Neon Genesis Evangelion

Personally, I think that Kaworu with his cheerfulness, honesty, and similarity to Rei would just rub Asuka the wrong the way right from the beginning.

But it would especially be bad if he tried to do that soul/mind-reading thing he seems to be capable of. That would probably hit her right in all her neuroses, and cause her to lash violently out.

Agreed. I know they didn't hit it off very well in the manga.

edited 2nd Jul '12 10:00:25 AM by Willbyr

Plus he's another love rival for Asuka... one that I think she'd be even more freaked about then she feels towards Rei.

...Shinji would probably get it pretty bad too in that situation.

Well, here goes my credibility, but anyway:

I haven't made it past episode one of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

In the professional opinion of everyone here, is there any element that NGE could be said to possess that no other anime does? Is there anything that makes it a must watch?

It really doesn't seem like my thing, so I'm wondering if there's a good reason to try making it through it.

A complex deconstruction and character study of what the characters in an average Super Robot show would be like if they existed in real life; or more broadly dissecting various types of flawed human beings.

Pretty much this. Think Watchmen, but with mecha instead of super heroes.

Would a non-mecha fan be better off watching Lain then?

I don't think it's as focused on mecha as some people seem to think. The first several episodes are a bit I guess, but that's mainly to lull the mecha fans into thinking it's just another mecha show.

It's worth watching, even if you are not a mecha fan, if only because of the huge impact it had on later anime.

Several later anime, including non-mecha have direct references to Evangelion.

I'd suggest you give it at least until Asuka shows up. Although the real wild stuff doesn't happen until the last quarter of the episodes.

edited 3rd Jul '12 6:24:37 AM by Sackett

As someone who has seen Eva and Lain I have to say they are very different.

Eva, as has already been said, deconstructs a common premise or genre (either a superhero comic or a giant mecha anime) like Watchmen does: Eva refuses to be an ordinary mecha show just as Watchmen is more than just a comic book. Conventions are defied, characters are explored to tremendous depth. The plot in itself is only a bit hard to understand, obscured by how much stuff happens in a single episode. The very nature of man and his life is explored. Things become introspective to the point where Existentialism is a big theme.

Lain on the other hand has no real genre. It's a puzzle inside an enigma hidden in a labyrinth. And you don't know where the labyrinth is. I mean, it's great, but there's miles of difference in themes comparing to Eva. One knows that Eva is by definition a mecha show, albeit one where you drop the characters in a soap opera/mystery and makes it work. Lain is... Lain. To describe it you must watch it. If I were forced to give an actual definition I'd say it's a Mind Screw mystery, but that's only a portion of what it is.

Bottom line, watch both.

Given that you have a Code Geass icon, I'm guessing you are like me in that you've watched a few shows that are technically considered mecha, since they include mechs, but aren't really about the mecha much at all.

In which case I'd recommend NGE at you. It's a whole lot less ~fabulous~, but a lot more serious. And, more fucked up. (Plus, you can watch it and see the blatant EVA riffs Geass used)

If you don't want to put up with NGE's eccentricities; at least give Rebuild a shot. It isn't as unique as NGE; but it's a more enjoyable ride, imo.

pbbt... Rebuild is too mecha, he wants less mecha not more.

It's not really that Mecha; It's still primarily character drama.

I guess that's true for Rebuild 1.

Rebuild 2 is rather rather mecha I think.

Both are certainly more mecha then the original show though.

Which is why I honestly like Rebuild more, while it still keeps the originals spirit, it still shows that Hideaki Anno really does like traditional mecha series more than people think.

His directorial debut was Frickin Gunbuster, after all.

@Ultimately Subjective: Do you mind more Shojo-y stuff?

edited 4th Jul '12 5:49:41 PM by Brushguy

I dunno; I think he always wanted strong character drama first and foremost and you can see that in Gunbuster too.

Yes, but he still wanted to be just as Super Robot-ish as many other series before him with Gunbuster, too.

edited 4th Jul '12 10:43:31 AM by Demongodofchaos2

I mean I dunno; I have to respect NGE for being so down to earth with its characters, but at the same time I just cared about them more in Rebuild and found them more likable.

I am somewhat indifferent to both Rebuild and NGE but the cahracters in NGE felt more real to me most mecha. That is not that there aren't manga and anime that don't come close but the characters feel like people than cut outs. TTGL even though a tribute to Super Robots feels less real to me.

They aren't usually supposed to feel real, they are always meant be over the top and hotblooded, (With Evangelion and Betterman being among the exceptions).

I would say that it is kind of hard to fully appreciate Rebuild without having at least some kind of comprehensive knowledge of the original series.

I won't go as far as to claim that it is absolutely necessary, but there are quite a few meta-levels to the plot and the characters that you need that knowledge to see.

edited 4th Jul '12 2:18:00 PM by TheAmazingBlachman

Eh; there are those moments, but they work a lot better when you can portray them as realistic characters; the OTT stuff is the payoff to that.

It amuses me to imagine Kaworu screaming 'I AM NOT THE MESSIAH!'

@ Brushguy, I wouldn't say I dislike shoujo, but I didn't like Utena.

Although I don't hear people talking about the characters in that one, so it's probably just compared for "Mind Screw" value only.

Is that why you were asking?