This anime, like James Joyce's Ulysses, has an entrance fee, which is a
backlog of works you must be familiar with in order to maximize your enjoyment
of the show.
The entrance fee for this show is knowledge of Freudian psychology and obscure Christian mythology. If you want the full experience, read the science fiction novel Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke, as well as science fiction novels by Philip K. Dick and Paul Linebarger. Your enjoyment of the show will be affected by your previous knowledge.
At minimum, if you don't know what the dead sea scrolls are, what the Hedgehog's Dilemma refers to, or what an AT field is, the first 14 episodes of this show will be incredibly underwhelming. That is especially true now, considering that knock offs of Eva abound. Emotional teenagers piloting giant robots in a post apocalyptic society? Been there, done that. Shinji falling on Rei's boobs? Anime trope. An episode where Shinji and Asuka have to learn to dance in order to destroy an angel with simultaneous attacks? Not as bad as cooking ninjas, but close.
And then you realize that each robot that Shinji and Asuka are piloting are organic robots made from the cloned tissue of their dead mothers, and the show starts getting good.
Rewatching the show after experiencing the ending-where this realization occurs, when you know who Kaworu is, when you know who Rei is, when you know just what's at stake- just makes watching the show again that much better. The first 14 episodes are sprinkled with promises of depth in what was once a original idea. The difference between Evangelion and the knockoffs is that Eva delivers on this promise.
The Neon Genesis Evangelion series is a phenomenon, an anime (and two movies) that brought intellectual discussion into the fandom. It's usually the anime that people refer to when they assert that anime is a step above most American television, that anime is innately intelligent and full of meaning. They're wrong, of course, but the fact that this anime is still the symbol of quality for many says much about its impact.
Looking back now, unfortunately, Eva has a few glaring flaws that new fans pick on immediately. The animators blew their budget fairly early on, leading to scenes where people may comment “we've been staring at an ashtray for the past five minutes.” Little is explained in the beginning, so that people are left wondering “who the hell that guy is.” And of course, the final two episodes do not appeal to everyone. While some may consider it genius, others consider it philosophical masturbation that means little. The ultimate themes of the show as presented in the final two episodes are ones that fourteen year olds grapple with-issues of one's place in society and definition of self. A worthwhile watch, to be sure, but hardly groundbreaking in older, more learned audiences, and these episodes do not address what many consider to be the ultimate plot-what happens to the world.
The movies expand on this, however, and much debate can be had by juxtaposing the final two episodes with the events of the movies. Eva is an anime that works because of its originality and its opaque nature-even if you claim it means nothing, you must defend that claim in the face of what you see. On top of that is the fact that the show is innately rewatchable, once you see the ending, and again when you actually do acquire that entrance fee.
If you enjoy science fiction with a dash of intellectualism, you need to see Neon Genesis Evangelion.
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