Neon Genesis Evangelion Analysis

Neon Genesis Evangelion is a highly influential anime series from 1995, directed by Hideaki Anno who had already directed another great show earlier in his career. It became wildly popular for it 's deep characters, religious symbolism and storytelling that definitely does NOT hold your hand. Now let 's get to the merits.

Evangelion has a bleak setting where, after a catastrophe known as the second impact, over half of the planet was killed, and the course of nature has changed, leaving Japan in perpetual summer. 14 years after this disaster, strange beings known as angels attack, leaving the protection of the earth in the hands of 3 emotionally unstable teenagers who must pilot giant robots. What could possibly go wrong?

One of the two

Rei Ayanami, the First Child. At first glance she appears to be nothing more than an emotionless doll, but as she gradually becomes more and more aware of her true nature, leading up to a grand revelation in the latter half of the show, she goes through a major existential crisis. Due to the strange circumstances of the last few episodes of the show, the true conclusion to her arc only happens in the End of Evangelion

These characters, their complexities and interactions along with some other great supporting characters I haven 't touched on, make this anime a story of sad, broken people trying to empathize with each other but failing, because they 're too drowned in their own personal troubles. This is one of the main thematic points of the show.

Characters and themes are Evangelions bread and butter, both of these elements going hand in hand to create one of the most emotionally genuine anime experiences I 've ever seen. It explores various themes such as empathy, identity, self worth, individuality, escapism, the hedgehogs dilemma, abandonment and others with its cast, dialogue and the shows now legendarily intense character introspection. It 's final messages are beautifully genuine and are some of the most heartfelt you 'll ever see. Themes are also tied into the story very well, especially with the concept of the AT field, which for me was just