Why is Neon Genesis Evangelion so darn popular?

Ark said:
Gawyn said:
Rei was the same doormat throughout;
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Have you watched the movie?
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Seen everything but the new rebuild, which I will be avoiding. Hated it all. As far as the cardinal rule thing that is according to literary critics since time immemorial and makes perfect sense. To like a story you have to like at least some of the characters with a preference for the one the story is actually about. As far as the characters' growth goes I saw absolutely none. I am not talking about becoming stronger or anything else, I am talking about actually growing as a person, which the advocates of Eva assure me they do but I can never see.

I am sure that the main reason that I cannot see that is because I simply didn't enjoy it. No amount of assurances that a second viewing will make it better will be enough to convince me because it is just not something I could ever enjoy.
 
Aion said:
I forsee the emergence of the Geek, with him telling all us who don't appreciate the story how deep it truly is. 'Tis fate.
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He's pretty good at ignoring subjects like this. So I doubt he'll come here bombarding with his mind of "YOU ARE ALL WRONG"
 
Gay...err, Gawyn, did you find the characters/slaves in DearS to be confident/self-assured and more up your street, then?

A character with no weaknesses or flaws isn't a realistic character. No-one is perfect and humans are flawed by nature, so it's only right that fictional characters should represent humans as accurately as possible. Everyone is selfish and I'm sure everyone in a real life situation where they get put in a giant robot to fight would be a bit on the whiny/I **** my pants side.

The reason Asuka was so likeable was down to her putting on a brave face to hide her insecurities. The person underneath her tough exterior was nothing like the the act she put on; she was actually always lonely and scared. Putting it simply, she was a realistic character that lots of people could relate to.
 
Wildcard said:
I could sympathise with the characters because they were realistically selfish, bitter or unpleasant
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I find it easier to sympathise with those types of characters than the flawless heroes of countless anime before and since. And, as you say, there's no quick-and-easy redemption for Evangelion's characters, something for which I greatly respect Hideaki Anno.
 
Eva is, was, and always will be controversial...largely because it's something that some see depth in and others see pretensiousness. Personally I think it's a little of column A and a little of column B.

All in all it's a pure reimagining of classic mech shows....a father disconnected from a son, a father designs a mech the son pilots to save the world, the world is in a post-apocalyptic state of disarray...so on so forth. The main difference is that as well as the "depth" some people ascribe it also has a high degree of style compared to those early mech shows.

Character development wise I'd say there's far better shows out there, same for mech action, same for depth.....but the thing is that Eva is a unique show, it has its own feel, its own look, and is very much part of that mid 1990s classics range.

I'd say it's actually pretty good, so long as (if you're like me) you ignore End of Evangelion...the main problem is that it has this weird cult-like following, and some very defensive/obsessive fans who want to see more in it than actually exists.
 
Why ignore End of Eva when it showed what was supposed to be shown before budget cuts restricted Gainax from doing anything with the final 2 episodes of the TV series?

Oddly, some fans assumed the show was always supposed to end low budget and completely incomprehensible, going on to express how deep they thought the low budget individual thinking crap was. I suppose some people will think and say anything as long as their favourite things can stay perfect in their minds...

In my opinion, EoE was excellent until it became almost as incomprehensible as the end of the TV series. Before that it had lots of drama, one of the best (and most emotional fight sequences ever), a touching moment shared between Shinji and Misato and a lot of generally high quality goings on.
 
Gawyn said:
Seen everything but the new rebuild, which I will be avoiding. Hated it all.
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I ask because in the movie (actually starting in ep24) Rei quite clearly stops being a doormat.

Gawyn said:
As far as the cardinal rule thing that is according to literary critics since time immemorial and makes perfect sense.
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Literary critics such as who? Many stories intentionally have characters who behave in a negative way as a warning to the readers/listeners.

Gawyn said:
I am not talking about becoming stronger or anything else, I am talking about actually growing as a person, which the advocates of Eva assure me they do but I can never see.
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Shinji clearly does grow as a person through the middle of the series. He just loses that confidence later because of the things that happen to the people around him. In terms of the other characters, character development doesn't just mean a character changing their attitude/behaviour. It's also about exploring the motivations and psychology of characters.


On another note I find the oft repeated accussation that the show is pretentious really strange. For it to be pretentious wouldn't the creators have had to ascribe some great importance to it? From what I understand Anno has hardly ver talked about it indepth.
 
MrChom said:
I'd say it's actually pretty good, so long as (if you're like me) you ignore End of Evangelion...
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I wasn't a big fan of EoE either. To me it's just an alternate ending, no better of worse than the end of the series, which didn't really add anything. I always thought that at the end of the series Rei agreed with Gendo to implement the HIP, and everyone was sucked into it without a say in the matter - And the film presented an alternative scenario where Rei defies Gendo and gives Shinji (and everyone else) a choice whether to be part of it or not. The most intersting thing this does, as some have already pointed out, is make Rei a stronger character.

People can argue for ever what the original ending was meant to be, or if budget cuts changed the show or not. It doesn't really matter, Eva is is what it is - different things to different people.
 
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I can see not liking it or thinking Shinji sucks (he does suck, but I liked that instead than the standard overconfident lead type for a change). But one thing more than anything here I disagree with is the comment that, "Asuka was the same annoying loud-mouth at the end as the time she was introduced". I don't even like Asuka much but she had more growth in the course of her episodes of the TV series alone than a lot of main characters get in far longer running serials.

I much prefer Rei, but Asuka's struggles and layers of insecurities made her feel extremely human to me. Summarising her as nothing but an annoying loud-mouth is selling her character very short.

For my part, Eva's not the best series I've ever seen but from the moment the title sequence blasted on it thoroughly entertained me. Top notch music, cast, designs (pretty weird at times but stylish for sure) and narrative kept me hooked. The introspective, nihilistic air the whole thing has might grate for a lot of people but for many others, me included, it was a pleasant change and a different look at a much-loved genre.

I do wonder if it's as relevant now to new fans as it was when it first came out - many have borrowed from its ideas since in the way it borrows a lot from earlier robot shows - perhaps to new fans coming in with all the hype behind it, it feels dated and rather weird. Maybe it's hard to understand now; you just see Nerv cupcakes and Rei hug pillows everywhere and wonder why this show is still so revered.

R
 
i think every one around here knows i'm an eva fan boy and i cud ramble for hours why its good and flame every who says anything remotely negative about it... but i won't.

all i'm gonna say is... just watch it!
 
Eva fans can be obsessively creepy and defensive about their 'precious series'. I find it hillarious...

Almost as good as a Narutards defending his series.
 
What gives you the right to insult me, one of the fans of the greatest manga ever, by calling me a Narutard? :evil:

I'll have you know that Naruto is the most deep anime in existence, and it has the best character EVER in Sasuke. Don't diss what you don't understand.
 
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