Current Events > Is Neon Genesis Evangelion normally "hard" to get into?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've been watching it and it's definitely not "bad" at all but it's not grabbing me the way I thought it might

It's definitely slow and boring. I never got through it.

It's easy to get into and easy to understand once you realize 99% of the imagery and terms used is just window dressing and not something that requires deep analysis.

Watch it subbed.

Yes because its story is complete and utter nonsense that gets worse with every movie

I should also note that it's often a "me" problem. Very few things I watch grip me immediately. Even Cowboy Bebop took me a couple of retries before I started getting REALLY into it.

Getting into it is very hard. Most fans will just say it's overrated, even if they love the show.

Same with Hathaway tbh

Always thought gurren lagann was the superior NGE. I'm one for inspirational over nihilism. Do the impossible see the invisible, touch the untouchable break the unbreakable row row fight the power

GiftedACIII posted...

Always thought gurren lagann was the superior NGE. I'm one for inspirational over nihilism. Do the impossible see the invisible, touch the untouchable break the unbreakable row row fight the power

They're basically opposites. TTGL embraces cliche and dials it up to 11. Eva wants to explore how horrible those cliches would really be.

Yeah I really never got the obsession with this anime. Even as a kid when I was eating up all the anime thrown at me, but this one I watched like 3 episodes and dropped. I came back to it as an adult and watched the whole thing this time, but definitely just thought it was mediocre. The fights are cool sometimes, and I love some of the music, but that's about it.

There are much, MUCH better 90s anime out there imo

s0nicfan posted...

They're basically opposites. TTGL embraces cliche and dials it up to 11. Eva wants to explore how horrible those cliches would really be.

TTGL is about embracing positivity even in the worst of situations while Eva is about how life just sucks. I really think more people could use the former even if the latter is more realistic. Basically the embodiment of that "indomitable human spirit vs cold cruelty of the universe" meme.

The only thing memorable about the show, imo, is the opening theme song and the ending being a cover to one of my favorite songs. Never gave the show a fair watch.

It was edgy for anime starved 90s kids.

Cute girls, giant robots, religion being something it is not tones

Kinda why xeno series got popular

I tried multiple times to get into it and just couldn't. It has a ton of references with 0 substance.
The series' ending is just bad.

The ending movie looked to be awesome, only to devolve into more bullshit during the last 20-30 minutes.

Haven't gotten into the rebuild movies.

I never liked it much. It has a couple of cool scenes and some great visual iconography, but...the story bored me to death.

LordFarquad1312 posted...

I tried multiple times to get into it and just couldn't. It has a ton of references with 0 substance.
The series' ending is just bad.

The ending movie looked to be awesome, only to devolve into more bullshit during the last 20-30 minutes.

Haven't gotten into the rebuild movies.

The first rebuild movie is basically an abbreviated episodes 1-6 or so and makes for nice high-budget recreation of the start of the series. The rebuild movies from there get progressively more unhinged and the only positive I can say is that the last movie is a really-no-kidding end of the franchise ending.

I love the series. Its like monster of the week TV shows with a batshit ending.

The box sets for it are great too.

RchHomieQuanChi posted...

I've been watching it and it's definitely not "bad" at all but it's not grabbing me the way I thought it might

I could write entirely too much on Eva if I wanted to, but the short answer is that Eva is a direct deconstruction of the mecha series that came before it, and being familiar with those tropes enhances the viewing experience. It also explores some of the author's own views on stereotypes all wrapped in a cool, biblical aesthetic. It also has some of the best plodded the industry had ever known at the time by industry veterans.

Unfortunately, like Lord of the Rings, Eva would go on to become one of the most influential works in it's medium, and every single aspect of the show has been shamelessly copy and pasted throughout anime for all time. Especially Rei and Asuka, whose expies appear in nearly every anime ever made since. Thus, when viewed from the modern lens a lot of the show can seem kind of basic, overdone, and not really unique or special anymore.

I haven't watched the Rebuilds but I intend to once I get my friends caught up with the original stuff.

Do the kaiju fights not do it for you?

WingsOfGood posted...

It was edgy for anime starved 90s kids.

Cute girls, giant robots, religion being something it is not tones

Kinda why xeno series got popular

Wouldn't Elfen Lied get that award though? I remember that anime getting nothing but praise at the time it was first released, only for now to get ridiculed to death for how stupid and immature it really was.

Prestoff posted...

Wouldn't Elfen Lied get that award though?

Wasn't nearly as widespread and mainstream as Evangelion. And Eva came first by like ten years.

Depends on what you mean by hard to get into.

It can be hard to get into for non-anime fans considering how messed up some of the characters are. If NERV had HR, most of the cast would not be employed.

If youve watched a bunch of anime, it can be hard to appreciate what it did for the medium, since youve probably seen shows that took elements from it, so some of the noveltys gone. Gurren Lagann was mentioned as a better alternative, but its an unfair comparison considering TTGL was a response to shows like Eva and its derivatives. TTGL is irreverent in its subject matter, while one of the main lessons from EVA is literally stop watching anime and go outside. The lesson didnt take obviously, considering the fanbase. Eva still has a positive message, its just mopey about it.

I managed to get through it, I just didn't like it. Excluding my extreme hatred for Shinji, they never really show entire fights. If Shinji blacks out (since the story is told through his perspective), the fight ends and you only find out about what happens through conversation, not showing the fight.

Prestoff posted...

Wouldn't Elfen Lied get that award though? I remember that anime getting nothing but praise at the time it was first released, only for now to get ridiculed to death for how stupid and immature it really was.

I dont know why it gets so much hate compared to all the other, trashy shit that came out around the same time and before it.

Because it got popular?

Fanservicey fetishy blood shows have been around forever in anime.