Reviews Anime / Neon Genesis Evangelion

A flawed yet entertaining series

Neon Genesis Evangelion can be polarising. The tone of the opening episodes is far removed from the conclusion, but for once the tone shift feels natural and consistent when it is looked back upon after finishing the show. It does not feel forced or last-minute, but a natural extension of the world with which we are presented.

The animation is the standard sort of quality, and some sequences are very smoothly animated and exciting to watch, such as the descent of episode 24 and the entirety of End of Evangelion. However, the majority of the animation does not live up to these moments which is a shame. Especially in the infamous final episodes, where the animation becomes rather reycled and stilted whenever it actually appears.

The characters we are presented with have often been dismissed as "unlikable". I can see where these detractors are coming from, but quite honestly I grew to love the characters despite the large flaws they possess. Shinji is polarising, but some people like me will find him incredibly relatable and will not hold his whining against him, as most of his angst is justified. Misato is a lovable character, and the juxtaposition between her stern military role and her drunken home life is interesting to watch. Rei is the least relatable character, but she is interesting enough to watch and she is cute in a way.

Several plot elements are left to the viewer to figure out or only touched on briefly, making repeat watching rewarding. Although I did not like that many background details that are useful to understand the plot only exist outside of the show itself.

A criticism I would point out is the large amount of Faux Christian symbolism. Most of it is visually interesting but uneeded. I am not qualified to analyse the psychology in the show, but ocassionally it would seem unprofessional and a bit silly. Fortunately, most of the time I found it interesting.

Overall I would say to give this show a watch, it has flaws and is most definetly not for everyone, but if you are the kind of person who will tolerate a protagonist who is unconvential to the genre and can empathise with flawed characters, as well as appreciating complex plots will find something to enjoy here. But if your main priority is the animation itself, there are admittedly probably better places to look.