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13. Kohlingen 
The famous, groundbreaking, envelope pushing anime series from the groundbreaking, envelope pushing studio Gainax, Neon Genesis Evangelion is perhaps the most famous Japanese animation series ever….at least in the U.S. All I can say is that I could not stop watching it once I started, I hated the last two episodes, loved the movie, hated the end of the movie, and then, after a period of more than two days of contemplating what the hell was going on (I mean, this is a cartoon that was causing me to literally question reality… and still drives me crazy sometimes), I ended up loving it even more.
Eva creates a world that you think you know and understand, including the rules and regulations of any fantasy world, then slowly over the course of the episodes bends and breaks those rules. It shifts from lighthearted comedy to dark substance, not in a lucid water-like fluidity, but in a more shocking way, kind of like waking up from a nap at 8 in the evening, or waking from a dream. The comfort of the cliché and an ending that wraps things up in neat packages is something this series does not afford the viewer.
Technically, the animation is superb for a series, although because of limited budget the last few episodes are pretty cheap (and maddening!). Still, I highly recommend watching the series as I think the director intended, replace the last two cheap episodes with the movie; it flows a lot better that way. The movie animation is amazing and gruesome, and gives better closure to the story. Because that ending can and probably will haunt you in direct proportion to how much you enjoy the series. This movie not only surpassed the “chill factor” but created a rising and ebbing flow within me as I watched. Also, the fact that I became almost clinically insane trying to find the answer to Eva's ending is testament to its importance to me. Yeah it is only an anime, but the world and its strange laws are sights to behold for any anime fan. A true classic.
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| 12. Chris
Aah, my first series I had ever seen. Boy, was I in for a shock.
This is not as easy for me to recommend as some other series, but I still believe
it is quite an excellent series. The series is basically about Shinji, a 14 year
old who is basically forced into piloting a giant Mech known as Eva-01. However,
to think that this series is just about giant mech's fighting is simply not true.
The series is much more about how the characters interact with each other. And
in that regard, it is highly successful. Animation:
The animation is quite good. Not fantastic, but it has some pretty great moments.
The character designs are excellent, and when the series is getting near the end,
there are some truly inspired moments in the design. Overall, the animation is
pretty good though. Oh, and I loved their computer systems, quite interesting
to watch. Sound: Sound is good, and the dubs
are fairly well done (I still prefer the subs on this one though). The music is
good, however it tends to be overused quite a bit. Overall sound would be rated
as just good. Story: This is where the series
is excellent. Though the story does drag towards the middle, when you start getting
to the second half, things get very interesting very quickly. Overall:
I feel that this is a wonderful series, but I only recommend it if you like odd,
spiritual/mystic stuff. |
| 11. Iodine
Undeniably brilliant and controversial, this groundbreaking
sci-fi sensation is arguably the best mecha series ever made. With a cast of some
of the most memorable characters in all of anime, and technical elements that
are sparse, yet used with skill and vision, Evangelion maintains a unique
style and atmosphere that gives its narrative uncommon emotional power. Whether
the philosophical underpinnings of the plot make any sense is probably best left
up to the individual viewer, but the bulk of the story, which manages to take
a fairly routine giant-mecha-versus-monster-of-the-week formula and turn it into
something scary and cool, is one heck of a ride. Though definitely an epic in
its dimensions, a great deal of the conflicts take place in the most personal
of arenas, amidst the tenuous relationships of the various characters and in the
depths of their own psyches. This makes it neccessary for our introverted hero,
Shinji, to do battle on several different levels. In this show, the fate of the
world depends not only on the physical power of the mecha pilots, but on their
mental and spiritual strength as well.
The main attraction of Evangelion
is debatable, but whether a viewer prefers watching for the characters, story,
or just the jawdropping fight scenes, the quality of the production is undeniable.
The amount of detail and planning that went into the show is just boggling to
consider, and the groundbreaking style continues to impress. Its initial simplicity
is very misleading, and the expected story structure is not always followed. Experimentational
elements are included at several points, that are certainly a departure from conventional
storytelling methods. The abruptly cerebral finale, especially, has a tendency
to alienate audiences, but a pair of followup movies provide a more concrete conclusion. |
| 10.
Qian Wan  
Something bothers me about Evangelion that is pretty
hard to explain. This series combine good-looking mechas with good-looking pilots
(hot red head included!) on a mission to save the Earth from the "angels."
Eva has a very simple overall plot driven by a lot of feelings and deep
conversations. But if you want to read through this anime like a Shakespeare
book, things will get messy. This is a very serious anime, meaning that it will
trap you inside like Alice in Lalaland and tempt you to jump out of the rabbit
hole by just skipping to the last episode. But then...every moment of Evangelion
felt that it had meanings in its being so that you are afraid you might miss some
very important parts of the plot, albeit a very exciting part. At first, it was
curiousity: who are these "angels?" Why are they fighting, with whom
are they fighting with? Then, blood. "Kill, kill, kill," your heart
yells as the fiendish Eva mecha rips the flesh out of the Angel and devouring
the very pieces of its tissues. Lost - who? when? where? how? What is my reason
of being? Then, there was blank. And finally... action! bang bang ching ching!
(what? what happened?) And then quiet conversations ("Luke, I am your father".)
Qian wakes up from his daydream and stares at his Evangelion DVDs. Realizing
that nothing really happened, he trashed his DVDs into the nearest basket. If
you have any idea what I just said, please proceed to watch Eva, because
it will do good to your karmatic soul. But if you are someone like me who is looking
for a thing called "polished storyline," then please follow me to the
aisle of Kareshii Kanojo no Jijou. Eva looks like it is a rushed
work, with every episode taking a sharp turn to the original already-confusing
story. It kind of make it seems like the developers are making this series as
it goes along. The last episode left 90% of the questions unanswered and therefore
leaving me 90% unsatisified. Some episodes still contain scenes that I trully
tried to understand but couldn't. And I feel that if I tried harder, I wouldnt
be really 'enjoying' the anime. An "alternative" ending is available
in the two OVAs but it had twisted plots that uncomfortably conflicted with our
impressions with certain things in the original series. The only redeeming value
for the series is actually the cool fighting scenes between the mechas and the
Angels. Since Eva is so hard to comprehend, it should be fair for some
of us to openly interpret it. But the bastards at Gainax narrowed the interpretation
very tightly with the storyline and left me very uncomfortable. Oh... wait did
I mention that the fighting robots are cool? High:
Fighting robots are cool. Red red head included. Hard to watch making it a prize
for some crazy anime fans. Good music.
Low: Hard to watch (double edged
sword =p) series didn't provide a good ending.
Final Word: It is okay
to stay away from this title kids. Just read a 1 page sypnosis and watch the OVAs.
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| 9. Marshal
of Manga  
A great introduction to the philosophical complexities and
beautiful textures offered by good anime, Evangelion should be watched
once in your lifetime (further viewings would shorten your lifetime). The
title is representative of the anime's nature - it's about a bunch of kids who
protect the Earth against 'Angels' - monsters unleashed by Earth's creator to
punish human crimes against Him. Essentially, the series revolves around the concept
of 'God' and 'Human Perfection'. Can we humans reach the highest level of existence
and fuse together to become 'God' in our own right? A
lot of existentialist ponderings are thrown into the equation but there are enough
fighting sequences and dramatic interludes to distract you from what would otherwise
be an animated version of one of Socrates' yarns. While
there are occasional instances where you feel they throw in stuff just for the
sake of complicating things and making it look more sophisticated and classy than
it really is, there's enough substance to convince you that there really are some
good ideas being explored. The ending was a bit
of a shocker - a real anticlimax in fact. But after you shed the tears about what
Evangelion could have been, you might realise that Evangelion's
paradox is that it could not end in another way. Any other ending would not do
justice to its themes and its fundamental messages, as paradoxical as that may
seem. You can have the robots storming the universe and blowing God up, but that
doesn't end the show. Man is what he maketh himself, regardless of what God -
or any other human, may think. In any case, Evangelion's
ending did not contribute to its loss of half a star - its inconsistency did.
At times brilliant, at times emotional, and at times just plain confusing, there's
a lack of support material that ties everything together so you don't spend sleepless
nights wondering whether you viewed a cut version of an episode. Whatever
the budget and deadlines for the Evangelion production team were, the end
result is half a masterpiece that can kill up to 90% of the 10% of the brain you
are using (that's why repeated viewings are not recommended). At its worst, Evangelion
is a good thing carried out in a bad way. |
| 6.
Tyrenol 
First off, we all know that it was made by Gainax; a
company that's been known to break all the rules. It's not a bad thing, but they
went past their limit. Secondly, it's more of a psychological thriller than a
giant robot show. Third and more imporantly is character interaction: They treat
each other like crap, setting the atmosphere of teen angst that adds to the darkness
and gloom of the series. Getting to the mechanics
of the series. Eva's plot is shoddy; being made as the show went along.
It's like a machine that's been slapped together in the last minute. And it's
on the verge of breaking down into pieces. The last two episodes were director
Hideaki Anno's "delaying tactic" so he can fund his movie later
on. So when he stripped the show of the "giant robot" cliche and such,
all that was left was discussion about the "Complimentation Project"
and how psychologically messed up the characters (mainly Shinji) are. I
hated it because the show's "cup runneth over" with angst. It was too
dark, gloomy, and angsty for me. I didn't reach this "state of enlightenment"
like every other anime fan who saw it. I was merely on the "Eva bandwagon"
for the sake of seeing something different and exotic... Until I saw it for what
it was and hopped off. |
| 5. Leliel
There isn't much to be said about this one that hasn't been
repeated countless times elsewhere. Brief summary? Eva kicks copious amounts
of ass. Don't be fooled by the presence of giant robots or the in-your-face Christian
symbolism. This is an absolutely enthralling psychological character study, cleverly
disguised as an unassuming science-fiction series. The technological geekery is
a mere backdrop to watching relationships between the main characters unfold,
evolve, and unravel. Overtly, the story revolves around entities known as Angels
and secret organization NERV's efforts to repel these mysterious invaders. Underneath
the surface... well. That's left to the individual. The
series screams quality. The animation and overall attention to detail suffers
a couple of precipitous drops (due to budget constraints), but is overall well
above standard for a mid-90s show. Nice attractive character design and very unique
mecha. The soundtrack, composed by Shirou Sagisu, includes several memorable pieces
of background music and Zankoku-na Tenshi no Teize, what is now one of
the most famous anime theme songs. The acting is top-notch, boasting several famous
seiyuu in both lead and secondary cast. (The English dub is generally very good,
although it suffers early as many of the actors take a while to settle into their
roles.) With a full-season length of 26 episodes, the pacing of the show is a
matter of opinion. Some feel the Angel-less episodes are unnecessary and draw
things out far more than they need to be; I feel things are brilliantly done as
they are. Even the much maligned final two episodes contribute to the whole, although
exactly what they contribute is a matter of much controversy. Eva
does draw its fair share of critics. The religious framework and parallelisms
have been well-researched but accused of being gratuitous. I understand Japanese
laws on televisable content were tightened after the latter half of this show
-- it's difficult to believe what they got away with in prime-time. These are
valid concerns, but in the end irrelevant. Evangelion is a devastatingly
powerful work. It may not be flawless, but it has truly earned its status as a
modern classic. |
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