Honest question, how do you watch Evangelion...

Honest question, how do you watch Evangelion? I have a friend who won't stop singing it's praises and continues to tell me to watch it. I've watched 20 episodes now and I still hate it. Am I missing something, or is Evangelion actually shit?

Maybe you're shit kek

you just have shit taste tbqh

You're hanging there better than me, I could never watch giant robots fighting
And fuck if they're not robots they were made to look like them

They watched it as kids, it's honestly pretty shit senpai. It's kind of like how Star Wars has bad acting and it's pretty shit.

You need to watch it as a deconstruction of mecha genre

>Is Evangelion actually shit?

yes. Yes it is

You're supposed to watch it so you can participate in Asuka vs Rei shitposting.

It came out in 1995'ish so it was pretty revolutionary for its time. It also established a lot of tropes so its kind of like watching Seinfeld now, it seems like a stereotype because it invented it.

>Honest question, how do you watch Evangelion?
With your eyes.

If you don't like it within the first 20 episodes you probably won't like it
That being said a lot does change in the later episodes and in the end of evangelion

You might as well finish it now that you're so close to the end, but it isn't for everyone. You don't have to like it just because everyone else does.

No, you watch it as an ironic comedy. Once you learn to take pleasure in the suffering of others, it's pure popcorn.

>Am I missing something
Yeah, good taste.
>It's kind of like how Star Wars has bad acting and it's pretty shit.
Sup Forums will never cease to amuse me with their shit taste.

Those developments don't come out of nowhere, they're payoff for parts he's already seen. He already doesn't care about the reasons to care about any of those, simp.

psssh... nothing personnel... kid...

>tfw can't relate to shinji because I'm not a selfish, self-deprecating piece of shit with daddy issues

Can't really say I like it either OP. Its not shit but I don't like it.
Its like a foot long turd that you're impressed that you dumped out but it stinks like unwashed vagina mixed with a recently open tub of a rotten eggsalad sandwich.
It cool but just because it stinks so bad you don't want to send a picture of that shit.
I'm not saying I hate giant robots beating the shit out of other robots or just as equal size monsters, I found gundam seed decent past the young and the useless drama, i'm just saying the whole thing was off and weird to me.

Watch it again in a few months. I didn't really get it or like it that much the first time I watched it but now it's my favorite series of all time. It's actually deep in its simplicity despite what people will say.

You watch it the same as any other anime that people can be full of themselves over.

I'd recommend EoE just because it's an interesting mindfuck.

Maybe it's noy your kind of thing, what kind of anime do you like user?

One of the things we love about Evangelion is implication and conjecture
If you're not really in the mood to watch every detail, or pay attention to what's being said or done, then

>Evangelion
>deconstruction

This meme again. I love Eva but it's not a deconstruction. The only people who say that are idiots who think TVTropes is the end all when it comes to literary themes. Eva is a character study. The mecha takes a back seat to the actual themes of the show. Stop trying to make Eva something it's not.

I really liked TTGL and Space Patrol Luluco, Sakurasou is great too. I think my problem with Evangelion is that, at least in my opinion, they spend too much time focusing on the smallest details, and not enough time with actual combat. What made TTGL so enjoyable for me was that every battle felt huge and would have a massive impact afterward, but that just isn't there in Evangelion.

I'm used to people telling me that I have shit taste in everything, so it doesn't matter in the long run.

>Am I missing something,
Most likely.
>or is Evangelion actually shit?
Yeah, pretty much, these were not actually mutually exclusive.

How could you have watched Luluco before Eva?
Luluco has a huge fucking Eva references in it.

I think I see why you don't like it. You expected it to be more focused on the action and the combat rather on whats going around the combat, right?

>You're supposed to watch it so you can participate in Asuka vs Rei shitposting.
This

>Eva is a character study
Yes. More than that, it's a study of human psyche through it's characters. That doesn't invalidate the fact that it's also a deconstruction.

>The mecha takes a back seat to the actual themes of the show
That's exactly why it is a deconstruction. For the overwhelming majority of the series, it plays out like your typical monster-of-the-week mechashit, only to turn into something else entirely for the last few episodes.

>they spend too much time focusing on the smallest details, and not enough time with actual combat.
Jesus Christ, user. Character study is the entire fucking point of Eva. It's not even 2deep, but you literally don't get it if you think the action was ever supposed to be the most important part.
Also this is completely true. Nova's character alone was created by Eva.

I'm with you OP, 12 episodes in and I'm still given no reason to care about any of the dull, one dimensional characters, even the fact the entire world is being attacked by aliens is somehow boring. Code Geass was fucking miles better, I was hooked in the first episode, there's way more interconnected relationships, developed characters, alliances, strategies, just done way better.

>Sakurasou is great too
Jesus Christ, user.

It's actually a great show in a special way, you are not going to enjoy it, it's one of those boring animes that you need to get, and even if you get them is boring as fuck, but yeah, it's one of those series that tries too hard to make you think and fuck with your mind, if you are more into moeshit you are definitely not going to like this.

Just wait until their budget dies and they spend an entire episode on stills.

This.

>muh character study
>muh deconstruction
>muh 2deep

The show baits you with the mecha and then festers for 20-some episodes with it's cheap characters and enough blatantly obvious "symbolism" to confuse any kid. Then the kid grows up, and it made such an impact on his young and muddled head that he circlejerks it as much as he can on the Internet. Abo was literally mentally unstable while making it, and he grew to hate the audience and fans. The ending especially was a big fat "Fuck You". Try and prove me wrong.

>Anno

Why would you watch something you don't like?

You either relate to it or you don't. I hated Code Geass though.

kek this, if you don't like a show just don't watch it, why do you ask why do you don't like it, i don't understand why people does this.

I didn't relate to any of the characters in Code Geass though. Is that supposed to be a requirement to enjoying a show? Yeah sure, I relate to having to do something you don't want to do like Shinji, but the story isn't done well, it's so plain. Somethings wrong with aliens, they fight them and win, next episode. It's practically bleach.

It's actually shit.

NGE was revolutionary at the time, a hugely important turning point in the history of anime, and a lot of the direction is gorgeous. But as a show on its own, it's a fucking mess. It was Anno's first actual attempt at creating a property, he had no real writing experience, and he managed hit every common pitfall of a rookie author. This makes even more sense when you add the context of him never being tapped to write anything after NGE. He's just written a couple flop live action films, and continued churning out the cash cow that is evangelion.

NGE's importance can't be understated, and if it can be enjoyed it's mostly for its place in the historical landscape of anime's development as a medium. Also, Anno is a great director. And NGE is actually shit.

...

Over time, the standards have changed. Thus, with hindsight, we can see how shitty it really was.

The show is pretty bad. You just watch it so you can participate in its discussion because it's so convoluted.

Hell, it's not even that! If you actually watch the episodes, you see really good battles that focus on things like logistics, the sheer staggering number of support personnel a giant robot versus alien battle would need, million-to-one odds plans, long-lasting damage to the city, repair work, hell, you see people reloading the gigantic fucking gun emplacements throughout the city!

The show is fucking obsessed with the actual process of combat.

This guy says the battles don't feel huge... but what about fucking Operation Yashima? A last ditch effort by literally thousands of people to scavenge a large percentage of humanity's remaining assets, including a prototype positron rifle, every power converter in the goddamn country, every car, every helicopter, every plane, hell, they took apart the goddamn space shuttle to use its heat tiles for their shield.

The guy literally says that the battles aren't huge and don't have impact. Well nothing in fucking Gurren Lagann except maybe the final goddamn battle has more impact than that, and that's just the sixth episode.

Even the worst episode, Magma Diver, has a huge focus on the logistics of actually sending the robot into the goddamn volcano, and you get to even see the planes abovehead ready to drop goddamn nukes on all of them if they fail.

Stakes, scale, tension, pacing, Evangelion has all of those things.

Fuck, he's past the 14th angel battle, one of the most impressive battle sequences ever put on film.

Even in the battles he has shit taste. "Too much focus on the details." The details are what make the battles actually special!

And that's not even getting into what you said, which is also true.

>they spend too much time focusing on the smallest details, and not enough time with actual combat
THAT'S THE POINT AAAAAAAAAAAAA MY GOD

>one dimensional characters
I mean that's just like demonstrably untrue but okay

F I N A L W H E N
I
N
A
L
W
H
E
N

> Girl genius who's jealous and has dead parents
> Clone who is a clone and doesn't have parents
> Boy who doesn't want to fight and his parent is a dick
Yeah, totally not one dimensional.

Literally any character can be summed up that way.

you must just be kidding

Half the reasons people watched Evangelion were because

a) Pseudo-religious bullshit made it edgy and pretentious.

b) Mindfucks, angst and suffering.

People actually watched it because it was unlike anything they had seen before. It was bad, but it was unique.

>Code Geass was fucking miles better
Holy shit, my sides.
Comparing CG to EVA is almost insulting, if you really believe this drop EVA now.
Don't finish the series, you wouldn't get anything from it anyway.

The reason Evangelion is so popular is not because of universal acclaim, but rather that if it "works" for you, it will hit home really hard.

There is no need to like Eva, it just isn't for everyone. That's it and nothing more

No the problem is the characters don't have any depth. Shinji is just a pathetic kid, he doesn't have too much emotion besides freaking out once. Asuka is a cocky chick who thinks too much of herself. And Rei is just a robot, practically blank. Not only that, nothing is said much about them outside all three of them are pilots. It doesn't showcase them having any sort of doubtful emotions.
I am going to finish it since I already started it and since its so famous, since you offer no point's as to why Eva is apparently so much better, your post is utterly worthless.

Right?

Code Geass's Lelouch:
>genius prince who hates his dad.

Gundam's Char Aznable:
>Soldier out for revenge.

Fucking Spike Speagel:
>mafioso turned bounty hunter, pines over girl from past.

So you kinda missed the personality of all the three characters

The difference is those characters have more in depth relationships and alliances. Meanwhile Shinji just has his dad who hates him, Asuka has no one, Rei has no one, the only reason they talk to each other is because they're all pilots, they aren't friends.

You have not been watching the series. That's pretty obvious. You're on episode fucking 20, and that's all you've been able to read from these characters?

You are literally incapable of basic reading comprehension, or whatever the equivalent is when it comes to film.

Do you watch Taxi Driver and think Travis Bickle is just some random guy who inexplicably goes crazy at the end?

The fact that you think these are the main characters just shows that you are a worthless shit who doesn't pay attention to the show.
Also, apparently having more relationships makes for better characters! I guess Mayoiga is the pinnacle of character study while KareKano or god forbid, an actual book (series) like the Sea of Fertility are irredeemable shit

That's fundamentally untrue. Shinji alone has relationships with everyone you mentioned, plus Misato, Kaji, and his friends from school, and he acts differently around all of them, and by that episode all those relationships have both had conflicts, close periods, times they were more distant, and in all but, like, Kensuke's case, hitting each other!

You literally didn't watch the series. I bet you just read a summary or something.

>Mayoiga is the pinnacle of character study
I'm glad somebody finally said it!

Evangelion encompasses more than one genre, but regarding the mecha genre is a textbook deconstruction

Lurk for 2 years before posting and watch more anime.

Can you give me some example of a detail in Eva that impressed you? Something that carries an implied meaning that is not immediately addressed on a textual level?

I watched just because I've seen it mention so much. I don't believe it lives up to the praise. It wasn't bad though. I personally wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless it was to satisfy their curiosity.

>One of the things we love about Evangelion is implication and conjecture

That's what I hate about it. The fans seem to believe that if you just look really hard then you'll find the answers, but the series really is ambivalent about most of this stuff and relies on you filling in and assuming it makes sense somehow even when it isn't trying to be consistent or making a specific point.

Well, you already made your mind up as why CG is better than NGE, so what's the point on trying to convince you? I was suggesting on dropping it, because it really doesn't make sense for you to finish it.
I don't think there's a single aspect where CG even remotely matches EVA.
You still haven't finished it, so I will not comment on the story or characters because since you haven't finished EVA you CAN'T have a clear picture of them (and also because other posters already gave good reasons).
Besides those, NGE has great designs, scenes with stunning animation (while also suffering from the re-use of cuts), memorable OST and most of all great scene direction and composition. CG is very average in every single aspect of these.
EVA visuals and scenes are so much better composed that's not even comparable. You know what direction means?
Have you seen stuff like Utena, Ping Pong or Rurouni Kenshin OVA? Those are all titles with great direction and scenes composition, something CG lacks completely.

You know what? If you haven't, put on hold EVA and watch the Ruronin Kenshin OVA, it's quite short. If you can't appreciate that title from a visual stand point, you'll never appreciate one of the best aspects of NGE.

poor babby wants his story spoonfed to him

>Yeah sure, I relate to having to do something you don't want to do like Shinji, but the story isn't done well, it's so plain.

I agree with this and feel the same about the character. I've said this before, but I feel that people confuse the show's heavy focus on presenting psychological issues with actual analysis of the characters themselves. The characters in general don't have particularly deep or coherent thought processes, and that's specifically why I stand against the idea that Eva's characters are 'deep' in that sense. Much of Eva is spent presenting the characters in situations that would cause them guilt, apathy, confusion, anxiety, pain and great stress, and in that sense the show is very psychological in focus.

But, and this is a very big but*, this psychological aim does not make the characters exceptionally well written, nor does it mean they are thoughtful or have great depth of character. There is no way to really understand what it would be like to be Rei or empathize with her in that way. Asuka likewise seldom engages in serious self reflection nor displays great deals of thought or particularly complex emotion. Eva's fans think way too highly of the show's writing and characterization compared to both other anime, and to the better executed parts of the show itself.

*almost as big as Shinji's mom's

>how do you watch Evangelion?
Rebuild 1.0
Original TV series episodes 7 to 24 inclusive
Movie 'End of Evangelion'
yw

Dude, I disagree with basic shit that the fanbase seems to have decided is obviously true, like that EoE is supposedly just an 'alternate view' of the events of 25&26 instead of a completely different take on instrumentality entirely. Evafags seems to be way too trusting of what they see in front of them, while I see no reason to not doubt things more.

> the series really is ambivalent about most of this stuff
What stuff exactly do you consider it to be ambivalent about?

Fuck no.
You watch rebuild after TV+EoE (and maybe Death if you really want to check out everything).
Your Frankenstein order serves no purpose, especially after the BD release.

I thought it was shit until looking back on it after finishing it.

>and maybe Death
opinion discarded

Because the bits where the real world leaks into the episode 25 head-trip sorta match up with what we see in EoE.

NGE is one of the few series were a rewatch is really beneficial.

Hey, I'm not saying it's required, just that unlike most I quite enjoyed it. Also, it has the superior Rei smile, you can't deny that.

>Also, it has the superior Rei smile, you can't deny that.
I don't like it and think it's not worth it but I'll give you that at least.

>It was Anno's first actual attempt at creating a property
What about Gunbuster?

>sorta

That's the key, 'sorta'. It's not at all clear that the events actually match up in any way that meaningfully parallels the development of the other, it's just assumes that this is so somehow ,without regard for the details. Shiji's development seems to follows an opposite trajectory, with the nature of his TV fate being utterly unclear and nothing like the crippling apathy, rage and terror that grips him in EoE.

I kind of think that 25&26 take place when shinji initiates and cancels the Third Impact in EoE, as the fact that he ultimately finds his own identity at the end of the tv series is what is explicitly required to emerge from the LCL sea ath the end of EoE

The shit feeling you have is intentional. Mr Anno purposely made it that way so you could feel both the pain the characters were feeling in the story and the pain he was feeling at the time in real life. You are watching it right.

Does anyone else not really like Anno's directing? I can never seem to enjoy his shows despite how obviously well made they are. I found Shinji unrelatable, Gunbuster's first 4 episodes extremely weak, Re:Cutie Honey is just "okay", and I can't get past how cheap KareKano looks
I really enjoyed Nadia until the Island Arc, and that's about it. He also apparently had a hand in Puchi Puri Yuucie, my favorite Gainax.

"Congratulations!" is the Gendo Good End. EoE is the Shinji Bad End. Just as well it was that way around, so we didn't get this scene.

>Mr Anno purposely made it that way so you could feel both the pain the characters were feeling in the story and the pain he was feeling at the time in real life.

And that's what worries me. I feel like the people who actually like Eva can't possibly have felt it in that way, otherwise they'd hate it as much as I did. I have no desire to watch something so toxic and filled with apathy. There is little to ultimately gain from immersing yourself in that.

I watched it as a comedy series and it worked for the first half

I couldn't take the Imaishi in the first part of Re Cutry Honey befoer I even knew who Imaishi was; GunBuster was really of historical interest only even ten years ago. Nadia I shall have to finish some day -- I stopped before the Island Arc, because so far it could have been some made-in-France kiddie concoction.

Shinji I didn't mind as an "everyman" character, because I was more interested in the conspiracy things going on in the background than teen angst.

I always thought that the people applauting him at the end of the series were his projections (as in the idea he has of them) that complimented him for finally determining himself

Look.

They fucking ran out of time due to a combination of issues, they ran out of money because they had to hire extra studios to get episodes done on time, episodes 25 and 26 are, at best, a "this is kinda what we were going for" hail mary pass of an ending.

While the extra time meant there were changes from the original plan, EoE is the actual ending.

Episodes 25 and 26 have valuable stuff in them, don't get me wrong, but if that was the real ending, they probably wouldn't have made the End of Evangelion in the first place, and certainly wouldn't have split it up into episode 25' and 26'.

Gendo explains what's going on "All the minds become one mind, obtaining peace forever." It's all in Shinji's head, but that's only because everyone else is sharing space there too.

>they spend too much time focusing on the smallest details, and not enough time with actual combat

And that's exactly the point I'm making, I see them as alternate endings rather than the "two sides of the same coin" thing people claim they are in order to retroactively salvage the TV ending.

This I also see as wrong, and precisely because of . It makes no sense to honestly see the characters in 26 as the 'true' versions of those people in any form. Everything about how they act suggests that they are Shinji's projections of them that he uses to console himself, which implies (along with the imagery) that he tries to content himself with not being able to genuinely understand them as other individuals and instead remains in his head space without any actual deeper connection with them. I don't see how you could take it at face value.

I agree they're alternate endings, but in the TV ending's case, who am I going to believe -- your assertions or my lying eyes?

>I still hate it
Why did you hate it on the first place? For the praise it get? That and

> they spend too much time focusing on the smallest details, and not enough time with actual combat

I don't know if this is an elaborate bait or just summer, anyway 6/10 for the effort

Well, I'm not goint to judge you user, but Evangelion is not quite a Mecha series, is more of a psycological series, maybe you'll like the Rebuilds more, they focus in the over the top action and the plot ratter than the characters, there's also a cliché as fuck romantic subplot making all the girl honry for Shinji, making it practically a Harem

For me the example that immediately comes to mind is the things rei says right before the sniper mission. Shinji asks her why she pilots Eva and she answers sonething to the extent of "because of my bond with other people".

First time i saw that i was like uuh ok rei whatever. The second time around i realized that this makes perfect sense. Rei has Liliths soul and partly her body, so humans are basically her children (humans are the lilith based angel). However, rei doesnt understand this at the time, she only has a vague idea, so she answers cryptically (to the best of her abilities).

at this point the camera shows her in front if the moon, which at first seems like a cool detail, but when you realize all the connections between Lilith and the fact that the moon symbolizes the mother, gives this scene a lot more depth than i had realized even existed when i first watched it.

Well done my friend. Here, have another (You).

>not reading the vastly superior manga