While not perfect, the Evangelion manga is a superb reinterpretation of Anno's vision. On paper, Sadamoto's Neon Genesis Evangelion follows the general beats of the anime very closely, almost beat-for-beat.
Best to Worst: Evangelion 1 Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997) 2 Shin seiki evangerion (1995–1996) 3 Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009) 4 Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (2007) 5 Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth (1997) 6 Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012)
Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most beloved anime of all time, but its best iteration isn't animated. Neon Genesis Evangelion, originally created by Hideaki Anno, has been reinterpreted and re-imagined by multiple different creators.
"Confusing sci-fi metaphors for puberty" kind of counts as its own genre in anime, with classics ranging from Akira to FLCL to Kill la Kill returning to the well of adolescence for inspiration. Even among such other great anime, Evangelion stands out as one of the best anime about the struggles of being 14.
1) Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most important anime ever. Neon Genesis Evangelion is a Japanese animated cartoon (a.k.a. anime) that aired on TV in Japan from October 1995 through March 1996. Developed by the innovative animation studio Gainax, the show ran 26 episodes, followed by a feature film in July 1997 ...
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION is now one of the most popular Anime series ever created.
Even among such other great anime, Evangelion stands out as one of the best anime about the struggles of being 14. Shinji and Asuka have more reason than most teenagers to be angsty, but their feelings if not their circumstances should be relatable to anyone who is or remembers being that age.
Today, however, the final film in the franchise, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, hits streaming on Amazon Prime after a nine-year wait. So there's no better time than now to catch up with one of the most famous anime series of all time, especially with all 26 original episodes streaming on Netflix.
Evangelion is widely considered one of the most influential anime created in the 1990's, if not of all time....Reviews.Overall10Story9Animation9Sound10Character101 more row
1. Neon Genesis Evangelion. In a list filled with dark animes, it's only expected that we start out with a classic choice.
The film is a remake of the final 2 episodes of the series which take place in the metaphysical plane, the film shows what happens in the physical world during that time and is widely considered the true ending and a masterpiece of film making.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is quite brutal. The violence isn't simple cartoon violence, it's bloody, visceral, and frightening. Neon Genesis Evangelion is a mecha anime far more concerned with the psychology of its characters than skyscraper-sized battles.
The whole reason that End of Evangelion happened is that the audience's response to Evangelion's final two episodes was so contentious. Hideaki Anno goes for broke and delivers episodes that largely take place in Shinji's head with barely any action.
Darling In The FranXX usually is one of the first anime to be compared to Neon Genesis Evangelion due to some of the similarities of characters' appearances.
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.
1 Evangelion's Budget Almost Completely Runs Out -- But It's Still A Classic.
So many different anime creators have taken lessons from Evangelion 's successes and failures. Mecha anime since Evangelion have mostly either been directly inspired by EVA ( Rahxephon, pictured above, is one notable series) or rebelling against it ( Gurren Lagann, from former EVA animators).
Evangelion inspired plenty of rip-offs, of course, but also inspired greater waves of original auteur-driven anime.
Even among such other great anime, Evangelion stands out as one of the best anime about the struggles of being 14. Shinji and Asuka have more reason than most teenagers to be angsty, but their feelings if not their circumstances should be relatable to anyone who is or remembers being that age.
One thing that's important to remember about the second half of Evangelion was that it was more or less written on the fly. A full and more traditional outline for the series had been written, but as Hideaki Anno went through therapy, he started changing up the series' plot to reflect him more personally.
Perhaps the closest parallel to Evangelion in the history of American TV would be Twin Peaks. Both shows took popular commercial genres and twisted them into surreal art pieces. Somehow they both became hugely successful despite their avant-garde leanings. Neither could be considered consistently great, nor could either come up with an ending that didn't cause mass controversy, but that's why risks are risks.
Even in the early episodes of Evangelion, when the show is in its more traditional mecha anime phase, it's clear something's not quite right. The Angels are creepy enough, but even the EVA robots themselves have something off about them. Without going into details, it's not really a spoiler to say that things get more and more... off as the show goes along.
Both the TV and movies endings to Evangelion are controversial, to say the least . The final two episodes of the TV show were rushed into production with no money supposedly after an initial ending pitch got rejected by the censors. They're mostly scribbles and still images. The artistic gamble doesn't deserve all the hate it gets (and Hideaki Anno definitely didn't deserve the threats he got over it), but ultimately it's a swing and a miss.
Some of the darker elements of End of Evangelion, such as the coma masturbation scene, Asuka's grizzly demise and the apocalyptic epilogue, are altered. Even Shinji's motives for Instrumentality are different. This results in a more uplifting finale.
There are only 13 Angels in the manga, as opposed to the anime's 17. In the anime, when Evangelion Unit-03 is overtaken by an Angel, its pilot Toji loses a leg. In the manga, Toji is instead killed by Shinji... and unlike in the anime, Shinji knows Toji is the pilot of Unit-03 beforehand. In the finale, it isn't Misato who saves Shinji from ...
The changes made to Shinji completely alters the entire arc of the manga as opposed to the anime. Many have criticized anime Shinji for being so passive in his own narrative. Shinji is presented as a vulnerable person whose experiences pushes him to the emotional breaking point.
For example, in Episode 4 of the anime, Shinji runs away due to being overwhelmed by his responsibilities. In the manga, he runs away because he realizes Misato is spying on him and documenting his every action. Changes like these result in a more dramatic story where every action and event feels impactful.
Shinji doesn't like Kaworu. In fact, he actively avoids him.
Neon Genesis Evangelion, originally created by Hideaki Anno, has been reinterpreted and re-imagined by multiple different creators. While numerous manga creators have since reinterpreted Evangelion as a school romance ( Shinji Ikari Raising Project) or a supernatural thriller ( Campus Apocalypse ), the first major re-imagining ...
The Best Version of Evangelion’s Story Isn’t Animated. Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most beloved anime of all time, but its best iteration isn't animated. By Anthony Gramuglia Published Apr 29, 2020.
One of the greatest animes to come out of the 2oth century is Neon Genesis Evangelion. This mecha anime is about humanity being on the brink of destruction due to mysterious entities called "Angels" wreaking havoc ...
One of the greatest animes to come out of the 2oth century is Neon Genesis Evangelion. This mecha anime is about humanity being on the brink of destruction due to mysterious entities called "Angels" wreaking havoc upon the Earth. The only effective measure in stopping these Angels are the Evangelion bio mechas, ...
The only effective measure in stopping these Angels are the Evangelion bio mechas, which can only be piloted by a selected group of teenagers run by the organization NERV. It is not the epic mech battles nor the deep existential themes that make this anime great.
As one of the only Angels with a distinct personality, Kaworu is certainly an intriguing character. Kaworu is the final angel sent to trigger the third impact, but he is also the first angel as his body is a vessel for Adam. While Kaworu has the potential to be an incredibly impactful character, he seems to be somewhat apathetic towards completing those goals and is instead more interested in forming a relationship with Shinji. Unlike the other Angels, Kaworu appears human and can enter Evangelions like the other main characters.
Kaji is a special inspector who is first introduced when he accompanies Asuka to NERV. He has an on and off again relationship with Misato and often flirts nonchalantly with her. While he works for NERV as an investigator, he is much more interested in uncovering what is really going on with SEELE. What makes him such an interesting character is his calm and philosophical attitude throughout the course of the show. Even after he uncovers the Human Instrumentality Project and gets killed for it, he is still at peace.
The competitive, outgoing, and energetic Asuka is basically the rival of Shinji. Like the other Evangelion pilots, she fights against the Angels, but unlike the others, she is the only one who actually seems interested in being a pilot.
As an Evangelion pilot, Rei is a central character to the plot. It is implied that she is a clone of Gendo's wife, Yui Ikari, but she also harbors the soul of the Second Angel, Lilith. She is certainly one of the more mysterious characters throughout the series, and this is partly what makes her character so great.
Taking place in the mysterious Ohtori Academy, this show is about the titular Utena, a girl who wants to grow up to be a prince . After rushing to the defence of Anthy, a fellow student who is being abused by what appears to be her boyfriend, she gets wrapped up in the drama of the Student Council, who also are part of a dueling club that takes orders from The End of the World. Although Utena has its share of gag episodes, it digs into the tropes of the portrayal of women in anime and shows a way to escape them.
Evangelion was so impactful because it tried to buck preconceived notions of its genre. If you’re interested in the same metatextual analysis, you’ll probably be watching something tonally much different but equally stimulating.
Like The Promised Neverland, Shin Sekai Yori is about absurdly powerful teens —in this case, they’re developing psychics in a world where psychic powers are commonplace. Taking place on Earth in the far future, they seem to live in a peaceful agrarian society that’s sometimes plagued by giant-naked-molerat attacks. This series teases out its backstory in bits and pieces so that each shocking revelation about how our world turned into the one in the series is something you learn alongside the characters. What’s central to this series is that your parents lie to you, and even as they hurt or even betray you, they’ll tell you it’s because they want to keep you safe.
Devilman Crybaby. Masaaki Yuasa’s take on the classic Devilman series is weird, sexual, and very bloody. Extremely normal high school student Akira is told by his best friend and child prodigy Ryo that demons are coming back to Earth.
Although Neon Genesis Evangelion is considered a classic among anime fans, a lot of people are seeing it for the very first time thanks to its availability on Netflix.