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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Geriatric hedgehog" data-source="post: 597027" data-attributes="member: 9364">All the excitement regarding the upcoming, & forever delayed, final rebuild movie prompted me to revisit the original anime after over a decade. I really enjoyed spending an equal amount time on this thread whilst watching, everyone's thoughts have been really insightful and shed light on easily missed details too. Maybe (or not) it's better late than never to ramble about some of my thoughts. One point that struck me was how I inaccurately remembered it as being light-hearted at the start whereas this time I felt the first few quarter actually foreshadowed a lot of the darkness the show focuses on later, with Shinji's initial struggles demonstrated quite effectively, the train shown to be one of the loneliest places you could be in a crowd, the almost cyberpunk dystopian feel of Rei's apartment complex, the long shot between Shinji & Misato at the train station, etc. I felt it was only with Asuka's entrance that the show become light-hearted and of a monster-of-the-week format for a little respite before descending to the end of the world with every character's unravelling. Another feature I had forgotten was how much aural attention was paid to the surrounding world with background conversations, announcements and sounds often in the foreground. And there I thought it was only Kyoani that truly focused on fleshing out the surroundings heh. I sympathised even more with Asuka this time as though, and this is a gross simplification, despite having the same basic fears as Shinji, she was his opposite in that she would always try and blindly fight her way through as opposed to running away, with neither approach being wrong nor right on its own, until their respective and inevitable breakdowns. Regarding the whole Kaworu & Shinji relationship, I personally always felt it was platonic but with a definite misdirection placed to hint at romance. The awkwardness & shyness Shinji demonstrated are not exclusive to romantic situations but in fact relevant to a lot of interactions including with those you may have a lot of respect for and desire a friendship with, in my opinion. I had completely forgotten that Kaworu was only in one episode!! Not did I recal how he had hinted at Rei's true nature. Very interesting comments about Rei being a blank canvas for the audience to project their views on to and I think I'm coming around to that view though I probably still prefer the lost lamb that doesn't belong image in my head heh (wait I'm projecting...). I agreed with a lot of the comments regarding both the original and EoE endings. I remember also thinking when first watching that the original ending was quite spot on and true to the heart of the series, but probably by taking into account and making allowances for the known budget issues. I had also forgotten how explicit it was in stating that it was instrumentality that was being depicted. I will always regards EoE as a masterpiece and for me it really helps complete the series. I wouldn't recommend to anyone to watch either one or the other as an ending but always both as a complete package. There are definite contrivances in Shinji's behaviours in EoE which on my first watch I just refused to believe as logical. However now I do feel now that some truly fit with the portrayal of someone completely broken and shattered with nothing left but despondency and not caring for anyone's thoughts or opinions, whilst I still view others as artistic contrivances for Anno to unleash his fury, as others have far more eloquently explained! Interestingly the rebuild movies have for me hinted at each ending being the result of a reset and repeat of events after instrumentality. I will always unashamedly hold Evangelion as the pinnacle of this, and probably all other art forms. It has a sincerity that evokes a response not elicited by anything else I've experienced. Now to re-watch the rebuild movies and hope the final one cements the franchise's legacy.</blockquote>

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