Neon Genesis Evangelion needs no introduction. A classic and almost certainly a must-watch for any anime viewer, the influence this show had on the anime industry and the way it redefined storytelling in its genre and the medium is simply profound.

Its popularity as a classic and anime staple has garnered all kinds of praise and even criticism (especially in recent years). Many fans would tell you that Evangelion is a masterpiece, a brilliant work of art, but others may tell you its messy, pretentious, or just a complete waste of time. I’ve never seen an anime more polarising than this (but that might change as I’m still new to anime).

From my experience watching Evangelion, I’d say there is some truth to both sides. Personally, I wanted to fall in love with this show but sadly, I couldn’t. Despite its moments of sheer brilliance, its flaws are also too significant for me to ignore.

Evangelion is unique, if anything. You’d be justified for thinking this was simply a typical robots vs aliens/monsters story at first, but quickly you realise that greater focus is on the characters, the humans, rather than the Evangelions themselves and the conflict between the humans and the Angels. And above all, I believe that the characters are the strongest part of Evangelion.

Part 1: The Characters

“I mustn’t run away.”
Our protagonist, Shinji Ikari, isn’t your typical anime hero protagonist. He’s timid, insecure, and is reluctant to open up to other people as he is afraid of getting hurt. The brilliance in his character development is in how he learns to muster his courage and face his fears and perform his duty as a pilot time and time again, even if it only brings him more pain and suffering. His qualities and his growth make him a relatable and human character.

“You won’t die because I will protect you.”
Rei Ayanami is a bit of an enigma. She appears to be cold, distant and emotionless. She exerts no will of her own, and readily obeys whatever orders are given to her, as if she’s merely a tool to be used. Well, that is how she views herself.

She holds almost absolutely no regard for hew own life and sees herself as expendable, as seen by the times she was prepared to sacrifice herself for her comrades and for the sake of the mission.

But eventually, she learns how to connect with others and begins to experience and process her emotions, as well as seeing her own worth as actual human being.

“I’ll live for myself and think for myself!”
Asuka Langley Soryu can be a bit frustrating for viewers to watch at times. She is obnoxious, arrogant and attention-seeking but at the same time, headstrong and intelligent. A child prodigy, she excelled in her academics and has been training since young to pilot the Evangelions. Doing so, and succeeding at it, is her main purpose in life.

Her high self-esteem and confidence is a virtue and a curse at times. She believes herself to be superior to Shinji and Rei, and her ego is easily bruised when either of them do anything better than her.

Despite these glaring differences in personalities between our main trio, they do have one thing in common: they all yearn for some form of intimacy and meaningful connection with others to repair and fill the void in their broken and lonely hearts.

The side characters and pretty interesting and have a considerable level of depth to them too, which I really appreciate. My favourite among them has to be Misato Katsuragi. It was intersting seeing her balance both her roles as a superior and guardian to Shinji and Asuka.

Seeing these complex and well-developed characters interact (especially the main trio) given their very contrasting personalities was a joy to watch. I only wish that Shinji and Rei’s relationship was further explored and developed as the events in episode 6 would have served as the great foundation to build upon.

Part 2: Story

Evangelion’s story is ambitious to say the least. A mecha show that attempts to juggle complex philosophical themes and uncomfortable subject matters: identity, individuality, freedom, responsibility, depression and trauma, to name a few. Episode 16, “The Sickness Unto Death”, references the book of the same name by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. While episode 4, “The Hedgehog’s Dilemma”, references Arthur Schopenhauer’s analogy of the challenges of human intimacy. It perfectly illustrates both Shinji’s desire to bond with others and his hesitance to do so, as the closer any two people are, the more mutual pain can be inflicted.

It does not shy away from using religious symbolism and references either. The progenitors are named Adam and Lilith. The Lance of Longinus and Dead Sea Scrolls reference their historical counterparts. NERV’s slogan comes from one of poet Robert Browning’s literary works, and it goes, “God’s in his heaven, all’s right with the world.”

Evangelion largely succeeds in incorporating these themes and ideas into its story. The show isn’t trying to be smart or intellectual just for the sake of it. Its themes, ideas and references are actually relevant to the story its trying to tell, making it that much more compelling.

Evangelion also has an meaningful message it wants to deliver to the audience, one of accepting yourself regardless of your flaws, with the hope of loving yourself too.

But unfortunately, Evangelion’s potential to be a true masterpiece is not realised due to the flaws in its plot.

Everything I’ve said up to this point actually seems pretty postitive, but from here on out this is where I go in hard on the flaws of Evangelion.

The first third of the show did well to draw me in, with its post-apocalyptic setting, melancholic and bleak atmosphere, and both the external and internal conflict.

But after a while things got really repetitive.

For a long stretch of episodes, the same structure applies: All is well in the beginning, then an angel shows up, the pilots think they got the upper hand but something goes wrong, they need to come up with a plan, they successfully execute the plan and finally destroy the angel. After a while, the story feels lacklustre and at times boring.

And in the middle of it all you get Gendo Ikari using words and terminology that make absolutely no sense to the audience.

This show will raise a lot of questions (to try and keep you interested). But what makes me frustrated is that the show never gets around to answering most of these questions (at least, not in a satisfying way) and explaining these words and terms that are critical to understanding the lore of Evangelion. If I had a dollar for every time I had to go evangelion.fandom.com just to understand what something means, and by extension what is going on in the bigger picture, I’d probably have at least 20 bucks. In that regard, the show handles the mystery aspect of the story quite poorly.

The pacing of the show at times is simply atrocious. Besides the middle of the story being largely uninteresting, when the story does pick up, it does so too quickly and suddenly in my opinion. Certain pivotal and key moments are not as impactful as they should have been as they never received enough build up, thus feeling underwhelming.

There were moments of brilliance which genuinely blew me away towards the end, especially episodes 18-20, which is where the show peaks in terms of quality in my opinion. The episodes that come after were pretty good, but they never hit a peak or climax befitting of an ending.

Speaking of the ending, it is certainly an unorthodox method of storytelling. Instead of the last 2 episodes wrapping up any loose ends or the story having any form of resolution, the characters have their own inner introspective monologues and reflections (I’m guessing). On paper, it sounds like an interesting idea, but the execution was poor. It felt so dragged out that I remember thinking that I just wanted this show to end. And when the end did come, it was so abrupt.
“Wait. That’s how it ends?”

Poor execution and pacing ultimately comes down to one thing, poor writing. Evangelion could have been a masterfully told story if only its writing was better. The story does have its moments. But it’s a shame, because Evangelion has the potential to be so much greater given its ideas and themes. The seeds were there, but they just weren’t nurtured properly.

Part 3: Animation and Sound

Studio GAINAX’s animation holds up decently well to this day, though one should still not have such high expectations for such an old anime. Certain visual elements definitely look poor by today’s standards, but I have no complaints. I personally quite liked the cinematography and composition of Evangelion, especially the way lighting is used to render scenes and set the tone and atmosphere of the show.

The sound design and effects of Evangelion are pretty good, but the same cannot be said for the generic OST. Tracks are also used way too often for them to have any impact or meaning. The opening and ending are far better.

Conclusion:

Every anime viewer should pick up Neon Genesis Evangelion at some point, but there’s no need to rush. I personally believe the show is not the masterpiece fans claim it to be, nor is it downright terrible. There’s things I really like about this show, but its problems stop me from truly loving it, as much as I wanted to. In the end, its moments of sheer brilliance were few and far between. Maybe with a rewatch I will appreciate the show more, and perhaps even grow to love it as much as some of you do, but I definitely won’t do one anytime soon.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. Watch it for yourself and see how you feel about it. You might just love it.