question about the angel in evangelion w/ spoilers (1 Viewer)

[Jose Q]

A very entertaining series without much of a sense of closure. Not the end-all-be-all that some people claim it is. That said...

I agree with the statement that a good story should try to be direct and engaging with its audience. Having to do research, be familiar with theology and then not offering a cohesive and clear ending is not "art" or "style" or "insightfulness". That's just poor execution.

If you have to watch the series over and over again to catch clues to make sense of the bigger picture then there is something wrong. Anime or not. I understand offering clues for those that want to analyze the series and want to be fanatics. No problem with that. But the main story should be at least semi-clear for ANYONE to follow. NGE fails miserably on this aspect.

 

[Bill Crosthwait]

BTW when is the eventual DVD release of Evangelion Movies...the last I heard was July. Any updated information?

 

[Jeff Kleist]

July for Death & Repeat(Rebirth), October for the EOE

Knowing Manga, they could delay it AGAIN

Oh, and even though they promised anamorphic a year ago. Turns out they won't be

Maybe that's a good thing, given how badly they screwed up the telecine of Honneamise

 

[Morgan Jolley]

WARNING!!! NOT USING SPOILER TAGS!!!

The dummy plugs in Units 5-13 were clones of Kaoru, not Rei.

The ending to the series (Episodes 25 and 26) make more sense after watching the movies, simply because they explain some of the images (like Ritsuko and Misato's bodies, Asuka in her Eva underwater, etc.). This is further evidence that the original ending for the series was cast aside for some reason and was shown in the movies.

If you watch everything (all 26 episodes and both movies) then pretty much all the loose ends are tied up. The ending is still open, but if you paid attention to the entire series, you can guess what happens afterwards. All the movies do is explain what happened between Episode 24 and 26 in a more literal way.

I don't think that having to watch the show multiple times is really a bad thing. If you pay attention to the small details, then you don't need to, but you get more by watching it more than once.

But the main story should be at least semi-clear for ANYONE to follow. NGE fails miserably on this aspect

If you make some very basic assumptions and just watch the series, its very easy to follow. I didn't know what the Dead Sea Scrolls actually were until having seen the whole series, but I just assumed they were some sort of ancient text(s) that told prophecies. While not exactly the best explanation of what they really are, does that definition not supply enough information to allow someone to get the gist of what they are? You don't need to be a genius about everything that the series mentions in order to get it or watch it, so long as you use your brain a little.

Most of the story is about how they characters are so screwed up. The rest is about the Angels/Evas. The idea is that if you are a human, then you should be able to relate in some way to the other human characters in the show and be able to "feel" for them. This idea is what makes a lot of the series enjoyable. You get to go through all these emotions with the characters and understand their decisions (that impact a lot of people).

An example would be when Shinji decides not to fight Unit 4 (or 3, can't remember) when the Angel takes over it. When he first came to Tokyo-3, it took him a while to make friends because he piloted the Eva that injured his (soon to be friend) classmates' sisters. Now that he finally has, he is being forced to kill someone with the same weapon that was used to injure his friend's sister (which is what made his friend hate him to begin with). He decides not to, but then his father forces his Eva to kill him anyway. He watches the Eva get ripped to shreds, not knowing who it is, only to find out that its one of his only friends. The irony, agony, and emotional distress in that situation can be felt by the viewer because of the human ability to feel sympathy for someone else based on one's experiences in life. Or something like that...

I admit that a lot of this stuff seems too deep or involved for someone to sit and plan out, but I've seen people make movies, books, comics, whatever that had some pretty well written storylines that had a lot of depth and involvment that was planned out. Why shouldn't at least some of this stuff in Eva be similar?

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Japanese series are usually planned out from the very beginning EXACTLY. The only time this is interfered with is when the order get's cut (Space Battleship Yamato was originally 26 eps out, 26 back. Then was cut to 26 eps) or expanded (Macross, where there are 8 extra episodes of mostly padding)

The story is very obvious to me, always has been

Just pay attention to the show, everything you need is right out in front of you.

 

[Jose Q]

The Basics: You got kids that need to pilot these mecha in order to fight monsters called angels. In between you get lots of interaction among the characters and get to see how their different personalities grow and evolve throughout the series.

The Confusion: Then you have all the stuff about Lilith, Adam, the Evas, NERV, 3rd Impact, dummy plugs, that other organization I cant remember (SEEL?), all these rules about who decends from who, S2 units, Shinji's relationship with his dad, what the heck is Rei, and a whole bunch of espionage and political maneuvering that detracts from the main story. These are just a few.

The Problem: To anyone that pays very careful attention may be 80% of this stuff will be caught, analyzed and fully understood to continue following the story when they first see the series. For the person that is just looking to be entertained and has no intention of studying the series and just watching it and enjoy it, most of this stuff will pass right over their heads. Twice. Can't blame the audience for that. If I saw one or two people asking questions then may be its just them. Instead, I've seen lots of people with many (usually the same) questions of basic things that should have been clear after watching the series. That's just inexcusable. That's where the series has a problem.

In Conclusion: Is it a show about mechas with theological subtones? is it a character study for all the kids? I guess that's up to everyone to decide. Although very entertaining, the series suffers from a clear storytelling problem as it gets wrapped in its own theology and concludes with an ending that is less than satisfying (regardless of the reasons).

I agree that the movies are a must at least to have some sort of closure.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I think that the movies made up for the series' ending (even the first half of D&R, which I loved because I have some strange passion for masterful editing).

I found that after one viewing of the series, I got most of it. I understood enough of it to enjoy it. A second viewing revealed pretty much everything else. Any subsequent viewings were for pleasure.

The series has some themes and undertones that are easier to catch with prior knowledge of something (like what is going to happen later in the series, the theology stuff, etc.) and the only people that would be willing to get into it enough to catch those things are the people who already like anime. I reccommend this series as a great example of anime, but not as a good introduction.