So I’m planning at using a similar method for looking at Eva as I did for The Big O. So it’s not without some small amount of trepidation that I start Neon Genesis Evangelion, and hope that I have something to say. I love Eva for what it means to anime, and what sprang from it, but I hate Eva because it’s a story that ends poorly, and it ends poorly on purpose.
![evangelion episode 4 ryu evangelion episode 4 ryu](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/evangelion/images/8/8b/Gendo_Ikari.png)
In the end, Eva is a brilliant disaster, but it’s still a disaster.
![evangelion episode 4 ryu evangelion episode 4 ryu](https://i0.wp.com/animesaku.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/55371-evangelion-30-1-0-thrice-upon-a-time-rompe-el-record-de-ganancias-de-apertura-en-imax.jpg)
In the three times I’ve tried to rewatch Evangelion, I’ve never gotten past episode 20. It turns what was an interesting exploration of self and communication into an unholy morass. Misato is plagued by daddy issues and Kaji is killed. Instead of having Shinji find a way to become more like the other characters, Anno decides (at episode 20) that everyone is Shinji.
Shinji is ineffectual and impotent without Asuka and Misato and Kaji.īut Anno has a thesis, and like Ahab and his Great White Whale, he rides that thesis to the bottom of the ocean. It requires a supporting cast that can step in to play the hero and move the story along. So I’ve always liked anti-heroes like Shinji, but it’s a difficult thing to do well. That parenthesis is a promise that one day you won’t be isolated.
#EVANGELION EPISODE 4 RYU MOVIE#
It even shows up in the movie titles: You are (not) alone. He repeats this thesis again and again and again. He is determined to tell a story about people who are divorced from others by the accident of being born human. If there is one thing Hideaki Anno will be remembered for, it will be this show.Īnno’s commitment to his central thesis is commendable. Neon Genesis Evangelion is a masterpiece written by a person who, in a short time, would have a mental breakdown. How we see this show tells us about ourselves as fans, as media consumers and even as people.īut that’s not the only reason I dread talking about Eva. Hideaki Anno has famously said Eva is a show where you bring your own meaning.Įva is a mirror to ourselves. While it doesn’t add to my dread, it is a show that the creator offers little help in interpreting. I thought about exploring Argento Soma, but I think to really get at that show we have to talk about how Ryu Soma is a more proactive form of Shinji.īut I think to understand how I see those shows, I have to talk about how I see Eva. When I initially thought about restarting this blog, I had an entire post planned about how Episode 3 of RahXephon is a mirror reflection of Episode 4 of Evangelion. No matter what I talk about next, I’m going to talk about Evangelion in some way. So why weigh in on it at all? I mean more than I have already. Since it’s reach has been so far and so wide, everyone has weighed in on it, which is daunting. NGE is the anime equivalent of Citizen Kane, Apocalypse Now and Pulp Fiction all rolled into one. We also see its echoes in shows like Psycho Pass, ef: Tale of Memories and really any of the KyoAni shows.
![evangelion episode 4 ryu evangelion episode 4 ryu](http://jurnalotaku.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/evangelion-complete-visual-e1616392714135-700x480.jpg)
Gone were the strange stories where two people endlessly quoted philosophy at each other and here came stories about self-discovery in a world gone mad.Įven now, we are still seeing the ripples of Eva in stories like Kill la Kill, Akame ga Kill and One Punch Man. Gone were the sweeping epics that featured interminable wars, and here came dozens of stories of introspective young men. This show redefined what you should do with big robot anime. There are precious few shows made after the year of our lord 1996 that have not felt the touch of NGE somehow. NGE isn’t just an anime, it is THE anime. There is nothing I’m going to say about this show that someone hasn’t already said better than I could. Then just before I sat down to write this, I saw this post from Fred mentioned on Crimson’s blog and I identified one of the reasons for my dread. I’ve been listening to a course on existentialism, pulling out my old psychology texts, and the whole time I’ve had a feeling of dread. I’ve been working myself up to write this post ever since I decided I was going to rewatch Neon Genesis Evangelion. #AniTwitWatches 91 Days adaptations Akame Ga Kill analysis ani-blogging anime art Back Arrow blogging blogs characters Christianity cinematography coronavirus critique Dororo Eighty-six Elder Scrolls Eva Evangelion Existentialism fantasy Galaxy Express 999 gatekeeping GE999 geek culture genre Girls' Last Tour harem Haruhi Haruka Shitou Higurashi history humor internet culture Isekai Kanon Kill la Kill Leiji Matsumoto loli love mecha Meta Mu music Nadia navel-gazing Neon Genesis Evangelion NGE Odd Taxi Otome politics RahXephon Real Neat Blog review reviews romance School Days science fiction sexualization shoujo Tag Posts Tengen Toppen Gurren Lagann The Big O The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya themes The Perfect Insider Toradora Trauma travelogues video game Visual Novels War Writing Blogroll