Forum - View topicNeon Genensis overrated?
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Feotus
Posts: 7 Location: Australia |
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I want to start off sayin i'm not dishing this great anime. But is all the hype about it being " the best anime ever made" is really needed. Just it's good ,but there are animes out there just as deep and meaningful,just as confronting, just as symbolic.
Well I guess what it all boils down too is personal opinon. Cus there not real way to judge whats better. What do you think? |
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midori kou
Posts: 469 |
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It's not the best anime. I do agree with that. It's the most recognized though. I do believe that NGE do cover the human psyche, destiny and different views upon one religion relatively well. However, it does get repetitive and the characters do not grow. Whether if this was intentional to illustrate an unchanging behavior that is forever fated upon mankind is unknown. Even though the series itself wasn't the best of its kind, it was one of the first anime series to narrate such a story.
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msi435
 Posts: 465 Location: Behind you! |
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Of course Eva is over rated but that's why it's so popular because it’s so controversial in many aspects. It's confusing, psycological, and above all it was revolutionary for it's time. I think it was 93' or 94' when it came out and there wasn't any anime out there (to my knowledge) that dealt with teen angst and sexual frustration. Tied in with this whole Dead Sea scroll/ kalbha / mech thing it was frickin crazy which added to its hype. I know there are much better things out there but you need to respect Eva for what it is. It is one of those series that you have to see weather you like it or not.
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kraid
Posts: 27 |
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So far, EVA has been my favorite Anime. I was wondering what other Anime series or OVAs are out there that may also have similiar story lines with religious annotations. I heard that Rahxelphyn (not sure on spelling) is good and has a religious meaning to it. Is there anything else like these and that are also very good?
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Glory Questor
 Posts: 456 |
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RahXephon is much like Evangelion -- once again, a young man pilots a "living" robot, works for a "secret" organization, etc. (That ADV Films handled the dubbing and had many of the Evangelion VO cast in this one makes it even more Evangelion-ish.) I think the Second Season of Magic Knight Rayearth (Magic Knight Rayearth 2 (TV)) is very much the same theme -- dealing with the personal struggles of Hikaru Shidou and the weight put on her shoulders to stop the ultimate evil being. Also, she (like her companions) pilot a "living" robot, the Rune God Rayearth, against invaders to the land of Cephiro. spoiler[Underlying all of that is the same psycho-drama. The evil one's servant provides part of the angst for the red-haired hero, because this servant is the dark side of Hikaru's own soul. So now she must face and defeat an enemy with all of her magical abilities and knows her just as well as she knows herself. Another part is the fact that Cephiro is going to be destroyed unless a new person is chosen whose will is strong enough to put the land in peace again (known as "The Pillar System"). Hints lead towards the possibility that one of the three Knights, who have strong wills of their own, may just become the next Pillar of Cephiro...] |
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TF
 Posts: 357 Location: Belgium |
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i love you buddy 
it's good to know that there are other people out there with simular opinions to my own 
i actually started liking NGE from that eps where Shinji gets sucked in by that giant blob. From that point on, NGE started becoming onteresting for me. Everything before that was just plain boring and annoying Last edited by TF on Sat Mar 26, 2005 11:47 am; edited 1 time in total |
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TF
Posts: 357 Location: Belgium |
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double posted sorry
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18412 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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Wow, what a topic for stirring up debate.
In my view, greatness is more than just a measure of quality; I can think of a few anime titles I would classify amongst the best ever made but not the greatest. It is a combination of quality, enduring popularity, impact, and "greater than life" status within its own genre. NGE meets all of those requirements, which is why I am in the camp which considers it one of the greatest anime titles ever made. The enduring popularity of NGE in fan communities on both sides of the Pacific cannot be questioned. Fans still debate over it and its characters still regularly rank high in "favorite character" polls despite the main series now being almost a decade past. The impact of NGE also cannot be questioned. Its 1995 release redefined the mecha genre, introducing stylistic, storytelling, symbolic, and religious elements not seen in mecha prior to the point but which have proven highly influential since then. It also gave a bold new look to mecha design and the way 'mechs fought and moved. Its influence on anime in general can be seen in its innovative mixing of detailed animation, still shots, and frames of text flashed almost too fast to read. As one writer put it in a book about anime, “Shinseiki Evangelion pretty much forced anime producers, directors, and writers to rewrite the rulebook.” And let's not forget that NGE was also the first anime title to open up anime to serious critical analysis. The "greater than life" qualification might be more debatable but NGE is still hard to deny. Yeah, it's typical for teenage pilots to be using mecha to save the world/human race from invading aliens while having serious interpersonal conflicts, but no mecha series prior to NGE - and few since - have made that just one piece of an overall effort to spiritually reform humanity itself. How many other mecha series that you've see have used the depth of psychological elements and complexity of spiritual issues involved in NGE? (RahXephon comes closest, I think.) Finally, there's the quality issue. I could talk about the incomparable writing, storytelling, and editing, the superior voice acting, the outstanding musical score, or the fact that it has one of the all-time great openers, but the most important factor for me is that NGE has an edge to it which most dramatic anime series aspire to but few achieve. This can be most clearly seen in the nail-biting intensity the series can generate in both action and dramatic scenes; no anime I've ever seen is consistently as good at this. NGE is not universally liked because some people are turned off by a not-very-likeable main protagonist or the fact that it's a pretty grim series overall. Others just find it too confusing or don't care for the style of storytelling. And some people just don't "get" the series, although in my experience people in that category have usually only seen part of the series or seen it once. (This is unfortunate because seeing the whole thing is required to make any sense of it and repeat viewings and online research are quite helpful for fully understanding it.) That's fine; there are highly popular series out there which I don't "get" myself. It's also true that the technical merits in the series are dated compared to newer and flashier fare. I firmly believe, though, that NGE meets all the requirements for being "one of the greatest anime series ever." But "THE greatest?" That's a lot more debatable. 
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El Oso
 Posts: 105 Location: Rummaging through camp sites. |
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Agreed. I actually got up off my lazy ass and did a fair amount of research. For me, that's..... unusual  . That ranks it pretty high up there in my book.
I find that mind boggling. |
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11435 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Yes, I feel it's overrated. As much as people praise the show for it's "deep and complex psychological humanity examining mecha drama"-ness I just never could feel anything for the characters, and it's not just Shinji. I felt that every character in the show had some kind of personal problem and I found it frustrating every time they had to expose a part of it and not resolve it for the longest time.
To me, one of the most important elements that contribute to my liking an anime is the cast of characters. I like seeing them do something extraordinary at times to see how they overcome adversity, interact with other characters, or just how they act in general. In Evangelion I saw a little bit of that around the time Asuka was introduced and started living with Shinji, but it was lost after a few episodes. That's when the annoying personality traits and character imperfections started kicking in. Not that I don't feel sympathy for anime characters, but to have just about the entire cast display some sort of manifested psychological trauma or personal issue they've had kept inside this entire time and release it all at once was just too much for me to stomach. When I see characters do this I usually try to empathize for them and think about how I would feel if I saw things from their perspective. But like I said before, it took them nearly forever to resolve these issues in Eva, and it gave me the sense that they weren't really trying to bring closure to anything, but that they were all just trying to get some attention. I like characters that can admit their problems, go thorugh a little hardship along the way, and actually pick themselves up out of whatever rut they might've been in and move on. In Eva, I feel that because it takes them so long to even get to the point of resolution that it's their own faults for being so weak minded and unable to let go of whatever was bugging them the whole time. Yeah, yeah. You can use the argument and say that was "realistic," but then that probably means I'm a harsh person for saying I feel no sympathy for that group of "whackos." Don't get me wrong though, I don't hate the show in the least bit (I have it rated as "Excellent for Subbed"). The mecha designs are nice, the colors are very vibrant (at least in the remastered version), and I really like Shiro Sagisu's score. But aside from all the positive aspects, the only other thing that kills this series (aside from the now overhyping comments) is the character "development." And it's not that I dislike "dark" anime either, but so many characters with so any problems.. (meh). |
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Captain Crotchspike
 Posts: 355 Location: Phoenix, AZ |
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I never really felt that Eva was particularly "deep", so in that respect, I feel it's overrated. There was quite a bit of symbolism and psychological stuff and what not (which I guess is enough to qualify as "depth" for some), but in the end, it boils down to Anno just being one very depressed little man. Or not, depending on how you look at it. I know some like to look deeper into it and find some hidden meaning or symbolism or whatever, but...I choose not to. I don't think you really even need to in order to "get" the show.
I don't think it's the masterpiece that many make it out to be, but it's still an entertaining show regardless of how deeply you look into it, and enjoyable on repeat viewings even if you're not looking for something extra the second time around. I can see how overhyping may make it less enjoyable for some newcomers - that always makes things more difficult when watching any new show. |
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Sir_Brass
 Posts: 476 Location: Prescott, AZ |
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I'm one of the ones who has watched all of eva (entire series and movies) repeatedly and I still don't like it a whole lot. Yes, it was very enjoyable, IMO, and I will NOT be selling my Eva perfect collection DVDs or movies anytime soon or at all, but I still don't classify it as "the best" or "the greatest". As a work of art and as a defining point in how to do mecha anime, yes, it is PIVITOL, and is something I think ALL anime fans should see once. However, the protagonist is the killer for me. I just don't like Shinji one bit. He's the very definition of pathetic and cowardly in my eyes, and while I sympathize with his plight, I don't sympathize with the degree of cowardess that he handles it. Now, NGE itself is all well and good and I thinK Shinji was handled very well as a character, but it was his very character itself that is the turnoff. However, because it was shinji's character itself that turns me off to Eva, I cannot bash NGE as poor quality or an example of poor storytelling. I just don't think it's "the greatest". The complexity and mishmash of gnosticism, khabalism, etc. is part of what makes NGE cool (though I would NEVER advocate anyone ever using NGE as a valid theological source), however. As a work of art, NGE is one of the best. But in terms of a series, I'd say it's really good but not one of the greatest. One of the best? Yes. Greatest? Not by a long shot. |
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kamiboy
 Posts: 570 Location: CA |
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I dare you to mention even five other TV anime from the last 15-20 years with as high animation quality and budget as the first half of Eva. The style and animation quality is what I enjoy most about Eva. In fact the only other anime that I have seen that rivals Eva in that regard is Cowboy Bebop, which incidentally is held in equally high regard by anime fans.
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Baka...
 Posts: 98 Location: Edmonton. Alberta Canada |
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I think why Neon genesis is the number one for so many people is when you watch it... it feels like you can put yourself next to shinji and his fight against himself and against everything else. Also there it is being the first of its time. But really, It makes you look at yourself, and at the world.
Baka... |
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darkhunter
 Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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Try late 95 to early 96. That's what the encyclopedia is for. Anime didn't start kicking into high gear until '98. As for it being overrated, it's because you guys didn't watch Evangelion (vhs fansub) back then. By today standard, it's not as "great" compare to all fancy shows. You can even add Ninja Scoll (93) to the"popular/revolutionary back then" list. And if you're a gamer, the first time you played chorno trigger or final fantasy 3, you consider those games to be classic, one of the best rpg. Most people now that play games now and during the ps/ps2/xbox age will think those games are crappy and overrated, simply because it was pass its time. |
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