This is (Not) a First Impression Review: Neon Genesis Evangelion

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Howdy, howdy folks!  Sunday is here and that means a fresh new review!  Hopefully, for those of you who read yesterday’s emotional post, it’ll be something positive to read.  And while this week’s show is not so new, it is nonetheless a classic.  Although, I feel like this review won’t be doing it much justice (I’ll explain later).  Anyways, let’s get started on this week’s long-awaited review on Neon Genesis Evangelion (also simply known as Evangelion) .
In 2000, a cataclysmic event known as Second Impact destroyed Earth’s North Pole, disrupted Earth’s axis, and wiped out a huge chunk of the human population.  Fifteen years later, giant creatures called Angels now attack the Earth and threaten humanity.  The only weapon able to combat these monsters are the Evangelion Units, or Evas, giant robots that are way more than they seem (and that fact is made apparent in the second episode).  The main character, Shinji Ikari, comes to Tokyo 3 as requested by his estranged father, who runs the agency Nerve, which controls the Evas.  Little does Shinji know, his father brought him in to pilot one of the latest models, Eva Unit 1.  Shinji reluctantly agrees to pilot Unit 1 under tremendous pressure of an Angel attack in progress.  Shinji is able to defeat the Angel, but not without some injury to himself and the Eva.  From there, the series documents Shinji’s time with Nerve and piloting Eva Unit 1 and the happenings of the other pilots Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langely Soryu.
Okay, can I just be upfront and admit that I didn’t finish all of this series?...yeah…This series is a pretty big deal in the anime world, so it was important to watch the series from beginning to end.  Little did I know, this series is difficult to find online for free (odd for a classic like this).  Plus, I don’t have $75 to readily burn on a collection of the entire series.  In other words, I dropped the ball.  But, based on what I have seen, I was very pleased.  And so, as a start, I give Neon Genesis Evangelion a 7.5 out of 10.  I think what struck me the most so far about Evangelion is how realistic it is.  Most mecha series you see have a tough headstrong protagonist who’s eager to pilot a giant robot and save the world without a single scratch.  Not so with Evangelion.  The beauty of this series is that it’s a deconstruction of the mecha genre in anime, meaning it questions or parodies the very foundation of the genre itself or aspects of it.  It asks questions like “should fourteen year olds pilot giant robots?”, which is a major feature of the mecha genre.  Plus, the characters are more realistic.  Well, most of them anyway.  And that leads to the one big downside of the series that I have found in what I’ve watched so far.
Besides not watching the entire series, I need only one word to describe by far the biggest downside to Evangelion: Shinji.  Yep, that’s it.  If you like your protagonists cocky, bold, and fun to watch, you won’t find that here.  Of all the characters I’ve seen, Shinji is the of the moodiest, wimpiest, and most frustrating character I have ever seen, and that distinction formally went to Kaneki in season one of Tokyo Ghoul-that is until he decided to live as a ghoul and grew a pair of 10lb. cohunes in season two, at which point he became very scary.  But while Shinji won’t be growing a pair any time soon, I do think that him being a total wimp actually plays a huge part in Evangelion being realistic.  Again, it begs the question “should fournteen year olds pilot giant robots?”  That answer is a resounding NO!  But all things considered, I have every intention of finishing this show!
So again, I dropped the ball with this one.  But fear not!  I will definitely plan for a rereview just as soon as I can figure out how I’m gonna finish watching the rest of the show.  Given that I myself have had some difficulty finding the show, I’m not going to bother telling you guys where to find it.  And so, that ends this week’s review.  But before I go, I do have one announcement to make.  There will be no review next Sunday.  And no, it’s not because it’s Easter-I mean, I am Catholic, and Easter is a pretty big deal for us.  I actually have a lot going on that weekend, so I’ll be taking that Sunday off from blogging.  Normally, I would go ahead and post a review, but I don’t think that will be possible with guests around.  But, my Autism Story 2 is still on the schedule for next Saturday.  So stay tuned for that and other fun stuff until then!

-Hanime on Anime
Neon Genesis Evangelion Trailer

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