I am terrible at media criticism. I do not understand the media that I watch at all and I heavily rely on others explaining it to me.

I watched Neon Genesis Evangelion because I really like mechs. It’s been a long while so my memory is fuzzy. As it started, I noticed that the overall tone of the anime was more sober and grim than I had anticipated.

In the beginning, I liked it when new Angels revealed themselves. The fights were not the best but I still liked them. I really love the concept of an incomprehensible foe whose secrets are slowly unraveled.

As the show went on though I ended up extremely confused. I realised that the mechs are sort of a side-aspect of the whole thing which was a bit of a bummer. It seemed more about the difficulties of an ill-adjusted Shinji being forced into the role of being humanity’s child soldier. Other child soldiers had issues of their own which I did not fully grasp. Even the adult lady whose home Shinji lives in had boy troubles of her own which I did not grasp at all as to how it fit in with the whole theme.

I watched the last few episodes extremely high and was completely lost. You cannot imagine my face when that scene where Shinji fantasises about sex (I think that’s what he was doing) came on.

So can someone tell me what the general theme of the show is? If you wanna link to other articles or videos on thiz topic that would be swell as well. I cam understand not wanting to type out about an anime that has been analysed probably more than any other.

  • MeowZedong@lemmygrad.ml
    2·
    7 months ago

    It’s about coping with depression and trauma. All of the major characters are traumatized and struggling with it in different ways.

    I don’t know how much of this is true, but I heard a large part of this was based on the creator’s own struggles and that he was in a pretty dark place while making the series. End of Evangelion (extreme content warning if you have only watched the series) was made so dark largely due to fan complaints about the ending of NGE. The degree to which it’s fucked up was a middle finger to fans who complained that NGE ended on too happy of a note.

    The remake of the series starting in the 2010s goes in largely a different direction. Supposedly this was because the creator had learned how to overcome his struggles as he aged and found a partner. The newest pilot is supposedly inspired by her influence. I don’t want to give away anything, but you’ll find each series has a vastly different tone and all are worth watching I think. NGE and EoE hold a place in my heart, though that’s mostly from nostalgia.

    There isn’t a part of me that wants to see parts of myself in any of the characters at this point in my life, but it’s definitely been very influential for anime and I think EoE serves, at least, as a technical work of art for the animated media.

    It’s normal to be confused by the show. Take it as you want, everything wasn’t explained on purpose so you could interpret it within your own worldview. If you aren’t satisfied with your own thoughts, there are some good video essays on YouTube and written essays around the web. If you consume enough, you’ll find you can sort out the shallow analyses.