The Evangelion review
I always find it difficult to understand old-anime phenomena. People seem to be carried out by nostalgia and overrate the series, that maybe are good when comparing them to other releases from the same time, yet look miserable when comparing them to modern standards. So what exactly is wrong with
The Evangelion?
Symbolism The Evangelion is full of symbolism. This alone is a good thing, yet symbolism should never overtake the plot. Let's take Attack on Titan as an example, it's also full of symbolism, yet it's fully optional, one may watch the whole series without ever realizing that plot elements had second, philosophical meaning. However, in Evangelion the story is simply cut at the end and fully replaced with symbolism. At the same time, this symbolism feels very boring, it doesn't touch real problems, but rather common philosophical questions, such as "what life is?" or "what's the meaning of life?", etc.
Characters
The characters are another weak point of The Evangelion. The main character is simply a lost teenage boy. He doesn't learn a thing or change a bit throughout the series, he just gets a depression. All characters feel distanced from the viewer and are hard to relate to. Even the most promising character - Ikari Gendou at the end, just disappears from action and doesn't play any major role.
The ending
The ending is one of the "open type", so it leaves the interpretation to the viewer. The biggest problem of the ending is that it's simply disappointing, there's no conclusion, no big mystery reveal, no plot twist. The story felt unfinished after watching the main series, and the movie basically changes nothing.
Nihilism
Nihilism is a leading theme of The Evangelion. In my opinion, this philosophy is flawed in many ways, and only someone depressed or exhausted can really "enjoy" it. It's just very depressing and boring. Also, it isn't as uncommon in anime as you may think, especially in the older titles.
Pornographic additions
Sexual content appears multiple times throughout the series, and it always feels misfit, because of a rather serious plot. Maybe such contrast was intentional, yet it's just not enjoyable for the viewer.
#Conclusion
The Evangelion doesn't appear to be "a masterpiece" as many people try to depict it. It has a very single-directed story, that targets a very specific group of viewers. The ending feels unfinished and isn't satisfying. The good things about the series are: unique style and interesting world.
EDIT:
After rewatching it a couple of years later, I think that the story might actually be good and positive for someone who has self-confidence problems, depression, or is lost in any other way. I think that this series was designed as a kind of therapeutic session for teenagers with problems and might be very good at it. However, I still wouldn't recommend this to an average viewer, as it's not very good at anything aside from this therapeutic value. Considering that, I've rised my rating from 12/100 to 30/100.
