Neon Genesis Evangelion

Well I watched it anyway. Like I was worried about they just seemed to rush through everything. The manner it was told made the story feel a lot less personal and much more commercial. I guess it looked pretty but visuals aren't everything I'm afraid.
 
Lupus Inu said:
It's all for the cash, sadly, m i rite?
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Every anime series is made with the intention of making money; singling out Evangelion, and referring to the situation as being 'sad', because it carries that out goal out exceptionally well is just plain silly.

Hideaki Anno very definitely had a genuine wanting to return to the series that's defined him. He's said it before, and I certainly believe.

Opinion is divided on Eva 1.0, but I've read more positive opinions than negative ones. I'm sure I'll enjoy it, too (when I finally get the chance to!)
 
CitizenGeek said:
Every anime series is made with the intention of making money; singling out Evangelion, and referring to the situation as being 'sad', because it carries that out goal out exceptionally well is just plain silly.
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Sorry but there's making money and there's milking money. The intergrity of the original ideas put forward during the series become somewhat downplayed by merchandising and 'retellings' that seem to degrade and commercialize what is to many a personal story about fear of change and the unknown.

It was a risk at the time and the honesty within the characters was one of the aspects that stood the show out from others but with each new incarnation of merchandise and retellings these aspects which once seemed so personal now seemed watered down and the itegrity of Anno's intentions seems to have less and less meaning. There's no doubt that he put a lot of himself into the original series but now it seems he'd rather just swim in money like Scrooge McDuck and in the process turn Eva into just another Sci-Fi show.

We've been down this route before but that's how I feel.
 
I don't know, I just think you'd have to have a fairly shallow opinion of Evangelion to begin with for merchandise and the like to so drastically weaken the effect of it on you. End of Evangelion is just as immensely powerful every time I watch it, regardless of how many chibi Shinji or Misato figures I have on my shelf :]
 
I still hold the original series in high regard and the final two episodes seem to have more of an impact every time I see it. What's sad is that the man who seemed to put so much into the original creation now sells it off and dumbs it down like it doesn't matter anymore. The fact that each incarnation after the series seems to become ever more distant and impersonal is also quite sad. It shows in the way they are presented and it's never been so much more apparent as in this new movie.

It's Anno that I feel loses credibility and with each new incarnation the story loses some of rawness and edge.
 
Instead of arguing over how you think I'm just bashing on Evangelion constantly why don't you go actually watch the movie first before questioning myself, hmm?

Because I honestly had some high expectations for this movie, but it was all watered down mainly, with some added crap into it, the music is amazing though, I'll give it that, especially when Shinji fights Shamshel, probably the best part of the entire movie.
 
I didn't like the epic scene they tried to create with the end of the movie, I knew something reasonably big had to go down but nothing monumental considering its only the beginning of the series. They tried to make it big, and it failed...
 
Sy said:
The fact that each incarnation after the series seems to become ever more distant and impersonal is also quite sad.
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I'm not quite sure what you mean. The only other incarnations of Evangelion I can think of is the manga - which does not dumb down the series in any way at all - and Rebuild. I've yet to see it, but many people have commented on how it hasn't really 'lost' anything compared to the original 6 episodes (in fact, the psychological and uniquely innovative 'hell train', used to delve into Shinji's mind, makes an appearance in Rebuild, while in the series, it didn't appear until much later on).

Are you referring to the manga, videogame and merchandise spin-offs? I'll assume so. It's fairly clear that these spin-offs are not in any way presented as being legitimately relevant to the original canon, and I really have no problem in categorising them as 'harmless fun' and separating them from the series.

Lupus Inu said:
Instead of arguing over how you think I'm just bashing on Evangelion constantly
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Eh, no one was arguing over that ... I didn't mention your history of Eva bashing at all :s

Jayme said:
I didn't like the epic scene they tried to create with the end of the movie, I knew something reasonably big had to go down but nothing monumental considering its only the beginning of the series. They tried to make it big, and it failed...
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If you're talking about the battle with Ramiel: I've seen it and I thought it was amazing! :p
 
Well other people can interpret the series as they see fit but I see everything that followed the series as becoming more and more impersonal and with it becoming rather needlessly epic. The constant merchandising and desire to keep rehashing the series doesn't do much for Anno's credibility.

I like End of Eva but to me it's less intimate and rather than being a story about Shinji it burdons itself with the problems on a grander scale rather than focusing primarily on one person. In some ways it works in other ways it fails to remain as refreshing. Rebuild or at least the first part seems to be completely void of anything that I personally loved about the original series. The mech battles may look more slick but that's not what drew me into the series in the first place.

I see the psychological aspects of the original series as being there from the beginning however they were much more subtle and were built upon bit by bit until the climax. The slow build up to that was very natural and it was one of the things I liked. In the first Rebuild it felt like it was being moved along too fast.

I can see why people would like these movies though, they're compact and they pander to what certain fan demographics want. I'm sure the the final movie will be the epic ending that people wanted from the series but to me even though itoriginally masks as an epic battle for the planet it's a quiet, intimate story. That's what I feel is lost.

I'd love to see if Anno has more to say but it seems that he's too comfortable with a franchise that sells too easily to leave it be. George Lucas syndrome.
 
evangelion rocks said:
chaos said:
I'm I the only one to enjoy the iron maiden retelling?
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I noticed the similarities too!Actually if you look at the "jet pack" unit 02 is wering in the 2.0 trailer it's identical to the one in iron maiden!
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Didn't notice the pack, but yes. I'ts possibly one of the lesser additions to the franchise, but I did find it very enjoyable though.
 
CitizenGeek said:
If you're talking about the battle with Ramiel: I've seen it and I thought it was amazing! :p
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Its good, But they are making a four movies out of a series. The series doesn't have a beginning-middle-end every five or so episodes, So certain moments they built up power and climax for it to be the end!... of the beginning. Making it into a movie, as pretty as it is, isn't the same as a series, which can pull it off in a smaller but more proportionate scale.

I'm awaitin' the next film to come a'knockin', anyhow. Once Rebuild is complete, It'll sit nicely next (although separate) to the series.
 
Sy said:
I see the psychological aspects of the original series as being there from the beginning however they were much more subtle and were built upon bit by bit until the climax. The slow build up to that was very natural and it was one of the things I liked. In the first Rebuild it felt like it was being moved along too fast.
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Firstly it's good to be back.

Secondly, in my opinion the psychological dimension is the whole point of the show. Essentially it's all about human interaction. The plot is just there to make it interesting. Kids who say that they thought the show was good but they didn't like all the psycho babble are missing the train.
 
Sy said:
I like End of Eva but to me it's less intimate and rather than being a story about Shinji it burdons itself with the problems on a grander scale rather than focusing primarily on one person.
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I'd have to disagree entirely here; I think the focus in EoE is very much on Shinji. Why do you think EoE isn't as focussed on Shinji as the main series is?
 
CitizenGeek said:
Sy said:
I like End of Eva but to me it's less intimate and rather than being a story about Shinji it burdons itself with the problems on a grander scale rather than focusing primarily on one person.
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I'd have to disagree entirely here; I think the focus in EoE is very much on Shinji. Why do you think EoE isn't as focussed on Shinji as the main series is?
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I'll be quick since I'm on my way out but I felt that the series finale spent more time on expressing about Shinji accepting himself. End of Eva seemed more broad, yes still on Shinji but more about the interaction of people around him. He even gets to decide the fate of the world. I guess I just felt it was trying to make the ending seem too grand when an epic conclusion in a sci-fi sense wasn't needed and it got a little overcrowded when the best conclusion focused totally on his character and not on story.

The end of the series where all the people he's known applaude him is one of my favourite scenes in anime and was the perfect conclusion to Shinji's story. :) That self realisation was epic enough for me. ;)
 
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Im not sure I agree with you as well Sy. I found EoE pretty good exactly because of that. It's been a while, but I did watch the series and replaced eps 25/26 with EoE. The result is simply great.

Not happy enough, I've re-watched everything a while later with EoE after the series and the results were even greater. I'ts been almost 2 years since I've done that, it might be time to re-watch Eva again =)

The Iron Maiden I've mentioned is called Angelic Days in english ... I've left the country before it was entirely published. Now that I took a quick peek at wiki, I've noticed that I missed only two volumes... :'(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_Genes ... gelic_Days
 
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