats Anno recieved after finishing the series. It was made more to spite fans rather than for them even though a lot of them like better than the series ending. Fans wanted to see Asuka and Shinji get together, all they got was him jerking off in front of her comatose body. Fans wanted to see Asuka kicking ass, ok sure, but then they have them all regenerate and destroy her. Fans wanted to see Shinji and Misato get together, sure we'll show them kiss, then Misato get's blown to pieces. If you really look at the movie you'll see so much spite like that, I happen to love that Anno did that. It makes the movie just that much more enjoyable for me.

And a little added bonus, Studio Khara(new studio made specifically for this project...basically still GAINAX) is making 4 new Evangelion movies. First one will come out next summer in Japan and will be a prequal to the series. No date for the second, third, or fourth, but don't expect to come out to soon after eachother. The second movie will be a "mid series movie(not sure what they mean for sure but it looks kinda like it'll be the series but told from a different perspective)," the third will be a sequal, and last is what they called a final movie. go to anime news network for more information but they don't have much more than that at the moment.