***N.E.R.V. HEADQUARTERS*** The Neon Genesis Evangelion Thread

While I myself am a relative virgin to the world of Evangelion, I've been introduced to the DVD box set of the entire series, the Death and Rebirth film, and am now eagerly awaiting the End of Evangelion film, to be released on DVD on the 24th of September. Of course, I doubt I'll be able to wait that long for the finale and might just spoil myself on a rip of the Japanese DVD before the 24th rolls along.

So anyone else a fan of Evangelion, what I consider to be the most intellectual and psychological animated series ever?

 

I love that series! I just watched Death and Rebirth (with commentary) today. It blows my mind how people can think up that stuff. I was afraid that D&R would be a cheap cliched huge robot fight, but I'm really happy that it still has all the symbolic, philosphical stuff that the rest of it has, plus more action. I can't wait for the next movie, but unfortunately I won't watch it until December, when my fiance comes back. We always watch it together.

 

Cool!

What was your impression of the ending of the television series (episodes 25 and 26)? I know much of Eva fandom despised it, and to a certain degree I myself feel cheated by the ending, but from what spoilers I've found regarding the End of Evangelion, it reaches the EXACT same conclusion as 25 and 26, except that it is so utterly brutal and scarring. From what I've understood Hideaki Anno despised having to redo an ending which satisfied him and lashed out against the fans by creating such a horrific work in EoE.

 

I didn't really mind the original ending. I thought it was rather interesting, but hard to follow the first time though. It was a nice change of pace from all the fighting though. I think I will like the new ending better though. And I have to say, there's one thing that bothers me about D&R. They had to redo the dialoge to make it Dolby Digital or something, and they changed a lot of the pronunciation. Like eva is now "eh-va" and "Cow-r-rue" to "Quaroo". That's really nit picky, but that's me. What did you think of Shinji's.....activities in the begining of D&R?

 

Double posted.

 

Here's the thing: I made the mistake of watching D&R before I was even finished with the series (I think I was at episode 7 at the time) and was completely blown away by the sheer weight of Death. So what I remember from Death is just what I remember from the television series proper.

But I understand that Shinji does something more grotesque and gawk-inspiring in EoE.

As for the television ending, I was a tad unsatisfied that it was almost entirely focused on Shinji's turmoil and despair. True, the series is centered around him, but the other characters featured (Rei, Asuka, Misato) are still incredibly important to the story (Asuka and Rei especially).

Of course, I believe that Eva fans screamed for a bloody mecha-battle orgy that Anno just didn't want to give to them. I wonder if his revised vision of EoE left a bad taste in anyone's mouth for their utter ignorance of the story.

EoE is actually broken up in the same manner as the television series' finale, into two episodes (story has it that confused viewers left the theatres after credits rolled for the first part of EoE), and I suspect it incorporates much of the "story" or 25 and 26 (if you can even call it that).

 

Oh come on, there MUST be a gaggle of Eva fanboys up in here

 

I was a tad unsatisfied that it was almost entirely focused on Shinji's turmoil and despair."

Neon Genesis is anime at some of its finest...I loved the TV series' end because everything has been done so many times but NGE dared to show that the whole show was about the feelings of a boy and his as you said "turmoil and despair"...not the same old mecha evil stuff...that made it different from most other anime out there...

But I'm not complaining...I loved the movie...especially the whole Adam and Eve thing at the end...beautiful...

If you liked NGE then I guess you try Perfect Blue...this is a movie that takes you through the mind of a distrubed Japanese pop idol...mmmm pop idols...the ending is too "mainstream" but the movie itself is very disturbing...