Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion

Welcome to the first double feature for Neon Genesis Evangelion! A momentous day I know, but its nothing compared to what our cast went through. Evangelion threw everything from DDR to T&A to a fatsuit for whatever reason. Does it make sense? No. Are we gonna talk about it anyways? Hell yeah, lets jump in!

Starting off, in general these episode’s were a bit weird for me, in a number of ways. The most polite way to put it of course would be that the episodes were “problematic”. As both in terms of production and subject matter I were concerning. For the first, it’s not that it was bad per-se. The… performance, as I would call it, was actually well made. I never imagined I would watch multi-ton robots move that way. However I don’t think it worked as Anno intended, and actually took me out of the moment/point of the episode. Meanwhile laden through were a number of really concerning things in regards to Evangelion’s treatment of its female characters. There is a time and a place for these sorts of things, and in a serious character drama they can have weight. But serious is not how I would describe Evangelion.

Continue reading “Neon Genesis Evangelion – 9/10 – Throwback Thursday” →

Last week, Neon Genesis Evangelion had a bit of a hump, as it tried to tell 2 stories at once. As if to spite me, this week it jumps right back into everything I enjoy about it. Giant robots, sci-fi action and some cast-based comedy. Lets jump in!

Starting off, things actually looked really good this week. Now, they usually do from just a background/stills perspective. As a fellow author, Wooper, pointed out in the comments last week. The cell backgrounds standout every time they get the focus, and Evangelion is so consistent with them it’s easy to forget them. Meanwhile the animation this week also took a step back up, no doubt for Asuka’s introduction. Both the underwater segments and the EVA unit jumping from ship to ship looked great. Not to mention a lot of the expressive character acting during numerous gags across the episode. It was one of those episodes that reminds you “Oh yeah, Neon Genesis Evangelion can move”. I rib on Anno a bit here for his… odd directorial decisions up until now, but it really did look good. As for the story? Well let’s take a look.

Continue reading “Neon Genesis Evangelion – 8 [Asuka’s Arrival in Japan/Asuka Strikes] – Throwback Thursday” →

Hello all to another week of Neon Genesis Evangelion! This week is much more light hearted than the last few, diving more into Misato and Shinji’s relationship. Meanwhile it seems something is a foot as a weapons test goes wrong. So without further ado, lets jump in! And stick around to the end, because I have some important questions about how you would like Throwback Thursday to run moving forward. Onwards!

Starting off, this week saw a bit more of Anno’s weirdness. As cuts come in some strange places, there is a lot of repeated footage and in general it just feels… different. This isn’t necessarily a criticism, as I can see what he was going for. The repeated morning segments do a fine job of setting the time frame of the episode and the pacing of it all. It also gives us a glimpse into Shinji/Misato’s life together, and what their general day to day is like. For those I suppose the question really becomes, are you invested in their life? If yes, then I think it informs a lot about where they are 7 episodes in. If not, then it’s a lot of repeated and wasted time. So suffice to say, I don’t have much a problem with it, but I can see the issue. Continue reading “Neon Genesis Evangelion – 7 [A Human Work] – Throwback Thursday” →

Once again, I am late for this week’s Neon Genesis Evangelion post. It’s becoming a bad habit really, and yet something about Evangelion makes it difficult to write about. I need look no further than this week for proof of that. As here we see a competent governmental body, Rei stepping up to the plate, and Shinji getting in the damn robot. So let’s jump in!

As always, we have to start with the production, and this time I think Evangelion managed to impress. Say what you want about Anno’s… odd tastes in still shots, but the action is great. From the tanks to what is just a giant floating cube, I enjoyed it all. There was even a number of nice environmental animation to go along with the tank or Angel shots. And in general things like melting metal look fantastically fluid. Part of it is no doubt the dated, nostalgic charm that is cell animation. But I don’t think that really takes away from it at all. If I had one complaint though, it would have to be with the odd lighting at times. Like during Rei’s visit to Shinji’s room, I understand the time of day they were shooting for, it just looked weird to me. Minor squibbles aside though, onto the meat!

Continue reading “Neon Genesis Evangelion – 6 [Decisive Battle in Tokyo-3/Rei II] – Throwback Thursday” →

Finally, Throwback Thursday returns, with a new episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion! Apologies for the wait. I have explained across a number of posts now, but work and moving the site really ate my time. But its all over now and we can get back into it! So let’s just dive in, as we check back in with Shinji!

Starting off with production, as I always do, this week was a bit of an odd one. There was some great stuff. From expressive character acting from Misato during her and Shinji’s interactions, to the effects. I will never get tired of how Evangelion liquefies metal and structures with its lasers and such. It’s a beautiful effect, and one I hope we continue to see more of in the series. On the other hand we also got some more of Anno’s weirdness. Long, hanging still shots with almost no motion. Just dialogue played over an extended escalator scene. Similar to the rest we have seen, I don’t think it’s inherently bad. It works to sell the awkwardness between Rei and Shinji, especially after what happened in the apartment. But it felt to me like it just carried on to long. Still, for the most part, Evangelion did well.

Continue reading “Neon Genesis Evangelion – 5 [Rei, Beyond the Heart/Rei I] – Throwback Thursday” →

You know, I wasn’t expecting Neon Genesis Evangelion to actually give me exactly what I asked for. Typically I want something from an anime, and I am ignored, because I am some random guy on the internet. But this week Evangelion decided to listen, just once. Man, am I awesome. So without further ado, lets jump in and start talking about Shinji’s mental breakdown!

Starting, let’s clarify what this episode is about. This week Evangelion focuses in on Shinji’s character, really diving in to his issues from the first 3 episodes. Not just showing them to us, but helping define both sides of the problem. Showing us both Shinji’s insecurities and how he deals with things, and how Misato is coping and trying to connect with him. Showing a very real issue of miscommunication. and really making it clear how little they know each other. Its exaggerated a bit at times, but hey that’s drama. And my favorite part about all of this is that Evangelion didn’t just sweep it under the rug in a single episode either. Sure, I am not the biggest fan of whining Shinji, but whining Shinji with progress is a whole other beast. And that is exactly what we get, the start of Shinji working through his issues. Continue reading “Neon Genesis Evangelion – 4 [Rain, and After Running Away/Hedgehog’s Dilemma] – Throwback Thursday” →

Another week, another episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion, possibly the last one before the site move. A nice dash for finality, I think. As this week Evangelion continues to explore Shinji’s mental state, what living in this world is like, and a dash of exposition. Lets dive in!

Starting off, this was the first episode of Evangelion to not wow me. Don’t get me wrong, it looked fine, but compared to the first two it was pretty static. For instance we saw the general 90’s explosions of simple circles overlaid onto the object itself. Or the same repeating image of the Angel in the fight at the end. Flashing back and forth as the characters count down. Or Shinji’s face during it all, with heavy red filters and such. I understand the attempt, what it was going for there, but for me it felt almost… overdone? At least when combined with the screaming and other noises going on at the time. Still, its not like it was bad, there is still a good amount of direction and decent cuts going on here. It just feels like all the good cuts will be limited to the Eva is all.

Continue reading “Neon Genesis Evangelion – 3 [The Silent Phone/A Transfer] – Throwback Thursday” →

Hello all and welcome to week 2 of Neon Genesis Evangelion! I know a lot has been going on lately, what with the site scare, but don’t worry. A lot of work is going on in the back and we have plans. In the meantime, how about we just jump into this week’s episode of Giant Murder Robots?

Starting off, Evangelion continues to look good. There were some really nice shots this week, both in terms of direction and animation. For the first, I actually want to look towards the aftermath of the opening battle with the Angel. And how Evangelion really sells us on the scale of everything, not forgetting a single detail. What with the guns the size of buildings, and the bullets the size of cars. All with humans in the same shot, it establishes the scale of the conflict really well. For animation, I need look no further than the brutal fight itself. From the destruction of the arm to the almost fluid movements of the Eva. Most of all though, it was the impacts on the skull that sold it for me. Perhaps in the future this will become a bit much, but I think it sets the tone well this early.

Continue reading “Neon Genesis Evangelion – 2 [An Unfamiliar Ceiling/The Beast] – Throwback Thursday” →

Welcome all to the next series of Throwback Thursday, Neon Genesis Evangelion! Apologies for the late start, I sorta lost track of time this week. Won’t happen again though, because after this I am excited to keep going. Because if nothing else, I know it’s going to look good. Let’s dive in!

Starting off, we need to talk about production, because Evangelion looks gorgeous. I had seen a few clips or screenshots prior to this, but always assumed those were one-offs. Or came from the movie, End of Evangelion. However this entire episode looked really good. From the explosions to the almost organic movement of metal during the Angel’s introduction. Of course its the first episode, so this could easily go downhill from here. But visually its a very strong start. This of course goes for the background art as well. The opening shot of tanks along the bridge is beautiful, as are many of the backdrops. Really, Evangelion is showing off the best of what Cell animation can do. With bright popping colors, all of it with the imperfections that make hand-drawn anime beautiful. Something that is often lacking in modern digital series, sometimes to perfect for their own good.

Continue reading “Neon Genesis Evangelion – 1 [Angel Attack] – Throwback Thursday” →