Neon Genesis Evangelion has a reputation as a notably depressing anime, but there are actually a number of mecha series that wallow in comparable levels of nihilism & sadness. Blue Gender tells a dark story that blends together staples of the mecha genre with ideas that are common to alien narratives.
Influence and legacy. Evangelion has had a significant impact on Japanese popular culture. The series also had a strong influence on anime, at a time when the anime industry and televised anime series were in a slump period. CNET reviewer Tim Hornyak credits the series with revitalizing and transforming the giant mecha genre.
Evangelion (mecha) In Neon Genesis Evangelion, Evangelions (エヴァンゲリオン Evangerion) (also referred to as Evas or EVAs) are the fictional cyborgs piloted by the Children chosen by the Marduk Institute (a front company of Seele). The Evas were created by Nerv. Their principal purpose is to defend Tokyo-3 from the Angels.
In a lot of ways the mecha series RahXephon feels like a tamer version of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The two series tackle comparable territory and RahXephon's depressed and aimless Ayato Kamina isn't that far off from Evangelion's disaffected protagonist, Shinji Ikari.
While Evangelion is not the first mecha anime to show the psychological strain of piloting a mech would have an ordinary teenager, it was the first to depict it in a manner of condemnation.
14 Neon Genesis Evangelion Hideaki Anno and GAINAX's Evangelion is one of the most well-known and popular mecha anime series of all time. A deconstruction of popular mecha anime of its era, NGE influenced both the mecha genre and anime in general, which it continues to do so nearly twenty-five years after it's release.
Thought Evangelion is certainly its "own beast" and differs from Gundam in many ways, it hasn't cornered the market when it comes to troubled teens piloting mechs. In the series, Mobile Suit: Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans, the anime follows a band of young pilots fighting for survival in a fight among the stars.
Apocalyptic Mecha Psychological drama AnimeNeon Genesis Evangelion (Japanese: 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン, Hepburn: Shinseiki Evangerion, lit....Neon Genesis Evangelion.Neon Genesis Evangelion新世紀エヴァンゲリオン (Shin Seiki Evangerion)GenreApocalyptic Mecha Psychological dramaAnime television seriesDirected byHideaki Anno Masayuki (assistant) Kazuya Tsurumaki (assistant)16 more rows
EVA units are also (nearly) sentient. They have minds of their own to a certain degree. Since they are sentient, they are living creatures and not mechanical like any other mecha. Despite being nearly sentient, they are controlled by brainwaves rather than computer controls.
Gunbuster. Neon Genesis Evangelion may be more popular, but the directorial debut of Hideaki Anno is also one of the greatest mecha anime of all time. It's kind of like Top Gun in space with giant robots.
In an interview with Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, a character designer for Eva and The End of Eva, Sadamoto described that NGE was heavily inspired by Go Nagai's Devilman manga.
The series deconstructs its casts' traumas while subjecting them to ever-escalating torment and investigating the pain that comes with human connection. It's also quite brutal, the violence isn't simple cartoon violence, it's bloody, visceral, and frightening.
But its deliberate subversion of anime conventions and audience expectations was what made it so popular. In Japan, Evangelion spawned countless anime tropes, and moreover provided a template for integrating stylish genre tropes with serious themes, high artistic aspirations, and deep characterization.
Does it live up to its reputation? Yes. It's still a masterpiece, both deeply personal and deeply flawed. Some aspects of the show don't have the same impact today as they did in 1995, but it's still worth checking out.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most popular anime of all time. It's shaped the entire medium for decades, inspiring countless other shows through its characters, story, and ideas. Many people have called it the "greatest anime ever made" and a "triumph".
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a part of this: it helped create an age of science fiction in which consequence, trauma and depression are as crucial to our idea of the future as explosions, aliens and robots.
The mecha genre is a prevalent area of anime storytelling, which means that plenty of unique robots have been introduced over the years. The biggest difference with Evangelion's EVA Units is that their mecha exterior is more of a disguise than anything else. The Evangelions are actual monsters that have become weaponized for questionable purposes.
No mecha series would be complete without giant robot battles like those seen in Mobile Suit Gundam. Giant robots also pair well with giant monster battles, which is exactly what Neon Genesis Evangelion excels in while still subverting the idea further.
Many anime present mecha as the apex of weaponry that would become a liability if in the wrong hands. In many cases, these mecha may be able to win a war or devastate a planet, but the stakes and destructive capabilities of Evangelions are on a whole other level.
Most mecha series only need a pilot to get inside of the cockpit, but Neon Genesis Evangelion presents a much higher barrier of entry. One of the reasons that there are only a few Evangelion Units is because they require a pilot who's properly in sync with the mecha.
The final episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion and its follow-up film, End of Evangelion, both tease the terrifying prospect of Evangelions being exploited for mass production. The result of this mad science is the EVA Unit Series, a sentient lineup of monsters that fight with the efficiency of EVA Units but have a lot more in common with Angels.
Shinji's EVA Unit-01 entering "Berserker Mode" and rebelling against him is a pivotal moment in Neon Genesis Evangelion. At this point, the truly brutal nature of Evangelions becomes uncomfortably clear and they're never viewed in the same light again.
Neon Genesis Evangelion repeatedly emphasizes the importance of the few select individuals who are deemed worthy to pilot EVA Units. As the series goes on, however, Gendo Ikari deems humans as an unnecessary liability. Gendo develops dummy plugs that can achieve the same sync rates as regular EVA pilots, but without any pesky free will.
Talk (0) In the anime/manga franchise Neon Genesis Evangelion, Evangelions, or simply EVAS ,are mecha piloted by Children chosen by the Marduk Institute (It was later revealed that the Marduk Institute didn't even exist and that it was actually Seele choosing the pilots). The Evas were created to defend Tokyo-3 from the threat of angels.
Evangelion Unit 00 (Zerogōki, ゼロ号機) The first successful prototype, piloted by the First Child Rei Ayanami. It originally had orange armor but it was damaged beyond repair by the angel Ramiel and was replaced by blue armor. Its' residential soul is unknown, but fan theories include Naoko Akagi or Lilith.
In the original series unit 06 was scrapped with unit 05 to make way for the mass production Evangelions, but in the movie series (Rebuild of Evangelion ) "it descended from the moon with it's pilot", possibly Kaoru Nagisa. It is a dark-colored Evangelion with a single visor and aerial capabilities.
The Evangelion was destroyed while still in production due to it's S2 engine ,which turned the matter around it into energy. It's design is exactly like unit 03 ,save for the color which is silver. In Evangelion battle orchestra, it was piloted by Kensuke Aida.
An art book call "EVA FIX: Abnormalities in Diary Life" was released containing a collection of non-canonical Evangelion units and pilots. Unlike the other Eva units these are specialized units for specific objectives.
In the anime/manga franchise Neon Genesis Evangelion, Evangelions, or simply EVAS ,are mecha piloted by Children chosen by the Marduk Institute (It was later revealed that the Marduk Institute didn't even exist and that it was actually Seele choosing the pilots). The Evas were created to defend Tokyo-3 from the threat of angels. The Evangeliosns were designed by Ikuto Yamashita and series director Hideaki Anno.
The fourth Evangelion, piloted by Tōji Suzuhara. Unit 03 and unit 04 are sister models since the only real difference is in their colors ,unit 03 being black and unit 04 silver. The residential soul of Sangōki is unknown, but could be Tōji's dead mother.
In the long history of their portrayal throughout anime, mech pilots tend to repeatedly be portrayed as either impishly playful or being the sorts of people who are just as hard and unyielding as the metal their machines are made from. The three children who pilot the EVAs in Evangelion break this mold by being psychologically complex, damaged people.
Despite that, Evangelion is rooted in Christianity. Its story inspired (very, very loosely) by the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are referenced throughout the show. Christian symbolism permeates every episode. Biblical figures like Adam and Lilith appear while crucifixion and the Lance of Longinus are also heavily featured.
Religion is one of those complex personal topics that can make or break a work of art. As Japan is a country whose population mostly consists of Buddhists and which was historically rooted in Shinto, these are the two faiths most commonly depicted in anime. Mecha anime is a genre that exists to justify fights between giant robots, making it particularly unequipped to deal with profound spiritual matters.
Evangelion is filled with symbolism. There's religious symbolism, Freudian symbolism, Jungian symbolism, and even technological symbolism. Some of the symbolism is pretty obscure or difficult to recognize on the first watch through the show.
Three of the four main characters of Evangelion are women. Two of them, Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley, are young women still in school who pilot the EVA mech suits used to fight angels. The third, Misato Katsuragi, is a commander at NERV as well as the guardian of both Asuka and the final protagonist Shinji Ikari.
Conversely, one can feel lonely when in a crowd, lost in the multitude of people. Most mecha anime characters never seem to feel lonely. They may be utterly alone, but they still remain confident and self-assured, or when they have doubts, these never have anything to do with isolation.
Comment. There are many reasons why Neon Genesis Evangelion is a beloved favorite series among anime fans. Decades after it was originally released, it still has new merchandise being made and even received a remake that tapped into that fan nostalgia while reaching a whole new generation of viewers.
The series also had a strong influence on anime, at a time when the anime industry and televised anime series were in a slump period. CNET reviewer Tim Hornyak credits the series with revitalizing and transforming the giant mecha genre. In the 1980s and 1990s, Japanese animation saw decreased production following the economic crash in Japan. This was followed by a crisis of ideas in the years to come. Against this background, Evangelion imposed new standards for the animated serial, ushering in the era of the "new Japanese animation serial", characterized by innovations that allowed a technical and artistic revival of the industry. The production of anime serials began to reflect greater author control, the concentration of resources in fewer but higher quality episodes (typically ranging from 13 to 26), a directorial approach similar to live film, and greater freedom from the constraints of merchandising. According to Keisuke Iwata, the global spread of Japanese animation dramatically expanded due to the popularity of Evangelion. In Japan, Evangelion prompted a review of the cultural value of anime, and its success according to Roland Kelts, made the medium more accessible to the international youth scene. With the interest in the series, otaku culture became a mass social phenomenon. The show's regular reruns increased the number of otaku, while John Lynden links its popularity to a boom in interest in literature on the Dead Sea Scrolls, Kabbalah and Christianity.
The End of Evangelion won first place in 1998 , making Neon Genesis Evangelion the first anime franchise to win three consecutive first place awards. The website IGN ranked Evangelion as the 10th best animated series in its "Top 100 Animated TV Series" list.
Neon Genesis Evangelion ( Japanese: 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン, Hepburn: Shinseiki Evangerion, lit. "New Century Gospel ") is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. The cast included Megumi Ogata as Shinji ...
Without training, Shinji is quickly overwhelmed in the battle, causing the Evangelion to go berserk and sava gely kill the Angel on its own. Following hospitalization, Shinji moves in with Misato and settles into life in Tokyo-3. In his second battle, Shinji destroys an Angel but runs away afterward, distraught.
Hideaki Anno attempted to create characters that reflected parts of his own personality. The characters of Evangelion struggle with their interpersonal relationships, their personal problems, and traumatic events in their past. The human qualities of the characters have enabled some viewers of the show to identify with the characters on a personal level, while others interpret them as historical, religious, or philosophical symbols.
Because of the Angels' near-impenetrable force-fields, Nerv's giant Evangelion bio-machines, synchronized to the nervous systems of their pilots and possessing their own force-fields, are the only weapons capable of keeping the Angels from annihilating humanity.
Director Hideaki Anno fell into a depression following completion of work on Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water and the 1992 failure of the Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise sequel project. According to Yasuhiro Takeda, Anno agreed to a collaboration between King Records and Gainax while drinking with King representative Toshimichi Ōtsuki; King Records guaranteed Anno a time slot for "something, anything". Anno began the development of the new series in 1993 around the notion of not running away, which had been the underlying theme of Aoki Uru, an earlier Anno project that had failed to move into production. Early into the production, Anno stated his intent to have Evangelion increase the number of otaku (anime fans) and attract interest in the medium. According to him, the plot of the series reflects his four-year depression. In the early design phase of the Evangelion project, several formats were considered, including a film, a television series and an original video animation (OVA) series. The producers finally opted for the television series as it was the most widely accessible media in Japan at that time. The proposed title Alcion was rejected due to its lack of hard consonant sounds.
The mecha genre has been at the forefront of anime storytelling for a long time now. The concept of giant robots doing battle may seem juvenile on some level, but the mecha genre has historically used this construct to explore unique and challenging ideas.
In that sense, Gurren Lagann is full of bright colors and energetic characters, which doesn't necessarily make it seem like a depressing anime series.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is a prime example of how philosophical and contemplative a mecha anime can be. Neon Genesis Evangelion has a reputation as a notably depressing anime, but there are actually a number of mecha series that wallow in comparable levels of nihilism & sadness.
Evangelion has a reputation as a notably depressing anime, but there are a number of mecha series that wallow in comparable levels of nihilism. The mecha genre has been at the forefront of anime storytelling for a long time now. The concept of giant robots doing battle may seem juvenile on some level, but the mecha genre has historically used this ...
In the science fiction anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion, Evangelions (エヴァンゲリオン, Evangerion), also referred to as Evas, are fictional biomechanical humanoids mechas introduced in the anime television series Neon Genesis Evangelion, produced by Gainax studio and directed by Hideaki Anno, and in the manga of the same name written and illustrated by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. In addi…
Hideaki Anno, director and principal screenwriter of Neon Genesis Evangelion, initially sought to create what he called "a simple work featuring robots". He began by focusing on vague images and ideas rather than defined concepts, thinking that other staff members would then contribute details. According to King Records' Toshimichi Ōtsuki, producer of the series, at the beginning of pr…
In the world of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Evangelion multifunction machines represent the most advanced battle tools built by mankind. They are weapons produced at great cost, designed to be able to fight and destroy beings named Angels. Their development, conducted in secret by the special agency Nerv, began following a catastrophe known as Second Impact. For members of Ner…
Unit 00 (零号機, Zerogōki), also known as Prototype, is the first Evangelion unit to be made by Nerv. The Eva-00 was not conceived as a machine dedicated to combat, but to the study of feasibility and practical functionality of its basic technology, which is why it lacks equipment characteristic of the following units. Its conception took place in the headquarters of Tokyo-3 and the biological starting material used for its creation belongs to the first Angel, Adam. The 00 is di…
For the production of the tetralogy Rebuild of Evangelion, Ikuto Yamashita, under Hideaki Anno's request, made changes to the armaments and the colors of Eva-00 and the other Evangelions, based on his old sketches of more than ten years before. In the Rebuild is also mentioned an agreement called Vatican Treaty, according to which a nation cannot have more than three Eva units.
New units are introduced in video games based on Neon Genesis Evangelion. In Meitantei Evangelion, published in 2007 for PlayStation 2, there is an Evangelion unit called Evangelion Type β (エヴァンゲリオン乙型, Evangerion Otsugata) and piloted by Kaworu Nagisa. In addition to Mentantei Evangelion, the Evangelion Type β appears in the video game Shin seiki Evangelion - Battle Orchestra, in w…
For the name of the machines, the staff chose the Greek word ευ-αγγέλιον (euangelion), "gospel", "good news", shortened to Eva, to recall the Old Testament character of Eve, wife of the first man Adam and mother of humankind. According to Animerica magazine, the name would be related to their task as protectors of humanity. Similar to the biblical Eve, born from the ri…
Ikuto Yamashita's mecha design was praised by John Beam of Animation Planet magazine and Martin Theron, a reviewer for the Anime News Network website, who stated, "The mecha designs [presented in Neon Genesis Evangelion] are among the most distinctive ever produced for an anime series, with sleek, lithe appearances that look monstrous, fearsome, and nimble rather than boxy and knight-like". Comic Book Resources expressed appreciation for that of the Eva-01, whic…
Neon Genesis Evangelion (Japanese: 新世紀エヴァンゲリオン, Hepburn: Shinseiki Evangerion, lit. 'New Century Gospel') is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. Evangelion is set fifteen years after a worldwide cataclysm, particularly in the f…
In 2015, fifteen years after a global cataclysm known as the Second Impact, teenager Shinji Ikari is summoned to the futuristic city of Tokyo-3 by his estranged father Gendo Ikari, director of the special paramilitary force Nerv. Shinji witnesses United Nations forces battling an Angel, one of a race of giant monstrous beings whose awakening was foretold by the Dead Sea Scrolls. Because of the Angels' near-impenetrable force-fields, Nerv's giant Evangelion bio-machines, synchronize…
Hideaki Anno attempted to create characters that reflected parts of his own personality. The characters of Evangelion struggle with their interpersonal relationships, their personal problems, and traumatic events in their past. The human qualities of the characters have enabled some viewers of the show to identify with the characters on a personal level, while others interpret them as historical, religious, or philosophical symbols.
Director Hideaki Anno fell into a depression following completion of work on Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water and the 1992 failure of the Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise sequel project. According to Yasuhiro Takeda, Anno agreed to a collaboration between King Records and Gainax while drinking with King representative Toshimichi Ōtsuki; King Records guaranteed Anno a time …
References to mystical traditions in Judaism and Christianity, including Midrashic literature and Kabbalah are threaded liberally through the series. Complicating viewers' attempts to form an unambiguous interpretation, the series reworks Midrash stories, Zohar images and other Kabbalistic ideas developed from the Book of Genesis to create a new Evangelion-specific mythology. Assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki said the religious visual references were intende…