[Haak]

So I thought I’d finally share my feelings on the Evangelion series. I’m about to watch the film so I thought I’d comment on my thoughts before I’d watch it just in case it interested anyone (though really I’m probably gonna end up treading on the same ground that’s been treaded on for well over a decade).

Spoiler for TV series:

In terms of first episodes, I was definitely impressed but kinda disappointed because it didn’t wow me as much as I thought it would but I think that was probably due to its legendary status getting the better of me. I couldn’t but lol upon finding out the voice that I previously associated with homoerotic comedy reliefs like Naoi from Angel Beats! and Yumeshima from Koichoco was voicing the legendary Shinji Ikari but I was also a little wary. It didn’t seem to me like a voice I’d particularly like and I couldn’t help find it a little grating as well, but I stomached it because I figured that was probably the intention anyway (Whether it was intentional or not ended up being a moot point since I eventually grew used to his voice and when he screamed...boy could he scream...). Not only that but I was a little unsure of what to make of Misato who just seemed to me like a character Anno was going to kill to make a point (I guess that’s the quirk of going into a series knowing it’s a deconstruction – You’re constantly suspecting where the super troll will emerge from). However, any doubts I had about the show’s quality were dampened when I watched the scene between Shinji and his father. I was just amazed at the serious amount of apparent “fucked up”ness between Shinji and his father, so much so that it actually overshadowed the “fucked up”ness of Rei being brought into the scene, bloody broken body and everything. Anyway, Shinji eventually lifted off and I was eager to watch the second episode.

It started off great, showcasing just how much a 15 year old newb can really achieve but I was massively pissed off when they just cut it half way through. I watched the rest of the episode really hoping that the end of the fight (which I knew they’d give at the end of the episode) was going to be great, and it totally was: Watching that berserk Eva rip the Angel to shreds was “holy hell” levels of awesome. It goes without saying that soundtrack made one hell of a difference too. That was most likely the moment I just knew I was going to enjoy watching this show. Kinda like a make or break moment, except there was no break. Just make and lots of it.

It’s clear for me that this show was a heavily character driven show and that worked out perfectly especially since it also benefitted from an absolutely fantastic post apocalyptic setting that would add that essential extra character to what little plot developments we had. I also liked the way the “monster of the week” style skirmishes with Angels were used excellently as catalysts for character development/expansion.

Shinji Ikari definitely solidified himself as one of the most multifaceted and well developed main characters in my books. It’s not just his personality in itself (his introverted self and desire to avoid conflict that ironically places him on the front lines) nor even the reason he became like that (which i don’t think they expanded on much anyway) nor even how it affected his relationships with others. It was also the relationships themselves and how varied they were. His relationship with his friends like Toji, his relationship with Rei, his relationship with Asuka, his relationship with Misato and his relationship with his father. They were all different yet at the same time all relevant. Perhaps amazingly (though not all that surprisingly since I’ve found I have a higher tolerance for these types of MCs), I very rarely ever thought he was being whiny and sympathised with him at so many points in the series, even at the points where I did think he was going overboard or could have done better (Like how he threatened to kill others when his father nearly forced him to kill Toji or how he tried to shut out Misato’s tears at Kaji’s death and couldn’t find it in himself to try and comfort her).

Asuka was more of a mixed case. Often times she’d irritate the hell out of me (which I suppose was the point) but there were times where her interactions with Shinji were delightfully fun (like their experimental kiss and the fact that it wasn’t all just one way: Shinji would talk back and argue with Asuka as well and prove that despite having so many issues, he was still less of a doormat than most MCs these days) and often times I got the feeling her deeply cynical and individualistic philosophy (which they made a point of contrasting with Japan’s collectivist culture) had deeper currents underneath. I didn’t enjoy Episode 9 though: That episode sucked.

Rei was also a bit of a mixed case. I loved how her relationship with Shinji developed in episode 6 and I thought she added an interested dynamic to Shinji’s already interesting relationship with his father. But then I think at roughly episode 13 (The moment where Shinji noted the way Rei squeezes the cloth like a mother) the realisation dawned on me and I ended up hoping that Rei wouldn’t be the girl Shinji ended up with. I only studied Psychology briefly but whilst I did think there were many aspects of the Freudian psychodynamic model that I could agree with, the Oedipal and Electra complexes were definitely not one of them. Perhaps there are some truths to it, but to the point where we unconsciously look for a partner most like our mothers/fathers is just way too much. If it is true then I’d believe it to be one factor among many and it generally depending upon the person. Unfortunately though, this issue was a lot more blatant with Misato which just annoyed me further (though I still ended up liking Misato and her relationship with Kaji who’s death I felt as a real blow). I have to admit though, that the whole clone reveal totally caught me off guard, perhaps because I was distracted by the oedipal thing. And in the end I don’t recall them really establishing for certain that Rei was a direct clone. But even the fact that they’re biologically related is enough to make me queasy.

The series also did well to develop its secondary characters like Gendo, Kozo and Toji (who I was so sure was gonna die). It also did well to develop Ritsuko at first but I thought they kinda slipped up with her towards the end and brought in this new aspect of her and her relationship with Gendo far too late and suddenly. In fact I thought it was slipping up quite a bit in the last few episodes. I could understand Asuka going off in the deep end but didn’t like the fact that unlike with Shinji, no one went after her. Sure they had their own problems but it would’ve been nice if they at least thought about her and if more was made of Rei’s clone reveal. Then they suddenly bring in Nagisa and it goes all kinds of weird on us. I pretty much knew right at his introduction that he was going to be the last Angel but I found it a little hard to care for Shinji’s conflicted emotions at finding out he’s an Angel because he was introduced so late. It would’ve been much better if the last Angel was an already established member of the cast but then I guess I just wouldn’t be able to take it seriously if Pen Pen was the last Angel (Oh and btw, that pause before Shinji killed Nagisa was so pregnant I thought he was gonna give birth to triplets).

And then the last two episodes happened and I was honestly struggling to understand what the hell was going on (I mean besides the obvious Doylist explanations). It’s not just that I couldn’t frame it into a proper context but it just seemed like all their problems took over to the point that it seemed they couldn’t function as proper human beings, and that was never the impression I got throughout the rest of the series. For all their problems there were still plenty of moments where we could still see these people behave and function regularly. Not only that but I felt it was kinda forcing Shinji to regress as well. When Shinji ran away for the second time but came back determined to pilot that Eva, not to please anyone but to do the right thing, I thought that was a massive step forward but in those last two episodes it all just seemed forgotten.

But like I said before, I’ll probably have a better grip on these episodes after I watch the film. From what little I could make of it, I figured this was all a planned part of the Human Instrumentality Project by Gendo and the reason I couldn’t fit those last two episodes into a proper context is probably because I don’t know the link between the Angel’s reasons for attacking and Shinji and others’ psychological issues. In all honesty I thought they were separate but perhaps that was misguided. How on earth can they be related? But then again, for a series with this much mindfuckery, why would they be separate? Perhaps the clues were there in the Christianity themes and whatnot but in all honesty most of them just flew over my head. I mean I got the whole “Eva being made from Adam” reference but that’s about it. I think there was one moment when Shinji discussed with Rei or Asuka why the Angels might be attacking and I felt I was grasping at the reason just a little bit, but whatever understanding I could make of it, it seems I’ve already forgotten. And then Nagisa just came into the picture and I was too lost in his eyes caught off by his homoerotic mindfuckery to make out what he was getting at. I'll look it all up once I finish the film, if I need to.

As for the mecha, I thought they were great. I was kinda weirded out by the whole liquid breathing thing and first thought that kind of thing would seriously screw up his alveoli eventually but apparently it’s actually based on real life experiments so I shrugged and said “sure, why not”. But the show did an amazing job on making these monstrous mechs look truly horrific to pilot. I always got the sense the pilots were really risking their lives every time they got into those things, because well...they would. It wasn’t just outside threats that were the problem but the frequent failed experiments and Evas going berserk would really ram the point home effectively. The constant factor of these gigantic mechs needing an external supply was also a pretty impressive element that I could appreciate. But the show also did a great job with the threat of the Angels too since it felt like every one of them was an incredibly serious threat (well all except for Episode 9). The soundtrack was just badass too, especially Decisive Battle and The Beast.

Well, that’s it for me. I probably missed some things but oh well. Now time to watch the film.