Neon Genesis Evangelion is, to the simple-minded, a generic post-apocaliptic robot action-fest. But there is so much more to this series that can be enjoyed.

Evangelion is a Japanese Cartoon, or 'Animé'. (pronounced An-ee-may ) It explains the big eyes and funny dubbing :)

Basically, in the year 2015, a world which had lost half its inhabitants in an event simply known as 'The Second Impact' 15 years ago, is again under attack by a mysterious race of beings known as the 'Angels'. These angels are enormous, seemingly indestructable, sometimes ugly, and, to the humans who popluate the one city that they attack, Tokyo-3, these Angels seem hostile. The only weapon humans have against these angels are the Evangelions, giant bio-mechanical robots, which are made in secret by an organisation simply known as NERV.

An Angel

This basic analysis above does not do the series justice, yet it appears in every TV-guide that describes Eva. With this description, Eva seems like your run-of-the-mill average Saturday morning cartoon that should be ignored and put away like every other silly children's cartoon that comes about. It is, however, far from it.

More than anything, Eva is about the human heart. Sure, you have the fight scenes involving the Evas and the Angels, but the main purpose of Eva lies elsewhere. The intelligent and well-thought out conspiracies, destinct characters, awesome battle scenes, and wonderful animation are 'tools' that the director and writer, Anno Hideko, uses to put his thoughts across to the viewer. He explores human emotions, feelings, and the soul. The series brings up questions like 'Why are we here?', 'What is our purpose in life?', and 'What is our fundamental weakness?' The child-like exterior of Eva betrays the deepness of it all.

I think one of the strong points of Eva are the characters. Each one seems almost human. They all have flaws, fears, and weaknesses, much like real people. There is not one character in Eva that is totally all powerful or invincible. They all seem human. You also cannot say that there is a 'bad guy' in it. At first, the Angels seem like the bad side, but the further you get into the series, the murkier everything becomes.

One of the characters, Shinji Ikari.

The emotions that you experience while watching Eva are numerous. There is some geniune humour in the first part of the series, which gives way for more serious stuff later on towards the end. The second half of the series is quite disturbing, and sometimes even shocking. If you are looking for a Hollywood-Style happy ending, then Eva is not for you.

Why are they called Angels to begin with? This question is explored but never fully explained. That is one of the other strong points of Eva. Most of the stuff put forward to you is never given an answer. The answer is up to the viewer.

So, if you like cospiracies, deep-meanings, humour, heartache, and disturbing and sometimes scary stuff, then try Eva out.