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The NERV facilities capture the "rushed research facility" vibe quite well. Not only the UIs are spartan but they have a team of scientists running even the mos

The NERV facilities capture the "rushed research facility" vibe quite well. Not only the UIs are spartan but they have a team of scientists running even the most basic systems and still looking at every issue, and you can also see cables laid out on the floor and everything. It's more realistic than the usual "pristine facility that deploys giant robots" on other shows.

teraflop 5y ago
Yep. It reminds me of the striking difference between most space travel sci-fi (in which the pilot of a spacecraft is the captain of their vessel and can go wherever they please) and, say, the Space Shuttle (which required meticulous planning and a large ground support staff for every single mission). Evangelion does a great job of visually conveying how the pilot in the robot's cockpit is, in part, just a focal point for the efforts of thousands of other people. And then, of course, it subverts that portrayal by revealing that (ROT13) gur Rinf jrer npghnyyl perngrq ol na bpphyg frperg fbpvrgl hfvat napvrag nyvraf, naq abar bs gur grpuavpvnaf be bcrengbef unir n pyhr jung gurl'er ERNYYL pncnoyr bs.
elihu 5y ago
I always liked how they portrayed the EVAs, too. Unit 0 was a prototype, which in most shows would mean that it has some awesome special capabilities. But no, in Evangelion, unit 0 is a flaky but very expensive piece of equipment that's dangerous to operate, doesn't even work half the time, and no one really trusts for anything important. Unit 1 is more reliable but the pilot isn't, so it kind of evens out. It's also a nice touch how, as the series goes on, the EVAs end up with different colored parts because they just use whatever replacement was on hand at the time. The city, too, goes from being a semi-normal modern city to barren, dystopian landscape. Not all at once, but in stages.
GhettoComputers 5y ago
That was an era thing wasn’t it? Serial Experiments Lain has that same feeling. The best modern example was probably the opening in 2.22, which felt very rushed.
- pvarangot 5y ago
  Yeah Lain and also Ghost in the Shell have similar portrayal of research facilities, they still look more surreal than Eva on those animes though. But I wouldn't say they are giant robots animes. Bubblegum Crisis and of course Gundam are and there the facilities are more pristine and everything is more like military run.
  - GhettoComputers 5y ago
    Eva isn't surreal? SEL was pretty good at guessing, but they held CRTs too long lol.
- afiori 5y ago
  I feel like it is also due to the relentless decrease available slack[0] in growing industries and how artsy styles have higher logistic and managerial costs. [0]: https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/05/12/studies-on-slack/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/05/12/studies-on-slack/

teraflop 5y ago

Yep. It reminds me of the striking difference between most space travel sci-fi (in which the pilot of a spacecraft is the captain of their vessel and can go wherever they please) and, say, the Space Shuttle (which required meticulous planning and a large ground support staff for every single mission). Evangelion does a great job of visually conveying how the pilot in the robot's cockpit is, in part, just a focal point for the efforts of thousands of other people. And then, of course, it subverts that portrayal by revealing that (ROT13) gur Rinf jrer npghnyyl perngrq ol na bpphyg frperg fbpvrgl hfvat napvrag nyvraf, naq abar bs gur grpuavpvnaf be bcrengbef unir n pyhr jung gurl'er ERNYYL pncnoyr bs.

elihu 5y ago

I always liked how they portrayed the EVAs, too. Unit 0 was a prototype, which in most shows would mean that it has some awesome special capabilities. But no, in Evangelion, unit 0 is a flaky but very expensive piece of equipment that's dangerous to operate, doesn't even work half the time, and no one really trusts for anything important. Unit 1 is more reliable but the pilot isn't, so it kind of evens out. It's also a nice touch how, as the series goes on, the EVAs end up with different colored parts because they just use whatever replacement was on hand at the time. The city, too, goes from being a semi-normal modern city to barren, dystopian landscape. Not all at once, but in stages.

GhettoComputers 5y ago

That was an era thing wasn’t it? Serial Experiments Lain has that same feeling. The best modern example was probably the opening in 2.22, which felt very rushed.

pvarangot 5y ago
Yeah Lain and also Ghost in the Shell have similar portrayal of research facilities, they still look more surreal than Eva on those animes though. But I wouldn't say they are giant robots animes. Bubblegum Crisis and of course Gundam are and there the facilities are more pristine and everything is more like military run.
- GhettoComputers 5y ago
  Eva isn't surreal? SEL was pretty good at guessing, but they held CRTs too long lol.
afiori 5y ago
I feel like it is also due to the relentless decrease available slack[0] in growing industries and how artsy styles have higher logistic and managerial costs. [0]: https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/05/12/studies-on-slack/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2020/05/12/studies-on-slack/