Get in the Simulwatch - Neon Genesis Evangelion [End of Eva - 21/7]

Professor Irony

Professor Irony

CYBER FUNKER
Moderator
That's right folks, time to stand awkwardly at the back of a lift, scream geometrically and never ask why your flatmate has a live penguin, because it's only Neon Genesis flaming Evangelion!

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And they said it would never happen.

Plot Summary (from ANN)

At the age of 14 Shinji Ikari is summoned by his father to the city of Neo Tokyo-3 after several years of separation. There he unwillingly accepts the task of becoming the pilot of a giant robot by the name EVA01 and protect the world from the enigmatic invaders known as "angels." Even though he repeatedly questions why he has accepted this mission from his estranged and cold father, his doing so helps him to gradually accept himself. However, why exactly are the angels attacking and what are his father’s true intentions are yet to be unraveled.

Viewing plan:

Based on Netflix's acquisitions and the relative length of the show, my hope is that we can cover the main 26 episode run and follow that with End of Evangelion, possibly with a short break before the film to allow people to digest. Netflix also has the Death (True2) compilation film (aka Death and Rebirth), but I feel that should be optional - it doesn't really add much that isn't covered elsewhere.

Having discussed it a little bit in the General Conversation Thread, it didn't seem like anyone was too hung up on binging the show, so my feeling is that we should just stick to a similar format as the Nadia simulwatch. My idea was that we aim to watch one episode a day and post a little bit about each ep as we go, but do a bigger post after every four episodes. That way, hopefully anyone who can't make a daily post or just wants to watch the show in chunks still has the option to follow along by just posting once every four days. To make this easier to keep up with, I'll try to change the episode number in the thread title every day, so that everyone can see at a glance what number we're on. Obviously you're free to write as much or as little as you like, this is just based on past experience of folk getting burned out on these things.

Spoiler tagging should be a matter of common sense, but I think we can probably feel free to post untagged stuff for the earlier episodes for every fourth-ep post.

I wasn't entirely sure when the show would drop on Netflix (it was not midnight), but it's up now so feel free to make any posts on ep1 beginning now. I'll put my own thoughts on ep 1 up later, but if anyone is watching from DVD or BD sources, a screencap or two would be most welcome, as the Netflix app has a screenshot blocker in place.

Lastly, don't feel embarrassed if you have to drop out or if you're just not digging it. It happens, it's fine.
 
Sounds like a good structure to me, Prof. 👍
I'll be taking the route of watching the series in four-episode batches. It's a rewatch for me, so I'll be mindful of staying out of any discussion or speculation of things that may be refuted in a later episode.

Just in case things get enigmatic or mysterious at any point. Not that it should, mind. I mean, this is Eva; it's all very clear-cut. 😏
 
Episode 1

I mustn't run away... I mustn't run away...

Evangelion's already marking itself out as something a cut above, with interesting characters with hidden depths yet to be explored, exciting action sequences, an excellent soundtrack, and hints of mysteries behind the scenes.

To lift the burden on the poor injured girl who seems to be its regular pilot, Shinji makes the brave decision to take her place at the controls of the giant combat robot he knows only as Eva Unit-01.
 
Done my episode 1 watch.

First off my tin is looking a little corroded. Platinum edition my @$$
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Episode 1 is great. Sets the scene and mystery so well. Gendo and his right hand man are only shown with the faces partially in shot until he get full control to fight the angel when he stomps into full view to verbally smackdown everyone including his own son.
The framing and flash frames are big part of what makes this show so interesting.

And although I remember shinji as an annoying whiny male anime protagonist he really is justified in being scared and angry here. He almost dies and then his absent dad tells him to go fight and maybe die because hes nothing but a tool. Heavy stuff.

I'm tempted to get netflix so do a simulwatch on my phone with the new dub for comparison.
 
Episode 01

Wew, here we are again. After all the furore, I was curious to see what the new dub would be like and, it’s okay, I guess? It definitely feels like it’s been informed by the old dub, even if it’s now a more low-key affair and, yes, the new script does feel quite literal. Not massively keen on Shinji’s new VA, but I think I can deal with it. Might try switching to the Japanese audio for a while once we get a couple of episodes in, just for comparison, but based on what I’ve heard of it, I never much cared for Shinji’s Japanese voice either. Oh well.

The new transfer looks great though - it’s much easier to appreciate all the small details in the background. In particular, something I’ve never noticed before is the ID form Shinji hands to Misato has been torn up and taped back together again. It’s a small thing, but it’s a nice early indication of Shinji’s inner state of mind.

I really must sort out some means of screencapping for this :/
 
The last time I watched this was at least 10 years ago. Also, I'm watching the sub as I've only ever watched it dubbed previously.
Interestingly I don't wish a cruel and painful death on Shinji in the sub (so far).
 
WMD said:
although I remember shinji as an annoying whiny male anime protagonist he really is justified in being scared and angry here.
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Perhaps a little ironically, I feel like this change in attitudes towards Shinji is a result of the audience growing up. I never felt particularly poorly disposed towards Shinji but then I first watched Eva in my early 20s - I don’t know how old anyone else was at their first exposure to it, but I admit I’d probably have hated Shinji if I was a hot-headed kid of a similar age to him. You can understand better from an older perspective that Shinji’s a teenager and that this is a terrible time of life for this stuff to be happening to (and expected of) him - Something it’s difficult for people to see when they actually are a teenager who might well scoff and think they could do anything and Shinji’s just a little wimp.
 
ayase said:
You can understand better from an older perspective that Shinji’s a teenager and that this is a terrible time of life for this stuff to be happening to (and expected of) him
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I understood that on my first watch but I think for me it had a lot to do with the English VA at the time. He was a bit too screamy in places.
Also I've Uptown Girl stuck in my head this time round.
 
ayase said:
Perhaps a little ironically, I feel like this change in attitudes towards Shinji is a result of the audience growing up. I never felt particularly poorly disposed towards Shinji but then I first watched Eva in my early 20s - I don’t know how old anyone else was at their first exposure to it, but I admit I’d probably have hated Shinji if I was a hot-headed kid of a similar age to him. You can understand better from an older perspective that Shinji’s a teenager and that this is a terrible time of life for this stuff to be happening to (and expected of) him - Something it’s difficult for people to see when they actually are a teenager who might well scoff and think they could do anything and Shinji’s just a little wimp.
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I guess I was around 19-22 when I first watched it. I cant remember if I was always annoyed by him or if that feeling developed over the series. I definitely wasnt as empathetic towards his plight as I am now.
I do wonder how I'll feel as it goes on. I think a big part of what annoyed me was his indecision. He makes that choice to get in the eva in ep 1 but is never happy about it and it can come across as whiny. I guess we'll see. I'll try and watch it as open minded as possible.
 
I rather miss screamy Shinji, to be honest. It's probably my only real complaint with the new dub so far; I'm so used to his angry shouting that something more low-key feels hard to take, even if it is probably a lot closer to the original intent for his character.

Episode 02

The decision to split the action sequence in two like that is quite clever - I think if they'd put it all into the first half, it might have made the second half of the episode seem overly expository. Maybe it's a little too on the nose, but I also like Misato's inner monologue in this one. After demonstrating her breezy, carefree side, her inward questioning of whether she's laying it on too thick feels quite revealing.

Again in 'things I didn't pick up on previously', the little snatch of overheard dialogue between the women in the convenience store about whether they should evacuate was an interesting inclusion. It makes perfect sense in context, but in a way, it's more like an incidental comment I'd have expected from a show one or two generations previously - the sort of thing someone who'd lived through WW2 might have written in.
 
Professor Irony said:
but I also like Misato's inner monologue in this one. After demonstrating her breezy, carefree side, her inward questioning of whether she's laying it on too thick feels quite revealing.
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I must admit I'm intrigued by Misato as a character and I'm interested to know more about her relationship with the other characters, especially Shinji.

@Neil.T has custody of our disks at the moment so I'll find out for myself further down the line, but in the meantime I'm really looking forward to reading people's thoughts as the simulwatch unfolds.

I'm just dead chuft Neil gets to watch it all now he has these additions to his (once) solitary disk 0.1!
 
Professor Irony said:
In particular, something I’ve never noticed before is the ID form Shinji hands to Misato has been torn up and taped back together again. It’s a small thing, but it’s a nice early indication of Shinji’s inner state of mind.
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I had honestly never consciously clocked that before either, somehow. Looking at it again in freeze-frame, though, it seems Shinji has also angrily scribbled out the message from Gendo on it. Always a man of few words, all he wrote was:
Koi (Come) — Gendo Ikari.​
Gonna have to make do with an old-school photo off my TV screen to illustrate the point:
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It's incredible that it's possible to rewatch Neon Genesis Evangelion in the year 2019 and still spot new things.

Regarding Shinji and his VAs, I've heard very little of the original dub, but there's a reason for that: from what I have heard of it, I remain mostly unconvinced by the casting.

As for my first point of contact with Eva, it was actually a theatrical screening of Rebuild's 2.0 in 2011, so age 29 for me. I could see very quickly that poor Shinji is being ping-ponged between two choices that seem equally as bad at different times of the story: Pilot the Eva or Don't pilot the Eva. I feel like I sympathised with his plight straight away, but of course the NGE version of Shinji is a bit of a different beast.

#####

Episode 2

It's okay. Being alone is okay with me. I'm alone anyway.

The series' first shock development: it's not entirely a robot?! 😱
Do you ever get the feeling that Shinji isn't being told the whole story?

Also, during Gendo's conference, there's discussion of something called the "Human Instrumentality Project".

And enter the show's resident mascot character, Pen-Pen! ✌😆
 
It must be because I watched it on Sub always especially after I fell in Misato's VA Cos Usagi Tsukino as an adult.. What I heard of the original I did always think that was where all the meme Shinji stuff comes from. Shinji is the probably the only character who hasn't changed in the rebuilds imo especially after 3.33.
Episode 2
First hint or more than a machine with 01 going Berserk and the reveal of New Tokyo-3. It is probably of the initial 7 I would say only then Episode 5&6 are better but 1.11 does those better in some aspects too. I do need to rewatch the rebuilds as my opinions of them has changed and got worse over time.
 
Got off work an hour early and just managed to catch both episodes for this simulwatch so far, I can't remember the last time I watched EVA properly, it's a little quieter and slower than I remember but I have missed it!
I do share the criticism with shinji though, it sounds like they've clearly done what pretty much all the Japanese studios do and get a woman to do his voice, where it has always seemed more fitting for the dub to use men anyway, despite the age of some characters

Love how misato is at the end of episode 2 though, like "proud of you!" Yea after being the 50th person to tell him to stuff his butt in the robot, doesn't really help after the fact
 
Been gradually going through it with it with the new dub. I like am, the actors but I do see the odd instances of seemingly literal or semi-literal translation. Tiffany Grant put out a message saying believe the studio in Japan was likely responsible for such thing as they did so when she was working on the last rebuild movie.

And yes the ending song was changed, it's probably a rights issue that the Japanese end doesn't want to resolve.
 
Yeah this was obviously made by Khara, after the 3.33 debacle we all predicted the dub would be changed by them, they always wanted “Third Children” And now they’ve got it.
 
If they have a good reason them why nit at last tell is what that is.

Because, once again, come in the community want to blame Netflix fair everything AND again I'm playing defender. Like with the live-auction FMA movie that a lot of people seem to think they made.
 
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