An incredibly ambitious story about being human in a world ravaged by supernatural beings. · Waifora

An incredibly ambitious story about being human in a world ravaged by supernatural beings, Neon Genesis Evangelion is fascinating in how it takes the initial concept of mecha and transforms it into a uniquely philosophical take on what it means to be human.

On a surface level, Evangelion is a masterpiece. It has a well-executed and deeply original story which weaves the emotional arcs of its characters into a compelling, high-stakes narrative. Its visual direction is incredibly powerful. The music is functional, with the series' greatest strength being its OP and ED. The themes are solid, and the series doesn't let the audience forget about them.

That said, while Evangelion is fascinating and complex, it is not without its flaws. It is, at its core, a deeply confusing story. Many of the details of the story seem irrelevant to its central thematic element - a boy who is afraid of the world. A lot of the plot feels unnecessary when considered in the context of the entire show - serving as little more than a distraction from what the story is truly about. The extended pacing sees a lot of repetition, and this leads to the characters becoming obnoxious as the series continuously pounds their flaws into the audience's head, as if they hadn't already been shown to us a million times over. This all, unfortunately, detracts from Evangelion as a whole.

However, while Evangelion's story may seem drawn out, it would be negligent to not mention the significance of its impact. NGE had a huge impact on the anime industry, and is truly a titan of the times. It is quite possibly one of the most influential mecha anime ever created.

Considering the show up until the finale, it is certainly an incredible work and something that is worthwhile to watch. That said, I have one more area I wish to address - the ending.

The ending of Evangelion is very interesting and unique. It is, perhaps, one of the most unique anime endings I have ever seen. It is profound, and manages this profundity in a way that is neither fake nor completely detached from the thematic or narrative arc of its story. This makes it worthy of praise.

Unfortunately, I don't actually like the ending much at all. Don't get me wrong - I think it's interesting and not entirely unreasonable, but I fundamentally disagree with its philosophical thrust. What follows below is a spoiler for the ending - read at your own risk!

Spoiler, click to view

I find the ending to be surprising in how it implies the success of the human instrumentality project and unification of all human souls into a single entity. While this sort of event had been mentioned throughout the story, the term "human instrumentality project" doesn't have a specific explicit meaning, so it was never really clear exactly what it was. This makes the ending something of a deus ex machina - it comes out of left field and the audience is given very little to go on to interpret it. The effect this has on the audience - that of confusion - isn't necessarily a bad one. It inspires viewers to think about the story, and try to understand what its trying to say. That said, many viewers may just completely fail to understand the ending. This makes it technically questionable.

More importantly, I find the ending to be philosophically lackluster. The ending frames the unification of human souls in a positive light through Shinji's self-reflection and character growth, and this is the core of my issue with it. Because of this, I can't help but interpret the philosophical thrust of the finale as decidedly pessimistic and depressing. It suggests that a supernatural apocalyptic event is the only way to grow and discover personal truth. This is an incredibly anti-human sentiment - fundamentally cynical and fatalistic.

The fact that it wasn't until a supernatural apocalyptic event that Shinji could truly have meaningful character growth is so wrong, it feels like a giant slap in the face. It feels like the story is saying that humans are fundamentally incapable of growth - that we're trapped by our insecurities - that the meaning of being human is to be broken, and that we cannot be fixed barring a supernatual event. I fundamentally disagree with this sentiment. While I acknowledge that humanity is flawed and that life is challenging, I refuse to give into pessimism and believe that humans are incapable of growth.

Overall, Evangelion has interesting ideas, and presents them in a compelling fashion. I think it is impressive and worthy of note for this achievement, but its execution is not without flaws. Ultimately, the fact that its thematic thrust is decidedly dark and pessimistic is what makes this anime less than a masterpiece, in my eyes.

The breakdown

Name: An incredibly ambitious story about being human in a world ravaged by supernatural beings.
Item: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Rating: 80
Author: Mator

Art: 10/10
-- Incredibly powerful, visceral work.

Sound: 7/10
-- Fantastic OP, but otherwise unremarkable.

Narrative: 9/10
-- Very unique and compelling, but some issues with pacing.

Characters: 8/10
-- Deeply flawed and interesting, but a bit repetitive.

Themes: 6/10
-- Dark and pessimistic. Focuses on humanity's flaws and denies our potential for growth.

Overall: 8/10, B-