ShineCero Watches Neon Genesis Evangelion

[ShineCero]

So, I have been planning on doing this for a while, and I said, “screw it, what the hell, might as well try it”. Essentially, I picked an anime to watch and I’ll send my commentary as I watched the episode with little comments throughout the episode. I’ll leave my major thoughts at the end of my overall thoughts of the episode before heading off to the next one.

You can comment on this thread, but no spoilers if you already watched it! You can ask for my further thoughts and the sort if something comes to mind, and I will response accordingly!

Anyways, time to jump in this rabbit hole! 

I can't remember much of the series aside from watching it once on Adult Swim when I was like around 10, maybe 11 years old. So this is a good series to start a watch from start to finished! I'm watching the series in Japanese (subs), since I want to experience its in original form. With that said... here we go:

Episode 1: Angel Attack

When that opening song hits. I do wonder how long it must've took them to make this opening. Especially the editing skills to ensure that it matched the beat of the song.

So we started off with an Angel attack and the military is essentially arm to the teeth. I noticed that several city blocks were completely flooded, while some aren't. I'm assuming they will talk about this soon. Also, the year is AD 2015 :thinking:

Blue-hair girl (Rei I think?) appeared for a brief second. I wonder what the heck Shinji was thinking being outside during an Angel attack. Didn't think the best option was to be at a shelter? 

Shinji, get the hell out of there! Almost got crushed by that building. Awfully strange that Misato appeared just in the nick of time to get him out of there. She drives crazy fast.

I like how the military is basically all "let's nuke him" and proceed to ignore the budget. Probably not the best idea of wasting billions of dollars.

Annnnnd the missiles doesn’t do anything. HMM I WONDER WHY

AT Fields... so it protect them from conventional attacks. Did the United Nations not know about this? They seems to be very aware of these guys. 

So the Angel basically step on a nuke. Pretty sure Shinji and Misato would've been roasted for poking their head out of the car like that. Also, they survived the initial shock without much of a scratch on him. 

Shinji seems pretty chill here.

Misato repaying car debts is even more deadlier than angel attacks. Never trust salesmen!

Damn, Shinji got some sass on him.

So, Nerv is a secret organization under the United Nations that protects the human race. Once again, why did the military simply leave the job for them if had knew these kind of weapons won't do a thing against it? Feels like a complete waste of time. Though... I supposed they were trying to see if it'll eventually work... I guess.

"Hey, Unit 1 has no pilot"

"Don't worry, a spare is coming soon."

Yikes.

So Nerv is like a underground city? The map Misato is carrying to lead the way is confusing as heck.

Third child… so there's two more. 

So Shinji and his dad haven’t met in three years.

Ritsuko and Misato having a convo about Unit 01 and Shinji is just busy reading the manual lmao

Jesus. Turned on the lights and show Shinji a big ass machine right in front of him. Lucky he didn’t jumped back and fell into the water.

"Hey son, we haven't seen each other in three years. Anyways, get in the robot"

"No."

"Fuck you. Get in the robot or get out."

Even Misato is all “what?” at Shinji piloting the robot. Literally just a kid.

Ritsuo is all “nah, he can do it and because  we need to stop this angel.”

On one hand, sure, but on the other hand, is children really the only thing capable of piloting this damn thing?

Can’t really disagree with Shinji here. I would've been pissed and/or upset if my purpose for being here is essentially being a test tube baby.

Everyone is forcing Shinji to get in the robot… and when he refuses, they'll get a half-dead girl instead to convince. Ikari probably had no intention of putting Rei in the robot. He just did it to forced Shinji's hand.

I like the fact that the pilot is in a little tube in the robot

"Stop whining"

Bruh. He just got bribed into a giant mech against his mental will. 

Ikari…. that smile ain't right.

Well, that was an interesting cliffhanger. Nothing much do it other than the visuals was decent. Plot was kind a bit messy (in terms of everything happening rather quickly), but I like the approach of avoiding too many exposition dialogue. A monster attacks the city, they have a robot, but they need Shinji do it. Pretty simple enough. 

Will Shinji able to take down this beast without any formal training whatsoever!?

 

[ShineCero]

Episode 2: Unknown Ceilings 

The first episode preview kind of spoiled the conclusion of the battle, so probably have to avoid that in the future if there' no after credit scene.

Guess I ain't skipping this opening. It's simply amazing.

Shinji took his first step… then he fell.

Bros, Shinji just got in the damn robot. Give him a second to process this.

The Angel is all “vibe check, boy. Mhmm, your vibes are atrocious.”

So, Shinji can’t feel what the robot is feeling? Jesus, that’s a lot of blood, or oil that look like blood.

Flashback time. Shinji in the hospital? 

Oh wait, this is not a flashback. Oh shit, Shinji lost (and the head got ripped off). Wonder how they managed to get the body. :thinking:

Even the Council is up in Ikari’s ass about using his son to pilot the EVA unit, saying that it’ll bankrupt the entire country.

Well, the way the Council was present like holograms or something, that was cool as heck.

Rei looks ticked off at Shinji… Hmmm.

What happened to the Angel?

Yeah, Shinji clearly felt something when that Angel snapped the Unit 01’s arm like that.

Well, that was an awkward meeting between Ikari and Shinji. 

“I’m alone, anyways” Is this anime talking about me :katcry:

So, Misato will have Shinji lived with her after hearing that Ikai and Shinji living together is unnatural. 

The visuals for Toyko 3 Is pretty damn cool.

Misato’s room is filthy BI 

“Character takes a fucking gulp of beer”

“AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

I guess the preview was on the money for “plenty of fanservice.” 

Splitting the chores by playing the game is a good way to be fair…but what if one person completely blows in the game? No longer fair right?

You would think Misato would explain that there’s a penguin in her home.

Damn, Ikari is one cold person. “Meh, as long they survive, they can do this horrible stuff.”

“I was thinking Shinji as a tool” Hmm, didn’t you basically called out the nonsense last episode and only agree to that simply because there no choice? You don’t have to think you’re using him as a tool.

Oooh, now we’re getting the scene of the angel battle.

That’s a light of cross that Angel blasted him.

This battle is beautiful animated, I’ll see you what.

Self-destruct Cross, but EVA Unit 01 survived. True form….?

Now that’s just nasty.

“Hang in there.”

He probably won’t 

---

So that was episode two. Pretty standard episode that follow up the previous episode. Shinji seemingly got struck in the head and cause the EVA to go sicko mode. Misato seemingly a good person since she felt bad about Shinji’s circumstances… and encourages him, but I feels that it’s not enough? Kid just got some fucked up shit out there (especially seeing the eye regenerate and stared back at him like that).

Whelp… onward to episode 3 tomorrow!

 

[ShineCero]

Episode 3: The Silent Phone

Alright, it’s time for some more Neon Genesis Evangelion

Opening Credits: Now that I’m thinking about it, we never had an official English version, right? I remember hearing a fan-dub version but nothing in official capacity. Correct me if I’m wrong about this though.

Looking at the opening closely, there’s words and phrases that often stated within in the show. Like Nerf, Tokyo and Adam.

Timeframe: 1:30-11:15

EVA runs on electricity through the cord but has a built-in battery.

They just take the data of the Angel and put it in a battle simulator?

Shinji keeps repeating “target the center, pull the switch…” He looks dead inside.

Huh. They just put the bag of trash in the little box center and wait for people to picked it up? Looks strange.

Shinji doesn’t have any friends and just transferred into a new school. And he has a cellphone but doesn’t have anyone to call? This anime is describing me too well… :katcry:

Rei is in the same class as Shinji... Hmmm.

Wow, everyone just dropped the school after the last attack. Makes sense since they won’t want to be drag into this kind of mess.

Damn! Toji’s sister nearly survived being crushed by a large debris… He’s pissed at the robot’s pilot for being reckless. Yikes, so there might be some issue between Shinji and Toji.

They’re talking about an incident in Antarctica that threw off the Earth’s axis; it’s known as a second impact.

Those girls are sending message through some device laptop. That’s kind of cool but pay attention in class!

Damnit Shinji! Don’t tell people you’re the EVA pilot! Now Toji is going to be pissed.

Looks like everyone is proud of Shinji expect for Toji; which now he’ll take his anger out of him. Honestly, I understand that Toji is pissed but what does he expect beating the shit out of him will do? If he ends up hurt badly, the angels will attack, and there’s no one (aside from Rei) that can pilot the robot and more people will get hurt. I understand being angry at the heat of moment, but come on, Toji. 

Alright, there’s an angel attack. Let’s hope that fight doesn’t shake Shinji a bit here.

Timeframe: 11:20-23:20

The angel looks like a giant ufo, lmao. So, when an attack happens, all the buildings descend to the ground. Interesting. What happens if someone gets stuck in there when it does that? Can you imagine like, you’re about to walk out and all the sudden, the building just drops? I imagine that it goes at a certain speed (at least, at the speeds so Angels won’t speed blitz it), but that would’ve really sucked lmao
The government is suppressing information to the regular civilians. Interesting.

The last time they had an angel attack was 15 years. This time, it been 3 weeks since the last one. Could be a pattern that more will show up? Perhaps like Ikari said in the last few episodes, they’re getting more intelligence. Or maybe it’s something to do with Unit 01 going berserk… (I assumed Shinji didn’t asked any questions about that).

Oh, it’s not a ufo. Looks like a giant worm lol

Why do the military keep shooting regular bullets when that shit doesn’t work?

Yup, Shinji is letting the fight get to him. 

Kensuke is a nutcase. He wants to see the battle upfront despite the danger. You do you, Kensuke.

Lmao, Kensuke is thrashing on Toji for starting a fight with Shinji.

Looks like Shinji is using that target practice into some use… but I think he’s going about it the wrong way. So military bullets doesn’t work, but EVA bullets can? 

“Being beaten up really must’ve mess him up.” 

Toji looking like a clown right now.

That angel looks like a wang. You’re welcome.

Oh, once it’s detached from the cord, it has a time limit before it shuts down. And since Shinji is being thrash around—OH fuck. He nearly crushed those two kids. At least it  gave him motivation to prevent then angel from killing those kids.

Bruh, Ritsuo, why are you talking about authority right now? Save that for later so Shinji can do his thing.

Is that a real human hand on that EVA robot. 

Uh oh, Shinji lost it. 

LMAO, Shinji screaming his ass off. Toji is all like 

“oh fuck, why the fuck did I picked on this kid.”

What was Rei doing all this time? 

How the hell did Kensuke got Shinji’s phone number.

No answer… oof.

---

Added a timeframe so people can keep up with my progression. The third episode was interesting, but I feel there’s something a bit lackey. It seems to be a darker take on giant robots, but not quite of a deconstruction yet. Not anything bad, but something I observed. The battle against the new angel was short, but I see the need that it was there to push those two kids the utter danger of an angel attack.

Now there’s some conflict with Toji… and Shinji is really messed up in the head in that battle (and during practice). Also, I don’t think I mentioned this, but I love the ending theme. Do they change every singer every ending or maybe it just me?

 

[ShineCero]

Episode 4: Rain, After Running Away

Alright, it’s time for some more Neon Genesis Evangelion

Opening Credits:

Timeframe: 1:30-11:15

When is Misato going to clean that god damn room?

Shinji has been missing school for 5 days. Jesus. Shinji ran away. I would’ve run off too.

Toji and Kensuke came to apologize, but they’re already too late. Misato basically lied to cover his missing whereabouts.

I mean, I get why Misato is annoyed, but Shinji was basically forced into this shit with no training, his father essentially blackmail him through guilt by using a half-dead child and everyone expect big things out of him. Further, he got the shit beaten out of him. Sure, Toji later regret (mainly because Shinji save his ass) but labeling him as a jerk? I don’t know man.

After spending time at the train, Shinji decided that he needs to go back, but he drops by at a movie theater first. He saw a couple making out—he had dead eyes, but as soon he saw them, his eyes lite up. Is that foreshadowing to something in the future? Because I think that foreshadowing….

I really like the usage of sounds in this scene. Showcasing Shinji’s confusion and placed in the world.

Misato keeps seeing if Shinji made it back yet. Wouldn’t it be smart to simply call a search for him? Guess she doesn’t want Nerv to freak out , but what if an Angel attack? (I know Rei is there but still).

Damn, how far did Shinji travel?

“We have no choice to use 14 years to pilot the EVAs”

I mean, Shinji isn’t in the wrong here. They won the battle and beat the enemy. Yes, he was wrong, but what can he say after that? I understand Misato’s position, but I think she went a bit overboard on getting on his case. “Don’t expect to get any praise out of me”… okay.

Ritsuo is all “yeah, Shinji doesn’t care if he dies, but we need pilots, so we need him back”

Kensuke roleplaying in the field. Oh, he spotted Shinji.

Timeframe: 11:20-23:20

Toji’s sister chewed him out for his act towards Shinji.

Kensuke doesn’t have a mother. Bonding time.

Men in Suits shown up at Kensuke’s camp and about to take Shinji away. Wonder how they found him?

Lmao the class getting on Kensuke for letting the security take Shinji away. What can Kensuke do against 5 grown men?

“We don’t need something with attitude piloting the robot”

Uh huh.

Damn, Shinji got some power on that punch.

At least Toji and Kensuke are bros and understanding of Shinji’s situation.

Did I just hear the ending song in the background?

Misato came to see Shinji, but it was too late, but wait, Shinji is still there!

They literally just stared at each other for more than 10 seconds.

Enough with the god damn cicada sample :wagh: (I get why it’s there, but holy shit  :lmao

---

That’s episode 4. Pretty good episode and we dive a bit more of Shinji’s personality. I think that all the adults is essentially taking for grant about Shinji while people closed to his age for far more understanding. I get what Misato is trying to say, but the way she went about it was harsh, unnecessary and if anything, added more problems to Shinji.

They’re trying to force him to be accepting into the shit he’s in, and he’s trying his best, but what can he say afterwards? Regardless of what he thought, they gonna need him in the robot and that’s it. Yet, when he does accomplish that task, because it wasn’t done exactly how they did it, it seems a bad thing. I do find it a bit strange about Shinji’s outlook on the couple kissing… perhaps some hidden depths or desire for love? The fact that Shinji felt alive when Kensuke and Toji understood him, that’s what he’s missing: acceptance, friendship and love. Probably thinking too much about this, but an interesting analysis nevertheless!

 

[ShineCero]

Episode 5: Rei, Beyond the Heart

Opening Credits:

Timeframe: 1:30-11:15

Ooh, we have a different EVA Unit. Since Misato and Shinji aren’t there, they’re going to test things out with Rei. Took four episodes, but let’s see what girl is like.

Uh oh, everything is failing, and the Unit is going berserk I assumed?

Yup. Out of control. They don’t have a failsafe to shut down the backup battery.

Ikari, maybe it isn’t a clever idea to stand so close to the windows where the Unit is punching at, eh?

Damn, Ikari went balls deep to save Rei when her injector pod flung out from the Unit.

Rei is the first child. No past, no information about her? They’re saying that her mental stability is fucked but they couldn’t say. Ritsuo is seems to be on to something but doesn’t say much. A bit vague don’t you think.

I guess they’re cool with Shinji being back in the Nerv thing? Would actually want to know what happened with that instead of being glossed over like that.

Angels has a 99% matched with humans. Hmmm.

Yeah, if I was Shinji, I be pretty pissed too if my father doesn’t give a damn about me and worried about a girl with no relation too.

Seems Shinji is popular with the girls at school.

Kensuke and Toji. You guys are so damn creepy.

“Oh, a girl is quiet? Lousy personality it is!”

Rei and Ikari seems happy talking with each other. Right in front of Shinji too. That’ll bite both of them in the ass later.

Misato can’t cook a damn thing. She’s so bad, she can’t even take “microwave food”. Even the penguin died because of it.

Why is Risuto giving Shinji a renewed card to give to Rei? Sounds like a step up.

“She’s not adept to living”. Yikes.

Timeframe: 11:20-23:20

So, Rei lives in this shoddy ass apartment complex? You would think since Ikari is all up at her, he would give her a decent place to live.

Lmao, Shinji just walked in like it’s all clean without knocking. He just barges in.

Lots of bloody bandages. She wears glasses. Looks cracked.

Naked Rei.

Rei walks to Shinji to grab her glasses, since the latter was wearing it, and somehow, Shinji trips over nothing and lands on top of her. Bra and panties so flying, and Shinji and Rei just stared at each other.

I feel like this supposed to be an impactful scene. Perhaps something about her face is giving Shinji weird feelings (No, not in that way), but it feels like Shinji, well, any person, would instantly jumped away the moment it happened.

Nah fam. Shinji was totally knocking those tater tots around. He knew he felt that in his hands.

This is the moment you say “Sorry?”

LMAO, Shinji was rubbing his fingers like “damn.” He’s not an ass man, he’s a titty man.

“It’s true, I rang your bell, so I decided to walk in anyways.”

Guess Rei isn’t too happy with Shinji.

“I’m sorry”

“For what?”

The talks about the EVA Unit. Nice dodge, Shinji.

“Don’t you have faith in your father’s work?”

“Of course not!”

That set Rei off right there. Guess she really love that Ikari went out of his way to rescue her.

They’re doing the experiment again.

Ahhh, the glasses must’ve been Ikari’s glasses that he dropped during the rescue thing?

A fifth Angel just appeared. Ikari isn’t going to let Rei fight. Instead, he’ll just throw his son out there.

At least this angel looks badass. It has a cool sound.

Well damn. The Angel instantly attacked the moment Shinji went on the surface. Can they feel bad or what? Because Shinji is screaming hard here, or he just didn’t expect that?

---

That’s the fifth episode. It seems to be painfully slow and nothing much happened other than the interaction between Rei and Shinji towards the second half. The first half did not contribute much to the plot other than the last few scenes of “hey, take this card to Rei” and characters jokingly playing up Shinji’s interest in her. Although, I do like how they showcase the relationship between Ikari and Rei, which added onto Shinji’s [possible] resentment towards his dad.

I felt that Kensuke and Toji’s little scene was meh and probably should’ve add that in.

Rei feels a bit in the wrong with the slap. To Shinji, Ikari doesn’t deserved anything to gain his trust---especially when Rei was basically used as a mechanism to force Shinji to pilot the robot. Feels like puppy love for Ikari might add an interesting dynamic to their relationship, if the anime keeps this going.

Not a lot of action, which is fine, but I feel like they spent a bit too much time trying to build the threats of Angels. The first one was off-screen for the episode. Second one was killed with little no effort. Hopefully the fifth one will do something in terms of stakes.

 

[ShineCero]

Episode 6: Showdown in Tokyo-3

Opening Credits:

Timeframe: 1:30-11:15

Episodes starts with Shinji getting fucked before he even done anything. That Angel isn’t playing around. Yikes, it shot a bit big ass hole towards the EVA armor.

Shinji got really screwed and gets medical treatment.

The Blue Angel is drilling something. Hmm…

They’re testing out the blue angel and see what it is doing. It automatically attacks anything that within its range. Interesting. At least this one is not a pushover like the others. It’s drilling towards the Nerv headquarters directly… why?

They have less then 10 hours to fully get through.

It takes three hours to install a new defensive plate. How fast do these guys work to pull that off?

That was a good transition from Misato in front of Ikari towards her going down the stairs. Good on the editors/animators. 

It needs electricity from all of Japan to powered up this super sniper to break through the AT field. So normal weapons can do it, it just needs a fuck ton of power.

The stakes are high this time. They even build a shield to protect it from the enemy’s attacks for a few moments. 

Rei visits Shinji in ICU. 

Kid just woke up from a death experience and everyone is all “alright, get in the robot.”

Lmao, they already got Rei to pilot Unit 01 if Shinji decides to not do it (understandably in his position)

Timeframe: 11:20-23:20

Evangelions. They said the name. Wait, why are they near the sight of the Evas? Didn’t they learned from last time after being nearly killed?

3 hours remaining before the Blue Angel dabs on them.

Shinji is the gunner; Rei is the shield.

“You must not think like that. You have to do it in your first shot.”

Nice pressure, folks!

At least Rei got Shinji’s back in making sure he doesn’t die.

So, if all electricity will be shut down, what about people in hospitals or other stuff. Don’t they get kind of screwed, assuming they don’t have a backup generator (if that even works)? 

First conversation between Rei and Shinji.

Rei claims she has nothing else aside from piloting the EVA. Strange thing to say.

Whoa, the Blue Angel did something and stop the blast from hitting. Guess it knew it’ll gonna be some bullshit and wanted for the right moment. Uh oh, the Blue Angel is IN!

Oh damn. The Blue Angel isn’t waiting. He’s gonna attack now. 

Rei protected him, but the shield won’t last long. But it gave Shinji enough time to fire another shot and destroy the angel.

Damn, Shinji jumped in to save Rei. Inb4 she appreciates that.

“Don’t say that you have nothing else. Don’t say goodbye when you leave for a mission. It’s too sad.”

Rei doesn’t know what to feel during things like that. 

“Why don’t you try smiling?”

And Rei smiled. 

---

Sixth episode down. It does have higher stakes, but not enough that made me go to the edge of my seat. Decent characterization here, including Rei, but it feels they hardly did much until the second half of the episode. The first was a showcase that Misato wasn’t a complete clown and knows her stuff, so that’s good. 

Ikari didn’t get a speaking role but feels a bit weird that he was freaking the fuck out over Rei couple of episodes ago, but now, he’s all chill. Made it seems like he did that so he can get that injury on his hand and made sure Shinji sees it so he can psych him out. Probably thinking too deep but still!! It ends with the smile, so that’s cool. Wonder how they’re going to remove that drill, along with repairing 17th layers of armor?

 

[JamesYTP]

That was an enjoyable read. Interesting to see a fresh set of eyes on a classic like that, my all time favorite no less . Was hoping there'd e more of that with the Netflix release

 

[ShineCero]

Thanks man! I'm planning on doing the rest of this later on this week! Been pretty busy with work on the forum, school and drawings :lmao: