Evangelion Recommendations?

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Nikkolas
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Evangelion Recommendations?

So I watched the original NGE TV series/anime a few months back and was...underwhelmed. I found it decent enough but it has some real jarring things. The first half of the series barely feels anything like the second half. You watch the end of the anime and then you recall that there was an episode about dancing if you want to win and you wonder if you're still watching the same show.

Regardless though, it's over and done with and while I may re-watch it at some future point, I'm enjoying the fact Eva is such a massive franchise. There are other things to enjoy about it besides just the anime.

Hence this topic.

1. How do you all feel the normal NGE manga (the one actually written by a guy who worked on the show) compares to the anime? I hear it has some key differences and the ending is supposed to be different. (which is good in my view. I was okay with the anime on the whole but I HATED End of Evangelion. Rewriting that can only be a good thing in my view)

2. How about Rebuild? I've heard people who say they ddin't much care for the NGE anime enjoyed it a lot more.
Kratos
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Re: Evangelion Recommendations?

1. While I haven't read enough of the manga to comment on it as a whole (especially the more controversial aspects of the story, although I don't think it's done yet, so the jury may still be out on that ending), I do have a friend who swears by it. You can get it in full colour, for free, using Kadokawa's ComicWalker digital comics app (the catch being that chapters are released one by one on a monthly basis), so I'd say it's completely worth checking out.

I had the chance to flip through the first volume a few years back, and I remember Shinji's initial portrayal being a bit different, in that he was more snarky and outspoken while still being an awkward teen - more Amuro Ray than TV Shinji. I remember this because I didn't really like it - Shinji's slow gain of confidence over the series' first half and then total devastation in its later portions makes for a fascinating character arc that I feel would be at least partially lost if he started out more confident - though I imagine it would be a total breath of fresh air for those who don't much care for him.

2. I haven't seen the third Rebuild, which seems to be the really divisive one, but I really like the second. It does interesting new things with certain key characters (although I really dislike Mari, a character original to the film) and implies things about the plot that I feel connects it to the TV show in potentially interesting ways, all with wonderfully shiny new animation and exciting battles (several are completely retooled from the original show).

The first is mostly a compilation movie of the first 5-ish episodes, and feels like it, though it too benefits from the animation-action facelift of its successor. It can't hurt to watch, but it never grabbed me like the second did.
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LightningCount
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Re: Evangelion Recommendations?

I had a similar experience with EVA, Nikkolas. There are parts I love...but parts I really don't agree with. Regardless, it has such a great sense of iconography and atmosphere that it's hard not to find it interesting. Some people would say that it took a lot of guts to do the ending that it did in the TV version, and that we'll never quite see the likes of that again. I'm not sure I agree, but it certainly wasn't afraid to boil its messages down, encapsulate them, and strip away all the fanciness, so I suppose it depends on what one was looking for from the series.

Anyway, I've only seen EVA Rebuild 1.11 and 2.22. The first one, in my opinion, is the most refined presentation of Evangelion to date. The early episodes of Evangelion were some of its strongest, in my opinion, and this new movie is based on those and elaborates on them. There are key differences throughout the Rebuild movies, especially when you get to 2.22, and visual/dialogue references to things which occured later in the TV series and End of EVA, which has many speculating that Rebuilds are not a remake, but are secretly a sequel to the TV series, resulting in the world that was created. If that's true, I think that's brilliant. Right now evidence points either way.

Anyway, 2.22 was a fascinating piece, in that it added more completely original material than 1.11 and had some thrilling embellishments, but it didn't seem as balanced and well-paced as 1.11. (While the first Rebuild tells and builds on the equivalent of 6 episodes, the second one tries to cover/remix roughly 17 episodes while also adding in new material. The new pilot character makes a splash, giving things a fresh feel different from anything in EVA, but she doesn't get enough of a role or development for one to really see her as anything more than a intriguing deus ex machina at this point; hopefully 3.33 builds on her and her mysteries).

That said, overall, 2.22 had some great character building/development scenes, like 1.11, that largely outdid the TV series. As of 2.22, the Rebuild movies do a good job of making the characters more likable/relatable overall, and highlight a lot of the great things about EVA while dropping some of the not-so-great stuff. 1.11 felt just about perfect to me, while 2.22 felt interesting and ambitious, but rough around the edges. To be honest, the way 2.22 ends dampened my spirits about the Rebuild series.

I've heard 3.33 is completely unique and divisive, scarcely related to the TV series. I'm looking forward to seeing it. I'm hoping it will provide a better sense about the true "purpose" behind the Rebuild series, and what it's trying to accomplish beyond the director's stated desire to build up animators and storytellers, and inspire viewers, in Japan. Rebuild 3.33 sounds like it might be taking some pages from RahXephon, which the Rebuild series has at times felt more tonally connected to thus far.

By the way, if you want a more balanced and satisfying EVA-type experience, in my opinion, you should check out RahXephon (the series; not the largely hodgepodge compilation movie). Other series in that vein in one way or another--Fafner in the Azure, The BIG-O, Eureka 7 (original series), and Gasaraki are all worth checking out. I found things to like about them all, and having seen them all recently again, I think they're all far more than mere "EVA clones." In fact, as far as a "complete series," I think I actually like all of those more than EVA. Your mileage will vary on each depending on what your tastes are, though. Gasaraki, in particular, tends to get the most grief, as it tries to do real-world political/military maneuvering like Gundam 00 Season 1, and can therefore come off as a bit too serious/dry for many.

I've read one volume of the EVA manga. Similar to the series, but a little more thoughtful in handling the characters, perhaps.
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Compass
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Re: Evangelion Recommendations?

Have you heard of Angelic Days? It'a manga based on the premise of 25 or 26 where everyone is living a normal school life.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_ ... lic%20days

Art's not that great, but the mood is significantly less depressing without betraying the characters' types, with the exception that Shinji has more confidence.
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Nikkolas
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Re: Evangelion Recommendations?

I have heard of it yes. Although the only spin-off manga of that sort I've been looking at is the Shinji Ikari Raising Project.
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Quiddity
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Re: Evangelion Recommendations?

I had a rather similar opinion when I show the show many years back. NOt really viewing it as a bad show per se, but feeling underwhelmed, largely because the fandom has made it out to be the greatest anime of all time for which everything that has come after is nothing but a pale imitation, which is just such utter nonsense. But I had the opposite opinion of you on End of Eva, I loved that movie, consider it far superior to the TV ending (which is one of the worst anime endings of all time) and still consider it one of my favorite anime movies.

Haven't read the manga, but hope to someday.

Rebuild 1 is very good, I'd agree completely with Lightning Count. Episodes 1 - 6 of the TV series are really strong and the movie focuses primarily on them. Really the one complaint I had is that they didn't change enough to make it a new enough experience, but then that is more of a problem for someone who has watched the show and said episodes great many times.

Rebuild 2 I think does several things well, for example it cuts a lot of the filler of the show such as Jet Alone, a lot of completely pointless Angel battles and other things. The movie does have some very interesting imagery to it (which I have tended to find has always been a strength of the franchise) and I think for the most part the new stuff they bring you is interesting enough to warrant seeing it. It's far more than just a recap of certain episodes of the TV show, which one can complain about with respect to movie 1. That said, I didn't really get the point of the new Eva pilot they brought in.

Haven't seen movie 3. I'm of the opinion that the complete collapse of Eva TV starts not with episode 25 as most critics say, but rather episode 21, and have heard that they largely go in a new direction which I am interested in seeing. Have been waiting a very, very long time to see it but unfortunately Funimation or whoever distributes it here in the US has been waiting forever to bring it out.
By the way, if you want a more balanced and satisfying EVA-type experience, in my opinion, you should check out RahXephon (the series; not the largely hodgepodge compilation movie). Other series in that vein in one way or another--Fafner in the Azure, The BIG-O, Eureka 7 (original series), and Gasaraki are all worth checking out. I found things to like about them all, and having seen them all recently again, I think they're all far more than mere "EVA clones." In fact, as far as a "complete series," I think I actually like all of those more than EVA. Your mileage will vary on each depending on what your tastes are, though. Gasaraki, in particular, tends to get the most grief, as it tries to do real-world political/military maneuvering like Gundam 00 Season 1, and can therefore come off as a bit too serious/dry for many.
Just finished up a rewatch of RahXephon myself and couldn't recommend it more. I find it far superior to Eva. Big O and Gasaraki is highly recommended as well. When taking End of Eva into account, I'm kind of on the fence if I'd consider them superior to it or not though. Maybe for Big O, but definately not for Gasaraki. Eureka Seven's above average, but drags quite a bit.
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SonicSP
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Re: Evangelion Recommendations?

I watched NGE 9 years ago when I was around Shinji's age. I watched it until Episode 24 and for some reason stopped watching it. I dislike "finishing" anime so maybe that's it. Either that or I watched 25/26 and literally deleted it from memory but I doubt it.

Recently I've watched the original series again, just in hopes of finishing for good and I considered it an awesome series back then.
I still think its a great series today, despite its flaws at the end. And those were very very deep flaws. Literally, I don't even know what they were thinking and I would include EoE in that.

I will say though, like Gundam I really love all the "background" materials behind NGE. For the world itself, I think it's really awesome after reading all of the stuff and I really love them from a factual world fact standpoint.

What I really do not like is really the presentation in the anime "for the metaphysical and psychological part" - not exactly sure what to call. It's not that the concepts themselves are uninteresting; it's really that I thought the presentation was poor for the most part. Despite it flaws, I have to say that I've had a good time with the original series as a whole.

I've yet to watch the Rebuild series, I'll probably do it soon. I. Looking forward to it and hope its good.
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DragoMaster009
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Re: Evangelion Recommendations?

Well if your looking for more Eva-type media besides those shown on television, here's a list of things for you to choose from (literature is the first section and games are the second:
Neon Genesis Evangelion (manga)
Neon Genesis Evangelion -ANIMA-
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Angelic Days
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Shinji Ikari Raising Project
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Gakuen Datenroku
Petit Eva: Evangelion@School
Evangelion: Shinji Ikari's Detective Journal

Neon Genesis Evangelion: 1st Impression
Neon Genesis Evangelion: 2nd Impression
Girlfriend of Steel
Neon Genesis Evangelion 64
Neon Genesis Evangelion 2
Shinji Ikari Raising Project
Girlfriend of Steel
Secret of Evangelion
Detective Evangelion
Evangelion: Battle Orchestra
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SonicSP
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Re: Evangelion Recommendations?

^ I've just started on the manga. I've heard good things about it even while I was watching the series almost a decade ago so thought its worth exploring.
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