Discussion
Topic: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Just finished Neon Genesis Evangelion. What did you all think of it? I'm particularly interested in your thoughts on the ending, especially the last two episodes. Note, I haven't seen the movies... But I definitely will be watching them, and I'll let you know when I'm done.
Brandon Reed
in
Anime Lounge
6 comments
Godzilla fan Well I started watching it when you posted about it. I think its really good. Then I saw the first episode of The Silent Sea and it sucked me right in. It's that kind of show. South Korea delivers another hit. I will finish Neon and let you know.
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Brandon Reed I've been hearing a lot about The Silent Sea, lol.
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Brandon Reed This was quite the subversion of the mecha anime subgenre. We had a protagonist who was so reluctant that I wanted to yell at the screen, "Shinji! I'm not being referential! Seriously, get in the #+_& robot!" But it's understandable. It's realistic. Any sane 14 year old isn't going to want to be one of 3 soldiers in a war against grotesque giant monsters. The other children's psychological vulnerabilities also play interesting roles in the main action while contributing to the 2-part finale.
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Brandon Reed The finale apparently got a lot of criticism for being too complicated and abstract, and for being too different from the rest of the series. I actually liked it. The emotions, which are the focus, were telegraphed explicitly, imo. I interpreted the Human Instrumentality Project as an invasive, depressing subversion of the concept of Nirvana. What I would've liked is more lead-in to how the project was implemented and why (for narrative); how it affects individuality outside the mind; etc.
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Irene Cruz This is one of those anime’s to recommend people who are still new to the Mecha genre, and it’s a good way to get your feet wet, no pun intended.
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Brandon Reed Watched the movies associated with the original project, tonight. Death and Rebirth was just a rehashing, without context, of the 69 minutes of the original 520-or-so minute series. That was disappointing. End of Evangelion, however, had a lot of action, did interesting things with the characters, and cranked the psychosexual imagery up to 11. I interpret the two endings (the end of the series and of the movie) as being compatible.
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Brandon Reed Episode 25 of the show starts after the movie starts, during SPOILER ALERT the movie's sequence in Shinji's psyche, with the applause scene at the end of episode 26 coming just before Shinji rejects Rei's offer. The entire movie (and a lot of the second half of the show) is gross and horrific, but it's meant to be. Asuka's final line, of course, indicates that people are still people. I believe Shinji was strangling her out of trauma, though, maybe even being unsure of what was real.
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Forrest Fujio-Gates I like the finale a lot. It was obviously the result of budget cuts (as were a lot of the choices made in the final few episodes, including the iconic elevator scene) but I think it really works as an abstract mood piece.
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Brandon Reed Which elevator scene?
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J H @MarlinBrando it doesn’t bother me at all I guess it could if you enjoy more kinetic stuff like FLCL but the original Evangelion’s roughness and reliance on great composition and stillness instead of a constant moving camera brings the film into ozu territory.
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J H AHHHH UPSETTING 😂😭
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SiRenfield Yeah the ending of the series is DEFIENTLY weird due to going over budget. And the movie’s ending is…better but it only makes slightly more sense LOL
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