Anime Neon Genesis Evangelion

[Dagger]

Welcome to OtakuBoards, Sesshy's girl. ^_^

I merged your topic with the official Neon Genesis Evangelion thread. That having been said, I'd greatly appreciate if it you changed your font; it's overly large and rather difficult to read. You've brought up some interesting points, but your opinions would carry more weight if you made an effort to use proper grammar and spelling.

In any event, happy posting. ^_^

EDIT: Whoops, I forgot to write an actual reply.... >_< By the way, thank you for paying attention to my comment about your font.

Although nearly every anime fan has heard of Evangelion, few people have actually seen it. I've only watched the first four episodes, and that didn't happen until a couple of weeks ago. In all honesty, I had expected it to be over-hyped; so far, however, Eva looks pretty darn good. I like it for the same reasons that I like RahXephon: it's daring, inventive, and well-animated, not to mention filled with complex relationships. Eva's greatest strength is definitely its characterization--each person is a distinct, carefully developed individual with his or her own vulnerabilities and strengths.

~Dagger~

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

Hey guys. I have a couple of questions concerning NGE the anime and NGE the manga. First of all, concerning the anime, and addressing those who have seen it in its entirety (including End of Evangelion), I want to know this:

[SPOILER ALERT, if you've not seen the anime or read the manga, don't read past this for your own good]

[spoiler]If Seele really wanted an angel to make contact with Adam in Terminal Dogma (really Lilith, but that's not the point right?), why on Earth did they have NERV make Evangelion units to combat these angels? What would have been so different if they had tried to send Kaoru down to Terminal Dogma right from the start?

Also, does it seem to anyone that the mass-production Evas having facsimiles of the Lance of Longinus all of a sudden was, well, sorta pulled out of the writer's a**? Was there ever anything that pointed at anyone working on copying it, along with its anti-AT-field ability?[/spoiler]

----

Also, I'm curious if anyone knows just how many volumes the NGE manga will have (9?) and when Viz will be done translating them. I suppose I can just call Viz myself, but I'm gonna have to look good and hard for their contact numbers, as they're not online.

[--- thanks Dagger ---]

----

Actually, I suppose you can disregard the entire first section of this post, as I have just done some "research" that sorta answered the questions I had. Overall, I'd say Evangelion needs some "cleaning up" before it becomes completely coherent, though. Which is part of why a live action Evangelion will suck huge. Unless Sadamoto Yoshiyuki heads it, which he won't. ...Well that was random, wasn't it?

[Kwai]

[size=1][color=navy]I'm about to make a completely random, and possibly pointless point. I was browsing through the last couple of episodes on Evangelion during my Spring Vacation (which, sadly, is about to end), and I noticed something about the last three angels, excluding human kind. I'm talking about Arael, Armisael, and Kaworu (or Tabris). Now. Notice something about them? Or rather, let me put it this way. Put them all together. What do you get?

Arael is a wing. Armisael is the circular halo. Tabris is the human body. Now let's add them all up. You get the typical image of a normal angel. A wing, that golden circle-ish crown on the head, and a human body. Not to mention that these 'parts' of a typical angel are the ones that [spoiler]each tried to hold a contact with the Eva pilots. Arael invaded Asuka's mind. Armisael tried to unite with Rei. Kaworu approached Shinji with love.[/spoiler]

If that little discovery of mine was already thought of, I'll probably just be embarassed and delete this post.[/size][/color]

[Guest gendou ikari]

I would like to discuss evangelions plot.Since eva is so deep and complex it is somewhat hard to grasp the meaning of it . I ; however, have grasped the meaning of it and the only thing i do not understand is, what biblical aspect does sealle symbolise? I understand most things abbout eva but just not sealle. Are they sending out the angels so that man can be in unity with god furfilling the dead sea scrolls prophecy? or something else? if you have any questions about eva also just reply thank you and good day. :D

[color=#503f86][b]I merged your thread with the existing Evangelion thread. Please check the Threads Directory Sticky at the top of the page for existing pages before starting a new topic.[/b]

[b]Also, please watch your spelling and grammar- they are both very important when you're communicating via text. Try and clean things up a bit if you can. -Solo[/color][/b]

[Wingman]

Shinji Ikari - Elijah Wood
Gendo Ikari - Russel Crow
Ritsuko Akagi - Jeri Ryan
Misato Katsuragi - Femke Jansen[sp?]
Asuka Langley Soryu - Anna Paquin
Kouzou Fuyutsuki - Ian McKellen

Ok since the Eva children are suppose to be 14 (can't remember the last time i so it was quiet a bit ago). Wood shouldn't no tbe casted as Shinji for one basic he is too OLD. I'm sure Wood could play the part to some degree but i doubt he has seen the seris(but i don't know i just think that).

Russel Crow was a good actor in the galidtor movie but i don't see him as Gendo just because he doesn't have that look that he doesn't care besides when shinji wins a battle againist an angel.

I think the person who plays snipe in Harry potter could make a better Gendo because he has had more roles to where he had a evil/good part. He played the bad guy in Robin hood and many other movies that i don't rememebr the name to.

Well i would comment on the other actors but i don't really remember names all to well so i can't.

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

[quote name='gendou ikari']I would like to discuss evangelions plot.Since eva is so deep and complex it is somewhat hard to grasp the meaning of it . I ; however, have grasped the meaning of it and the only thing i do not understand is, what biblical aspect does sealle symbolise? I understand most things abbout eva but just not sealle. Are they sending out the angels so that man can be in unity with god furfilling the dead sea scrolls prophecy? or something else? if you have any questions about eva also just reply thank you and good day. :D[/quote]

Hmmm. I can't think of anything that Seele is borrowed from as far as Judeo-Christian mythology. But who was actually sending out the angels is not really answered. The only one Seele actually controlled (as far as anyone knows) was Tabris. As far as how how the angels knew where to look for Adam and why they took fifteen years to start doing it, well that's not really explained. I think Hideaki Anno didn't think half of it through, honestly.

Gendou Ikari, keep reading
[spoiler]But Seele did send Tabris (Kaoru) out to initiate the Third Impact (the Adam one, not the Lilith one), and that's what Tabris intended to do. He failed, though, because he found Lilith rather than Adam in Terminal Dogma, and asked Shinji to kill him rather than end the world. Why did Seele send Tabris? It seems that whoever initiates the Third Impact (or somehow manages to be the first person assimilated into the great mix of souls that will result) will become a sort of god himself. That's why Gendo Ikari and Seele are at odds with each other, as each wants to initiate the Third Impact on their own terms, but needs the other's help to do it. That's also why Gendo Ikari fused the embryonic Adam into his palm, and tried to become one with Rei in End of Evangelion. At least that's how I understood it.[/spoiler]

[Shinmaru]

Heh. That poll gives away some important story related stuff.

Anyway, as a few people know, I recently watched Neon Genesis Evangelion for the first time. I was sort of on the fence about Evangelion in regards to my expectations, since there seem to be an equal amount of Eva supporters and detractors in my experience, but I have to say that Evangelion impressed me very much...I'd even say it's right up there with Cowboy Bebop as being one of my favorite anime (I don't watch much anime, if you can't tell).

One of the things that I noticed, and loved, about the series right away is how it juggles many different genres (action, drama, sci-fi, comedy, etc.) and does it so easily and so well. It reminds me a lot of Cowboy Bebop, not so much plot-wise, because they're obviously two very different anime, but it the ease in which it pulls off its multi-genre style. Not many series that I've seen could switch from drama to comedy and back to the dramatic as easily as Eva seems to do it, heh.

The plot, to me, was pretty basic, even with the religious references and stuff that were melded into everything (though, I didn't have a problem with all that, as it was done decently, too). What makes Eva complex, and everyone knows this by now, are the characters. Those characters, which are some of the deeper, psychologically entertaining characters I've seen, are the driving force for every facet of Eva's plot - there is a lot of impressive stuff in Evangelion, but the characters are what shoot this anime into the stratosphere, to me. Every important character's motivations can be clearly understood due to how well they are developed psychologically. It's pretty amazing, heh.

And, of course, we come to the final two episodes, which even Eva fans seem to be split down the middle with lol. Personally, I felt that, while a bit confusing to the first-time viewer, they were both well done ([spoiler]I especially loved the alternate reality stuff near the end of the last episode - that was extremely entertaining lol[/spoiler]). They both had some great insight into the psyches of some of the more important characters of Evangelion and it's pretty cool to remember how some of the characters were at the beginning of the series and reflect on their progression to how they are at the end. It's fascinating stuff.

So, yeah, overall Eva gets the stamp of approval for being cool and stuff. Yay!

[roxybudgy]

[FONT=Verdana]There are many kinds of Evangelions fans, those who love the cool looking mechs, those who love the characters for various reasons, those who love the comedy i it, those who love the whole Angels and 3rd Impact thing, and people who like one or more of the things I have mentioned. I myself love everything about Evangelion. Whereas my sister likes it because of the characters and comedy, she is clueless when it comes to everything else to do with Evangelion.

Many people are put off Evangelion because it is so confusing. Some dislike it because they say it is too unrealistic, so find it fustrating about how all the characters are screwed up in some way. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

As for the final Genesis (Episodes 25 and 26), I didn't really understand it, but from watching the two movies, I think that the movies and the final Genesis are alternative endings to Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Someday, I intend to make a website for Neon Genesis Evangelion, and as Adam has said, this is no easy task. But I'm going to try anyway. Right now I'm working on an Inuyasha website (it's actually a Sesshomaru Shrine).

By the way, I would love to see Shinji and Rei get together, has anyone read Book 8, I just love that part where Rei is talking to Shinji about holding hands (I may be wrong because I read the Chinese version and my Chinese isn't so good).[/FONT]

[Queen Asuka]

[color=crimson][size=1]If I had to see two characters get together, I would want it to be Asuka and Shinji. Yeah, I know that's pretty much a long shot considering the depth of their relationship, but it has just always been one of those stupid anime fantasies of mine, which is pretty funny, considering that if Asuka and Shinji were (*laughs heartily*) the last two people left on the earth alive, she'd probably refuse any sort of idea to repopulate the earth with him. She's just so sassy and classy, whereas Rei just seems so dead and dull. She doesn't even have sex appeal, despite the one scene where she was naked, yet people really appeal to her. I don't know what people are thinking. :P Asuka/Shinji all the way.[/color][/size]

[Guest ShinjiAndAsuka]

heh....I hope you all realize that [spoiler]Kaworu didn't say he loved Shinji because he was gay buit it was in a strange Angel kind of way.[/spoiler]

[Nut]

After watching the whole serie of Evangelion, I have to say I was really confused. The story is so good, but then around the 25th episode, everything starts to get confusing. I don't know if its just me or if other people are having trouble understanding. So I was wondering what some of you thought about Evangelion?

Oh and my friend told me that the creator of Evangelion (I forget his name) had received threats from ppl saying that they would kill him if he didn't stop writing Evangelion, and so he did the ending fast. Is that true?

[color=green][b][size=1]Please check the official thread directory at the top of the page before creating a topic about any anime. We like to keep one per series to reduce clutter. Thank you.[/b] - PiroMunkie[/color][/size]

[Syk3]

[QUOTE=Nut]After watching the whole serie of Evangelion, I have to say I was really confused. The story is so good, but then around the 25th episode, everything starts to get confusing. I don't know if its just me or if other people are having trouble understanding. So I was wondering what some of you thought about Evangelion?

Oh and my friend told me that the creator of Evangelion (I forget his name) had received threats from ppl saying that they would kill him if he didn't stop writing Evangelion, and so he did the ending fast. Is that true?[/QUOTE]Evangelion is an anime that's often infamous for confusing most if not all of those who first watch it, and that's understandable. As the series goes through, different aspects of the story are revealed, and to get the whole picture it's best to watch it multiple times to see all of the information set in. If you have any questions, though, feel free to ask away and I'll try to answer them as best I can.

As for the last few episodes, I had to review them on theOtaku and forced myself to understand them and write them in the most straight-forward way possible. Here are the links to these reviews, and I hope they help in some way:

[u][url="http://archives.theotaku.com/evangelion/episodes/episode25.shtml"]http://archives.theotaku.com/evangelion/episodes/episode25.shtml[/url][/u][url="http://theotaku.com/evangelion/episodes/episode25.shtml"][/url]
[url="http://archives.theotaku.com/evangelion/episodes/episode26.shtml"]http://archives.theotaku.com/evangelion/episodes/episode26.shtml[/url][url="http://theotaku.com/evangelion/episodes/episode26.shtml"][/url]

And I have no idea if people wrote death threats to the creator, lol.

[Dagger]

I recently bought the first volume of Neon Genesis Evangelion Platinum (the R1 name for Renewal, the remastered and partially re-animated version of the series). On a purely materialistic level, it's easy to tell that ADV put a lot of effort into making this release as appealing as possible. The new artbox is stunningly attractive; the DVD's packaging and insert are also top-notch. Of course, what makes it all worthwhile is the fact that the show looks and sounds noticeably better (no more annoying jitter!). I'm glad I waited so long to start purchasing Eva, heh. ^_^

~Dagger~

[outlawstar69]

[QUOTE=Syk3]
And I have no idea if people wrote death threats to the creator, lol.[/QUOTE]


From what I read in an interview with him, I understand that after he made the 25 and 26 th episodes, some people were not very happy with him. He said that he got death threats and violent letters from the many otaku he had jaded, who demanded quite strongly that he make another ending. That's why they made the alternate ending movie. He said if you look closely, there's a scene with a lot of flashing images... he put a few of the death threat letters in there (for a fraction of a second), to tell those fans he got the message, subliminably.

That kind of behavior sounds a bit too dramatic for me... I mean, death threats? Although I too have yet to watch the series, it's hard for me to imagine an ending that would illicit that kind of response from grown adults.

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

The original NGE thread appears to have disappeared due to inactivity, so I guess it's time for a resurrection.

I have a question that it appears to me is best handled by an Eva "otaku," and it is an EXTREMELY spoiler-ridden one at that. (If you haven't seen the show, move along; there's nothing to see here.)

[spoiler]Assuming that each Eva unit has a soul (which can be deduced from the fact that they possess AT fields even when piloted by dummy plugs), what soul would you say is in Unit-00? Is it a slightly different Rei soul? Some people say it's Naoko (Akagi), but things like Ritsuko claiming that Unit-00 is trying to kill her make that idea highly unlikely. However, shouldn't two Rei souls synch up really really well? How different is the Rei soul that is inside Unit-00 (assuming that is indeed the case)?[/spoiler]

[spoiler]EDIT: Actually, thinking about it for about a minute, I just realized that Naoko has plenty of reasons to want to kill Ritsuko. There's the jealousy for Gendo. There's the crazy temper flare-ups both Akagis are known for. There's other things I can think of.... Although there are reasons that Naoko's soul might *not* be in Unit-00, are they so strong as to it be completely impossible? ...Anyway, any help on this? Maybe some more concrete evidence towards something?[/spoiler]

[spoiler]One more EDIT: I'm currently leaning towards the Naoko side. It would be much more consistent with the rest of the souls (Yui and Kyoko) as far as their nature goes, anyway.[/spoiler]

[AniSmith]

1. About the death threats, Hideki Anno (creator) did in fact receive lots of hate mail when he did the last episodes. Not only that, but he got some others after the End Of Evangelion, as well

i think that there is some info @ evaotaku.com

2. @ScirosDarkblade: it is not known, for a fact that who it is. It was never discussed in the series. Moreover, since Rei is who she is, [spoiler]part human--but just a vessel. i'm guessing that there is no soul but that of herself, which also gets transmited from one Rei to the other, and is probably easily used by the Eva. Actually, if you remember, she can even activate Unit 01, and Unit 02. The dummy plugs were also " Rei's " and worked as back ups when the pilots couldnt use their Evas. So i'm thinking that she's just special :D

i guess that's why there is an "Uber" Rei in the EOE, and why Kaworu could "activate" the Eva so easily. Since they aren't 100% human.

If you want to make it more complicated, you can ask the harder question: If Rei is a vessel, then who's soul does she have?

most people think its Yui's, since Rei is kinda like her clone
//
To answer the question simply: There is no soul in Unit 00. basicly what i think is that Rei is soul enough for the Eva, remember she even merges with Lilith in EOE, so why not with it?

besides, that lady died--killed--and they used her for the MAGI[/spoiler]

this of course is just my view on it. besides, it saves time thinking about it differently.

[Guest layn]

Hi,I like Kaji and Misato couple.
They really a good match. :)

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

[QUOTE=AniSmith][spoiler]If you want to make it more complicated, you can ask the harder question: If Rei is a vessel, then who's soul does she have?
most people think its Yui's, since Rei is kinda like her clone
To answer the question simply: There is no soul in Unit 00. basicly what i think is that Rei is soul enough for the Eva, remember she even merges with Lilith in EOE, so why not with it?[/spoiler][/QUOTE]

[spoiler]Rei is a vessel, and the soul she has is at least part Lilith and likely part Yui. Her body is cloned from Yui, that much is certain.

Unit-00 definitely has a soul. I'm not sure how many convincing arguments there are to dispute it because if Unit-00 did not have a soul it would be
a) inconsistent with respect to the other Eva units
b) contradictory because only souls can produce AT fields, dummy plugs do not have souls, and Unit-00 has an AT field with a dummy plug.

Because Evas operate with dummy plugs there's no such concept as being "soul enough" for an Eva as far as pilots are concerned.

The two best arguments are that Unit-00 has the soul of either a different Rei, or of Naoko Akagi. Even if Naoko was used for the Magi, her soul could have been copied onto the Eva-00 core (you can copy, since Rei might have part of Yui's soul in her and Unit-01 has Yui's soul as well).[/spoiler]

Heh, what a spoiler-ridden post.

[Kwai]

[size=1][color=royalblue]It's impressive to see how much discussion Evangelion invokes among its fans... I, for one, decided not to probe too deeply into trying to guess at what really is going on in all the little nooks and crannies of the story. Below excerpted from evaotaku.
[i]
-Finally, do you have some message for the fans?
Tsurumaki- Don't drag the past around. Find the next thing that interests you.

-Does that mean not becoming fixated on "Evangelion"?
Tsurumaki- Yes. It's always better to let something that has finished end.
[/i]
I cannot help but feel that the same topics and questions are being tossed around whenever Evangelion is discussed in otaku circles.[/size][/color]

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

Tsurumaki gives the series a bit too much credit by saying it's "something that has finished" considering all the holes it left and the utter lack of closure it had with regards to its characters. If there was nothing to discuss or interpret then nothing would be. There are tons of fans of other series out there, but the best they can usually manage is "who is your favorite Hinata Inn resident?"

[Dagger]

I have a question for those of you who despise or strongly dislike Shinji. Do you hate him because of his actions/behavior/mindset throughout the series, or because of something that happens in the last few episodes? I'm at episode 17 right now, and thus far I've found him to be a mostly sympathetic character. So I can only assume that he does something stunningly awful later on, because at this point I can't really bring myself to see him as being overly whiny or annoying or weak.

Answer however you like, but please remember to use spoiler tags liberally (I've been spoiled for the TV show as well as EoE, and I have no desire to refresh my memory). Thanks! ^_^

~Dagger~

[Syk3]

[quote name='ScirosDarkblade']Tsurumaki gives the series a bit too much credit by saying it's "something that has finished" considering all the holes it left and the utter lack of closure it had with regards to its characters. If there was nothing to discuss or interpret then nothing would be. There are tons of fans of other series out there, but the best they can usually manage is "who is your favorite Hinata Inn resident?"[/quote]I don't really think that there are holes left, persay, but if you don't really understand the series, then you won't appreciate the ending. Watching End of Evangelion helps, as well, because it gives an alternate ending that wraps it up differently. However, during the series they allude to certain points in the bible and such, but you can't really consider those holes because you're supposed to know that already or figure it out for yourself for a deeper understanding. And it did have closure, as well, since they killed the final angel and came to terms with themselves mentally, which was a major theme throughout the series.

[QUOTE=Dagger IX1]I have a question for those of you who despise or strongly dislike Shinji. Do you hate him because of his actions/behavior/mindset throughout the series, or because of something that happens in the last few episodes? I'm at episode 17 right now, and thus far I've found him to be a mostly sympathetic character. So I can only assume that he does something stunningly awful later on, because at this point I can't really bring myself to see him as being overly whiny or annoying or weak.

Answer however you like, but please remember to use spoiler tags liberally (I've been spoiled for the TV show as well as EoE, and I have no desire to refresh my memory). Thanks! ^_^

~Dagger~[/QUOTE]Ahh, episode 17, you're getting into my favorite part of the series, heh. Most especially the following three episodes.

I really don't mind Shinji, myself, but I think those who do come to this conclusion base their belief on things that are continuous throughout the whole series. Nothing in particular really changes, except that some of the events are more ground breaking and cause Shinji to react more strongly to an extent. But really, it's nothing that more drastic than what you've seen before, I don't think.

The final two episodes [i]may[/i] increase someone's dislike for Shinji, but it wouldn't change their opinion of him if they liked him before. His [spoiler]mental breakdown[/spoiler] (I'm not really sure if that's a spoiler, but I did it just it case, and you can look if you want, Dagger) is justified, too, in my opinion, because he's a 14 year old boy who is relied on to save the world. :/

[Dagger]

Thanks for answering, Syk. ^_^

Not quite sure what to think of episodes 18 through 20. The most intense, violent parts were extremely well done, but I felt sort of removed from the situation at hand. They seemed to be going for a visceral (instead of emotional) reaction--i.e. trying to make the viewer clench up and recoil rather than empathize, I guess. On that level, at least, the scenes of [spoiler]Unit 03 being eviscerated[/spoiler] worked nicely.

If what happened afterward (the long [spoiler]"ZOMG he's merged with EVA!"[/spoiler] sequence) can serve as a preview of the kind of thing I'll be seeing in the final two episodes, I'm a wee bit concerned. [spoiler]Unit 01's "Jin-Roh" moment was cool,[/spoiler] and Shinji is quite capable of kicking *** when he gets serious. However, the emotional/psychological themes of the series are starting to grow kind of tired and repetitive.

I got the sense that I could no longer draw my own meaning out of the characters' interactions; instead, I ended up having a bunch of psychological & pseudo-philosophical stuff thrust in my face. To me, that kind of thing narrows the anime's scope, and makes me (as a fan) feel almost suffocated. And to be absolutely honest, it's kind of boring. I don't want to end up putting my brain on autopilot while we take another enlightening tour of Shinji's psyche, leaving the remaining characters to kind of languish on the sidelines.

On the plus side, there [i]were[/i] some great moments. I loved seeing [spoiler]Asuka's EVA get decapitated--not that I dislike her, but it was an excessively awesome scene.[/spoiler] And with her raw, riveting acting, Megumi Ogata single-handedly kept me from becoming distracted during Shinji's seemingly interminable internal dialogue.

By now I'm completely bewildered as to why people bother comparing Evangelion and RahXephon in such detail. The two anime share a few common elements, but they look and feel totally different. Moreover, they obviously have different goals. Color me confused. :rolleyes:

~Dagger~

[Bloodseeker]

*on the poll*

Misato/Kaji was definately my favorite paring. The first time that watched NGE, these were my favorite two characters in the show. Both of them have an air of maturity about them (most of the time), and they just made a really cool couple.

Asuka may be my favorite character, but I never cared much for the Shinji/Asuka paring. THe whole thing was pretty much Asuka b*tching about Shinji and Shinji whining. They just didn't seem like they had anything between them until Asuka was down and out. The Shinji/Rei paring sucked too. It was just a little too (I hate to use this word) "sweet". My first thought after I saw the scene when Shinji opens Unit 00's hatch was "Aw man, this relationship gonna suck. Strike one for this series." You never saw much of Yui/Gendo, and the other relationships aren't even worth mentioning.

[Guest Dry Rain]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]Yeah, they all make me sick in thier own little way. Except Ayanami. For some reasn, I just can't be disgusted with her. So, Rei alone satisfies me; the others can go rot.
This being said; I got great amusement out of[/COLOR] [spoiler]Asuka and Unit 02 getting mauled by the mass produced EVA Units. This was only temporary joy; I was crying and laughing and whispering cusses in joy at her when the EVA Units 05-13 dove down on her EVA and began to EAT IT...!![/spoiler]
[color=royalblue]So, call me a sick freak, whatever;I just hate 'em all; except for Ayanami Rei.

My Ayanami Rei.[/color]