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Neon Genesis Evangelion is out on Netflix. Discussion Megathread.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is out on Netflix. I'm thinking to use this topic as the megathread to discuss the (re-)watch, to avoid flooding the Tildes Activity feed with one topic per episode.
To borrow a past Tildo's approach, I ask that any top-level comments contain ONLY the episode number, such as "Episode 13" and no other text.
Press the Collapse replies button, find the top-level comment for the episode you care about, and reply under that top-level comment. If there's not yet a top-level comment with that episode number, create it.
Episode 1
The pacing was pretty good especially in the second half of the episode. I like how they breezed through the interpersonal relationship drama in a minute, that could have taken the better part of an episode in other shows. They focused on the important stuff instead: introducing main characters, the enemy, locations, and Shinji's motivation to pilot Unit-01.
The UN guys at the beginning seemed silly and feeble which must have been intentional. The military fights were not that interesting so it's nice they rushed through that part. Episode 1 clearly respects the audience's intelligence and that we've already seen this stuff dozens of times in other shows, and so tries to skip ahead quickly.
I'm always impressed at the detail they put into the technology surrounding the Nerv HQ, and the harnesses and stuff around Unit-01 and its launch pathway into battle.
Meta comments, not specific to any episode, go here
I've seen some commentary today about the translations of this series. In particular, the straightwashing of a relationship, and that the Netflix version is generally more rigid with its translation.
If I want to jump into this series, do I watch on Netflix, or do I, uh, obtain by other means?
My understanding is that the “straightwashing” is overblown – there was some (probably very intentional, knowing the character) ambiguity in the Japanese line, and the prior English translation may have been more at fault than the new one.
In any case, my honest advice to you: watching it on Netflix is probably fine. Evangelion is, for people who like it, a show with a lot of rewatchability, but it’s also polarizing. (Also, there’s a zillion subtly different releases to navigate.) Try it the easy way, and then if it grabs you, do the research on other versions for your inevitable rewatch.
I realized they also removed "Fly Me to the Moon" from both the Ending theme and during episodes, probably couldn't get the music rights. Although I heard it's still present on Netflix Japan.
Non-Netflix options, such as the old DVD set, would be truest to the original intended experience. I don't know how much say the original directors/writers had in these Netflix changes.
All of my internet-friends tell me that torrenting it is the only authentic experience.
I've read that Evangelion is one of the "must watch" anime of all time. Would anyone agree or disagree with this? Trying to decide if I'm going to give it a go but I'm currently working on Fairy Tail from the beginning. And I still need to get caught up on SAO Alicization
It was “must-watch” fifteen years ago, but at this point I think it’s only essential viewing if you’re concerned about the history and development of anime as a medium and an industry. The work itself is complicated, uneven, and has some really wild transitions in tone. I’m fond of Evangelion, but it’s absolutely one of these franchises where its flaws are as beloved as its strengths by its fans.
Huh. Interesting. I don't want to deviate from the topic of Evangelion but "What are some must watch anime by 2019 standards" sounds like a good discussion to have
Guess it's up to me.
https://m.imgur.com/q9Xjv4p
It would be fun to lay down some groundwork (possibly for the wiki) to put together a ~anime recommendations / taste chart of some kind. It kinda naturally becomes "by 2019 standards" since we're not carrying the baggage that updating one does like on /a/ or /r/anime. We have a chance to start from scratch, even if future users of the group shit on us for it. I think I'll make a thread to try starting that process off in the next couple days.
Though I'd still fight for Eva to be on there somewhere...it's not one of my absolute favorites but it hasn't really been surpassed in its niche :P I think most of its supposed flaws just come down to not being fully down with what it's going for, which is understandable. Despite being the most acclaimed TV anime ever, liking every part of Eva requires being really into both the typical sci fi / romcom parts and the more high-minded psychological stuff, if you just like the former then you're the angry fans who raged about the original ending, and if you just like the latter then you're gonna be bored for the first two thirds or so of the show and see it as silly dumb "typical anime" shit. You've gotta love poppy genre fiction and also want it to reach higher.
Not that that's a particularly rare crossing of interests, but that mixed with its reputation does mean that it gets a lot of viewers who don't really fall into that category and end up disappointed with some part of it. The tonal shifts and unevenness go from a bug to a feature if you love every side of what it's doing.
Fully agree. I watched it a couple years ago, and the only reason I'd recommend it to someone today, if they're not a film student, is so they could watch End of Evangelion afterward. I can totally see how it would have been revolutionary at the time, though.
Agree, as a non-anime fan. Once you watch you'll see how influential it was, not just to anime itself but sci fi aesthetics in general. You're doing yourself a disservice if you pass it by.
And if you don't care about shows being influential or genre-defining, I personally found it to be so engrossing I marathoned the whole thing in a few days. There's a section of filler episodes, some typical "problematic" anime trope stuff, but otherwise I have no complaints.
Odd little article comparing the end of the series to the End of EVA movie through the frame of relationships and connectivity. Much discourse, such wow.
https://www.doctornerdlove.com/learning-the-love-lessons-of-end-of-evangelion/
IT'S NOT THE ORIGINAL BRAZILIAN DUB. SHINJI SOUNDS LIKE ASH FROM POKEMON. I'M DEVASTATED.
Episode 3
The pace slowed down fast. Shinji is totally going to have a mental breakdown or is in the midst of one already. I thought there was some hope when the class surrounded him asking questions and heaping praise on him, but then he didn't follow through, so nothing happened with that. Too bad.
I probably missed some explanation but it looked like Rei went through the same things at school before, and ended up isolated. Shinji probably sees her tattered and aloof presence as his future self.
Episode 4
I really like this episode. It shows off the Evangelion flavor. It's all about low self-esteem teenage angst, and the tone and setting -- modern city views, no futuristic robots or monsters -- add that layer of realism. Nice episode to watch on a rainy day.
DEATH (TRUE)²
I never watched Death & Rebirth back in the day, and since I was curious about the new dub cast and wanted to hear everybody, it seemed worth a try.
It’s spectacularly unsuitable for anybody who hasn’t seen Evangelion before, but it’s surprisingly functional and watchable as a refresher on the plot. I particularly appreciate the way that it rearranged some content for narrative structure reasons, instead of keeping every scene in original TV ordering; it does a lot for pacing.
Episode 2
Good way to start the episode after a cliffhanger. Love that cut to the hospital room.
Cool city Tokyo-3, and again emphasis on the heavy machinery used to transport parts for Unit-01.
Misato's room is so fun! But she seems unhealthy. She only ever drinks coffee and beer apparently. There are way more bottles in her room than I remember. At least she doesn't smoke.
Finally, the Beast. Everything so far is focusing on the machines. Construction machines, augmented reality conferencing, Unit-01 monitoring computers, machine skyscrapers, Shinji's music player. Then the Beast appears and scares everyone to death.