Rating Anime I've Finished

Neon Genesis Evangelion

   Huuuuuh... What the fuck can I even say about Evangelion... It's, um... It's got big robots, who fight big monsters, but those monsters are also angels from heaven and those robots are human but also angels and also the mothers of their pilots and then there's this big spear thingy with a funny name and then one of the pilot is the ancient mother of demons and she destroys the world but then decides to stop because her boyfriend tells her not to and also Asuka is going insane. This show is weird.

   This show is an exploration of depression, loneliness and what it means to be human. It's based heavily on the creators own experiences and has a lot of Christian and Jewish folklore tied in thought it's 26 episode and and 6 movie adaptations.

   Shinji is, on his surface, a very bland protagonist in both design and personality but as the franchise carries on we come to realize that Shinji is the embodiment of the shows greater themes. He is a depressed, neglected and hormonal teen who's sense of self is tied to what he can do for others, while the two secondary protagonist, Asuka and Rei represent two outcomes of this thought process.

   Asuka is the worst version of these thoughts. She is entirely dependent on how much people need or want her. She's obsessed with being capable of anything and this causes her great harm thought the show.

   But Rei is the best version. She is a character who's entire purpose was to do the bidding of her creator, but when the time came to do so she rejected this duty and became her own being.

   But then you have Kaworu, the embodiment of love and happiness, a character who comes into Shinji's life and presents him with nothing but pure understanding and love, which to Shinji is downright terrifying, but also comforting because he doesn't need or feel like he needs to earn Kaworu's love (yeah Shinji is canonically bisexual).

   But I'mma stop myself before I ramble too long. This show can be interpreted all sorts of ways and it's not an easy watch, some of its scenes have not aged well and there is a large problem with underage nudity and sexualization of minors in this show. I would not recommend it if you are sensitive to anything like that.

   As for the animation, it's standard for a 90s anime but when they delved into 3D for the 00s movies then I'd call it amazing. The character design is good and the writing is, as you can tell, stellar in many ways.

   Very weird, very interesting, would recommend.