r/NeonGenesisEvangelion

Okay so I have just finished episodes 5 and 6 of the original series. I’ve just recently thought about making a series of posts to catalogue my thoughts on the series as I watch each episode. It’s to help me process my thoughts on this series, as well as to get your feedback to better help understand the series.

Okay, so starting with Ep 5, I really liked it. It was a pretty good introduction to Rei after 4 episodes of her in the background. The animation as Rei is syncing with the Eva 0 during her second test is genuinely great and abstract, making me wonder how this whole process even works and what it does to someone. The mystery as to why her first test of Eva 0 failed is a pretty good hook, and seeing the tension going on between her and Shinji over his fathers greater concern for her rather than his own son is interesting, as is the tension that causes between them over their different opinions on Director Ikari. The awkwardness between them is, if I had to say, cringe but in a simultaneously endearing and embarrassing way. It kind of feels like how I would act if I was forced in a situation like this. On top of that, the cliffhanger of Eva 1 being shot in the chest by the diamond shaped Angel with Shinji screaming as he felt it was a genuinely chilling end. One commenter I read said to watch this and Ep 6 back to back, and I’m glad they did.

As for Ep 6, I think it was satisfying. Seeing Misato take charge and mainly be the one to come up with the plan to defeat the Angel was pretty good, showing how despite her attitude at home, she is competent at her job and takes the situation seriously, though she is more considerate of the kid’s feelings compared to pretty much every other adult at NERV. Also learning she sucks at cooking, as well as the animation during it did give me a little smile. The mystery as to what happened in Rei’s past, such as why she has no family or friends interests me a lot and I look forward to seeing that explored.

The angel using it’s own beam to deflect the beam from the Eva was genuinely a surprise to me, as I knew in my gut something was going to go wrong, but I wasn’t sure what. And the finale of Shinji opening the capsule in Eva 0 to help Rei like how his father did was pretty nice. I read in a comment in my previous post about something REALLY gross and fucked up was going to happen later in the series, but for know I look forward to seeing these to interact and hopefully become friends.

That’s it for now, I’ll hopefully post tomorrow over episode 7. Thank you and good day!

I read a quote by Albert Camus on a Hindi novel's epigraph once, "There is always a part of man that refuses love. It is the part that wants to die. It is the part which needs to be forgiven." Totally unrelated to Evangelion or anime but felt it could describe the feeling so aptly!

Some days back I asked r/anime on recommendations which could improve me as a person. I got all sorts of stuff. After that, I watched Satoshi Kon's films, Evangelion, EoE, Welcome to the NHK, Silent Voice, and Smoking Behind the Supermarket (manga and anime both).

I'm new to anime and manga. But after reading/watching them they occupy such an intense space in my mind that I can't even describe.

Despite the fact that almost all of them affirm life in their own manner, why is it that each of these left me even broken than before?

Especially Evangelion. I didn't even understand it totally. Nor was I able to empathize with the characters and their back stories. But slowly and steadily, as days passed, my mind couldn't help but be affected by it on an emotional plane. I couldn't help but be affected by the cry for an emotional completion which Anno/Instrumentality represented. I couldn't help but feel so affected by the franchise's thesis that every human is extremely broken on the inside. I couldn't help but feel extremely inferior to Kaji's absolute charm and looks.

I wanted to journal it and I did, but despite words and words, it didn't help.

How to take a chillpill...?

https://preview.redd.it/m9cvxk1gd1kh1.png?width=453&format=png&auto=webp&s=bd4b15fc287775791f9052264c6ceee619655803

i dont know why people hate characters like rei or kaworu, they are my favorites. I think for me, its pretty hard to "hate" characters or stories without reason, becuase, sense i write my own characters and stories, i know how much it takes to make deep, complex, and interesting characters. and seeing deep, complex characters like rei or kaworu get watered down to just "shinji's best waifu" or "gay angel" is really sad because there is so much more to them then what people see and they have alot of thought put into them as well.𐔌՞. .՞𐦯

rei:

Anno wanted to show how deeply unsettling and tragic a blank, manufactured human would actually be. Rei breaks the unwritten rule of fiction that main characters must be expressive and driven. her emptiness unsetteld alot of viewers ,and they think its "bad writing/ character development", missing the point that her emptiness is her character development.

kaworu:

kaworu represents absolute, unconditional love and acceptance to a boy who feels completely worthless and lonely. Kaworu appears very late in the original nge and completely upends the status quo. He achieves an instant, deep emotional breakthrough with Shinji that characters like Asuka and Misato struggled to reach over several episodes. Some viewers reject him because his perfect, selfless nature feels disruptive or "too convenient" or "meaningless" on a first watch.

Rei represents isolation and the fear of being replaceable.

Kaworu represents the overwhelming vulnerability of unconditional love.

but this is all just my opinion, please be kind to me 𐔌՞. .՞𐦯