I don't like to make judgements that sound like they are purely my own opinion......but I will say this: Neon Genesis Evangelion is the best anime to come out in the 90's. Do you think that statement went too far? E-mail me at wonderfly@hotmail.com and give me you opinion.
Here's a quick rundown of the series:
A climatic disaster called the "Second Impact" destroys the South Pole. This incident was caused by beings known as "Angels" who have now come back 15 years later to finish what they started. But Earth is ready to fight them now, with mecha designed after the first angel. The mecha's are called "Eva's", and were designed by a special organization called "NERV". But it takes a rare type of person to pilot these Eva's, specifically young teenager's, who are now forced to grow up in the harsh reality of war.
More then simply the old "aliens invade Earth and we have to fight them off with giant robots" routine, Evangelion tells a story of a group of people's struggle for survival. A struggle to find not only the human race's place in this new, harsh world, but also to find the meaning in this world for each of them individually.
The characters are what really drives this story. They are all striving for something, something to justify their existence. Shinji is striving for acceptance. He doesn't wish to harm nobody, but wants to be praised. Rei is an outcast, as much by her own design as by everyone else's. But she still tries to justify that she is not different then everyone else. Asuka wants to prove that she is the best in all areas of life. She tries to prove that she can take care of herself, but by this, she gives up feeling like she is cared for. Misato wants to be loved, but goes out of her way to get that love. Kaji's fight for the truth dominates him, until he has stepped on to many people's toes to get it. And Ritsuko tries to justify her methods, claiming that she is doing what is best for the entire planet, until all of the pain she has caused catches up with her.
A picture of the EVA units
And then there are the Angels. What I like about these "aliens" is that their purpose in attacking earth is never clearly explained. They are an enigma from their first appearance. The only thing that we can figure out about their nature, is that they want to join with the first angel "Adam". Wether that angel is the one lying in NERV's basement is still somewhat of a mystery also......
Another thing that makes the angels interesting is in how they "evolve" as the series progress'. As each one is destroyed by the hero's, the next one seems to learn from the old one's mistake and adapts! The Angels become increasingly more powerful throughout the series. In fact, most of the time it is only through a combination of the EVA pilot's rugged determination, a quick change of strategies, and blind luck, that the hero's truimph! And the last Angel was brilliant; he made a good close to the war with the angels.
This anime was produced by the friendly folks at Gainax studio's. Gainax is also responsible for such hits as "Wings of Honneamise", "Gunbuster", "Nadia and the Search for Blue Water", and "Otaku no Video". Gainax is an animation studio founded by fans of anime. When it was formed, the crew wanted to do more then produce some animation; then wanted to create the most spetacular anime's ever. They wanted to use the best animation, create the most wonderfully complex worlds, and weave a story that would be classic.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is no exception to that. It is Gainax's most popular anime to date and Gainax is not stopping with just the television series. In spring of '97, the first Evangelion movie premiered. And later in the summer, the second Evangelion movie came out. These two movies help wrap up the story.
The characters are what really drives this story. They are all striving for something, something to justify their existence. Shinji is striving for acceptance. He doesn't wish to harm nobody, but wants to be praised. Rei is an outcast, as much by her own design as by everyone else's. But she still tries to justify that she is not different then everyone else. Asuka wants to prove that she is the best in all areas of life. She tries to prove that she can take care of herself, but by this, she gives up feeling like she is cared for. Misato wants to be loved, but goes out of her way to get that love. Kaji's fight for the truth dominates him, until he has stepped on to many people's toes to get it. And Ritsuko tries to justify her methods, claiming that she is doing what is best for the entire planet, until all of the pain she has caused catches up with her.
Another thing that makes the angels interesting is in how they "evolve" as the series progress'. As each one is destroyed by the hero's, the next one seems to learn from the old one's mistake and adapts! The Angels become increasingly more powerful throughout the series. In fact, most of the time it is only through a combination of the EVA pilot's rugged determination, a quick change of strategies, and blind luck, that the hero's truimph! And the last Angel was brilliant; he made a good close to the war with the angels.
*LINKS*
