Evangelion's greatness?

[Naota]

It's time we should get the anime/manga room back up and running more, and we need to start somewhere. So how about a new thread?
I've been thinking about Evangelion lately, I have a couple of the books, but it's said that it's one of the greatest and most controversial series' ever created! What makes it so great and inspirational?

[mofo09]

ive only read like the first chapter of the manga, but tha movie was amazing, even though i didnt know exactly what was goin on

[Naota]

Yeah, the first book is my favorite...because there's no porn. :D Unfortunately, pornography was the reason I stopped collecting the series.

[mofo09]

really? u dont like porn?

[Naota]

lol I'm not even going to answer that.

But I need some replies, I've got the Evangelion theme song stuck in my head from when I downloaded it, and I've never even seen an episode of it. Please...help me.

[mofo09]

ive never met any one who is so disqusted by porn to not buy a really awsome manga

[dfacto]

Yeah, I mean you'd mioss out on anything by Masamune Shirow cause of that, and thats a real pity.


And I never watched all of evangelion really. Was too messed up for my tastes, which is probably because the writer had clinical depression when he was writing it. It's why the whole ending to the series is supposedly messed up, and why the movie's ending was only marginally better.

[tda]

I heard that it's an animé reflection on a time when the writer was in the worst stage of his life, like total depression and stuff as you said. Even though the storyline is ****** up and it really messes you up the 1st time you watch it, i still go back and marathon the whole thing in one weekend sometimes with a few mates (spent a lot of moneys on all the dvds TT_TT). I just love the way the whole thing is put together, that and the fact that the evas totally rock (eva > all other giant robots combined). 'Tis why i draw unit 1 so much.

In short i love NGE, even though it messes with your head. The animation, storyline and evas all rock the house down, and its much darker and convoluted than your average animé/manga, or at least in my experience.

Also, i havent read any of the mangas which is something i need to rectify, if only i knew a place to get ahold of them.

[Cruiser18]

You sure get a depression after whatching the movie. Those chars, although they are incredibly alive, is the most fu**** up persons I could imagine.

Like Misato so perfectly states it: "The real tragedy is not the Evangelion project, but it's people."

[tzuge]

Yeah, the guy like went through 4 yrs of depression before making EVA so it figures that the series is kinda off.

When I originally watched EVA, I was pretty annoyed by the end of it and couldn't really figure out why some people consider it such a good series. I mean, frankly, the characters are mostly impossible to relate to since they're all such messed up people. I also really didn't care for some of the fan service... it's just a wee bit inappropriate considering the pilots are suppose to be 14... All that and the theme of the series was really really messed up; it was basically going nowhere.

However, now that I've watched more anime, I can appriciate the good points of EVA. The plot is quite good. It maintains it's complexity without really getting confusing until the end. I also started to see that EVA really twists some 'giant robot saves the world' anime genre conventions. Like with all the pilots having to be 14 for a really twisted reason and the EVAs being not quite robots.

I think the way to enjoy EVA is just to ignore a lot of the pseudo philosopical babel (it's not nearly coherent enough to be meaningful) and enjoy it as an action adventure anime. I also would not recommend exposing someone to anime using EVA; it really is much more accessible to people who are already into anime.

[Aires]

Don't forget the keys to its success-

a pengiun, and the fact that they had to pick the best German seyuis to do the English voice acting.

sarcasim.

Eva didn't do alot for me, the characters weren't believable, dude, you had a 14 year old red head going around trying to hit an very older man. And no one is that well endowed at 14.

The bio weapons were cool, they got the drama bit down, but i found it boring.

[Naota]

Thanks guys, maybe I wont buy the anime after all. Oh yeah and also thanks for getting the eva theme song out of my head. Now it's the Naruto theme stuck in my head looping...HELP! :tear:

[Fiend]

Personally, I can't stand the Eva series for a transfinite number of reasons.

Just thought I'd let you guys know!

*runs away*

[dfacto]

I just love the way the whole thing is put together, that and the fact that the evas totally rock (eva > all other giant robots combined). 'Tis why i draw unit 1 so much.

YES! The show wasn't super-hot imo, but the EVAs and Angels were the coolest. I love that style, and the whole bioweapon idea.

[Naota]

Yeah I think Eva brought up a whole bunch of new mech ideas for future artists, maybe that's why it became so popular?

[Cativo]

Yeah I think Eva brought up a whole bunch of new mech ideas for future artists, maybe that's why it became so popular?
That, plus, imo, the character; They are not perfect, they all have issues and they're own reasons for fighting....but I have to admit that I really love the Eva design...it's unique!
oh, and there's also the "religious" side to it, it's interesting to see all that stuff...It's well researched, it's got a lot obscure stuff like the "tree of life", "lance of Longivous", the name of the angels, etc...a complex series.

[tzuge]

The "religious" side is not well research. Taking random symbols from various myths and putting them out of context requires very little research and shows no respect for the source material.

[mofo09]

its popular becuase evangelion is evangelion

[Snowfox]

I've always found it overrated. It's just anime for emos, all it's missing is the wrist slitting.

[RansomAvenue]

I've always found it overrated. It's just anime for emos, all it's missing is the wrist slitting.

lmao

TomMO

[Jeanox]

Now it's the Naruto theme stuck in my head looping...HELP

Off subject: If/when you get any song stuck in your head, listen to Green Bird from the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack. That song is like medicine; it clears out any song that is holding your brain hostage.

[Cruiser18]

I don't think Evangelion is overrated. It became immensily popular when it was broadcasted, and it is still counted as a classic in anime fandom.

Why?

If I were to guess I would say it was partly because of the intrigueing design of the Eva's and the angels, and Shini's habbit of pushing his evangelion beyond the borders of what it was designed for.

Partly it would also be because of the Chars. Screwed up as they may be, they are also intrigueing, each and every one of them is very different from each other and we get to understand them all through their slowly revealing pasts.

On the subject of fanservice and the "Well endowed" redhead hitting on an older man, I really didn't think there was much fanservice. It could be WHOLE lot worse, and the sparse ones you get doesn't appear like it was really put there just for the sake of it.

Asuka hitting on Kaji doesn't seem unbelievable to me, considering what you see in the world today. And it is a well known fact that girls has a tendency to go for guys well above their own age because they seem more mature and cool.
And I believe there was a remark somewhere in the Evangelion manga that the children were maturing faster at the time they are in. Not very unbelievable as well if you take a look at how kids bodies matures faster these days than they did just a few years ago.

But that's just my oppinion :D

It IS a screwed up show, and it is certainly to everyones tast wether they like it or not. Either you hate it or you like it. And that's that.

[Naota]

Guess you pretty much summed it up there cruiser lol.

[mofo09]

im starting to watch the series right now (im up to eps 5) and i dont see how someone can hate it

[Jeanox]

just wait. 5 is nothing...everything goes berzerk around ep 14 if i remember right (but then again, it was awhile ago...correct me if im wrong).

[Cruiser18]

Oddly enoug AnimeNewsNetwork.com Has just posted up a review of the new Platinum version of NGE vol 3 dvd. Although it is a bit centered on episodes 11-14 (strangely enough :D) it provides you with good clues about the aspects of the entire shows fandom since the reviewer gets around it all pretty well.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/reviews/display.php?id=717

Now I've seen people who has bought NGE on VHS, then again on DVD, then again in Directors cut mode, and now again in platinum edition.

Maybe it's time that I got the platinum version for myself, even though I invested in the show on DVD some 2 years ago, but a totally remastered version of the show is almost too great a lure. :)

[mofo09]

whats so good about the platinum edition? when i was at an anime convention everyone was dying to get that

[Aires]

The thermal expansion epsiode was really funny, especially at the end. :)

Platnum edition, You think they invested in a new voice acting session while they were digitally remastering ot?

[Cruiser18]

Well this is what the sellers say about new stuff in platinum: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/releases.php?id=2799&sort=

And just for the fun of it, a litle trivia that explains some of the stuff you come across in the series: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=49&page=22

Perhaps I should get End Of Evangelion now that I'm at it too :D

[flare60]

The last 2 episodes to evangelion, ARE NOT, really the ending.

The company had a horrid budget when creating the evangelion series, the writer and creator also sufferd from major depressions at the time, wich didnt help mutch.

The result of the very little money they had left at the end, is the 2 final episodes in the 25 min series.

The movie however, was created to finally end the series as the creator wished. They didnt get to do it to begin with becouse of the money problems, but since evangelion became such a huge hit , the company got money and more chances to created more anime, most of wich did quite a good job.

They then finished the evangelion series , with " End of Evangelion " .

[Eolatria]

And BTW, did you guys know "End of Evangelion" follows the Apocalipsys (did I spell that right?) from the Bible? <- just forget this and watch it as a Mecha-action movie...it makes no sense anyways.
About the series i liked the mechas (Evas), the battles, and that's it. Too deppressing characters for my liking too. =)

[Mika]

Perverts

The first episode turned me off though, kinda felt sory for the bandage girl, but not enough to watch the series

[Eolatria]

Perverts? Who? Why?

[flare60]

Perverts

The first episode turned me off though, kinda felt sory for the bandage girl, but not enough to watch the series


Perverts ? excouse me we are not perverst for watching a good animated show, also becouse there is the hint of sex, kissing, a boob or panty shot here and there, or for that matter talk of sex, doesnt make it porn.

The theme of evangelion is depression, lust, love, and tragedy.

Each of these themes, are major parts of the main character shinji.
He is constantly depressed, craves love, doesnt understand sex or his own needs completely, and keeps being thrown into tragedy becouse of whats around him.

[Aires]

I think she was talking to me :)

Just an inside bit so I wouldn't take it personally

EDIT:

Just read what they were going to do in the platnum edition.
I rather read the manga any day than subject my ears to that crud.

[Mika]

Oops, Sorry, that was a typo, I was just refering to one in particular

:

[Cativo]

I forgot to mention this before, do you guys think they'll do a decent job with the live action version? FX should be ok, coming from WETA...

[tda]

Ahh god dammit. I'm gonna have to re-buy all the dvd's in those platinum editions now. Curse you DVD makers for delaying with your "not-as-good-as-these-ones" releases. D:

[Xion Valkyrie]

I forgot to mention this before, do you guys think they'll do a decent job with the live action version? FX should be ok, coming from WETA...

No, it will suck horribly and nobody will watch it and that will be the end of live action conversions of anime, hopefully forever.

[K_x_uksami]

I haven't actually seen the whole series, actually. Still, it's awesome. I don't see how you couldn't like it unless I find out the last few episodes turn out to be crap.

[Charlie]

Now I've seen people who has bought NGE on VHS, then again on DVD, then again in Directors cut mode, and now again in platinum edition.

I be one of those people. :/ and I dont think theres a real explentation! It must be that industry voo-doo magic they use on us that just keeps us comin back for more.

--warning-- what im about to say IS NOT TO BE MISINTERPRETED. haha, this is not about to become an arguement about subs or nosubs, don't start that! its a horrible horrible war that will never end. XD

anyway, i think alot of people who watched eva and didnt like it (if your not one of these people, fine, dont worry yourself) maybe didnt like it because they watched it with english dubs. I saw it first in japanese, and im not ashamed to say, i had to be put on meds for a month (prozac is your friend) my caffeine intake had somethin to do with it also but hey whatever, on topic -- eva is almost portrayed as comedy if you watch it with english dubs, it makes me sick to my stomache. If you watch it in jp, with eng subs, its a totally different experience.

The theme of evangelion is depression, lust, love, and tragedy. -- flare60

you said it best really. im not sure if you watched in subs or dubs, but the way i figure, only way to get the FULL EFFECT of eva on your brain, is to sit down, and start poppin in dvd's, watch the whole series in one sitting in subtitle format, then both movies. , then try to tell me eva sucks! you might end up needing "a stiff drink and a peer group!" (ford prefect rules you all.kthx)